Each of us has a cross to bear. Mine is different from yours and yours is different from everyone else’s cross. Jesus gives us some insight into the burden of our cross in today’s Gospel.
Jesus is going up to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover for the last time. Many people would have been going to Jerusalem for to celebrate Passover too. And many of those people probably sought out Jesus when they saw him to walk with him and maybe receive healing for themselves or a family member or friend.
Jesus turned to the great crowds following him and said:
“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”
John Pilch helps us understand the context behind the words of Jesus. He said:
“This Middle-Eastern understanding of “meals” helps a “foreigner” (Deacon Joe: like us two thousand years later) to understand Jesus’ comments on discipleship in today’s reading. A follower of Jesus who ceased “networking” by means of meals would jeopardize a family’s very existence. The disciple must then choose between allegiance to the family and allegiance to Jesus.”
Choosing Jesus is thus equivalent to letting one’s family go, “hating” the family. Hate is more suitably translated “prefer,” that is, one who “hates” family actually prefers another group to the family.
Recall the tight-knit nature of the Middle-Eastern family. Sons, married and single, remain with the father. Everyone “controls” one another.
The tight knit Middle Eastern family had many advantages too. Family was there when you got into a difficult situation. Family would help you and protect you. One of the things that makes Jesus so unique is that he taught a new way of living.
If a person prefers the family of God more than their birth family, it comes with a great cost. Without your family, you were on your own. No safety net, no support, no protection from your enemies. Now we understand why Jesus immediately turns the crowd’s attention to two examples of someone counting the cost to accomplish a task.
The crowds willingly follow Jesus the great healer, the great miracle worker. Even the demons come out of people at Jesus’ command. Jesus is aware that the crowd will try to make him a “King” when he enters Jerusalem. Because Jesus is considered a great Teacher or Rabbi, the crowds will follow Jesus willingly without understanding what is coming.
Jesus knows that his Passion is near and wants the crowd to understand the cost of Discipleship. The suffering and shame that Jesus would endure in his Passion and Crucifixion are weighing heavy in his mind. We have a radically different understanding of the cross after Jesus’ crucifixion.
Despite the suffering and agony that Jesus experienced, he still did his Father’s will. That is what Jesus is calling the crowd to do; obey the Father’s will. And that comes at a cost.
Jesus made it extremely clear to the crowd that Discipleship requires total dedication to God. Jesus used the word “Hate” to emphasize how we must reject everything, even family which was so important to the culture of his day, to follow him.
There is still a cost to being a Christian, especially a Catholic, today. The Liberals have targeted us for our stand on the sanctity of the family, protection of our children and sacredness of life. Are we willing to do what Jesus tells the crowd; love God more than everything on earth and follow him?
Catholics are known for what we believe and the fact that we will live our lives according to those beliefs and fight for those principles regardless of the persecution that comes our way.
Some Catholics have turned away from the Church’s doctrine and teaching. They have even said that Pro Life Law is a sin. And others have discriminated against Catholics without us even knowing it. One school administrator said that if he discovered the person he was interviewing for a teacher position was Catholic, he would not hire them because of their faith.
Jesus is telling us not to get upset with what is going on in the world, not to let family, our pride, our possessions become more important than God. Jesus endured tremendous evil in his life. From the Temptations by Satan to his Passion and Crucifixion, to his accepting the sin of the entire world from the beginning of time to the end of time. My sin and your sin. Jesus loves us that much.
Yes, discipleship has a cost. We need to evaluate the cost and pray for strength to pay the cost of the cross we must bear. We must examine our willingness to put Christ above everything else in this world. Jesus told us that we must prefer him more than family, success, fame, and even our lives. The Blood of the Martyrs has flowed through the millennia because they preferred Christ more than life itself.
The only way to reach that point in our lives is by praying. Prayer is crucial to our spiritual growth. Grace before meals is good but we need time in prayer with God. A priest once told the congregation that unless they were spending at least an hour in prayer every day, it was not enough.
WOW! You say. I understand. Our lives are so busy.
How do we pray more? We start building our prayer life a little at a time. An extra five minutes a day for the next month, then another five minutes a day and gradually it is a crucial part of our lives.
It is our source of strength to carry the cross in our lives, the pain and suffering of a spouse or child who has cancer. The pain of a child who left the church when they got older even though they were raised here at St Joe’s.
Hard as it is, we must find time to increase our prayer life to help us prefer Jesus even over life itself.
Am I willing to pay the cost of Discipleship?
