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 dine in the home of a ruler of the Pharisees, teaching about humility, and addressing the guests in a parable.  Yesterday, we read that He continued to teach him who invited Him, addressing hosts.  He said, "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 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."  My study Bible comments that this command to hate one's kindred and one's own life also isn't to be taken literally.  Instead, we are 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 is a repetition of a similar teaching found at Luke 9:23.  Perhaps, now that great multitudes went with Him, the teaching is a bit more emphatic:  one must bear one's cross and come after Christ -- or one cannot be His disciple.  My study Bible comments on the earlier passage that each person must take up one's own cross.  It notes that the burden in this world is different for each person, and each has been chosen by God to bear certain struggles for one's own salvation and the salvation of those around oneself.  In that earlier passage, Jesus emphasizes that this must be done daily.  In other words, commitment to Christ isn't simply a one-time event or proclamation.  It is the 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."  With reference to this parable of building a tower, my study Bible cites St. Paul's letter at 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, in which St. Paul speaks of himself as a master builder who lays a foundation which another builds upon.  In that passage, St. Paul speaks about his fellow workers, and how they will build upon that foundation appropriately   This passage in today's reading shows us that St. Paul follows Christ in so teaching, for Christ's teaching here once again enforces the kind of loyalty He commands as required for discipleship.  Jesus Himself forsakes all he has, and so he asks of us as well.  As God's fellow workers, my study Bible notes of St. Paul's passage, we cooperate with the Lord to do His will.  As He so often tells parables of discipleship using the illustration of servants, we consider that He is the Lord, and we are His servants who are called to participate obediently in His work.  

 

 "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!"  Here is another emphatic teaching on the requirement for discipleship.  This saying is also found in the Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus couples this teaching on the image of disciples as salt, and also as light (see Matthew 5:13-16).  My study Bible comments that because of its preservative powers, its necessity for life, and its ability to give flavor, salt had both religious and sacrificial significance (Leviticus 2:13; see also Numbers 18:19; 2 Chronicles 13:5).  To eat salt with someone meant to be bound together in loyalty.  As the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13), my study Bible says, Christians are preservers of God's covenant and give true flavor to the world.  

So Jesus emphasizes covenant with His comparison of disciples to salt.  This is made clear by my study Bible's exposition on salt in the commentary on the reference in the Sermon on the Mount, as referenced above.  This "fixative" and preserving power of salt was ubiquitous in the ancient world, before refrigeration was possible; many foods were treated with salt to prevent the growth of bacteria so they would remain fit for consumption and nourishment.   This preserving power is referenced as a kind of binding, like taking an oath, with a long history in Israel, as my study Bible says, of association with covenant and friendship.  So Christ is emphasizing the nature of discipleship, not simply as something which is good and helpful, but which is necessary for life, for the thriving of the world.  If we wonder how salt can lose its flavor, the ancient world's salt crystals indeed could leach sodium chloride through exposure to water and thus lose its saltiness.  But to really get the "flavor" of today's reading and Jesus' words, we have to take it as a whole, and to recognize that what He's calling for is a rigorous determination on the part of His disciples, to be ready -- like good soldiers or a king going out to meet an enemy, or a man preparing to build a tower -- to commit to seeing the project all the way through, no matter what it may ask of them.  It is in this spirit that Jesus teaches us what it might mean to carry a cross.  In this season of elections here in the United States of America, many comment here and around the world regarding the phenomenon of both friendships and family relations being broken and severed over political affiliation or opinion.  In a modern democracy we are ostensibly aware of many opinions, and also conditioned to accept such differences as a matter of norm in our societies.  But if these common differences are now causing such disruption in relationships, one only need to consider for a moment what something as momentous and deep as one's commitment of the soul to Christ can carry in terms of our own loyalty, and others' response to that commitment.  A deep and dedicated devotion to Christ may ask of us to make commitments that offend others whom we love, differing on matters of conscience, or even opinions about Christ Himself.  As we know, Jesus sets the pattern that He will voluntarily go to the Cross, to His Crucifixion, in obedience to the Father's will for Him.  This voluntary sacrifice remains a scandal for some, perplexing for many, and a point of contention in terms of its effects and power among different denominations and theological perspectives.  But one thing is clear, if Christ Himself was asked to undertake this Cross and this sacrifice for all of us, then none of us can refuse a cross of our own.  In our modern affluent societies, it might be offensive in and of itself to some to suggest that sacrifice is something we will all encounter as disciples of Christ, but nonetheless it remains truth and a part of Scripture.  We might separate from a friend (or even relatives) because we don't like the practices of gossip or scapegoating we consistently find.  Perhaps our criticism of such habits alone is enough to create rage in others.  What we perceive as unjust or unfair is another possible point of difference that can spark separation, and the Cross that Christ undertook has everything to do with injustice, in which the innocent suffer.  We ourselves may undertake that role, as did Christ, and suffer for telling the truth when others would prefer convenient and less disruptive lies instead.  Whatever way our cross comes to us, we can't ignore Jesus' emphatic and repeated teachings here.  In Matthew's Gospel, when Jesus sends out the apostles on their first mission, He speaks about this division in families, adding, "And you will be hated by all for My name's sake."  He reminds them that "a disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household!" (see Matthew 10:16-25).  If disciples remain today as "sheep among wolves" then how are we to avoid conflict?  Jesus' call for believers to be like salt that does not lose its flavor is a call to steadfastness even in the face of what we might lose that we hold precious for the sake of the gospel.  Let us consider how this mission today might include our own cross, and what we put first in life. 

