Whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple

 Now great multitudes went with Him.  And He turned and said to them, "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.  And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.  For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it -- lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish'?  Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?  Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace.  So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.  Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?  It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men through it out.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

- Luke 14:25-35

Yesterday, we read that after teaching a parable to the guests at the home of a Pharisee,  He also said to him who invited Him, "When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid.  But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.  And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just."  Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, "Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!"  Then He said to him, "A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, 'Come, for all things are now ready.'  But they all with one accord began to make excuses.  The first said to him, 'I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it.  I ask you to have me excused.'  And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them.  I ask you to have me excused.'  Still another said, 'I have married a wife and therefore I cannot come.'  So that servant came and reported these things to his master.  Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.'  And the servant said, 'Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.'  Then the master said to the servant, 'Go out into he highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.  For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.'"

Now great multitudes went with Him.  And He turned and said to them, "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.  And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple."   My study bible teaches that the command to hate one's kindred and his own life also isn't to be taken literally.  Rather, we're to hate the way our relationships with others can hinder our total dedication to the Kingdom of God, which takes precedence even over family ties.  Jesus extends family to one's own life as well.  To take up one's own cross is something He has already taught in Luke (9:23).  The specific nature of his own cross teaches us that this is about the particular struggles for discipleship in each person's life.  We recall His parable (in yesterday's reading, above) about those who made excuses not to come to the wedding feast; we all have particular worldly cares and attachments that may present to us a choice we have to make.

"For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it -- lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish'?  Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?  Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace.  So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple."  Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem, where He will pay the ultimate cost for His faith, His trust in God the Father, for the life of the Kingdom.  He, as human being, will relinquish all earthly attachments to go to His Cross.  Here He advises all those who would set out on the path of discipleship to count the cost, to estimate fairly and with clear foresight what it might take.  In 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, St. Paul also likens His mission to that of a wise master builder, and teaches that we each build on the same foundation.  What it is that we build as our part will all be tested and revealed.

"Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?  It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men through it out.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  Salt played a strong role in the society of Jesus' time.  It wasn't only necessary for life, but also was used for its preservative powers.  It gives flavor to all foods.  Salt therefore had religious and sacrificial significance (Leviticus 2:13; also Numbers 18:19, 2 Chronicles 13:5).  To eat salt with someone was to be bound together in loyalty.  Salt then becomes the symbol of our capacity to stay with this plan of discipleship, to be bound with Him and endure through all the struggles of faith (not to lose our flavor). 

What does it mean to go through the struggles of faith?  Christ warns us that loyalty to Him may cost us everything that we hold dear, all the relationships that are important to who we think we are, even our own lives.  What He is preparing us for are the challenges of faith.  Can we put the Kingdom first?  Can we put Him first?  What is our true foundation that everything else is built upon?  While we today may not face the same sorts of challenges faced by His early disciples (such as persecution by the state and religious authorities), these words still apply to us.  There are ways in which "the world" would intervene and ask us to make choices between the demands of worldly life and our struggle for faith in God, in Christ.  Sometimes we may have to stand up in the midst of our group or family to stand for something we feel Christ calls us to hold dear.  We may be asked by a parent to follow a particular path that conflicts with our faith.  A sibling might abandon us in that quest for faith, indicating a lack of support.  Squabbles and conflicts will present us with choices to take a side -- where neither side seems to be the place Christ calls us to go.  Each dilemma presents us also with a third question:  where does Christ call me in my discipleship for the Kingdom?  Sometimes it is the dilemma itself that is false and must be rejected, and we will have to forge a new choice through our pursuit of faith.  Let us remember in those times the ascetic practices given to us by the Church for focus on Christ and the Kingdom and our place in it.  We have prayer, and prayer rules like daily hours prayers we can follow, where we take time to pray at set hours and through particular prayer services.  We have practices like fasting that keep us focused on the real goal, the One whom we seek to truly please.  All of these are good forms of discipline that help us to detach from the worldly demands upon us so that we focus on Him, on the Kingdom, and seek the place -- our true center -- that God calls us to be.  This is called mindfulness, and through doing so we practice detachment from the things He tells us may be the sacrifices we make in taking up our own crosses.  Where are you today?  Where is your true heart, true center?  How do you find it in the midst of demands and confusion, the myriad cares and false choices of the world?