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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 casting out a demon, and it was mute. So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled. But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons." Others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven. But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls. If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub. And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils. He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters."
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." My study bible tells us that this command, to hate one's kindred, and his own life also isn't to be taken literally. Instead, we're to "hate" the way our relationships with others can hinder our dedication to the Kingdom. This is what takes precedence over everything else, including family ties.
"And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple." Jesus is talking about the cost of discipleship. We note now that "great multitudes" are going with Him, so He's speaking to these crowds, the ones who follow as He is by now such a popular figure. Once again, we note that my study bible says this "cross" to bear is a burden that is different for every person, dependent upon their own circumstances, but dealing with struggles that work via faith for their own salvation and for the salvation of those around them. This is a repeated admonition; found also in Luke 9:23 (see this reading for context).
"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." My study bible refers us to 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, in which St. Paul speaks of building up from the foundation of Christ. But once again, what we note here is Jesus' extremely strong admonition about the cost of discipleship: that people must go into this with eyes wide open and aware of what costs they may incur as His disciples. Whatever gets in the way of this endeavor is going to be required to be discarded; our own conflicts and contradictions will be apparent, and, as disciples, we must be prepared to deal with them in favor of a life dedicated to what it is that Christ asks.
"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!" My study bible references salt as something that has preservative powers, its necessity for life, and ability to give flavor. Salt has for millennia had both religious and sacrificial significance. (See Leviticus 2:13, Numbers 18:19, 2 Chronicles 13:5). Eating salt with someone meant to be bound in loyalty. Christ has also called His followers the "salt of the earth" in the Sermon on the Mount (Mathew 5:13).
It seems to me that in today's reading Jesus speaks very rationally and logically. It shows us His awareness of the world, and the things of the world. He asks who doesn't count the cost first before he starts to build a high tower, a construction project that requires planning? What king, He asks, doesn't count the cost first and estimate his supplies if he's planning to make war against another king? We note that although the lectionary now skips from chapter 11 (Saturday's reading) to chapter 14 today, the theme remains of a sort of battle going on here, one kingdom against another (at least in this particular example). We must first count the cost, we must estimate if we've got the gumption, the fuel, the necessary supplies, the capacity, the mettle, to go forward with this struggle. Can we remain steadfast in this discipline, this discipleship, as His followers, His "learners"? If we wish to be His "students" (as the Greek reads) we're going to have to be prepared for what this is going to entail and the things that are going to be asked of us. He's asking for priority, first place, for the gospel of the Kingdom. He will come first. So we'd better count up the cost of what we may need to forgo and sacrifice, and that cost is pretty darn high, we might say. Jesus speaks about salt as an image of the kind of disciple He wants, someone with plenty of "flavor," and this flavor with staying power. We are those who must be able both to sacrifice and to remain loyal, bound in a pact with Him. One might ask how salt would lose its flavor, but in the ancient world the components of salt were mined together with other minerals found in the same location. As water from moisture or condensation might wash out the chemicals that make salt and give it its salty flavor (sodium chloride, which is easily water soluble), salt could indeed "lose its flavor." Perhaps we could make the analogy of sacrifice and cost to what it takes to keep ourselves in the right condition or environment to retain our own "saltiness." These are the things which we will be asked to let go of. An abusive relationship, one that distracts us from union with Christ or being followers in the ways we're called, people who are bad for our own discipline of a life of the practice of His commands, His mercy and love, may be those that need changing, amending, or in some cases, pruning from our lives, letting go. This is a sacrifice, a cost of discipleship. Perhaps there are things we have learned from childhood that we need to let go of. Any number of goals, or "shoulds" or aims that get in the way of Christ's mission for us, whatever that may be, and for every person this may be entirely unique, is what will challenge our discipleship and count as some sort of a cost, one way and another. We really can't estimate this altogether, because a life following Christ may call on us in many unexpected ways, but we can be prepared through His words beforehand. We can know what to expect. I find that there are many ways of life that support a discipleship to Christ: through work, art, daily life, love of neighbor, in all sorts of myriad ways even unseen to others, we may be called to our own discipleship, our own life of the cross that is taken up daily. But we can remember that Christ will call on us to let go of things that seem entirely dear, in the long run, things that we are better off without. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