 

Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?

 

 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.  And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple."  The lectionary jumps ahead from where we left off on Saturday, skipping over Luke 11:24-14:24.  We know that Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem, and here we're told that great multitudes went with Him.  Just as in Monday's reading of last week Jesus spoke of the rigors of discipleship, here the question has come up once again.  My study Bible comments that the command to hate one's kindred and his own life also is not to be taken literally. Instead, we are 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 (as can also be read in last Monday's reading).  Moreover, this is put in the context of bearing one's own cross.  Once again, we review that each person must take up one's own cross.  My study Bible says that one's particular burden in this world is different for each person, and that each has been chosen by God to bear certain struggles for one's own salvation and the salvation of those around oneself.  In Luke 9:23, Jesus tells us we must take up our particular cross daily.  The commitment to discipleship is not a one-time event.  It is a continual practice of what has been called "faithfulness."  That is faith and obedience to Christ's commands, 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.  Again, Jesus makes bold claims about the cost of discipleship.  My study Bible refers us to the sense in which disciples work together with God in carrying out ministry.  Jesus gives us a metaphor, to build a tower, and thus we think of ourselves as God's fellow workers, who cooperate with God's will.  By cooperation -- or what is called synergy (from the Greek word for "fellow workers") -- with God, we do not  work together as equals or in a kind of half-and-half arrangement.  Instead God is the Lord, and we are God's servants who are called to participate obediently in God's work.  Here, Jesus implies, our lives are in the hands of God, we in our commitment to discipleship, we should count that cost and be prepared for it.

 

 "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 the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus uses salt as metaphor, with a similar statement, calling His disciples the "salt of the earth" (see Matthew 5:13).   My study Bible comments that salt illustrates the role of disciples in society.  Because of its preservative powers, its necessity for life, and its ability to give flavor, salt had both religious and sacrificial significance (Leviticus 2:13; see also Numbers 18:19; 2 Chronicles 13:5).  To eat salt with someone, my study Bible further explains, meant to be bound together in loyalty.  As the salt of the earth, Christians are preservers of God's covenant and give true flavor to the world.  Here Jesus speaks of the value of salt, affirming His earlier words about the rigors and cost of discipleship.  A lack of adherence to discipleship is here compared to salt which has lost its flavor.

