November 4, 2026
Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop
Lectionary: 487
Reading 1
My beloved, obedient as you have always been,
not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent,
work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
For God is the one who, for his good purpose,
works in you both to desire and to work.
Do everything without grumbling or questioning,
that you may be blameless and innocent,
children of God without blemish
in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,
among whom you shine like lights in the world,
as you hold on to the word of life,
so that my boast for the day of Christ may be
that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
But, even if I am poured out as a libation
upon the sacrificial service of your faith,
I rejoice and share my joy with all of you.
In the same way you also should rejoice and share your joy with me.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (1a) The Lord is my light and my salvation.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
One thing I ask of the LORD;
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD
and contemplate his temple.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you,
for the Spirit of God rests upon you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Great crowds were traveling with Jesus,
and he turned and addressed them,
“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters,
and even his own life,
he cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me
cannot be my disciple.
Which of you wishing to construct a tower
does not first sit down and calculate the cost
to see if there is enough for its completion?
Otherwise, after laying the foundation
and finding himself unable to finish the work
the onlookers should laugh at him and say,
‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’
Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down
and decide whether with ten thousand troops
he can successfully oppose another king
advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?
But if not, while he is still far away,
he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.
In the same way,
everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/110426.cfm
Commentary on
Philippians 2:12-18
Today’s reading follows immediately on yesterday’s hymn
about the “mind of Christ”, depicted in his ‘self-emptying’ as his way to
glory. Paul now exhorts the Philippians to follow the teaching he has given
them, which is none other than the teaching of Jesus and the gospel. They did
follow his teaching when he was with them (during visits on his second and
third missionary journeys) and he hopes that they will continue to do so now
that they are separated from each other.
He tells them to:
…work on your own salvation with fear and trembling…
Working on their salvation means leaving themselves
continually open to the loving influence of God in their lives. Salvation is
not something that one achieves by one’s own efforts; it comes from accepting
the love of God into one’s life and behaving accordingly. As Paul says today:
…it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to
will and to work for his good pleasure.
Every good thing we say and do, we say and do in him and
through him—and for him.
The phrase “with fear and trembling” is a biblical cliche‚ used
several times by Paul and is not intended in a frightening sense. Rather, it
calls for that sense of awe and reverence which comes when we begin to grasp
the transcendence and unknowability of our God.
Paul now indicates some of the areas where we ensure that we
experience the saving power of God and have the mind of Christ. All that has to
be done should be carried out without complaining or arguing. One senses that,
in fact, there was a certain amount of complaining and arguing going on among
the Philippians. Such complaining could indicate discontent with their lot,
resulting in grumbling against God. The arguing could be over issues in the
church, which resulted in division and disunity.
Paul wants the Philippians to be:
…blameless and innocent, children of God in the midst of
a crooked and perverse generation.
He wants them to give a convincing witness of the gospel
vision in the unbelieving and immoral world which surrounds them.
In the surrounding darkness of sin and immorality, they will
then shine out like stars. This reflects the teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on
the Mount when he told his disciples to be:
…the light of the world. A city built on a hill…[letting]
your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works… (Matt
5:13-16)
An invisible Christian is a contradiction in terms; and an
immoral Christian is a wound on the gospel.
But if the Philippians are able to act as Paul urges, it
will give him great pride on the day of judgment, for it would mean that all
his efforts among them had not been in vain:
…so that I can boast on the day of Christ that I did not
run in vain or labor in vain.
And he goes so far as to say that even if his present
imprisonment ends in shedding his blood through a martyr’s death, it would
still be an occasion for great joy and thanksgiving both for him and for them:
But even if I am being poured out as a libation over the
sacrifice and the service of your faith, I rejoice, and I rejoice together with
all of you…
This is another example of the mood of joy which pervades
the Letter.
Libations, or the pouring out of blood, were common in both
Greek and Jewish sacrifices. Paul uses this image to express his share in the
overall offering that the Philippians have made and are making through the
living out of their Christian faith. He may be referring to his whole ministry
as one large thanksgiving sacrifice, or it is more likely he is speaking of his
present imprisonment, which might well bring him a martyr’s death. His life
would then be poured out as a drink offering accompanying the sacrificial
service of the Philippians.
Again we see Paul’s total and unconditional giving of
himself to Jesus and the work of proclaiming the gospel. In this, his own life
is secondary. The only thing that matters in life or death is being close to
Jesus, his beloved Lord. And if Paul loses his life, it will not only be a
source of joy for Paul himself, but something over which the Philippians too
should rejoice, because it is another victory of the gospel over sin and evil.
