September 5, 2010

Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

“Anyone who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.”

Luke 14:25-33

“Ah, Jesus, can’t I just keep my iPhone 4?”  Jesus might point out that He said renounce [from the Latin words re = back and nuntiare = tell,  meaning: To give up a claim, right, belief, practice, way of living, feeling, etc.]   Jesus might add, “You may use that iPhone 4, but you may not claim that it, or anything else you think you own, actually belongs to you.  Everything you think you possess comes from God and belongs to God, who wants you to have what you need to enjoy life, but not if that means others must do without the necessities of life.”  That is a hard concept for people in the United States, who cling doggedly to the right to property, to understand and accept.  As stewards of all we have God expects us to work out how much we need for ourselves and those for whom we are responsible, and how much we should share with others in need.  So Jesus would probably say, “Enjoy MY iPhone 4, and let others enjoy it too.”