What sacrifices have you made for your faithfulness, for your choices to follow Christ?  Here Jesus says that discipleship will ask of us the entirety of what we have:  "So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple." What this seems to suggest is not that God demands of us extraordinary or inordinate sacrifices in some sense of payment or requirement, but rather that the love which God asks from us is a love that will take in all.  As we grow in discipleship, we will find a love that asks of us a whole heart, and as such, our whole lives as dedication to Christ's way ("I am the way, the truth, and the life" - John 14:6).  In other words, the cost of discipleship is a type of love that may ask us to change the very foundation of what it is we think we know about ourselves and our goals in life.  Where once one may have cherished a family as one's greatest possession or goal in life, the foundation of faith shifts us to the perception that family life -- and all relationships -- should be based within the framework of the love of God, who teaches us what it is to be in right-relationship.  It is from God we learn righteousness.  God, who is love, teaches us what it is to love.  Where once we might have considered possessions to be our greatest values, the love of God asks us to shift that perception instead to the values we carry with us, within us, and practice among us, in following Christ's commands and learning from Him ("Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light" - Matthew 11:29-30).  Where once we pursued goals we're taught are good -- such as a successful career, or a good name among our peers, or even a particular social standing that would make parents proud -- we might instead pursue goals that please God.  Such goals might flip our own priorities upside down, because they would include care of "the least of these" (Matthew 25:45), and our time devoted to practices of prayer, spiritual disciplines, or our wealth to help those who are in need.  None of these "sacrifices" of time, energy, devotion, money, and so forth, preclude good goals in life or a healthy life of well-being.  But we place our judgment for priorities in God's hands, and as Christ says, we will no doubt be called upon to carry our own crosses, and like Him, say, "Not my will, but Yours, be done" (see Luke 22:42).  For discipleship will call us from places we thought were sacrosanct, to places we never thought we'd go, while nonetheless giving us prizes to cherish, even love we didn't think was possible, all given through grace.  To find ourselves as disciples is to find God's love for us as well as that love in the others to whom we're brought by God.  Let us count the cost and cherish the gifts we're given, including the elation true service can bring us.

 

 

So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has 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 -- least, 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 

 

Yesterday we continued the reading in which Jesus was a guest in the home of a Pharisee on the Sabbath.  (See the initial reading and Christ's teachings here.)   In yesterday's reading, He also said to those 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 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."  My study Bible comments that this command to hate one's kindred and his own life also is not meant to be taken literally.  Instead we are meant 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.  The stories of Christian martyrs often include family members who acted in cruel opposition to their faith in Christ.

"And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple."  Again, as we have often noted in recent readings, here is the figure of the Cross which is clearly ahead of Jesus.  He knows this will be something known to all, and so, in front of the crowds, He teaches about each one's struggle in this, following Him.  Each person must take up one's own cross.  My study Bible comments that the burden in this world (and note the "worldly" element of family relationships already mentioned) is different for each person, and each has been chosen by God to bear certain struggles for one's own salvation and the salvation of those around oneself.  To come after Christ is to follow Him.  This means discipleship:  the continual practice of faith and obedience, even to the point of being shamed and persecuted by the world -- or as mentioned before, foregoing even close relationships that are harmful or destructive to faith.

"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 -- least, 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 directs us to St. Paul's image of himself as a "wise master builder" in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, in which he speaks of laying a foundation upon which others may build, but each must take heed how they build and with what:  "For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ."  For what each builds will be tested by fire, and what remains will be revealed, "for the Day will declare it."  So Christ tells the crowds that discipleship is a greater project than we know, and we must count the cost, which is all.

"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 the Sermon on the Mount, Christ taught very similarly, but directed to His disciples:  "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?  It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men."  In ancient times, salt was quite precious, due to its preservative powers, its necessity for life, and its ability to give flavor.  My study Bible also comments that, additionally, salt had religious and sacrificial significance (Leviticus 2:13; see also Numbers 18:19; 2 Chronicles 13:5).  It says that to eat salt with someone meant to be bound together in loyalty.  As the salt of the earth, it says, Christians are preservers of God's covenant and give true flavor to the world.

