THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP

V/​ I will turn to you O God, 

R/​ to God who gives joy to my youth

V/​ Give me the Wisdom that sits by your throne; 

R/ that I may be counted among your children

Lord, in your all-providential plan, you have led me to this moment to rediscover me in your Word and Wisdom. Aid me to make this time of meditation and prayer enriching, transforming, and liberating for my well-being and others. Amen!

THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP

By Dr. Emmanuel Johnson Ibuot

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Wisdom 9: 13-18; Ps. 89: 3-6, 12-14, 17; Phil 1: 9-10, 12-17; Luke 14: 25: 33

Sunday 7th September 2025

The readings of today address the theme of human limitations, and of human need to seek the will of God and how this is discernible in the way we relate with others as joint heirs in the life of grace. In our first reading, we notice the inexplicable ways of God unless aided by God’s Spirit and wisdom. The Psalmist notes that man is ultimately under God’s guidance, that God can direct man as he deems fit, which reiterates the fact that human nature is finite in nature. In our second reading, Paul writes to Philemon concerning Onesimus. In the letter, Paul recognises their (Philemon and Paul) need for Onesimus’s assistance. Yet, driven by the faith’s demand for spontaneous kindness, Paul chose to send back Onesimus to Philemon. Even though we can be limited by our personal needs, we learn that we can choose to rise above it by choosing a delimiting set by God, the demands of God’s nature and truth, referred to metaphorically as ‘these chains’.

Luke’s gospel calls upon us to reflect upon the limitations in and around our lives so as to make wise choices and decisions. The Christian faith necessarily involves navigating through the two senses of limitation: namely, natural limitation, which is inherent to human nature both before the fall and after the fall; and received or adopted limitation, which comes with one’s decision to do the will of God. We discover from the gospel reading that this renunciation is the only pathway to genuine Christian formation and maturation into the image of Jesus, in the power of the Spirit. The cost of Christian discipleship must be considered in the light of a meaningful outlook to the crosses we must bear in self-mastery and perfection in virtue.

Nonetheless, functioning beyond the limitations of human nature requires cooperating with God. This is the meaning of Immanuel, that is, human reliance, partnership with or dependence on God; for I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4: 13). The mystery of the holy incarnation makes a staggering statement of God’s desire to enhance our capacity for profound communion. This understanding has informed the Carmelite tradition and the spiritual patrimony they have left for many centuries. This stresses the place of prayer, unceasing recollection and conversation with the Word of God, through a sacramental life in the Eucharist, and fidelity to God’s purpose for our lives. Tomas Alvarez, OCD, in Prayer: Journeying to God with St. Teresa, notes: “The quintessence of prayer is in the very activation of the friendly relationship between two persons who have succeeded in establishing it; it is, therefore, ‘to make friendship’ and to communicate within that friendship”. This underscores Teresa’s insistence in The Way of Perfection, that prayer demands both personal and communal dimensions of following God. As we journey in faith, even in the face of the many daily demands and uncertainties, may our salvation be assured through the selfsame Christ.