20181107
COUNTING THE COST OF
DISCIPLESHIP
07 NOVEMBER,
2018, Wednesday, 31st Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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Philippians 2:12-18 ©
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Work for your salvation, for God is
working in you
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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.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 26(27):1,4,13-14 ©
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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.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Ps118:88
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Because of your love give me life,
and I will do your will.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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1P4:14
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Alleluia, alleluia!
It is a blessing for you
when they insult you for bearing the name
of Christ,
for the Spirit of God rests on you.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 14:25-33 ©
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Anyone who does not carry his cross and
follow me cannot be my disciple
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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.’
COUNTING THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [PHIL 2:12-18; LK 14:25-33 ]
Many desire to become disciples
of Christ but they are not willing to pay the price of discipleship. They seek cheap grace, that is,
grace given without a price. Many are ready to take the step towards
baptism but few are serious in living the life of Christ and dying to themselves
each day. Many seek healing but are not ready to live a healthy
lifestyle. Some seek deliverance but are not willing to give up the gods
that keep them under bondage. Others join church ministries, desiring
membership without commitment; privileges without contribution. Yet others give
up simply because of disagreements with fellow members because things were not
done their way. And we proclaim loudly that we are serving Christ!
In truth, when we are irresponsible and lack perseverance in our duties in
ministry work, it is because we are serving ourselves, not God. Under the
pretext of serving God, we serve our own interests and preferences. At
the root of all the apparent good works we do is “me”!
That is why the gospel today asks
us to consider carefully whether we are ready to be His disciples.
Jesus is very honest with us. He does not intend to deceive us into
thinking that becoming His disciples will give us an easy life. That is
why He asks us to count the cost, or else we will be very disappointed and
cause more problems to others. We must understand fully what we are
undertaking. He said, “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?”
It is true that salvation is a free gift
from God, given through faith in Christ’s saving death and resurrection.
We cannot earn salvation. It is through God’s grace and mercy that God
saves us from our sins through no merit of our own. But having received
the free gift of salvation, St Paul reminds us of the need to work
for our salvation “in fear and trembling.” We cannot presume that
just because we are baptized, we are saved. In principle, it is true that
Christ died for us all and saved us. But unless we are receptive and open
to this grace bestowed by Christ on the cross, we would deprive ourselves of
eternal life. For this reason, St Paul himself, having encountered the
Lord and received His grace, worked hard to remain in grace and to not lose
what had been given to him through negligence and complacency. Otherwise,
as the gospel says, Satan and critics of the Church would make fun of us.
“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.'”
What does discipleship
entail? Without
compromising His words, Jesus said, “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.” In a nutshell, a disciple must die to himself
each day in his daily life situation, embracing suffering in life positively
for his purification and sanctification. Carrying the cross after Jesus
would require us to renounce ourselves for the sake of the gospel. It
calls for much self-emptying. What does self-emptying really
entail?
Firstly, it calls for
the renouncement of material possessions. Jesus said, “None of you can be my
disciple unless he gives up all his possessions.” This in fact should be
the most basic self-emptying virtue that we must cultivate. If we cannot
give up material things, we cannot progress to a higher level of giving up
oneself. This is only at the elementary level. It is good for us to
examine ourselves honestly, how much are we still attached to the things of
this world, the comforts that we are used to? Indeed, if we are serious
about our spiritual growth, we need to take the path of self-denial in material
things. It is not that such things are evil in themselves but that we do
not want to be under their control. Without overcoming the world and its
temptations, we will never be able to share Christ’s total self-emptying.
He was rich but became poor for our sake. (cf 2 Cor 8:9) Sharing our resources with
others will ensure that we have the freedom to love. Attachment to our
wealth is often the cause of hard-heartedness towards others who need our help.
Secondly, we are called to give up our will.
From the giving up of material things, we are called to give up our ego and
pride. Many of us are willing to serve God and others. We join
Church or voluntary organizations to render our services for free. In
itself, this is a noble thing to do. But one thing that is so difficult
for us to give up is our ego. We find it difficult to submit to our
superiors or to the will of the community. We get involved in heated
arguments and wrangling over how and what we should be doing. This is
what St Paul told the Philippians, “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.”
God’s will is often expressed through our superiors and the community. By
insisting that things be done our way, we only feed our ego and pride.
Thirdly, we are called to do the most
difficult of all things, renunciation of people whom we love. Jesus
said, “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.” Jesus of course is not demanding that we literally hate them,
but never to allow human relationships to take precedence and priority over our
relationship with God. The most difficult idol to give up is often not
wealth or even our will, but our attachment to our spouse, children and
friends, especially when such friendships are unhealthy. Many of us give
much time to human relationships but because we fail to ground our
relationships in Christ, such relationships tend to be rocky, selfish,
self-centered, possessive, insecure and manipulative. Only when our
relationship is rooted in Christ, can that relationship be compassionate,
understanding and liberating, since feeling secure in Christ’s love, we do not
need to seek to control the person whom we love.
We have St Paul as an
exemplar of true discipleship in Christ. He offered his life for the good of his fellowmen
and for the sake of Christ. He sacrificed himself as a libation for the
extension of Christ’s kingdom. St Paul was one person who gave himself
totally like Jesus for others, including his own will and interests. He
strove like Jesus to only do the Father’s will. He did all these with
full awareness of the price of being an apostle of Christ. He said, “This
would give me something to be proud of for the Day of Christ, and would mean
that I had not run in the face and exhausted myself for nothing.”
In spite of all these, we must
remember that carrying the cross of Jesus is not to be done in a
pessimistic manner. Indeed, the joy of seeing the Good News received
by others, the joy of seeing people finding meaning in life will be greatest
when we offer our lives for others. This was the case with Paul who was
filled with joy at seeing the effects of his work. “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.” We too can be joyful. The only reward
that will be really satisfying to us is to know that our little efforts have
not been wasted but that people have encountered God and His mercy and found
the fullness of life through us. Indeed, the cross of Jesus that we carry
is a joyful cross, if borne voluntarily, vicariously for the good of others.
How can we carry our
cross after Jesus cheerfully? It
presupposes that we have established intimacy with the Lord and are always at
His feet, basking and breathing in His love for us, like the psalmist who said,
“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 joy and strength of the psalmist is from the
Lord. This is what the response says, “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? …Hope in him, hold firm and take heart. Hope in the Lord!” So in our
trials and despondency, we must turn to Him for wisdom, direction and strength.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
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