Jesus says we must count the cost of discipleship if we are to set out on this road of following Him.  To follow Christ means to take up our cross and follow after Him.  As my study Bible indicates, this cross will be unique to each person.  Jesus says, "So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple."  What does this mean to forsake all?  How are we supposed to figure that out, in advance?  Does it mean we give up all of our relationships and separate ourselves from what we know?  I cannot answer for others, nor for all the traditions of Christianity.  For many, the monastic life meant this in a very real sense, although it did not mean cutting oneself off from the love of others nor our prayers for all.  But what I have personally found in carrying this cross that began for me many years ago, almost despite myself I might say, is that all of my life was transfigured in the light of the Cross, by the Cross, by Christ.  That is, every aspect of my life, through prayer and ongoing development of faith, has meant re-examination and reconsideration, a new light shed by Christ, on what needs to change and what He asks of me.  Abusive relationships are subject to this light.  Even those who have abused us in some way, while we seek to forgive and pray for forgiveness for all, are subject to this transfiguring light and power of the Cross.  Sometimes one will have to draw boundaries.  It does not mean that we cease to pray or to love, but the strength of our faith comes first, the call of discipleship and of the Cross comes first, and this becomes our personal cross to bear in life.  This works in positive ways as well.  The things which I failed to understand or to perceive as a child growing up in church are also subject to the transfiguration by the light of the Cross.  Phrases I heard echoed to me as a child, passed down through the centuries of our faith -- such as, for example, "Lord have mercy" -- take on new meanings and new light and especially new depths through the Cross, and through the light of faith.  We may find ourselves in church praying for someone who has wronged us terribly -- a sense in which we know we don't want to be subject to more of the same, but nevertheless find in the Spirit the sense to do so.  We might find ourselves forgiving past wrongs done by those long dead in this life, but nevertheless praying for their souls in our own communion with God, and this, also, is the light of the Cross transfiguring our lives, giving us new light, and helping us to grow in faith and in understanding.  In this sense, our discipleship truly demands that we "forsake all" because Christ's light from His Cross will truly take in all of our lives.  We may find ourselves through this process of faith re-examining every single thing we ever learned at our mother's knee, and finding new ways to allow Christ to transform our thinking with -- most importantly -- God's love for us, and God's way of expanding our own sense of what love is and what love does.  Around each corner is a new sense of what it is to bear that cross, to go through the difficulties of our lives, the things that this world presents to us, and to find our place through them in the light of Christ.  In this way, we do "forsake all."  We will come to place all things in Christ's hands, and find them in the light of that transfiguring Cross, and thus following Him in all things with our own individual crosses wherever we are called in life, whatever our experiences.  And this is discipleship.  We give our hearts wholly to the leaven that leavens the whole lump bit by bit, from the inside out, even to those places in us we did not know existed.  In this way, our faith is like the mustard seed that grows to a sturdy bush which can shelter even the angels, the "birds of the air," as our lives grow in this faith in ways unexpected and unknown to us as we started out on this road to follow Him in all things.  We may have to cast off our old ideas about what "success" looks like, what a good life would be, and even the ways in which we thought our lives played out, simply by following Him and taking up our own crosses, for this is part of what it means to "forsake all" as well.  Discipleship is not simple nor easy, but it is a question of allowing the faith of Christ to illumine us, magnifying our baptism and its effects through a life of faith, and transfiguring all that we thought so that our lives reflect the foundation we're given, and so that what we build remains standing even through fire.  For the beauty of the world, the things truly worth building that withstand all else, are the things which are precious to Christ, to be revealed on that Day as the beauty that shines, the salt that remains true to its virtue and goodness and faith.

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 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 comments that this command to hate one's relations and one's own life isn't to be taken literally.  Instead, we are 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."  Jesus repeats a statement we've read in Luke 9:23, something He said immediately after Peter's confession of faith, and in the context of His first warning to the disciples that He will suffer, be killed, and raised the third day.  My study bible asks us to observe that, first, each person must take up his own cross.  It says that the burden for each one in this world is different from person to person, and each has been chosen by God to bear certain struggles for one's own salvation and the salvation of those around oneself.  Second, in 9:23, Jesus states that one's cross is to be taken up daily.  This commitment is not a one-time event.  To come after Christ and be His disciple means the continual practice of faith and obedience, even to the point of being shamed and persecuted by the world -- and even to the point of separation from loved ones.

"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 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 cites 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, an elaboration by St. Paul on this concept of building a structure properly upon what is first a proper foundation.  Each one's structure will reveal through its endurance, or lack of it, the proper work that has gone into the "tower" that is our lives.  Here, Jesus asks us to count the cost of discipleship, as those who plan well before starting out upon a project of any kind.  Our foundation is Christ, and that must remain our "bottom line" through all things, forsaking whatever is necessary in order to remain securely in that foundation.

"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!"  Jesus uses the analogy of salt in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:13), again to illustrate the importance of endurance in discipleship.  My study Bible comments that salt illustrates the role of disciples in society.  Because of its preservative powers, its necessity for life, and its ability to give flavor, salt had both religious and sacrificial significance (Leviticus 2:13; see also Numbers 18:19, 2 Chronicles 13:5).   These references from the Old Testament teach us that salt was significant in terms of covenant.  To eat salt with someone meant to be bound together in loyalty.  As the "salt of the earth" (the phrase used in the Sermon on the Mount) my study Bible says, Christians are preservers of God's covenant, and give true flavor to the world.  In terms of the context here, Jesus is emphasizing our covenant as disciples, our endurance through all things in following Christ.

