Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time Evaluate the requirements to make the commitment to be a Christian.

The Liturgy of the Word for this Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time presents us with a reflection on the knowledge of God and his designs, as well as on the dimension of fraternity that the Christian faith grounds in divine filiation, making discipleship a condition of following the Master in all circumstances. Since the beginning of time, humanity has sought, as the wise author of the first reading tells us, to know who God is and to understand his manifestations. This search for answers to our doubts has led human beings to question, reflect, and seek answers. However, the Transcendent One ensures that this search for answers is based on the inability to fully understand that which is not reserved for humanity. Thus, Sacred Scripture presents the perspective of God's Revelation. In humanity's quest to know God and his designs, the answer comes from God himself who makes himself known. Therefore, we know what is given to us to know, we know what has been revealed to us, and from there we will know that we know God better as we accept His Revelation. God's Revelation, in the fullness of time, culminates or reaches its highest point with the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and His presence and teaching among men. We have the tools to understand all the manifestations and revelations that God has provided throughout the History of Salvation, especially for the Chosen People. This God who makes Himself known in His Son Jesus Christ, presents in the text of the Gospel what are the conditions for us to be authentic disciples, that is, to follow Him in all circumstances, knowing that taking up our cross is a condition for identifying with Him. The importance of the One we follow, our Master and Lord, is much greater than any other human reality in this world, knowing that it does not diminish the importance of family or possessions for the sustenance of life, but Christ has a preponderant place for those who want to be His disciple and imitator. Therefore, being To be a disciple of Christ, that is, a Christian, is to be aware that He is more valuable, and thus following Him requires reflection and thoughtfulness so that authenticity is not lost due to circumstances, momentary desires, or even unexpected difficulties. To be a Christian is to be aware of the need for truth lived according to the teachings of the Son of God and our Savior. Pondering and reflecting is the attitude of recognizing difficulties in order to find the conditions to be a true Christian. The second reading presents us with a clear example of this following, even if the time to which the case refers is completely different from our own. What Saint Paul demands is that a Christian, even of an important social position, must recognize others, even in the context of that time, being a slave, as brothers. To be a Christian is to recognize others as brothers, because the Son of God himself made us brothers in himself.

May the desire to know God lead us to accept His revelation, so that we may see each other as brothers in Christ the Lord.