I am particularly struck by this line from Solomon’s prayer in this Sunday’s first reading from the Book of Wisdom: “Who has learned your counsel, unless you have given wisdom and sent your holy spirit from on high?” Solomon doesn’t seem to be seeking direct answers to the questions he presents here, but rather, uses them as a sort of poem of praise to honour God in all his glory. In modern language, we could rephrase his questions: What do we know that God has not instilled into our minds? What wisdom do we have that was not infused by the Holy Spirit? There are many things that we cannot understand without the wisdom God gives us. May we, like Solomon, praise and thank God for this gift. Let us trust that where our feeble, corruptible humanity falters, our heavenly Father is our refuge in every age.
This Sunday’s Gospel is certainly one that we need God’s wisdom to understand. This reading always makes me do a double take or a read-over. “What did Jesus just say?!” His words today are stark and can feel disconcerting. “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” When I encounter a challenging Scripture such as this one, I try to immediately root myself in concrete truths about the Lord. First, I acknowledge that he is good and desires my good. He is all-knowing, all-powerful and all-loving. After centering on those realities, I can look at this Gospel again, but this time through a clearer lens. Ultimately, this Gospel is a piercing reminder of the radical renunciation desired by the Lord. It is a rubric for the narrow road and for sanctity. Jesus does not mince his words, nor does he seek to confuse or confound: to follow Jesus is to release our hearts from earthly attachments, to embrace our cross and to set our lives in proper order. Clear and direct? Certainly. Easy? Not at all. But doing this in union with Jesus? Absolutely possible.
This Sunday, consider reflecting on your attachments – the places you cling to anything that is not Christ. As you go into these tender places, invite Jesus to gently reveal where he wants to grant you his freedom.
