'. . . no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved brother . . .' Sunday Reflections, 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
St Paul in Prison , Rembrandt, 1627 Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart Gospel Luke 14:14:25-33 ( NRSV, Catholic Ed , Canada) Now large crowds were traveling with Jesus; and he turned and said to them, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegati...