September 5, 2010
Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading 1

Wis 9:13-18b

Who can know God's counsel,
or who can conceive what the LORD intends?
For the deliberations of mortals are timid,
and unsure are our plans.
For the corruptible body burdens the soul
and the earthen shelter weighs down the mind that has many concerns.
And scarce do we guess the things on earth,
and what is within our grasp we find with difficulty;
but when things are in heaven, who can search them out?
Or who ever knew your counsel, except you had given wisdom
and sent your holy spirit from on high?
And thus were the paths of those on earth made straight.

R. (1) In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.

You turn man back to dust,
saying, "Return, O children of men."
For a thousand years in your sight
are as yesterday, now that it is past,
or as a watch of the night.

R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
You make an end of them in their sleep;

the next morning they are like the changing grass,
Which at dawn springs up anew,
but by evening wilts and fades.

R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.

Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!

R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.

Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
And may the gracious care of the LORD our God be ours;
prosper the work of our hands for us!
Prosper the work of our hands!
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.

I, Paul, an old man,
and now also a prisoner for Christ Jesus,
urge you on behalf of my child Onesimus,
whose father I have become in my imprisonment;
I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you.
I should have liked to retain him for myself,
so that he might serve me on your behalf
in my imprisonment for the gospel,
but I did not want to do anything without your consent,
so that the good you do might not be forced but voluntary.
Perhaps this is why he was away from you for a while,
that you might have him back forever,
no longer as a slave
but more than a slave, a brother,
beloved especially to me, but even more so to you,
as a man and in the Lord.
So if you regard me as a partner, welcome him as you would me.

Great crowds were traveling with Jesus,
and he turned and addressed them,
"If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters,
and even his own life,
he cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me
cannot be my disciple.
Which of you wishing to construct a tower
does not first sit down and calculate the cost
to see if there is enough for its completion?
Otherwise, after laying the foundation
and finding himself unable to finish the work
the onlookers should laugh at him and say,
'This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.'
Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down
and decide whether with ten thousand troops
he can successfully oppose another king
advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?
But if not, while he is still far away,
he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.
In the same way,
anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple."

Catholic Fundamentalism Interpretation:

We, who are mere programmed entities, don't really know what The Programmer plans (unless He tells us).

Since we're programmed entities, we (even subconsciously) know our subordinate nature, and aren't overly confident in our abilities to write our own programming instructions and follow them.  And, we're always worried about the housing of our CPU, which makes a lot of demands on us.

In fact, our abilities are so limited (when we think of Australians, we don't even know which way is up) that we don't even know the nature of the water we drink every day.  The spiritual programs are even harder to figure out.

The only way we can know anything is if He Who programmed everything gives us the knowledge, allows us to access it directly, or provides it through the Holy Wireless Connector.  That's the only way we can stop wandering around and make a beeline for Him.

In every age, O Loving Programmer, You have been our refuge.

You erase men, reducing them to their component parts, saying, "Go back to what I programmed you from."  A thousand years in your sight is like yesterday, now that it's passed.  It like a watch in the night, (over soon and forgotten).

In every age, O Loving Programmer, You have been our refuge.

You erase human programs while we sleep, and in the morning they are only part of the new grass, a new generation, in turn wilting and fading.

In every age, O Loving Programmer, You have been our refuge.

Teach us human programs to use our time wisely so that we smarten up enough to work to get to Heaven.   Return, O Loving Programmer, don't leave us alone in the misery we have without You.  Have pity on Your servants!

In every age, O Loving Programmer, You have been our refuge.

The day we are born (every day!), fill us with Your kindness.  Let us shout for joy and gladness all our days.  May the gracious care of The Loving Programmer be always with us.  Please, Loving Programmer, let the comparatively simple programming we do with our hands work well for us so that we may prosper.  Prosper our own programming, thinking, and working.

In every age, O Loving Programmer, You have been our refuge.

I, Paul, am an old man, and am now in jail for Jesus Christ (The Program in perfect, loving, human form).  You lent me your slave, Onesimus.  He has become my son, and I have become his father while I've been in jail. 

I'm sending him, whom I love so much he is like my very heart, back to you.

I'd like to have kept him here, to take care of me while I'm in jail,

but I didn't want to do anything without your permission,  (and, he does belong to you) so that you would not do a good deed because you had no choice, but because you chose to.

This may be why he was away from you for a while, so that you may have him back forever, no more as a slave, but more like a brother.

He is beloved greatly by me, and even more by you, as a man and as a brother in The Living Program.

If you regard me as sharing in your work, welcome him as you would me.  (Please, set him free, and don't keep him in bondage!)  Hard to say "No." to St. Paul.

Great crowds went along with Jesus, The Living Program, come to earth in perfect, obedient, human form.  He told them:

"If anyone comes to me without realizing that I am more important than any other person;  father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, and even self, he can't be My disciple.

Whoever doesn't pick up and carry with him the means by which he will leave the attraction of the programmed entities, and follow me, he can't be My disciple.

Which of you would begin a building without calculating how much it would cost and be sure the funds were available?  If you didn't, you might leave the job partly done, and unable to finish.  People would mock and say, 'He started to build, but didn't have what it took to finish.'

"Or, what king would go into battle without first sitting down and think through his possibility for success against an attacker twice as large?   If he thinks he's most likely to lose the battle, he'll send a delegation to ask for peace terms while the enemy is still far away.

In the same way, you people, (if you have any sense at all) will show that you're on the side of He Who will judge you by understanding, and living as if you understand, that being too attached to programmed entities separates you from The Loving Programmer, and you cannot be My disciple (get into Heaven)."