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 throw it out.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

- Luke 14:25-35

On Saturday, we read that Jesus was invited to eat bread at the home of one of the rulers of the Pharisees on the Sabbath.  Yesterday we read that Jesus said to him who invited Him, "When you give a dinner or 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 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 the 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."  Jesus is at the point in His ministry where He has a great many followers.  But in the midst of this "popularity," Jesus gives them a teaching to set one back on one's heels.  To follow Him takes total dedication, and His teachings must be the top priority, coming before father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters -- and even one's own life.  This is the strength of discipleship that He says is required.  My study bible says that the command to hate one's kindred and his own life also is not to be taken literally.  We are rather 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.

"And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple."  This saying goes directly in line with Jesus' previous statement about discipleship taking priority over all else in life.  To bear one's own cross is to be willing to let all go for the sake of discipleship, if need be.  That is, whatever it is we cling to that needs to change in the light of Christ's communion with us.  My study bible notes that each person must take up his own cross.  The burden in our worldly lives is different for each person, and each person has been chosen by God to bear certain struggles for one's own salvation and the salvation of those around oneself.  My study bible adds that this cross asks of us a continual practice of faith and obedience, even to the point of being shamed and persecuted by the world.

"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."  To enter into the practice of discipleship with Christ is not simple nor easy, if we take it truly seriously.  Jesus speaks of preparation, and cites the reasonableness of planning to undertake a great project.  Are we prepared for this?  Are we prepared to sacrifice or give up certain things that it may take for us to truly follow Him?  My study bible cites 1 Corinthians 3:10-15.  St. Paul gives an illustration of this process, likening it to the construction of "God's building," of which we are each a part.

 "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 throw it out.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  In Matthew's Gospel, this reference to disciples as salt is found in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:13).  It is given by Jesus after the Beatitudes, and after His teaching, "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."  We see the consistent emphasis on the taking up of one's cross; that this life of discipleship is worth it, regardless of our worldly experience of sacrifice.  As the "salt of the earth" we are prepared for the long haul, to take on this journey of discipleship, accepting what comes and reaping the rewards of the blessings of the Kingdom as our true treasure.

Here is the full quotation of 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, cited by my study bible in relation to today's passage:  "According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it.  For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.  Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire."  This is a good example of what Christ is speaking about in today's reading, because it also illustrates what it is to take up one's own cross.  Christ is the foundation upon which we build our lives.  And each one of us makes his or her own contribution to this building, just as we are the "living stones" cited by St. Peter, as those who make up a spiritual house:  "Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:4-5).  Note how St. Paul teaches us that each builds as he or she can -- but even the work that is burned becomes a sacrifice as in taking up one's cross; salvation still happens through the work of this fire.  So it is when we struggle in discipleship.  We may have attachments, such as to family, or habits we acquire from our upbringing, that will need revisiting within our communion with Christ.  Did you learn abuse in your family?  What comes under the definition of love that doesn't come up to Christ's standard?  The habits and practices of a modern world -- particularly when it comes to sexuality -- don't always teach us how precious our own sexuality really is, and how much it determines our soul's understanding of love and loyalty.  Modern notions of sexual morality have been made under the label of "freedom," but in effect they don't take into consideration the power of personal integrity and the soul's sovereignty that our ancient ancestors understood a choice for virginity  to really mean within the context of their own societies.  Christ says that we must choose carefully to make a plan for discipleship:  loyalty to Him comes first.  Many of the ancient martyrs of the Church were young women, promised in marriage by their families, but who chose instead their fidelity to Christ over all else.  This is a story repeated throughout Church history in the monastic tradition.  What is important is that we understand that it is every aspect of our lives that comes under the glare of the bright light of Christ.  There will be hidden assumptions we no longer may wish to go along with, things easily accepted as part of a group or crowd or family, or whatever social unit is important to us.  The cross we each take up will be the personal struggle within each one of us, but the discipleship of Christ will bring us firmly into a reality in which we will come to truly know ourselves and the reality of God's love -- which includes things we did not know ourselves capable to do, as well as those things we may assume must be ours to do but which we will have to forego.  Let us plan accordingly, and accept His will over all others.  Christ promises no utopia, but what he offers us is real life.