REFLECTION
To be a disciple of Jesus involves radical choices!
One must be single minded in one’s commitment
to Christ and not put anything else in a place
of greater importance.
The use of the word ‘hate’ is difficult
in this passage. Is Jesus really calling
his disciples to ‘hate’ those who love us?
Surely we come to know something
of the love of God through human love.
The problem may lie in the Semitic languages
which lack some of the subtle expressions of
modern language. In Hebrew, ‘to hate’ is the
opposite of ‘to prefer’.
What Jesus is really saying is that we must
prefer to seek God rather than to seek
earthly love or relationship.
It is our relationship with God which
is of utmost value. Discipleship comes at
a cost and the cost is the cross!
We must be prepared to go the whole way and not
to leave the task half done. Just as Jesus
responded totally to the call of the Father
we too must give out total response
to the call to follow him.
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REFLECTION
In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus is often depicted as sharing meals with those people in the society at the time who were not considered to be appropriate table companions: publicans, tax collectors, sinners and women of dubious reputation. In this meal, Jesus reveals more of the radical reversal of God’s way. He challenged the way the Pharisees see their own standing in society as people of status, urging them instead to take the more humble positions at table and allow the host, or God, to choose those who should be exalted. He also shatters the Pharisees’ idea of table fellowship by urging them to share their festive table with those who are the least important or the outcasts of society. The way to God cannot be organized according to human priority! It is in the ultimate humiliation of crucifixion that Jesus is exalted in resurrection and ascension.
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REFLECTION
The Jews thought of themselves as
the chosen people so they were in a privileged
relationship with God.
In this text Jesus shatters
some Illusions.
There is no privileged entry
into the kingdom of God
by those who see themselves
as ‘religious insiders’.
This is equally directed to the disciples.
It is not enough that they have shared a meal
with Jesus or have heard his word.
They must respond to that word and act on it.
They must enter by the narrow door, and this
requires great effort, or else
those who thought themselves ‘inside’
could find themselves ‘outside’ while others,
‘the outsiders’, will find their way ahead of them.
This radical reversal of values
and expectations echoes the
sentiments of Mary’s prayer,
the Magnificat, of last week’s Gospel.
“He has lifted up the lowly”.
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REFLECTION
God has already been active in the lives of the two
women who meet in today’s Gospel.
Both have conceived a child who is destined to
play an important role in God’s plan for the
salvation of the world.
But Elizabeth intuitively recognizes
the greater role that Mary plays and
affirms her blessedness.
The magnificent prayer of Mary,
known as the Magnificat,
points away from herself, towards the God for
whom all things are possible.
It is God who is responsible for the honour
bestowed on this ‘lowly handmaid’.
Her blessedness is a proclamation of God’s
greatness and for generations
God has been active in the history of his people,
raising up the lowly and feeding the hungry.
The surprising reversal of the expected order is
part of the mystery of God’s action.
In this young virgin, mother of God, the mystery
of God is to become human.
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REFLECTION Mary Mackillop, born in Melbourne, the eldest of 8
children, in 1842 to Flora and Alexander, Scottish
immigrants. Mary was a woman of deep personal
faith, drawn to the needs of the isolated,
disadvantaged and neglected. She wanted her
Sisters to live close to those being served, wherever
the need was. Hardship, poor health, financial
problems and opposition from Church leaders
were obstacles she faced with courage and
determination, enabling her to identify even more
closely with the people on the margins of society.
There is a strong Aotearoa New Zealand
connection with Mary Mackilllop. Her Sisters
established a school in Temuka in 1883, the first
of the many schools throughout the country.
Mary visited Aotearoa New Zealand on four
occasions and felt very much at home here.
She suffered a stroke in Rotorua and spent six
month recuperating with the Sisters in Remuera.
Many of the MacKillop family settled in
New Zealand. Monday 9th August is the Feast
Day of Blessed Mary MacKillop and her canonization
will take place in Rome on 17th October.
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