BEING DISCIPLES: RADICAL AND “COSTLY’

Listening to the Spirit

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful. And kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And you will renew the face of the earth.

Lord, by the light of the Holy Spirit you have taught the hearts of your faithful. In the same Spirit help us to relish what is right and always rejoice in your consolation.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Listening to the Word

Luke 14:25-33

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.”

Reflection

‘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’ (Lk 14:25-26).

These words of Jesus we meet in today’s gospel is really tough, hard and uncompromising. He lists downs the conditions He requires of those who wish to become His disciples. Note that Jesus was on the journey towards Jerusalem. In narrating this context, Luke wants us reader to be aware of the fate that awaited Jesus there: rejection, betrayal, and death on a cross. In so doing, becoming His disciples means also to be like Him, what lay ahead of us are the consequences of our choice for Him. Jesus really challenges us to count the cost of discipleship, emphasizing a radical detachment from family, possessions, and even our very selves to prioritize following Jesus.

The Cost of Discipleship. We all know that during His public ministry, Jesus was not only preaching about love but acting on it. His words always accompanied by actions. So, when Jesus says we must "hate" our family and even our own life, it doesn't mean literal hatred. Rather, it means to “love less” which is to reorder our priorities so that our love for Christ comes first, even before the dearest human relationships. Hence, Jesus asks us to set our absolute first priority on Him because when we love Jesus above all we will be able to love others more purely and more sacrificially.

Being a disciple is really ‘costly”. Jesus’ invitation is very radical: God first. A disciple is not a mere fan or admirer of Jesus but someone who makes a total, sacrificial commitment to Him. “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” To explain further about this radical commitment, Jesus then gives two short parables — one about a man building a tower, and the other about a king going to war. Both parables teach the same lesson: Don’t start unless you’re willing to finish. Just as no one begins a building project without calculating the cost, and no king marches into war without measuring the odds, so no Christian should enter into discipleship without understanding the sacrifices it will entail. Following Christ is not an emotional decision; it is a lifelong commitment. Disciples are called to imitate Jesus in his endurance, suffering, and renunciation.

Jesus is not asking us to do anything He has not already done. He carried His cross for us. Now He invites us to carry ours with Him — and in Him.