INTRODUCTION
The teachings of Christ are oftentimes incomprehensible with the logic of the man heed and the principles of the globe. It'south as if his intention is always to toughen the path of his followers in order to make them true and authentic. Yes, Christianity is not a secular establishment, and the gospel is not a mundane ideology. It is the simulated of the life of Christ, who won our salvation simply through the style of the cantankerous. Therefore, the readings of this day help u.s. to empathise that it is non piece of cake to follow God. Yeah, until we become fools in the optics of the world, we cannot follow him. It requires total commitment to the will of God by putting him at the centre of our lives.

Get-go READING: Wisdom ix: 13-18
In that location is no doubt that the Hellenistic philosophy of pessimism over the human body infiltrated the mindset of the diaspora Jews. The writer of the book of Wisdom was conscious of this trend and pointed it out equally he addressed the Jews in Alexandria Egypt; "For the perishable trunk weighs down the soul…"
For most of the ancient philosophers, the truthful nature of the human person is realized when in that location is an ontological (philosophy of being) separation of the 2 components of the human person (body and soul). Hence, the soul must separate itself from the body as from fetters. This separation is non only realised in expiry but equally through a renewed life, a sort of attaining a "spiritual life" past undergoing initiation and revelation of spiritual truth (the state of a pure philosophy).
The writer of the book of Wisdom did not stop at pointing out the limitation of the body as perceived by the philosophy of his time, he as reveals the insufficiency of human reasoning (which is the central emphasis of philosophers) as worthless. He rather opted for divine wisdom and the Spirit of God as the only way through which man can discern the will of God. Thus, the truth which the thinkers believed could exist attained by rational means is falsified in the message of the volume of Wisdom. Since God is the absolute truth, the human person cannot admission this truth except through the wisdom that God himself gives.
This bulletin bulletin is a counter philosophy and a criticism against the philosophy of the world devoid of God; a philosophy which tends to project man as the "epicentre" of everything, and who believes so much in the ability of his intellect every bit confronting divine illumination. In the optics of the Wisdom writer, this is foolishness, since information technology is but the Wisdom that comes from God that can ready human being on the right path and enables him to do what pleases God (v.18). What is this Wisdom? Christian hagiographers encounter in Jesus the "Eternal Wisdom" who comes to reveal the mystery of God.

GOSPEL: Luke xiv: 25-33
The gospel message is in line with the start reading in that, the pedagogy of Jesus tin can never appeal to the philosophy of the world. The theology of the cross is the nucleus of the Christian bulletin. St. Paul pointed this out before when he said: "We preach Christ crucified; a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks" (1 Cor. one:23) and equally made information technology the source of his glory: "May I never boast except in the cantankerous of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the earth has been crucified to me, and I to the world" (Gal. 6:13).
Luke presents this gospel to his audience pointing out the cost of discipleship. Thus he opened the pericope by indicating that a great multitude were later on Jesus. And immediately he turns our attention to Jesus' definition and option of discipleship. In other words, it does not suffice to follow him, simply there are certain principles that should serve every bit prerequisite to becoming his followers . These can exist summarized into "detachment and sacrifice."
In the Palestinian setting during the time of Jesus, there was much emphasis on the family unit. This is simply considering the identity of a human being and his social security lies in the family. The parable of the prodigal son reveals how insecure and wretched one can be when he cuts away from family unit ties. But introducing the cost of discipleship, the Lucan Jesus insists on the fundamental option for God. Thus the path of truthful discipleship would mean, hating father and female parent and wife and children and brother and sister and fifty-fifty oneself . What is this hatred all nigh? In gild non to be locked up in confusion, nosotros must distance ourselves from the English meaning of the word. In the semitic language, the concept of honey is used in terms of preference of one thing over another. Thus when A prefers B to C, and so we say that A hates C. Information technology is a strong and directly bulletin of Jesus to his disciples that it is non possible to exist a true disciple if one does not dearest God to a higher place everything. In other words, God cannot just be role of 1's life but the heart. Information technology is this choice of renouncing everything to follow Christ that makes it possible to walk on the style of the cantankerous which is the second call of Jesus in the gospel message. And what is this cantankerous all nearly? It simply means that to accept the gospel is to accept hatred and persecution from the earth. It means accepting to "hate" 1'due south family and the self in order to fall in honey with God. Therefore, the cross is indispensably Christian; for a crossless Christian is a Christless Christian.