Let us reflect today on the quality of our witness to the
gospel, both individually and collectively. What image do we have individually
and collectively in our society? It is not a question of being loved and
admired. When we are being most Christian may be a time when we will be most
violently attacked. But never let it be said that we are clearly unfaithful to
the vision of the gospel we claim to follow.
Commentary on Luke
14:25-33
Luke’s Gospel is noteworthy for its extremes. On the one
hand, it shows the radical and uncompromising demands that Jesus makes on those
who would be his followers and, at the same time, emphasises as none of the
other Gospels do, the gentleness and compassion of Jesus for the sinful and the
weak. Both pictures have always to be kept simultaneously in view and they are
in no way contradictory. Today and tomorrow we will see both of these
images of Jesus back to back.
In today’s passage we see Jesus, as was often the case,
surrounded by a huge crowd of people. They are full of enthusiasm and
expectation, but Jesus very quickly pulls them up short. He says:
Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be
my disciple.
This is a very shocking demand, especially for a society
where people’s whole lives were centred on their families. Luke is alone
in asking that even the wife, too, be abandoned, but this is just an example of
the totality of our commitment to following Jesus.
However, we have to make two qualifications. First,
the word ‘hate’ is a Semitic expression not to be taken literally. It
could not be so taken, as the whole of Jesus’ teaching is based on love, not
only of blood relatives, but of strangers and even enemies. It is rather
a dramatic way of saying that anyone who puts any person, even those closest to
them, before total commitment to Christ and his mission is not ready to be a
disciple. There can be no compromise here—it is all or nothing.
Second, we also have to say that Jesus is not recommending a
literal abandonment of one’s family. That would be highly irresponsible
and a violation of that commandment of universal love. But it is clear that,
for those who want to be part of Jesus’ work, they have to give themselves
completely and unconditionally. And where there is a choice between the
clear call of the gospel and personal attachments, they have to let go of the
latter.
It is important for the crowd to hear this. Following Christ
is not just like football fans stalking their favourite player or ‘groupies’
following a pop star from city to city. There is a price to be paid, and
they need to know that there is one, and what it is. That price is the cross, a
level of sacrifice and suffering—perhaps even of one’s life—that each one must
be prepared to undergo for the sake of the gospel and the building of the
Kingdom.
So, to illustrate this Jesus gives two examples. The first
is of a man who had a plan to build a tower. Before he started, he made
sure that he had all the necessary resources. Otherwise he might find that,
after laying the foundations, he could not finish the work and he would become
the laughing stock of others. “Ha! Ha! He began to build what he could not
finish.”
In the second example Jesus speaks of a king with 10,000
soldiers who finds he is going to war with another king who has 20,000. If he
thinks there is no way he can win, he will send an emissary to negotiate the
best peace terms he can get. Similarly, says Jesus, no one can be a disciple of
his who is not ready to let go of everything he has.
Following him has to be absolute and unconditional. How many
of the crowd listening were ready for that? How many of us are ready for
that? Am I ready? What are the things I am clinging to? What
are the things I cannot let go of? And why is that?
To be a disciple of Jesus means being absolutely free.
It reminds one of Francis of Assisi leaving his family and taking off all his
rich and fancy clothes to replace them with a beggar’s rags, and being filled
with a tremendous sense of joy and liberation. Do I want to be a disciple
of Jesus? To what extent? Am I ready to pay the price he asks?
The paradox, of course, is that once I pay the price, I will
get so much in return. Just ask St Francis or St Teresa of Calcutta
(Mother Teresa) about this.
https://sacredspace.com/commentary
Wednesday,
November 4, 2026
Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer
God of power and mercy, only with your help can we offer you
fitting service and praise.
May we live the faith we profess and
trust your promise of eternal life. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ,
your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen.
Gospel Reading - Luke 14: 25-33
Great crowds accompanied Jesus on his way,
and he turned and spoke to them. “Anyone who comes to me without hating father,
mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes and his own life too, cannot be
my disciple. No one who does not carry his cross and come after me can be my
disciple.” “And indeed, which of you here, intending to build a tower, would
not first sit down and work out the cost to see if he had enough to complete
it? Otherwise, if he laid the foundation and then found himself unable to
finish the work, anyone who saw it would start making fun of him and saying,
‘Here is someone who started to build and was unable to finish.’”
“Or again, what king marching to war against
another king would not first sit down and consider whether with ten thousand
men he could stand up to the other who was advancing against him with twenty
thousand? If not, then while the other king was still a long way off, he would
send envoys to sue for peace. So, in the same way, none of you can be my
disciple without giving up all that he owns.”
