Daily Readings - Wed Nov 03 2021
Romans
8Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.9The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet," and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."10Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Luke
25Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them,26"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.27Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.28For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?29Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,30saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'31Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?32And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.33So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
Sermon
In today’s readings, we are invited to reflect on the essence of Christian living and the radical commitment required to follow Christ. The first reading from Romans reminds us that love is the fulfillment of the law. Paul lists several commandments, but he sums them all up in one: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” This love, he says, does no harm to others and is the very essence of living a Christian life. It’s a powerful reminder that our faith is not just about rules and regulations, but about how we treat one another with compassion and care.
The Gospel from Luke presents a stark and challenging message about the cost of discipleship. Jesus tells us that to follow Him, we must be willing to “hate” our family and even our own life. This doesn’t mean literal hatred, but rather a willingness to prioritize our relationship with God above all else. He uses two parables to emphasize the need to count the cost of discipleship: building a tower and going to war. Both require careful planning and a commitment to see things through to the end. Jesus is asking us to consider whether we are willing to renounce all that we possess—our comforts, our attachments, our very lives—in order to follow Him.
These readings are deeply connected. In Romans, we see that love is the heart of the Christian life, while in Luke, we are reminded that this love requires sacrifice and commitment. Together, they call us to live in a way that prioritizes God and neighbor above all else. In our daily lives, this means being willing to let go of our own desires and comforts when they get in the way of loving and serving others. It means being mindful of how our choices impact those around us and striving to live in a way that reflects the transformative power of God’s love. The moral lesson is clear: following Christ is not easy, but it is worth it. Let us pray for the grace to love without reserve and to embrace the challenges of discipleship with courage and faith.