Jesus reminds us of the importance of counting the cost before setting out on a journey, or beginning a project of any kind, entering into battle.  One must seek to estimate what one will need to pay, or purchase, the labor and effort required, all the sacrifices that are necessary to do a complete job or see things through to the end.  He is reminding us, as His followers, that with Him it's all or nothing.  There is no lukewarm that is acceptable (see Revelation 3:14-22 for an assessment of a lukewarm church).  He is the foundation, and must remain the foundation.  When we put our faith in something else first, He will tear that down.  It will not endure.  We will all be refined in a furnace, as purified gold.  In Matthew's Gospel, we're reminded a couple of times that "He who endures to the end will be saved" (Matthew 10:22, 24:13).  Such words, on my part, seem terribly dire and dour.  But, on the other hand, for those who go through that fire and must make hard choices between where their faith leads them and where worldly attachments demand something else, the difficulties finally add up, in the end, to a liberation.  For it is in the truth of Christ that we really do find our freedom (John 8:31-32).  The world will draw us into a million different musts and have-to's.  You "must have" this type of house or clothing.  You "have to" do this because someone else has asked you to, or expects you to.  You "must" believe this because everybody seems to be saying it.  You "have to" join this group because that looks like the currently fashionable thing to do, at least among the au courant.  But Christ really doesn't ask us to do any of those things.  He doesn't demand that we become relevant to a set of values or circumstances that have nothing to do with our faith, and the genuine heart that is His refined gold and precious to Him.  Christ does not ask that we become caught up in the "right" appearances for the "right" people who will approve of whatever those things might mean about us in some social sense or to some group or community.  No, He is the foundation of our lives, and the currency we need to maintain that foundation is humility -- not faith in appearances and the judgment of the social world.  It really doesn't matter whether those approved signals to the world are million dollar homes and designer label shoes, or the right political slogan of any stripe, or even a drab and mournful appearance to show we are sufficiently deprived and aggrieved to gain a special status.  None of these things are meant to be pleasing to Christ first.  We often might find we are called instead to retire from that oh-so-necessary public face to find where He wants us to go and what He wants us to do.  It might be quiet prayer we need, not only for ourselves but for others around ourselves, for our relationships with people and with things.  We might need a reset of the way in which we look at and live in the world.  But any way you look at it, Christ's power -- although it might separate us from what we think we need and love -- is going to liberate us.  It is going to free us from delusions about what we must have that we don't really need and might not be good for us.  It is going to free us from false claims on our attention, and it's going to free us from deceptive rhetoric that does not really lead to freedom but to slavery.  If we want to know how to truly be free, then we must find a way to let go of everything else first, and focus on what really matters, and where our heart and treasure have to be in life.  We might just find it's what we give that makes us who we are, not what we get -- and sometimes that includes what we give up, including our false notions about ourselves and others.   But as Christ tells us, each one must bear one's own cross.  This is not a one-size-fits-all kind of movement, this work of discipleship.  It is a powerful pull into our own things we need to work on, and our own places we need to go in order to follow Him and find the refinement of the fire of grace, the energies of God.  And in this statement about one's own cross, we also find tremendous liberation.  For no two of us need be alike, and each journey is tailored for the unique creation that is the evidence of the Spirit's work.  There are no cookie-cutter saints, but each one is drawn in powerful lines, whether that be a woman of the fifth century who used her wealth to express her love of God, or a man who struggled in his poverty to remain true to Christ in the twentieth.  We each have a cross to bear and a foundation to build on.  But each of those, our cross and our foundation, are ultimately liberating.  Grace builds on what is potential within us, things which lie dormant but are called out through the work of experience and living our faith.  We're like statues carved out of marble or some other beautiful stone, in which the carver continually discovers what is truly there.  Are you ready for that struggle?  Can you count the cost?   St. Paul wrote to the Philippians to "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure."  Each one's picture will look different, but each journey of faith is one ultimately of the freedom of Christ's grounding truth and the surety of gold.  This is the discipleship we work out along the way.