SECOND READING: Philemon nine-x.12-17
From the higher up affidavit, nosotros see the practicality of the gospel bulletin in the second reading. From the very start moment Paul accustomed the way of Christ, he accepted the way of the cross:
He suffered rejection (Acts 18:1-6)
He suffered sleepless nights, hunger, thirst, cold and nakedness (ii Cor. 11:27)
He suffered persecution (Acts 13:50; fourteen:19; 16:22; 21:36; 22:22)
He suffered shipwreck (2 Cor. 11:25).
He suffered imprisonment (two Tim two:ix; Acts 28.16.30; Eph half dozen:20; Phil i:7.13.xiv.17; Col 4:18; Phile 1.ix.23)
He suffered death (under Roman emperor Nero around 64 AD).
Paul'southward letter to Philemon today is one of those letters believed to accept been written within the 4 walls of the prison house (1&2Timothy, Titus, Ephesians, Philippians, Philemon and Colossians), in other words from " the cross. " He lived the bulletin of the gospel by "antisocial his family unit and fifty-fifty himself" for the sake of Christ. No wonder he wrote: "Circumcised on the eighth twenty-four hour period, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews…Merely whatsoever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more than, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may proceeds Christ (Phil iii:v.vii-8).

Paul spent his unabridged life proclaiming the gospel and embarked on several missionary journeys.
Writing from the prison today, he simply tells us that the discussion of God cannot be imprisoned. He addresses this personal letter to Philemon, a new convert to Christianity, challenging him on the toll of discipleship, that is, accepting the cantankerous past forgiving Onesimus his slave who one time stole from him and made his mode to Rome. A more challenging cross is Paul'south call on him to welcome Onesimus no longer as a slave but as a dearest brother. This might have been a difficult message for Philemon but that is the consequence of welcoming Christ in his life; the manner of the cross.

LIFE Letters:
1. WHAT MUST I HATE IN ORDER TO FOLLOW CHRIST?:
All of us have particular things or persons in our lives that tend to distract us from giving full attention to Christ. And almost often, it is our personal weakness and lifestyle that we have refused to permit go. Jesus' call today is that if we truly desire to exist his disciples, we must 'develop hatred' for the things that are not compatible with the new life we have received. It is a call to make God our priority in life.
A friend one time frowned over a Dominicus celebration that spanned for almost 2hrs, yet he is a blazon that seizes every opportunity to hangout with friends and spend hours having fun. If 2hrs are too much for one to spend before God just once in a calendar week, even so spends countless number of hours in the name of fun, then I wonder where nosotros are going. The presence of God makes some persons uncomfortable. And many have completely lost the addiction of prayer.

two. IS THE Bulletin OF THE CROSS Nevertheless Highly-seasoned?
Like the volume of Wisdom pointed out, human intellect is bereft to access the mystery of God. It takes divine Wisdom which is Christ himself to enable us understand the mystery of the cross. Unfortunately, the trend of Christianity we have today is gradually shifting away from the gospel of the cross. And the wind of pentecostalism is blowing harder such that many of us seem to lose our focus from the message of the cross. Nevertheless for some, information technology is now an old manner message. After all since Christ has paid our debt, we are non meant to bear the cross again. This has succeeded in generating "half-baked" Christians; Christians of alleluia and not of the passion.

3. IS THE CROSS Nosotros BEAR TRULY FOR THE SAKE OF CHRIST?
For our crosses to pb us to salvation, they must be borne for the sake of Christ. Nigh of the crosses we bear are imposed on u.s. by the world and by the evil 1 and not necessarily by the gospel. Paul suffered for the sake of the gospel as well as all the apostles and the saints. Just most of united states of america are begetting crosses resulting from our lives of sin and abuse, and from reckless lives of the past. But information technology doesn't matter. Whatsoever be our crosses, we must brand effort to unite them to the cross of Christ who says: "Come to me all you who are weary and are burdened, and I volition give yous residuum" (Mat. eleven:28).

iv. Accept We MADE A FUNDAMENTAL OPTION FOR CHRIST?
Information technology takes "yep" to follow Christ. We have all said aye to God on the 24-hour interval of our baptism. Are we still witting of our promise to follow him and to reject the way of Satan and the world? Or are we often defenseless up between determination and indecision? We need to accept the "yes" challenge with heroic commitment through the spirit of disengagement and renunciation in our daily lives. Real discipleship demands true delivery through the ability of prayer and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Christ does not oblige u.s. to be his disciples, and that is why he said: "If anyone comes to me…"

PRAYER

Oh Lord our God, your word is truth and life. Speak to our censor today, that we may understand what you enquire of us, to exist true disciples prepare to walk on the way of the cross. Do not allow our personal convictions and the influence of the world to deviate our attention from the path of truth. Give us instead your wisdom and your Spirit to enable united states understand the mystery of your being, and then equally to make a fundamental choice of you in a higher place every other thing. You who alive and reign with Son and the Holy Spirit, One God forever and ever. Amen.

PAX VOBIS!