20261104 FOLLOWER OR DISCIPLE
04 November 2026, Wednesday, 31st Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Philippians 2:12-18 |
Work for your salvation, for God is working in you
My dear friends, continue to do as I tell you, as you always have; not only as you did when I was there with you, but even more now that I am no longer there; and work for your salvation ‘in fear and trembling.’ It is God, for his own loving purpose, who puts both the will and the action into you. Do all that has to be done without complaining or arguing and then you will be innocent and genuine, perfect children of God among a deceitful and underhand brood, and you will shine in the world like bright stars because you are offering it the word of life. This would give me something to be proud of for the Day of Christ, and would mean that I had not run in the race and exhausted myself for nothing. And then, if my blood has to be shed as part of your own sacrifice and offering – which is your faith – I shall still be happy and rejoice with all of you, and you must be just as happy and rejoice with me.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 26(27):1,4,13-14 |
The Lord is my light and my help.
The Lord is my light and my help;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
before whom shall I shrink?
The Lord is my light and my help.
There is one thing I ask of the Lord,
for this I long,
to live in the house of the Lord,
all the days of my life,
to savour the sweetness of the Lord,
to behold his temple.
The Lord is my light and my help.
I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.
Hope in him, hold firm and take heart.
Hope in the Lord!
The Lord is my light and my help.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps118:88 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Because of your love give me life,
and I will do your will.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 14:25-33 |
Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple
Great crowds accompanied Jesus on his way and he turned and spoke to them. ‘If any man comes to me without hating his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes and his own life too, he cannot be my disciple. Anyone who does not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
‘And indeed, which of you here, intending to build a tower, would not first sit down and work out the cost to see if he had enough to complete it? Otherwise, if he laid the foundation and then found himself unable to finish the work, the onlookers would all start making fun of him and saying, “Here is a man who started to build and was unable to finish.” Or again, what king marching to war against another king would not first sit down and consider whether with ten thousand men he could stand up to the other who advanced against him with twenty thousand? If not, then while the other king was still a long way off, he would send envoys to sue for peace. So in the same way, none of you can be my disciple unless he gives up all his possessions.’
FOLLOWER OR DISCIPLE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [PHILIPPIANS 2:12-18; LUKE 14:25-33]
In the Gospel, St. Luke gives us the setting for Jesus’ saying about the cost of discipleship: “Great crowds accompanied Jesus on his way, and he turned and spoke to them.” Earlier on, Jesus had just told them the Parable of the Great Banquet, where all are welcome to the meal except those who reject the invitation. The master said, “‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ And the slave said, ‘Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.’ Then the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled.'” (Lk 14:21-23)
The truth is that many belong to the crowds following Jesus on His way. They are happy to be followers of Christ and to bear the name of Christian. They are proud to belong to the Roman Catholic Church, but they do not live out the obligations that Christian discipleship demands. There is a great difference between being a follower of our Lord and being a disciple. A follower is simply a fan of our Lord; a disciple is one who lives the life of Christ.
Consequently, the Lord was upfront with His followers who desired to be His disciples. To be a disciple of Jesus is to put Him before all others: “If any man comes to me without hating his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes and his own life too, he cannot be my disciple.” He is not asking us to hate our loved ones or our own lives; rather, it is a question of priority in our relationships. Jesus must be first in our lives and in all that we say and do. If we love our loved ones more than Him, we will lack focus in loving them the way God loves us–we will manipulate and use them to fill our own inner lacks and insecurities. Loving Jesus above all persons and all things keeps us loyal to Him, especially in times of persecution, suffering, and pain. Indeed, in the early Church–and even today–we are often forced to choose between our love for Jesus and our love for others. This becomes especially difficult when loved ones and friends demand that we conform to their religious or secular values. So the question is: where and in whom do we place our faith?
