“Who can know God’s counsel, or who can conceive what the Lord intends?”
Of all the Gospels, St. Luke’s presents “the following of Jesus” in the most radical terms. In following Jesus, we have to go with Him the whole way. We have to accept totally His way of seeing life and then putting that into practice in the way we live. There cannot be, as is the case with practically all of us, to one degree or another, a kind of wishy-washy compromise or “occasional discipleship.”
In today’s Gospel (14, 25-33), Jesus counsels us on three potential obstacles to genuine discipleship: relationships with our neighbors, relationship to ourselves, and relationships to our stuff. None of these deserves to get in the way of following Jesus, but (in an interesting twist) all three can assist us in becoming truer followers of the Lord. In practical terms: Who do we put ahead of the Lord? What crosses have we not embraced? Have we ever been willing to renounce any of our possessions? As poker players say, “Are we ‘all in’ – or not?”
Based on what we hear from Jesus, as He makes His way to Jerusalem: He does not want a large number of “half-way” disciples who are willing to do a “little bit” of prayer, a “little bit” of commitment, a “little bit” of dedication, and a “little bit” of love. He wants disciples who are truly committed to prayer, to service, and to being ruled by Him as their King.
Let us pray. “May God the Father – who made us – bless us. May God the Son send His healing grace among us. May God the Holy Spirit move within us and give us eyes in order to see, ears in order to hear, and hands in order that His work might be done. By the grace of God, may we walk in faith and share God’s Word to all. May the angel of peace watch over us and lead us at last to the fullness of the Kingdom. Amen. Alleluia.”
