The cost of discipleship

Our gospel teaching this Sunday is on discipleship that our Lord Jesus Christ wants all of those who wish to follow him must do. Let me point out that these are the very words of our Lord, hence if you truly want to follow his footsteps, just read on or you can open your Bibles in Luke 14:25-33.

“Great crowds were traveling with [Jesus] and he turned and addressed them, 26 “If any one 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. 27 Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

28 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 30 and say, ‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.

31 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? 32 But if not, while he is still far away, he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms. 33 In the same way, everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.”

The first encyclical of his holiness Pope Benedict XIV was entitled Deus Caritas Est which is God is Love. So in reading the first statement of our Lord in today’s gospel when he says, “If any one 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,” should be sort of disturbing in the sense that God who is love, talks about hating one’s father or mother. So is our Lord advocating hate for our parents? I don’t think so.

What our Lord Jesus Christ is saying is; when we have decided to follow his footsteps, we should not be attached either by material possession or family relationships. Remember what we learned about the greatest commandment, which is the Shema recited by devout Jews every morning when they wake up and before they sleep? “Hear O Israel. You shall love, the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

If you internalize this prayer, therefore, God must come first into our hearts. He is our priority and the rest is of no consequence. Last July 18th, we gave you the story of Martha and Mary the two sisters who were very close to our Lord Jesus that we read from Luke 10:38-42. As the story goes, Martha complained to our Lord that Mary wasn’t helping her do the serving and the household chores as she was always at the foot of our Lord. But Jesus told Martha, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.” Thus choosing Jesus is no doubt the better part.

Indeed, when we make that lifetime decision to follow the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ, we must focus on him and on him only. Even the household chores can wait. Nothing else is important anymore, even our father, our mother our sisters or brothers. Only Jesus matters. This is the kind of commitment and attitude that is needed for discipleship. This is why our Lord said, “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” Even Servant Leaders must learn to carry their own crosses.

Whenever I hear of a priest who leaves the priesthood or a nun who leaves the convent, I am saddened because it brings me to this very particular passage in scripture, that one should count the cost of discipleship before he commits to following the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ. Carrying the cross means, sacrificing something, like living a celibate life.

Mind you, this teaching isn’t only for the priest or clergy. This goes as well for the Lay or Charismatic groups who profess to follow the footsteps of Christ. If there is anything I learned from the teachings of St. Jose Maria Escrivà, the founder of Opus Dei, it is that the path to holiness isn’t the exclusive domain of the clergy. As ordinary Christians, we are all part of the mystical body of Christ, hence lay or ordinary people can also aim for holiness or sainthood as a vocation, just like priests and nuns also have a vocation.

My favorite author Scott Hahn in his book “My Spiritual Journey in Opus Dei” printed a quote from St. Theresa of Avila who said, “Christ has no body, but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world.” Indeed, we are all made to be the sons of God and therefore, we should all strive to be holy, as our Father in heaven is holy. Have a blessed Sunday!

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