20231108 THE COST OF INTENTIONAL DISCIPLESHIP
08 November 2023, Wednesday, 31st Week in Ordinary Time
First reading | Romans 13:8-10 © |
Your only debt should be the debt of mutual love
Avoid getting into debt, except the debt of mutual love. If you love your fellow men you have carried out your obligations. All the commandments: You shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not covet, and so on, are summed up in this single command: You must love your neighbour as yourself. Love is the one thing that cannot hurt your neighbour; that is why it is the answer to every one of the commandments.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 111(112):1-2,4-5,9 © |
Happy the man who takes pity and lends.
or
Alleluia!
Happy the man who fears the Lord,
who takes delight in all his commands.
His sons will be powerful on earth;
the children of the upright are blessed.
Happy the man who takes pity and lends.
or
Alleluia!
He is a light in the darkness for the upright:
he is generous, merciful and just.
The good man takes pity and lends,
he conducts his affairs with honour.
Happy the man who takes pity and lends.
or
Alleluia!
Open-handed, he gives to the poor;
his justice stands firm for ever.
His head will be raised in glory.
Happy the man who takes pity and lends.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | Ps118:88 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Because of your love give me life,
and I will do your will.
Alleluia!
Or: | 1P4:14 |
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!
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.’
THE COST OF INTENTIONAL DISCIPLESHIP
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Rom 13:8-10; Ps 112:1-2,4-5,9; Lk 14:25-33]
In the gospel, we read, “Great crowds accompanied Jesus on his way.” This is true even in our times. We have many who profess to be Catholics. They wear crucifixes, carry their rosaries, attend Sunday Mass and donate to the church. They are good members of the church. They receive communion and observe some of the practices of the Church. Others are merely nominal Catholics and they attend Mass occasionally, especially on important feast days. But it would be good for us to ask ourselves, how many of our Catholics are really into discipleship. Discipleship is different from membership.
Discipleship entails serious commitment to be a Christian after the heart of Jesus the Good Shepherd. Jesus demands that those who come to Him must put Him first above 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.” Jesus is not asking us to hate our parents, our wife and children. He wants us to get our priorities right. Unless we first love Him, we will not be able to love our loved ones rightly. We will love them in a selfish manner, we will control them and make use of them to fill the vacuum in our lives. Our love for others is always conditional and we love them for ourselves and not for their sake. Our loved ones are our attachments and our gems which we keep for ourselves. Hence, we cannot let them go and we will not allow them to have anyone else in their lives. We possess them like our possessions.
But the love of Jesus for us all is always to love us for our sake and not for Himself. Jesus loves us totally by carrying the cross for us. He came to die for us and to show us the way to life. Jesus emptied Himself on the cross by accepting the injustices and evil committed against Him. Hence, He said, “Anyone who does not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” To be a disciple of Jesus is to carry our cross after Jesus. It means to suffer with Jesus for the good of others. It calls for forgiveness and tolerance of those who hurt us or treat us unjustly. This is what St Peter asked of his fellow Christians. “Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil. For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God.” (1 Pt 3:16-18)
To follow Jesus is to fulfil the laws perfectly as He did. In the gospel, Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfil. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.” (Mt 5:17,18) This is reiterated by St Paul in today’s first reading when he cited the commandments. “You shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not covet, and so on, are summed up in this single command: You must love your neighbour as yourself. Love is the one thing that cannot hurt your neighbour; that is why it is the answer to every one of the commandments.” Indeed, as St Paul rightly said, “If you love your fellow men you have carried out your obligations.” To love perfectly as the Lord says is to fulfil the laws. When the commandments are carried out perfunctorily or as a matter of obligation without love, but with fear and coercion, then even when we fulfil the laws, it is an act of imperfect love. When we act in this manner, then Jesus would say to us as He did to the Pharisees, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:20)
Although the Ten Commandments are good laws, yet, because it only instructs us what we must not do, it lacks the power to make us do more than we should. To love means to go an extra mile for those whom we love. As the Lord teaches, “Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.” (Mt 5:39-41) Love requires us to do all we can to help our fellowmen, especially when they are in need. There is no greater love than that of the Widow’s mite and the Good Samaritan story as told by our Lord. (Lk 21:1-4; Lk 10:25-37) Both of them put God and their fellowmen before themselves. They were willing to sacrifice their needs and convenience for the sake of God and others.
Jesus at the end of today’s gospel remarked, “So in the same way, none of you can be my disciples unless he gives up all his possessions.” We are reminded of the rich young man in the gospel when he asked the Lord, ‘”Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.” Then Jesus listed all the commandments that require us to love our neighbours. He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “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.” When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.’ (cf Mk 10:17-22) Because he was unable to let go of his possessions, he was not able to find the fullness of life.
We also remember the words of St Paul about the example of our Lord when he wrote to the Corinthians. “For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.” (2 Cor 8:9) The letter to the Philippians tells of the utter giving of our Lord in the hymn describing the Kenosis of our Lord. “Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross.” (Phil 2:6-8) Hence, only those who are able to love perfectly like Jesus will find real happiness in life. This is why the responsorial psalm says, “Happy the man who fears the Lord, who takes delight in all his commands. His sons will be powerful on earth; the children of the upright are blessed. He is a light in the darkness for the upright: he is generous, merciful and just. The good man takes pity and lends, he conducts his affairs with honour. Open-handed, he gives to the poor; his justice stands firm forever. His head will be raised in glory.”
The question that is left to be answered is whether we are ready to pay the price of discipleship. The Lord 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? 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.” We must consider carefully how we want to live out our Christian life. Just being baptized does not save us or give us life. We can be merely baptized pagans. But unless we are ready to take the life of Christ seriously and ask for the grace to live His life, we cannot be said to be His real disciples. By failing to live the life of Christ, we become counter-witnesses. And indeed, people will laugh at us and mock at us for being hypocrites. Therefore, knowing the challenges ahead of us in living out the life of Christ, the Lord reminds us to take steps to prevent ourselves from falling into the hands of our detractors. He said, “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.” Only Jesus, our Lord and master can help us overcome our inadequacies.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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