Our reading from Luke this Sunday, 14:25-33, continues Jesus’ instruction about the nature of discipleship, following him. These aren’t easy words. We hear that to respond to the Gospel we have to leave behind our families, give up all our possessions, and carry the cross.
I don’t find these words particularly welcoming or appealing. Whenever I read them, I try to read between the lines, to find an escape clause. Yet there doesn’t seem to be one. What Jesus has said, he means: no exceptions.
In the end, I believe Jesus talks this way because he wants us to take both his ministry and his invitation seriously. Being a disciples, living out the Good News in word and deed, isn’t something we only do when we have the time, or when it’s to our advantage, or when we feel like it. It’s not just another self-help theory.
Instead, being a disciple challenges our lives, changes our lives, and rebuilds our life. It sometimes results in making decisions that are not simple, turning away from what we used to consider important, putting in perspective what has value and power. It includes speaking out against injustice, helping others, taking a stand It is a journey of life and faith, lived every moment.
Come and join in