And 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 -- least, 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 met 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 sale 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 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus also said to him who invited Him (a Pharisee who had invited Christ to dine in his home), "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 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."  My study bible comments that this command to hate one's kindred and his own life also is not to be taken literally.  Instead, we are to hate the way that our relationships with others are able to hinder the fullness of our dedication to the Kingdom of God, which takes first priority even over family ties.  

 

 "And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple."  We note that, as in 9:23, when Jesus said, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me," each person must take up his own cross.   My study bible says that the burden in this world is different for each person, and each has been chosen by God to bear certain struggles for one's own salvation and for the salvation of those around oneself.  Additionally, let us note from Christ's statement in 9:23, this direction to any disciple is meant to be a daily, ongoing commitment.  Our commitment to the Teacher is not a one-time event, nor a simple kind of affirmative believe used like a slogan.  It involves the continual practice of faith and obedience, even when it comes to the point of being shamed and persecuted by the world, as was Christ.  The fact that we read this instruction twice in Luke's Gospel makes it that much more emphatic, especially at this point in His ministry, when Christ is on His way toward Jerusalem.

"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 -- least, 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 met 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 the words of St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, in which he refers to the grace of God given to him as a wise master builder.  The foundation of all -- regardless of what is built on top of that foundation -- must be Jesus Christ.  For whatever is built upon it, be it gold or silver, precious stones, or inexpensive materials -- eventually the Day of Christ will declare it, as revealed by the holy fire that will test each one's work to discover of what substance it truly is.  For each of us wants a true work of our life, which endures -- and even should we suffer loss, we are able to continue in our discipleship having been tested and understood better what is necessary.  Christ wants us to be prepared for this testing life of discipleship, willing to give our all, and make the necessary adjustments for our own eventual persistence and victory along the way.

"Salt is good; but if the sale 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!"  Jesus uses this metaphor of salt for disciples in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:13).  The words here are nearly identical.  But in the context of the long road of discipleship, and the sacrifices that may need to be calculated over a lifetime, they give us added depth here in Luke's Gospel.  Salt's preservative powers were even more essential, in some sense, in Christ's time than they are now.  It was also not as easily produced as it is now.   That power of preservation speaks to taking up one's cross and enduring in the long road of life in discipleship, and sticking to the way of Christ.  Salt also is necessary for life, and possesses a unique ability to give flavor:  to whatever it is added, flavor is enhanced.   This is a description of the essential quality of discipleship in a world that would sorely miss its presence in so many ways.  My study bible explains that because of all of these qualities, salt had religious and sacrificial significance to the Jews (Leviticus 2:13; see also Numbers 18:19, 2 Chronicles 13:5).  To eat salt with someone meant to be bound together in loyalty.  So, as the salt of the earth, Christians are therefore preservers of God's covenant, and also give true flavor to the world. 

How are we preservers of God's covenant?  How do we acts as a kind of "fixative" or "sealant" for God's covenant in the world, and specifically as disciples, our covenant with Christ?  Clearly the fullness of discipleship is in simple persistence, in being willing to put our faith first in line or priority, and to simply live it day after day.  This is what is discipleship.  It is what Christ tells us when He says to be prepared and to calculate the cost, whatever it takes or is going to take.  He asks us to estimate what it takes to build a life upon His foundation, this foundation of discipleship, and to be ready to pay the price, to do what it takes, to find our way to meet Him in the ultimate reconciling of our lives.  So if we are really going to be ready to pray the price, to calculate the cost, how do we set about doing that?  Do we make up our minds in advance, and decide what that is going to be?  Surely the price of faith does not consist of conscious calculation, but rather of the decision that we will endure, come what may and no matter what is asked of us.  We might not know in advance what it is we may be asked to give up to God.  Frequently we might find that life asks us to make choices regarding priorities, and especially of those things that pertain to our identity.  For example, we may find abuse in the family, and that one particular family member is being abuse.  If we have to make a choice between "making waves" in the family, and living the life of the Cross for Christ, we may need to relinquish the priority of the family stability over our loyalty to Christ.  This is how we carry our cross daily; it is in such choices that we find ourselves, especially if we have in mind that discipleship is the most important priority.  These are not questions of intellectual belief.  Rather they are tough questions which may be answered in prayer, in the heart and in the soul, and we will be faced with them if we carry our crosses successfully.  God will continually allow us to be challenged, so that we may truly come to terms with who we are, and reconcile with God before that Day in which we are called to our true and ultimate destiny.

 

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.

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?