At the heart of discipleship is the invitation to become like Christ. The demands of following Jesus are difficult but not an impossible one; it is quite challenging, but also rewarding. Following Jesus as a life-long journey entails a growth process; growing intimacy with the Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, who is both the subject and object, the content and the method of Christian life. The Gospel of Luke places significant emphasis on the cost of discipleship. When we set out to follow Jesus, we often do not know what we are getting ourselves into. There will be times when we are called to go against the tide of prevailing philosophies, and there is the constant battle between flesh and spirit that has its moments of particular fierceness.
Numerous saints and holy people have witnessed to the fact that the call to become like Jesus Christ includes both the cross and the resurrection. The Gospel of Luke provides a lesson on deep commitment and the demands of discipleship. On the journey, a man approached Jesus and said “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus teaches him about mission and the way of a would-be follower. He reminds him of the material cost and the spiritual cost of following Christ. Unlike the animals (foxes and birds), the disciple must live like the son of Man, with nowhere to rest. The will to follow Jesus requires a blind self-surrender, without any security for the future. Evangelical poverty involves not only the renunciation of material goods but also detachment from them. To the second person, Christ said, “Follow me” but he said, “Lord let me bury my father first”.
We are sometimes faced with the temptation that when we solved our family challenges then we will be able to devote time for Christ. To follow Christ in the future is not to follow Him at all because the world will never be perfect and one can never solve the challenges of one’s family. In other words, Christ, more than discouraging respect and love for one’s parents, teaches us that our relationship with him must take absolute priority in our lives. Jesus’ response that the dead should bury the dead is referring to those who are dead to Jesus message and filled with worldly concerns. Those called by Jesus should be willing to leave all, even family, to become his disciple. Also, following Jesus means that everything takes second place to the preaching of the kingdom. The third person said, “I will follow you”, but “let me first say farewell to those at home.”
Christ said “No one put his hand on the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Jesus warns that anyone who looks back to the concerns of the world is unfit for discipleship. Looking back means that we are half hearted in our commitment. It can also connote that we excuse our lack of commitment because of something in the past, that we have done in the past or what others have done to us. None of us had a perfect childhood, perfect schooling or perfect families. Whatever our past might be, the Lord calls us to follow Him as we are. We must not keep looking back but must always focus our attention on Jesus. The story of Elisha’s call in the first reading will help us to a better understanding of the gospel. Elisha was called while he is out plowing: the call came in the midst of his daily work. The circumstances are significant, but we often find God calling people in this way in both Old and the New Testaments.
Elijah approached him and threw his cloak over to him which indicated the prophetic mission with which he was being invested. Elisha’s response was immediate; he slaughtered the oxen and burned the plough. That means that there could be no possibility of returning to his old way of life. Turning back was no longer an option. From that point on, Elisha committed himself totally to his new calling. Jesus turns around today and asks us his followers: “Do you really know what you are bargaining for when you say you want to follow me? Christian discipleship implies an all-consuming loyalty to me. We cannot follow Jesus based on our own terms and conditions.
Are you willing to abandon your old, selfish and corrupt self in order to follow Jesus? Are you ready to abandon yourself with all your possessions and human attachments, in order to follow me? Can you take the risk? Jesus did not want premature, half-hearted commitment. He does not want anyone rushing in at instant commitment, like declaring publicly, “I am born again,” after an emotionally uplifting crusade, but without taking into serious cognizance the short and long-term sacrifices involved in such commitment. Following Jesus requires careful thought and calculations. It demands the re-ordering of our values and relationships. It cannot be business as usual. Answering the call of Christ must affect the disciple profoundly. Anything less is not worthy of him. The call is costly at times, but the rewards are great. Lord Jesus, we ask for the grace to seek your will every day, to recognize it, and the power to move in accord with your grace. By your spirit within us, make us into your disciples. Amen.
