Make God Your Business

𝐒𝐄𝐏𝐓. 𝟕, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐃 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟏: 𝐖𝐢𝐬 𝟗:𝟏𝟑-𝟏𝟖

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟗𝟎:𝟑-𝟔, 𝟏𝟐-𝟏𝟕 “𝐈𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐠𝐞, 𝐎 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐠𝐞.”

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟐: 𝐏𝐡𝐢 𝟗-𝟏𝟎, 𝟏𝟐-𝟏𝟕

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐋𝐤 𝟏𝟒:𝟐𝟓-𝟑𝟑

𝑲𝒆𝒚 𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆: “𝑨𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒎𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒆.” (𝒗.27) 

         If there is one scripture passage that leaves a lasting mark on me, it is this narrative from Luke’s gospel which also happens to be one of my favorite passages in the sacred book because of the utmost care that one must go through when reading this passage.   

         The danger in just reading today’s Gospel passage in its literal form is it might move us to hate even our most immediate relatives in exchange for following Jesus. Literally it may take it to mean that we may have to hate our families, those who are dear to us and probably even ourselves and love no one else but Our Lord.

         An exegetical analysis of this passage will show that this was not what Jesus really meant and again we will need to dig a little bit into the intricacies of the Jewish language to be able to get into the meat of what Jesus was saying. Among the Jews the word “hate” simply meant “less preferred” or lower in the degree of importance.

         The next question we might ask is why did Jesus used a rather strong language as he was giving a teaching to the crowd who were traveling with him and the only rationale could be that this was a sequel to the previous Gospel passage in which Jesus narrated the story of the guests who ignored the invitation of the owner of a house who prepared a great banquet for them. At the end of that parable, Jesus said: “𝑵𝒐𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒂 𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒕.” (𝒗.24)

        This time, Jesus may have wanted to drive home the point that love of God should occupy a higher priority than anything else. At this point in time, Jesus already knew what awaits him and he knew that his subservience to His Father’s Will must take precedence over anything else.

         As Jesus said yes to his Father’s Will and counted the cost of suffering and death on the cross as a ransom for God’s chosen people, we too are obliged to count the cost and be ready to follow Jesus and share with Our Lord the way of the cross if we want to share in his glory and victory.

         What then you might ask is the way of the cross for us. This could be the crossroads in which we find ourselves entangled in. It may be that our careers and or business enterprise is not going anywhere, and we are faced with a decision in our hands that has an impact in the lives of others.

         It could also be personal conflicts that we need to address, our relationship in our family perhaps and to some extent even in the spiritual realm and we are laboring on the kind of decision we need to make.

        When we do find ourselves in situations such as these, we cannot avoid that our human biases and preferences will come in conflict with God's Will and our own way of the cross begins when we cannot discern the way we need to take – follow our own human will or follow God’s Will.

         To follow God’s Will is to share in his way of the cross because such will involve utmost sacrifice on our part since God’s Will is not necessarily easy and comfortable. It becomes a cross for us when we need to put to death our worldly nature and put on the nature of Christ that is clothed in meekness and humility.

         Following Jesus has its privileges but the cost to us far outweigh the benefits in terms of rewards because there wouldn’t be any. Which is why we need to count the cost so that we will be able to complete the tower of faith, hope and love that we will build to follow Jesus.

         As a disciple who want to follow Jesus, we will probably find ourselves dispossessed of our social status and wealth because to follow Our Lord is to serve him since he is more important than our own personal relations (𝐯.𝟐𝟔). We are commanded to subordinate our own interests and make the interests of Christ our own and at some point, we may have to surrender control of our money, time or career (𝐯.𝟐𝟕).

         To follow Jesus, we need to be in touch with the reality that our gifts and talents are not our own but were given to us by the Grace of God who poured on us such manifold gifts so we can proclaim the Word of God and make disciples of all nations.

        We need these gifts to equip and empower us because we will certainly be hated and separated from our own families in the pursuit of an higher order – that all may be saved through Jesus Christ Our Lord.

         Following Christ doesn’t mean a trouble-free life but our way of the cross is made easier by the love of God that has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (𝐑𝐨𝐦 𝟓:𝟓). And what Jesus is telling us when we experience our own way of the cross is that we can avoid the pitfalls of an unsuccessful construction of a building and or a king who is planning to go to war.

         On both occasions, Jesus wants us to count the cost of discipleship if we want to succeed and finish the race. True we may have to give up a lot to follow Jesus but it’s a kind of decision that is worth the cost because what Jesus is offering us in return is a life that is lived to the full (𝐉𝐧 𝟏𝟎:𝟏𝟎). We also need to count the cost so that we will not find ourselves wavering when the going gets tough.

         Our lives were bought at such a cost and for that alone we must also be willing to give up everything to follow Jesus. In the mid-80s and well into the 90s I gained prominence and notoriety as one of the biggest brokers of financial instruments and I used my position in the media to negotiate deals after deals even if the methods I employed were irregular at times. 

          But the time came when God impressed upon me my sinful nature and God led me to turn my back from the world I was in. It was painful because I was turning away from a life that gave me luxury and comfort. I was holding office in the lobbies of five-star hotels and on the golf course and it was not an easy choice.

        And when I made the choice to detach from the world and follow Christ, that choice separated me from my peers in the Media and in the financial business I was in, but God also gave me the means to carry my cross. Now I have set aside my affinity to things that shine, and I no longer do what I like, but what Christ wills.

         When Christ calls, there can be no room for compromises. It’s either we yield our lives over to him totally or not. St. Paul says: “𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒐𝒘𝒏. 𝑾𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒆” (1 𝑪𝒐𝒓 6:19). That price was the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed for us on the cross to ransom us from sin and death. Jesus is challenging us now to examine the object of our love.

        Our choice is ours, but the Lord does not leave us alone if we choose to follow him. A life without Jesus is like building a house on sand. But a life that is inextricably tied in Jesus is like building your house on a rock.

         I have died a hundred times when Jesus polished the rough edges in my nature especially the parts that did not subscribe to His Will. But I also know that I will also resurrect with Him when Christ who is hidden in my life appears in all His glory.

         Now I have found the way to live a life that is worth living and that is to serve Him by serving in our community and in the larger church. This is the choice that I made hard as it was but a choice that I know you too can make, and I assure you that you will not regret it.

         When reflecting on this passage, I can’t help but think about our government officials, especially those Congressmen involved in the multi-billion peso flood control projects scam. I am sure that many of them are baptized Catholics and have received catechetical instructions in their childhood days.

         And the question one may ask is what happened? Did they lost sight of Jesus along the way and supplanted the image of God with the image of temporal wealth. Now they have to work double time to be on the side of God unless they choose to spend eternity in hell.

         The demand for accountability is greater for leaders because of the awesome privilege given to them. When one abuses this authority and privilege, they’d better spend some quiet time to reflect on their relationship with God.  

         For a life in Jesus is a life on a roll. In one of the Aspirant’s Retreat of the BLD Manila Cluster, there was something that the late BLD Spiritual Director Archbishop Angel Lagdameo said that still rings in my ears to this day. He said: “𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬.” (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 – 𝘚𝘦𝘱𝘵. 7, 2025)