Jesus tapped
me on the shoulder and said, Bob, why are you resisting me? I said, I'm not
resisting you! He said, You gonna follow me? I said, I've never thought about
that before! He said, When you're not following me, you're resisting me. --Bob
Dylan: (American singer, songwriter, artist and
writer)
Gospel Text: (Lk
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,
everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple.”
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,
everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple.”
Today, the Lord
speaks to us in clear-cut terms. Our Lord Jesus Christ must be loved by the
true disciple with all his heart, well over all kind of ties, even the closest
ones: «If you come to me, without being ready to give up your love for your
father and mother, your spouse and children, your brothers and sisters, and indeed
yourself, you cannot be my disciple» (Lk 14:26-27). In the follower's life, He
is always the first one. St. Augustine says: «Let us reply to our father and to
our mother: ‘I love you in Christ, not instead of Christ’». In following Jesus
even our love for life must rank as a second priority. To follow Jesus, after
all, entails to embrace the Cross.
Without the Cross
there is no disciple.
The evangelic call exhorts to prudence, that is, the virtue dictating our adequate behavior. Who wants to build a house must first find out whether he can face the expense. The king, who must fight, after figuring out his own forces, decides whether going to war or negotiating peace. He who wants to be a disciple of the Lord must first take up his cross at the cost of his own self. His own denial will be his best bet!
The evangelic call exhorts to prudence, that is, the virtue dictating our adequate behavior. Who wants to build a house must first find out whether he can face the expense. The king, who must fight, after figuring out his own forces, decides whether going to war or negotiating peace. He who wants to be a disciple of the Lord must first take up his cross at the cost of his own self. His own denial will be his best bet!
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