Reflection
The Gospel today speaks about discipleship
and presents the conditions to be a disciple of Jesus. Jesus is on the way to
Jerusalem, where he will die soon on the Cross. This is the context in which
Jesus speaks about discipleship.
•
Luke 14: 25: An example of catechesis. The
Gospel today is a beautiful example of how Luke transforms the words of Jesus
into catechesis for the people of the communities. He says: “Great crowds
accompanied him. He turned and spoke to them.” Jesus speaks to the great crowd,
that is, he speaks to all, also to the persons of the communities at the time
of Luke, and today he speaks for us. In the teaching which follows, Jesus gives
the conditions for those who want to be his disciples.
•
Luke 14: 25-26: First condition: to hate father
and mother. Some diminish the force of the word to hate and translate it as “to
prefer Jesus to one’s own parents.” The original text uses the expression “to
hate one’s parents.” In another place Jesus orders to love and respect parents
(Lk 18: 20). How can this contradiction be explained? But is it a contradiction?
At the time of Jesus the social and economic situation led the families to
close themselves up in self and this prevented them to fulfil the law of ransom
or liberation (goel), that is to help
the brothers and sisters of the community (clan) who were threatened to lose
their land or to become slaves (cf. Dt 15: 1-18; Lev 25: 23-43). Closed up in
themselves the families weakened the life in the community. Jesus wants to
reconstruct the life in community. This is why he asks to put an end to the
restricted vision of the small family which closes up in itself and asks the
family to open itself and to be united among themselves in a large family, in
community. This is the sense of hating father and mother, and wife, sons,
sisters and brothers. Jesus himself, when his parents of his small family
wanted to take him back to Nazareth, he does not respond to their request. He
ignores or hates their petition and extends his family saying: “Behold, my
mother and my brothers! Anyone who does the will of God, is my brother, sister
and mother” (Mk 3: 20-21, 31-35). The family bonds of union cannot prevent the
formation of the Community. This is the first condition.
•
Luke 14: 27: Second condition: to carry the
cross. “No one who does not carry his cross and come after me can be my
disciple.” In order to understand well the importance of this second
requirement we have to look at the context in which Luke places this word of
Jesus. Jesus is going toward Jerusalem to be crucified and to die. To follow
Jesus and to carry the cross means to go with him up to Jerusalem to be
crucified with him. This recalls the attitude of the women who “followed and
served him when he was still in Galilee and many others who went up to
Jerusalem with him” (Mk 15: 41). This also reminds us
of Paul’s phrase in the Letter to the
Galatians: “But as for me, it is out of the question that I should boast at
all, except of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world has
been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal
6:14)
•
Luke 14: 28-32: Two parables. Both of these
parables have the same objective: that persons may think well before taking a
decision. In the first parable he says: “Which of you here, intending to build
a tower, would not first sit down and work out the cost to see if he had enough
to complete it? Otherwise, if he laid the foundation and then found himself
unable to finish the work, anyone who saw it would start making fun of him and
saying: Here is someone who started to build and was unable to finish!” This
parable needs no explanation. It speaks for itself: let each one reflect well
on his/her way of following Jesus and ask him/herself if he/she values well the
conditions before taking the decision to become a disciple of Jesus.
•
The second parable: Or again, which king
marching to war against another king would not first sit down and consider
whether with ten thousand men he could stand up to the other who was advancing
against him with twenty thousand? If not, then while the other king was still a
long way off, he would send envoys to sue for peace.” This parable has the same
purpose of the one before. Some ask: “How is it that Jesus uses an example of
war?” The question is a pertinent one for us who today know the wars. The
Second World War (1939-1945) caused the death to about 54 million persons! At
that time, though, the wars were as commercial concurrence between enterprises
which today struggle among themselves to obtain the greatest profit or gain.
•
Luke 14: 33: Conclusion for discipleship. The
conclusion is only one: to be Christian, to follow Jesus. Is something serious.
For many people today, to be Christian is not a personal choice, and neither is
it a decision for life, but a simple cultural phenomenon. They do not even
think of making a choice. Anyone who is born a Brazilian is a Brazilian. He who
is born Japanese is Japanese. He does not have to choose. He is born like that
and will die like that. Many people are Christians because they were born like
that and they die like that, without ever having had the idea of choosing or of
assuming that which they are already by birth.
Personal Questions
•
To be a Christian is something serious. I have
to think out well my way of following Jesus. How does this take place in my
life?
•
“To hate one’s parents,” community or family!
How do I put together these two things? Am I capable to harmonize them?
Concluding Prayer
Yahweh is my light and my salvation, whom should I fear?
Yahweh is the fortress of my life, whom should I dread? (Ps 27: 1)
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét