Discipleship Wisdom!

Sunday, September 7, 2025

Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Wis 9:13-18b; Phil 9-10, 12-17; Lk 14:25-33

The twenty-third Sunday invites us to reflect on the guiding role of God’s wisdom for Christians.

The readings of the day help us understand the truth. 

The first reading highlights the limitations of human understanding without divine help. Human frailty is the reason we are unable to access God’s will for us. It is important to note that only the Spirit of God can facilitate in us the knowledge of God’s will for our lives. Thus, the text underscores the necessity of divine guidance in moral and spiritual decision-making. 

In the second reading, Paul teaches us that true wisdom is to see things through divine eyes. He explains it through a real-world example of slavery. Paul appeals to Philemon to take back the runaway ‘slave’ Onesimus with love and mercy. The interesting detail is that Paul does not talk of Onesimus as a slave but as a beloved brother in Christ. Moreover, he claims him as his own child in faith. This passage is also essential for our understanding of Christian forgiveness and reconciliation in a real-life setting. However, for many of us, the lingering question might be why Paul did not condemn slavery as such. History reveals that slavery was a legal and economic institution in the Roman Empire, and it constituted the very fabric of society at the time. As we can see, Paul does not take the oppressive system head-on. However, what he does is to subvert it from within and show that Christian love can be countercultural by transforming social structures and relationships. Hence, the text is a testament to Paul’s way of doing away with slavery in his context. 

In today’s Gospel, Jesus helps us understand that discipleship means prioritizing him.

However, in at least three ways, Jesus makes the criteria for discipleship appear daunting. 

Hatred for the family, carrying the cross, and giving up possessions are the requirements for following Jesus. But how can we understand them? 

Hatred for Family as Undivided Loyalty: The hatred for family is not about disowning it but about owning and prioritizing Jesus. The invitation refers to the undivided loyalty to following Jesus. It would also mean widening our circle of relationships, thanks to the faith that we all share. In that unbiased inclusion of all, we not only follow Jesus, but we are united with the faith community in his name. 

Carrying the Cross as Radical Commitment: Carrying the cross signifies a radical commitment to Christian vocation. After all, Jesus carried his daily cross before he carried it to Golgotha. Insults, rejection, and sacrifices signify his experience of the cross in his public ministry. True love is measured by the cross we are ready to carry. What are we ready to endure to follow Jesus? 

Giving Up Material Possessions as a Symbol of Spiritual Love: When Jesus becomes our priority, materiality cannot grab our attention. Rather, we will find in the believing community our new possession – happening in the name of Jesus. We will also be inspired to make use of our material possessions to cater to the needs of suffering humanity, in the name of Jesus. Love for Jesus will naturally end up rejecting anything that would steal our attention. 

Today’s readings challenge the way we often approach discipleship. As such, we have some important lessons. 

Epistemic Humility: In learning, we speak of the virtue of epistemic humility to recognize the limits of our knowledge and understanding. Applied to spiritual life, the limitations of human reason only call for ‘shivering’ and ‘surrendering.’ While we certainly do not belittle human reason, we affirm that it must be shaped and guided by divine direction. 

Transformative Discipleship: Faith in Christ calls for transformative discipleship. Can faith move mountains? Yes, it can reform structures, bring down oppressive systems, and establish God’s justice. Loving Christ and practicing transformative discipleship are not two different things. They are one and the same. 

Radical Following: Authentic discipleship points to a total commitment without counting the cost. In other words, a radical following implies the understanding that discipleship is costly, and faith is a total transformation of life. Hence, it shuns any manner of sugarcoating the call to follow Jesus. A disciple is one who follows Jesus through sincerity of will and heart. 

Let us pray that we may apply discipleship wisdom to faithfully follow Jesus. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar