Following Jesus

Following Jesus

Lk 14: 25 -33

23^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Introduction

In today’s Gospel, Jesus spells out some requisites to following him. Jesus requires that those who follow him are wholehearted and are ready to detach themselves from any other earthly loves and concerns.  

The Gospel

²⁵ Great crowds were traveling with him, 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? ²⁹ 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.

Reflection

Today’s reading is about the demands that Jesus lays out to anyone who follows him. In this gospel, Jesus presents these demands in hyperbolic language, meaning, that he expresses these demands using exaggerated language to make a point. For example, Jesus says: “ 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 disciples.”

Jesus uses the word “hate” hyperbolically to drive home a point. In reality of course, he doesn’t encourage anyone to really “hate” father, mother or other relatives. He simply wants to stress that in following him, one has to follow him wholeheartedly and that all other loves or pursuits will have to be subordinated to this decision to follow him. But while Jesus used hyperbolic language, he nonetheless clearly defined the rigors and the radical nature of following him.

Then Jesus presents two parables to illustrate even further how one should decide in following Jesus. Both parables present to us two things:

First, that before one undertakes anything important, one should reflect seriously about it. In the first parable, Jesus says that before one constructs a tower, one has first to seriously calculate the cost to make sure one finishes the tower. Similarly, in the second parable, Jesus says that before a king marches for battle, he has to seriously consider first, whether he has the resources to win the battle.

The two parables clearly show that before any important undertaking, one needs to pause a while and deeply reflect whether one has the ability to finish an intended task. The similarity between the two parables tells us something clear: that before one undertakes the task of following Jesus, one has first to reflect and deeply consider whether one can meet the demands of following Jesus.

There is a consistency on how Jesus describes his demands for those who want to follow him: they who want to follow him will have to think really hard before they decide to. Jesus demands, nothing less than a wholehearted response which should remain unchanged and undeterred  by any  influence even by those whom we hold close to our hearts.

The two parables also present to us the consequences of deciding to follow Jesus without serious reflection and consideration. The consequences are presented to us in the two parables as follows:

First, what happens to the man who builds a tower and doesn’t finish the job? Similarly, what happens to the king who realizes that he doesn’t have the resources to wage battle? Jesus says that the one who built a tower and didn’t finish it will simply be a laughing stock. And what about the king who realized that he can’t win the battle? If he realizes he can’t win, he sends a delegation to his enemies to pursue peace. Jesus practically tells us: “if you don’t think and consider well your decision to follow me, you’ll end up just being the laughing stock of everybody.”

This reading tells us something quite clear about following Jesus: we must really be decided and wholehearted in following Jesus. No ifs, no buts, no compromises. We cannot be following Jesus only to stop following him along the way because there are other demands that we feel are more important. Jesus doesn’t entice us with flowery words or false expectations. He simply tells it as it is: “ Carry your cross and come after me.”

Prayer

Jesus, you are so demanding. You want my whole heart, my whole attention and my whole soul when I decide to follow you. You know how compromising I am when life becomes hard. But today, you insist that I carry my cross and never tire of carrying it with you. Strengthen me Lord that I may persevere in following you until the end. Amen.

^“We are always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body.” – 2 Cor 4: 10