Powerful statement

painting by Akiane Kramarik

This is a very wonderful discussion the deacon of my church wrote about the message of the readings and Gospel for 7/2/17 (the 13th Sunday of Ordinary time)

Jesus said to his Apostles

"Whoever Loves Father or Mother more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me."

Those are very powerful words. Powerful words indeed. And difficult words too. Jesus is telling us that true Christianity comes at a cost.

Here's a cute story of two brothers, ages 9 and 5. They were arguing over who would get the last chocolate chip cookie. Their mother said to the boys not to fight. She told her sons, "Think of what Jesus would do. He would tell his brother, "here brother, you take the cookie". The nine year old thought for a moment then said to his 5 year old brother: "Mikey, you be Jesus".

To be a true Christian means suffering is part and parcel to our lives, but no one really likes the idea of suffering, do we? Yet pain, sorrow and suffering are a part of who we are and part of our human existence. Think of it. Headaches, muscle aches and pains, worries, cares, the death of a loved one, stress, misery, trouble with our marriages, jobs, daily living, so on. All of these things point to the fact that we do have pain and suffering in our daily lives. We'd like to be free of them, but the fact is we can not, no matter how hard we wish or how hard we try. In the end, following Jesus is going to cost us something.

We've all heard the saying, "You get what you pay for". Well then, beware of cheap religions or any religion that comes across as soft and easy and accepting of everything. Beware religion where the cost of following Jesus Christ is never mentioned and where our consciences is never challenged or disturbed. Also be wary when we begin to think that living for Jesus Christ is SUPPOSE to be easy.

Cheap religion will only wrap us in tales of God's love. It will never tell us the truth. The Truth is that Jesus Christ DIED for us. Think of that. Jesus Christ died on a cross for you and me, and the whole human race. He suffered a painful, humiliating death. he willingly gave his life for us and he calls us to be willing to give something of ourselves in return.

There are too many people who only know one side of the story. The story of God's love. Learning and living in God's love is important, but there is much more to the story! that is the point of today's Gospel.

Jesus tells his Apostles and those who succeed them, that they must be prepared to undergo great sacrifices, even death itself, if called to do so. Even though they had only a very vague idea of what he meant, when the time came, they remembered his words and gladly suffered imprisonment, hardships, and finally Martyrdom for Jesus. This shows how the resurrection of Jesus, and the descent of the Holy Spirit on them, changed them from worldly weaklings to fearless heroes.

They had become convinced that Jesus was the Son of God who had come to Earth to bring all men to heaven. They came to realize how transitory and unimportant the few years of earthly life were, when compared with the eternal life to follow. It was not only the apostles who gave their lives gladly for Jesus. There are thousands of martyrs who, during the first three centuries of the church, not only accepted, but welcomed death for Christ's sake, because they were convinced it was the door to eternal life, the only life that mattered.

Down through the centuries, the followers of Jesus have been persecuted because of their belief in him, and many of us can be proud that we have among our ancestors, men and women who died for their faith. Today, too, there are still those who are suffering a lingering martyrdom, because they obey God rather than man.

All of us, at one point or another, or in one way or another, have had to bear crosses in life. By bearing our crosses, we can become more like Jesus. Why do some of us come out of our trials more miserable than before? And why do some of us become more Christ like? Well, it may be that the answer has to do with how we see Jesus and follow him.

Remember our Lord's words in today's first reading. he who will give hospitality and help to a prophet will have the reward of the prophet. He who helps those who are preaching and teaching the message of salvation, the good news of Jesus, at home and abroad, will himself share in that reward of these preachers and teachers.

When we get to heaven, one of the many pleasant surprises awaiting us will be the gratitude we will receive from the saints we've helped send to heaven, people we never knew or perhaps thought about. We helped those who thought about them and worked hard for their salvation, and thus we share in their rewards.

Remember this promise, even a cup of cold water will not go unrewarded, every little helping hand we give to bring our fellowmen to heaven will help us too, toward the same goal. Heaven is our real goal in life. It alone will satisfy all our desires and it alone will last forever.

Are we truly followers of him or are we only admirers? That is an important question we need to ask ourselves. Are we followers or admirers? If we are only admirers, then we will tend to see our faith and belief in Jesus as a crutch or a Band-Aid. If that happens, when trials and sufferings and sorrows come, we'll become bitter and hopeless people. Especially when things don't go the way we want them to go.

If on the other hand, we are true followers of Jesus we will realize that all of our trials and tribulations, no matter how awful they are, can and will bring us closer to God. Remember that we are called to learn about God. This doesn't mean that we figure out the Trinity or know word for word what the pope or Vatican has said or that we can read the new testament in original Greek. no we are called to learn about Jesus from our every day experiences and the joys and happiness of life, the struggles and pains, in our strengths and weaknesses of life too. We need to learn about God from Christ like people, people who pick up their crosses everyday and do their best to follow Jesus.

All of us can be Jesus to someone, someone who will remember what Jesus is like because they remember what we are like. They will know that we are true followers of Jesus, even in the midst of bearing our crosses. True followers and not just admirers only.

But we must also be willing to put away our self-centeredness. If we do this and realize this, we'll gain a deeper appreciation of what pain and suffering can bring to our lives.

Jesus says, "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake, will find it." Let us lose ourselves then in Jesus, and lose ourselves in all that life gives us, in joy and sorrow, in happiness and pain, in all things good and bad, so that one day, we can find life eternal in Him.

Readings and Gospel for this statement:

2 kings 4:8-17

Romans 6:1-11

Matthew 10:37-42

Today, so many religions are all about acceptance, tolerance, inclusivity. They talk about how God loves everyone and accepts everyone, and who are we to judge anyone? That's for God alone.

They don't teach about hell. Hell's become either a non existent place made up to frighten children or a place that is merely a separation from God. (despite the biblical mentions of fire and brimstone and suffering.)

God, in many newer Christian religions, has become a magic fairy godmother and all we have to do is love, accept, tolerate, and not judge. Suffering isn't part of the deal. Avoiding sin isn't part of the deal. sacrifice isn't part of the deal.

They are leading people astray by reinterpreting the harsh language of the bible and making it about love and peace and equality.

They are missing the point. The saints suffered, Christ suffered, and so we too must suffer in this world, and offer our sufferings to Christ, so that we can gain eternal peace and joy with Christ and all the saints who went before us.