Your browser does not support JavaScript. Please enable Javascript and refresh this page.
First Reading Wisdom 9:13-18b Knowledge alone has limits. We also need wisdom to understand the ways of God.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 90:3-4,5-6,12-13,14-17 God's power has no boundaries; it is not limited by space and time.
Second Reading Philemon 9-10, 12-17 Paul encourages one of his converts to consider his former slave a brother in Christ Jesus.
Gospel Reading Luke 14:25-33 Jesus teaches about the demands of discipleship.
Background on the Gospel Reading
In chapter 14 of Luke's Gospel, Jesus is speaking to people gathered at the table about the difficulties of following him. This group of people is suspicious about Jesus, looking to catch him doing something wrong. Jesus speaks to them in parables, emphasizing that although there is a right way to be a disciple and enter into the kingdom of his Father, it is a difficult path to follow. Many, even some of the guests at the table, reject the invitation. So Jesus turns to the crowds and speaks to them of discipleship. Jesus explains that, when it comes to making a choice for the Kingdom of God, nothing can get in the way. When Jesus describes “hating” one's father and mother, he is not talking about feelings. Rather, he is emphasizing very strongly that choosing to be a disciple means that everything else—family, money, your own life—must come second. In Matthew's version of this story (Matthew 10:37), Jesus refers not to “hating” father or mother, but to loving them more than Jesus. Jesus makes it very clear that being a disciple is not easy. It means to bear one's own cross. These difficult sayings of Jesus are followed by two brief parables (a person constructing a tower and a king marching into battle) that make an obvious point—don't start what you cannot finish. Discipleship is difficult and is something we can commit to only if we are prepared to put the Kingdom of God before everything else.