Surrender. (2025-09-07, Sunday - 22)

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[v.04]  2025-09-07, 23^rd Sunday  ●● Wisdom 9:13-18b ●● Psalm ●● Philemon 9-10, 12-17 ●● Luke 14:25-33

Homily on Luke 14:25–33

Surrender for True Productivity

Intro: The Living Catch

Jesus’ makes a startling statement that “whoever does not hate father and mother, wife and children … cannot be my disciple” is a purposeful hyperbole.

          By using the harsh term hate—a word we even forbid our children to utter—He does not demand genuine animosity, but a radical re‑ordering of our loves, placing God’s love above all earthly ties. This radical love calls us to renounce our possessions and to carry the cross, counting the true cost of discipleship as one would plan a tower or a war, lest we begin a journey we cannot finish1. In doing so we accept the risk and danger that accompany a wholehearted commitment to the Kingdom.

 

Here's just an example of everyday danger that people will undertake which I would like to connect to the Gospel.

Some of you may recall the reality TV / television show  The Deadliest Catch. It followed Alaskan fishing boats out into treacherous waters, where fishermen risked their lives for very valuable and profitable king crab.

Years ago, I watched a documentary like this and, to my surprise, saw two of my college classmates appear on screen. They weren’t out on the boats themselves—they didn’t have the experience, or maybe they were more prudent. Instead, they worked in a fish processing plant on shore. They still earned a wage, but they didn’t face the storms of the sea.

That image can help us hear today’s Gospel. Following Christ cannot mean staying safely on the shore. At some point discipleship calls us into deep waters where we are not in control. Think of Peter casting his nets at Jesus’ command—hauling in not the “deadliest catch” but the **living catch**. Peter surrendered his own plans and trusted the word of Christ.

And that is what Jesus is telling us today. If you want to follow me, you cannot cling to your own control—whether that’s possessions, family ties, or even your own life. You must surrender to my call, trusting that I will give you the living catch you need.

 

Section 1 – Work, Rest, and Love as Surrender

Father Mike Schmitz, a popular Catholic podcaster from Minnesota, once summed up our human vocation in three words: labor, leisure, and love.

·       We are made for labor—for meaningful work, as in the Garden of Eden where Adam was placed “to till and keep.”

·       leisure—not just relaxation, but holy rest, Sabbath, time with God and others.

·       And above all, we are made for love—the reason we work and the reason we rest.

The problem is that we often separate these things. We work for the paycheck, then collapse into leisure as escape. But in the Gospel, work and rest are both surrendered to love. Carrying the cross is real work—but it is fruitful work, because it is rooted in love. Even our rest is fruitful, when it opens us to God and to one another.

 

Section 2 – Amateurs for Christ

Here a little lesson in language that helped me – a reminder of what the word “amateur” means. The word amateur comes from the Latin *amor*, meaning “love.” Today it usually means “not professional,” maybe even substandard. But originally an amateur was someone who did something simply out of love.

 

In the early Olympics, athletes competed not for contracts or endorsements, but for the sheer love of the sport. They were amateurs.

That is discipleship. We are not “professional Christians,” clocking in hours of prayer or piling up good works like a résumé. We are amateurs in the deepest sense: followers of Christ because we love Him.

So when Jesus says, “Whoever does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple,” He is not inviting us to drudgery, but to love. To live as amateurs of the Gospel—willing to give everything because love compels us.

 

Section 3 – Counting the Cost

Jesus gives a parables to underline the seriousness of this call. A builder estimates the cost before laying a foundation. The builder counts the cost before committing.

 

In other words, discipleship is not a hobby or a side job. It is an all-in commitment. Like casting the net in deep water, we cannot control the outcome, but we must surrender to the process.

 

Even in our closest relationships, this is true. A marriage cannot be 50/50—it has to be 100/100. Friendship, parenthood, family life—these are not places of effortless rest, but arenas of love that demand investment. When we surrender to that call, when we keep giving even when it costs, love deepens. That is Gospel productivity: not efficiency, but fruitfulness.

 

Section 3A – Conversion Inside and Out

Recently, I had an experience that made this point for me. I took my car to the car wash. After the outside had been washed and scrubbed, I eagerly got out so the workers could vacuum and clean the inside. At the same time, I noticed another driver. He stayed put, letting only the outside of his car be cleaned.

 

In that moment, I felt a little proud of myself for surrendering to the “work” of having my car cleaned inside and out. But then it struck me: this was only a car. What about my own life? Am I willing to do the harder work of letting Christ clean me inside and out? Am I willing to undergo the examination of conscience, the renunciation of pride, of comforts, of the desire for popularity or esteem?

 

True conversion is not cosmetic. It is surrender—allowing Christ to reach the hidden corners of the heart.

 

Section 4 – Seasons of Work and Rest

We feel this truth in the rhythm of the seasons. Summer is a time of rest, refreshment, leisure. Autumn brings harvest, planning, labor. Spiritually, we need both.

 

There is a danger if we regard our relationships, our faith, even our prayer, only as places to rest and relax. True prayer sometimes feels like work. True work sometimes opens into rest. Both are meant to flow together.

 

When we sanctify our labor, we see our work not just as wages but as participation in God’s creation. When we sanctify our leisure, we rest not just to escape, but to reconnect with God and loved ones. And when we sanctify our love, everything—work, rest, even sacrifice—becomes an offering to Christ.

 Conclusion – The Surrender that Makes Us Fruitful

 Jesus is not looking for professionals. He is looking for lovers—for amateurs willing to surrender everything.

 The paradox of the Gospel is that surrender is what makes us truly productive. Not productive in the world’s sense of efficiency and output, but in the Kingdom’s sense of fruitfulness and eternal life.  As we move from summer into autumn, let us recommit not just to working harder, but to surrendering more deeply. To labor, to rest, and to love as amateurs of Christ—trusting that when we cast our nets at His word, He will always give us the living catch we need.