 |
 |
| The Cost of Discipleship |
| (Luke 14:25-33) |
|
| In
Luke 14:25-33 we read that large crowds were coming to Jesus. The
movement He started with a dozen men was swelling with converts. How
pleased the disciples must have been. They had risked all. Now their
investment must have seemed like a gold mine. How confident and
successful they appeared, surrounded by popular appeal and growing
numbers. It seemed the sky was the limit. |
| Until
Jesus opened his mouth and said if anyone comes to me and does not hate
his father and mother, his wife and his children, his brothers and
sisters, even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Talk about
letting the air out of the balloon! What a career ending sound bite
that would make on the evening news. Hate parents and family? Jesus,
tell us You do not mean it. You are the one who taught us to even love
our enemies. Why are You making the conditions so hard? Why make us
choose between You and our family? Couldn't Christianity be more
successful and popular if You eased up on all of us? Are You sure you
know what You are doing? |
| Jesus,
of course, knew what He was doing. He wanted to make sure those
following Him knew what they were doing. He wants to alert would-be
followers that the hill is steep in the places that they will be asked
to climb.
|
| Jesus
knew that the crowd surrounding Him was not ready for the journey that
awaits them as His followers. To follow Christ is a risk because faith
is not just nice thoughts and feelings. Christ came to call us to bear a
cross, not just attend Palm Sunday parades. The saying about hating
family is shocking, but not as shocking as it sounds to our ears. In
the first century, to hate in such a comparative statement means to love
less than. When St. Matthew translates these same sayings, Jesus says,
"If you love your family more than me, you cannot be my disciple." Is
Jesus advocating a renunciation of all family loyalties? No, Jesus
picked the most cherished and most honorable of earthly relationships to
illustrate a point. Even the highest and noblest of relationships must
pale in comparison to the love and loyalty to God. The lesson is plain
to see. |
| To
paraphrase St. Ignatius, perseverance in discipleship means giving
without counting the cost, fighting without heeding the wounds, toiling
without seeking rest and laboring without asking for reward, save that
of knowing that you are doing His work. |
| Today's
message is that nothing in our lives comes before God. But this is not
new. We have heard it all before. You shall love the Lord, your God,
with your whole heart, soul and mind, and love your neighbor as
yourself. The Ten Commandments tell us I am the Lord, your God, and you
shall have no other Gods before me. As Jesus told us, "I am the way,
the truth and the life. There is no other." |
|
 |
| Yours in Christ, |
 |
| Fr. Robert Warren, S.A. |
| Spiritual Director |
|
|
|
|
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment