Sunday 8 September

23rd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

8-14 September, Social Justice Week

Wisdom 9:13-18; Psalm 90;
Philemon 9-10, 12-17; Luke 14:25-33

Take up your cross

Some of Jesus’ words are hard to take! He tells his disciples to think deeply before deciding to be his disciples because it is not going to be easy! Before literally taking up his own cross and carrying it to Calvary, Jesus embraced the daily self-emptying, the daily 'crosses' that his mission required. In our lives as followers of Jesus we too encounter suffering: loneliness, the daily struggle to be kind, misunderstanding, exhaustion. For many in our world, hunger, homelessness or persecution are a daily experience. Jesus will carry our cross with us if we call out to him in our pain.