Lk. 14:25-33
“Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer) The world had seen several enlightened teachers. They were all blessed with a multitude of followers. None of these teachers presented the cost of discipleship to their followers, perhaps because of the fear of losing them. However, Jesus always emphasized self-renunciation as the cost of being his disciple. In today’s gospel, we see Jesus emphasizing that one should love him more than any of his relational ties. One is exhorted to hate his/her close bonds. However, we need not understand this in a literal sense; rather, Jesus wants to emphasize the primacy of choosing him above all as a cost of being his disciple.
The primacy of the Lord is the most important factor in our discipleship journey. It is easy to say that I am a believer and follower of Jesus. But can you say that the Lord has primacy in my life rather than all my relationships and wealth? We don’t even want to answer this question or bother about this. We value so many other things more than God. Anyhow, we lead our spiritual life in such a way that we don’t want to offend him so that he will continue to bless me, my family, and all my endeavours. This is not the objective of Christian discipleship.
Christian discipleship is a radical call to forgo oneself and carry one’s own cross. Again, the term “forgo” does not mean that one has to hate oneself; rather, we need to understand that more than self-love, one should be able to love the Lord, who is the creator and sustainer of everything. I should be able to accept his will in my daily life without complaint, knowing that God is by my side, assisting me to bear my daily crosses.
The second part of the gospel Jesus shares two short parables. The first one is about analyzing the resources before we begin the house construction so that we can complete the house construction on time and need not be a laughing stock before others because of proper planning and execution of the resources. The disciple should be aware of the cost of discipleship. If one expects only prosperity from the Lord and follows the Lord, one cannot be an authentic disciple of Jesus. Secondly, the parable concerning going to war. If one realizes that it is impossible to defeat an army much stronger than one’s own, it is better to seek the possibilities of dialogue and peace. Similarly, one should be aware of the demands of Christian discipleship; there is no place for mediocrity. It is preferable not to embrace the Christian way of discipleship than to lead a lukewarm discipleship. As we reflect on this passage today, let us examine and see our discipleship journey. Let us purify our motivations to follow the Lord and continue our radical following of the Lord, trusting in his providential care and accompanying grace.