Sayings on discipleship

Our Sunday gospel story today is the answer to the question that is often asked by Christians “What must I do to become a disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ?” If you recall our gospel story two Sunday’s ago, which came from Luke 13:22-30 the message of our Lord Jesus Christ was very clear. Let me reprint that scripture passage for you just to refresh your memory a bit.

“Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ He will say to you in reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ And you will say, ‘We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.’ Then he will say to you, ‘I do not know where [you] are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!”

Just imagine…these were people who wanted to follow our Lord Jesus Christ and yet the Master called them evildoers…and yes even today, there are so many of us who want to be called a Disciple of Christ. But as the old saying goes, “Many  are called, but few are chosen.”So today’s gospel teaching is about “Sayings on Discipleship.” You can read it in Luke 14:25-33.

“25 Great crowds were traveling with [Jesus], and he turned and addressed them, 26 “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. 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.”

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Before all else, let me remind you of the Greatest Commandment…to Love God with all you heart, all your might and all your soul. That means, God wants our love and that means to love God and follow him…you must do so to the extent of even hating anyone who would try to stop you from loving Him. If that’s your father, mother, your wife or children then so be it! That includes your own life, which must be less important than God’s love.

But wait a minute! Were we not taught that God is Love? In fact this is the first book that Pope Benedict XVI wrote when he was elected the Supreme Pontiff, which he entitled “Deus Caritas Est”…God is love. If you are confused…don’t worry. No one ever said that Christianity was an easy religion. I too get confused sometimes…but that’s only because we always think as humans think…but not as God thinks.

So why does our Lord Jesus Christ demand so much from those who wish to follow him? Surely by now you must have read that passage in Exodus 20:4-5, “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.”

Indeed, we have to totally understand and believe that our God is jealous God. So for anyone who wish to follow Him. You must ponder and calculate well…the consequences of following him to the very end. I guess this message was addressed most especially to the seminarians of today… those who study Theology in order to join the priesthood. This is why whenever a priest falls down and leaves the priesthood…that person never calculated the cost of being a priest in the church of our Lord Jesus Christ.

What we have learned today is that following our Lord Jesus Christ means renouncing everything…family, fortune and all material things…and often, even your life! Today’s reflection in my book 365 Days with the Lord, they featured the story of the first Filipino Saint, San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila who was told by Japanese captors that if he renounced his faith, he would be allowed to live.

But San Lorenzo Ruiz said, “That I will never do, because I am a Christian, and I shall die for God, and for him I will give many thousand lives if I had them.” Few are chosen to be martyrs and they are the lucky ones who died in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. They are truly Disciples of Christ.

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