Secondly, being a disciple of our Lord means placing Him and His will above any worldly possession. The Lord said, “None of you can be my disciples unless he gives up all his possessions.” Giving up our possessions does not mean we cannot own anything; rather, it means we are willing to use our wealth and resources not for selfish gain, but for the service of our Lord and the spread of the Gospel. If the Lord and His Gospel are the most important things in our lives, we will naturally use whatever He has given us for His greater glory. In truth, though many of us are successful today, we often care for ourselves and our loved ones first–prioritising our luxuries and holidays–and only if we have something left over do we consider contributing to the Church or humanitarian needs. What we give is not the “widow’s mite,” but merely out of our abundance. Because we do not place Jesus at the centre of our lives to live out the Gospel values, we react like the rich man in the Gospel who “was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions” after hearing the Lord say, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” (Mk 10:21-22)
Thirdly, to be a disciple of Jesus means learning from Him how to be faithful to the will of God. We are told that Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem–the place of His glory through His passion, death, and resurrection. But this is the way of the Cross: the way of suffering, humiliation, and self-emptying. Are we ready to follow Jesus on His way by taking up our cross and walking after Him as He demands? “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it.” (Lk 9:23-24) Again, Jesus reiterates: “Anyone who does not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” Unless we experience the rejection, humiliation, and failures He went through, we will not withstand the trials of life and ministry. Most of us claim to love Jesus, yet in the face of trials, we turn our backs on Him. Discipleship requires allegiance to our Lord not just in good times, but in bad times.
Consequently, we must count the cost of discipleship. Many desire to follow Jesus without knowing what discipleship truly entails. Most Christians think that following Jesus means being blessed with continuous worldly comforts, or that serving in the Church brings only joy, happiness, and appreciation. They do not realise that we are sent out as sheep among wolves. Not only does the world reject us, but even the Christian community is imperfect because we are all sinners struggling with various weaknesses and vices. If we cannot tolerate and embrace the trials of serving alongside one another–with all the disagreements, hurtful remarks, and lack of understanding or appreciation–we do not yet understand what discipleship entails. It is a slow, daily process of dying to self.
To help us be more intentional in following Him, Jesus provides two parables illustrating how to count the cost. The first example concerns building a tower. In construction, the architect draws the plans with the engineer, and the quantity surveyor calculates the cost of materials, permits, and structural requirements. Hence, the Lord asks, “Which of you here, intending to build a tower, would not first sit down and work out the cost to see if he had enough to complete it? Otherwise, if he laid the foundation and then found himself unable to finish the work, the onlookers would all start making fun of him and saying, ‘Here is a man who started to build and was unable to finish.'” Indeed, we often see building projects abandoned because of rising material costs or insufficient funds. Likewise, we must carefully weigh what it entails to be a faithful Catholic; otherwise, we risk losing our faith, damaging the faith of others, losing our credibility, and becoming counter-witnesses to our Lord.
The second example concerns a king whose forces are outnumbered and must consider making peace rather than causing further destruction. The Lord asks, “What king marching to war against another king would not first sit down and consider whether with ten thousand men he could stand up to the other who advanced against him with twenty thousand? If not, then while the other king was still a long way off, he would send envoys to sue for peace.” Only a foolish king takes on a stronger opponent without a plan. Our best provision to sustain our discipleship is to rely on Jesus, who is stronger than any earthly power or spiritual enemy. He is the one who wins our battles for us, and there are far greater benefits to being aligned with the Lord than with the world.
Yet in all of this, while we must, as St. Paul says, “work out your salvation in fear and trembling,” we must never forget that we cannot fulfil what the Lord asks by our strength alone. On the contrary, St. Paul reminds us: “It is God, for his own loving purpose, who puts both the will and the action into you.” Discipleship is a grace and a gift, but it requires our active cooperation. Without His grace, we can do nothing. We do our best and allow God’s grace to work within us. In this way, as St. Paul says, “Do all that has to be done without complaining or arguing and then you will be innocent and genuine, perfect children of God among a deceitful and underhand brood, and you will shine in the world like bright stars because you are offering it the word of life.” As we radiate the love of Christ, we become more like Him, rendering the obedience of faith by allowing our faith to express itself in active love and charity.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
