"Any of you who does not renounce all his possessions,
cannot be my follower"
Luke 14: 25 - 33
A Catholic school teacher once asked her eager 10 year old
students to hold up their hands if they would give $1 million to the
missionaries. All their hands went up immediately and they shouted “Yes.” She
then pushed the point further and asked if they would give $1,000, then $100
and each time they eagerly all waved their hands in the air and shouted a firm
“Yes.”
Then she asked a final time if they would give even $1 to the
missionaries. They once again shouted
“Yes” except for one boy who did not raise his hand this time. The teacher asked him “Why didn’t you say
‘Yes’ this time?” The boy said, “Well, I actually have a dollar.” When reality
hits, can we really follow through?
What about Jesus’ own words about the true cost of being his
disciple? He reminds us there is a price to pay for true followers. That to follow him will not be the easy or
necessarily the popular way. Masses of people followed him following for a
variety of reasons: his teaching, healing, compassionate manner and his evident
power for everyone wants to be on the winner’s side. To an oppressed and
exploited people his presence was the longed for hope.
Yet, note the context.
He was traveling to where? To
Jerusalem according to Luke who places this scene along that way. For Jesus, Jerusalem was not a place for a
good R and R. It was the battle scene,
the train wreck he would enter where he would suffer and die on the cross. His journey to Jerusalem is directly tied to
the conditions for discipleship.
Over the last several Sunday’s Jesus has been rather harsh in
our choice of Gospels as he lays out for us his demands of Christian
discipleship – and they have not been comfortable. We’ve heard about divisiveness in families
over matters of faith, about humility, and the narrow gate to salvation. This
Sunday we hear Jesus speaking of hate towards family members and about
renouncing all possessions. These are
tough words. Is he asking the impossible for the average person?
One point that can help is to remember that the original
Scriptures were not written in American English. Nor were they written in any other language
except ancient Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. Later they were translated into Latin
by St. Jerome and much later in the 16th century began translations into the
language of the general population. So
every Bible we read is a translation of a translation. While the Scripture scholars make great
efforts to be faithful to original meanings, it doesn’t always translate
exactly. Yet, the true meaning remains.
So, when we read words such as ‘hate” in today’s context, we
have to know it may not be a perfect mesh with its exact original
implication. Yet, the word is a strong
one and Jesus’ demand is not wishy-washy.
The clincher is at the end of today’s Gospel passage: “Anyone who does
not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple. So Jesus words imply
both a requirement and a certain attitude towards what I may consider is of
great value in my life. What or who can
I not live without? What or who is my
most precious possession? What or who
might I consider irreplaceable? Most of
us would always choose people over possessions but is Jesus asking more?
For those families who may have experienced the loss of their
home in a fire or most recently in the hurricane that pummeled the Bahamas. In
addition to the basic needs for food and shelter, they would often say: “We may
have lost the home but everyone is safe and unharmed. We are grateful because
the rest is only stuff that can be replaced but we could never replace our
children or spouse.” How true.
But, today Jesus words about “hating father and mother, wife
and children, brothers and sister, even his own life . . .” can really cause us
to question Jesus.
The same may be true about the images he uses in the Gospel of
a builder and a King who marches into battle.
They make great efforts to calculate and plan their next move. They measure carefully in order to construct
a building that will be strong and last many years and they calculate the size
of the opposing army in relation to their own. All this takes a certain common
sense and skill. Yet, is this some sort of backhanded approval of military
action?
So putting this all together, and understanding that Jesus’
words may imply a different kind of “hate” in its original context we may find
his call to discipleship may not be as heart wrenching in its implication as
first impresses. Still, it is a serious challenge that demands an assessment of
our priorities.
If hate implies an effort to reassess our priorities then we
may understand what our Lord is asking of us. So, really the implication is not
to “hate” family members in the sense of hostility but more to greatly prefer
something else when faced with a choice.
That “something else” would be to follow the Lord; to live by his values
and morals and to prefer nothing else that would be less than that. In the same
way, to not be attached to people or possessions in a way that would distract
me from the higher value of following the Lord.
I “hate” this particular thing or even this relationship because it is
blocking the greater need to develop a relationship with Christ. Ultimately, to
know that even when it comes to family and the “stuff” I have, when in
conflict, I would always choose God above all others. These are tough words to be sure but in the
larger context of daily Christian living, they make sense if we take our
discipleship seriously.
Christian history has provided many inspiring examples of those
who took these words literally: St.
Francis of Assisi, St. Thomas Moore, and St. Teresa of Calcutta among many others. So, while it may seem daunting we know with
the grace of God all is possible. These were not just followers of the Lord –
they were true disciples of Jesus and that is where we are all called to go. Conversion
is a daily process of prayer, reflection, common sense, and perseverance. Like
the builder and the King in the Gospel, we must also be calculating in the
overall value we place upon our life of faith and our relationship with God
So, maybe basic question to ask ourselves is “Am I a follower
of Christ or am I his disciple?”
A Prayer by Mother Teresa
Dear Jesus help us to spread your fragrance
everywhere we go
Flood our souls with your Spirit and life
Penetrate and possess our whole being so utterly
that our lives may only be a radiance of yours.
Shine through us and be so in us
that every soul we come in contact with
may feel your presence in our soul
Let them look up and see no longer us, but only Jesus.
Stay with us and then and then we shall begin to shine as you
shine,
so too shine as to be a light to others.
St. Teresa of Calcutta
Disciple of Mercy
Pray for us
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