23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C - 8/9/2013 - Gospel: Lk 14: 25-33
Detachment
We are living in a throwing away society because productions are made to last for a short duration and after the time limit the products malfunction. It is hard to find the parts to replace them and when you find one the labour to replace it costs a fortune. It costs nearly as much as to buy a brand new to replace the old one.
The recycle bin and the replacement of it is the fashion of the day. Probably the throwing away idea gets its concept from the ornaments and clothing fashion design industry. Many good quality fashionable things are stock piled in a cupboard simply because they are out of fashion. Their styles are out of date and take up too much space in our cupboard. We need room for the new ones. We don't use them not because they are not good but because people judge one another by the visible things, by the appearance of what they see. Wearing the new products before others is the signature telling that you have high income because the new product is far too expensive for many but it soon lost its value and available for the public.
The concept of throwing away changes the outlook of life and of the spiritual outlook. It is the fashion that holy articles disappear in our lounge room. The entire house has no visible or symbol of faith. Instead there are plenty of popular fosters and contemporary signs and symbols.
The Catholic faith becomes unimportant when you think it is the product of the mind. Any product, no matter how good it is, has a time frame limit and when the expired date comes things will be discarded. The Catholic faith is unimportant when you think it is fashionable and fashion needs to be updated to catch up with new ideas. Fashion of all kinds when they are out of fashion will be forgotten. We throw things away when they are useless or when they are not relevant to us. The Catholic faith is unimportant when we are heavily focussing on material things that neglect our spiritual needs.
Our Catholic faith is God's love for us. It is the product not of a human mind but of the divine mind. It is not a fashion and never be out of date. It is not just relevant to us but it is necessity to enjoy life and peace of mind. When you see the reality of faith in this light you will embrace the love of God and make the faith alive in your lives.
Jesus says to us we need to discard or detach ourselves from many things of this world. Anything that affects our faith in Christ must be discarded, including persons and things you love dearly but there are two things you must embrace, they are your daily cross and the love you have for God manifested through charity works. In other words fashion yourselves with the love of God and make that love active and alive in your life. When you detach from the worldly things all you need is God's grace and constant daily prayers.
The recycle bin and the replacement of it is the fashion of the day. Probably the throwing away idea gets its concept from the ornaments and clothing fashion design industry. Many good quality fashionable things are stock piled in a cupboard simply because they are out of fashion. Their styles are out of date and take up too much space in our cupboard. We need room for the new ones. We don't use them not because they are not good but because people judge one another by the visible things, by the appearance of what they see. Wearing the new products before others is the signature telling that you have high income because the new product is far too expensive for many but it soon lost its value and available for the public.
The concept of throwing away changes the outlook of life and of the spiritual outlook. It is the fashion that holy articles disappear in our lounge room. The entire house has no visible or symbol of faith. Instead there are plenty of popular fosters and contemporary signs and symbols.
The Catholic faith becomes unimportant when you think it is the product of the mind. Any product, no matter how good it is, has a time frame limit and when the expired date comes things will be discarded. The Catholic faith is unimportant when you think it is fashionable and fashion needs to be updated to catch up with new ideas. Fashion of all kinds when they are out of fashion will be forgotten. We throw things away when they are useless or when they are not relevant to us. The Catholic faith is unimportant when we are heavily focussing on material things that neglect our spiritual needs.
Our Catholic faith is God's love for us. It is the product not of a human mind but of the divine mind. It is not a fashion and never be out of date. It is not just relevant to us but it is necessity to enjoy life and peace of mind. When you see the reality of faith in this light you will embrace the love of God and make the faith alive in your lives.
Jesus says to us we need to discard or detach ourselves from many things of this world. Anything that affects our faith in Christ must be discarded, including persons and things you love dearly but there are two things you must embrace, they are your daily cross and the love you have for God manifested through charity works. In other words fashion yourselves with the love of God and make that love active and alive in your life. When you detach from the worldly things all you need is God's grace and constant daily prayers.
Written by Fr Vũđình Tường
St Francis Xavier Catholic Parish
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane Australia
St Francis Xavier Catholic Parish
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane Australia