4-Nov-15

Gospel 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.”
Reflection:
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."
Jesus uses great exaggeration to make his point. He is not saying to hate our parents or carry a wooden cross as he will at His crucifixion.
As he heads toward his own cross in Jerusalem, he tells those following him in the strongest possible words that choosing to be His disciple may well result in the lose of all they hold dear, including their very life.
Jesus is cautioning us: before we make a decision to be his disciple, we should first count the cost.
Jesus lifted "the cross" from the shoulders of the blind, the deaf, the crippled and the leper, setting them free from that which held them down.
Our crosses take many different forms: the betrayal of a friend, the untimely death of a loved one, the inability to provide for one's children. And yes, we may be ridiculed for our beliefs just as Jesus was in His time.
But still, our hope remains in the Lord, for Jesus said, "....I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
As our belief in Jesus strengthens us to carry our burdens, so too should we help to lift the cross of our brothers and sisters by feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, and visiting the sick and those in prison.
This is what His death teaches us; this is why He was resurrected to lead us. We too rely on Jesus to help us carry our crosses and in return we help to carry the cross of others.
"Who can save a child from a burning house without taking the risk of being hurt by the flames? Who can listen to a story of loneliness and despair without taking the risk of experiencing similar pains in his own heart...." In short, “Who can take away suffering without entering it? The great illusion of leadership is to think that man can be led out of the desert by someone who has never been there." Henri Nouwen, "The Wounded Healer" (1979)