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

The world is full of wishful thinkers who dream and talk but never succeed because they are unprepared to make an effort. While addressing a large crowd who are eager to join up and be his disciples, Jesus bluntly dampens their enthusiasm by challenging them in a way that is off-putting. He is not interested in gaining a large following by softening his words and watering down the requirements needed, so he leaves his listeners under no illusion about the cost of discipleship. Nothing short of total commitment, even life itself, is required. In fact he is saying something like this: 'If you want to be disciples of mine, you have got to think seriuosly. Do not act on the spur of the moment or on impluse because it's not for the starry-eyed. Give careful consideration to what it's going to cost because I have no time for half-hearted recruits. Im not inviting you to walk in my foot-steps for a day, a month or even a year but for a lifetime. What's more I am looking for followers who will measure up to my expectations'.

The gospel presents us with a series of sayings on what the demands of a life of discipleship involves in terms of suffering and self-sacrifice. The life to be lead and the conditions laid down are anything but easy: you give God everything and hold nothing back. Whole-hearted service is demanded and there is no room for compomise. The price to be paid is the heavy burden of cross-carrying and it may mean the parting of company with close friends. The journey to God is so valuable that it is worth stripping our lifestyles down to the bare essentials. By doing this we realise that discipleship is more important than acquiring possessions.

This gospel makes us feel uncomfortable because our lives should demonstrate that we are carrying the cross. When the cross is absent from our lives then Christ is not present either. Putting God firstin our lives is a choice we must make everyday. We can hardly consider ourselves as feeling the pinch and standing up for what we believe if all we have got to show is Sunday Mass with communion and a few prayers hastily said. At moments when the struggle becomes too great, it is good to remember we are not alone; Christ is walking along every step of the road with us. We are called to be disciples at home, in the family, in our place of work, in our dealings with our neighbour, treating them all as our friends and appreciating their true worth. To follow Christ through time into eternity costs nothing less than everything.

from Homilies and Prayers of the Faithful for the Three-Year Cycle
by Desmond Knowles
Paulines Publication