Discipleship – a popular word – and it is something that, as you are at Mass, I assume that you want – to be a Christian, to live the Christian life – to follow Christ – we all want to be disciples - and here Jesus gives us several things that, without which, one “cannot be my disciple” – A good and useful lesson to listen to – yet it is a puzzling one – a lesson about discipleship that does not seem to make much sense.
Renouncing all of one’s possessions - doing some accounting and planning to build a tower – planning military battles with an opposing king – Carrying a mode of exaction … a cross, around - hating father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, - and evening hating one’s own life.
What do these have to do with each other? Some seem like practical wisdom - plan ahead when building - other just seem awful; I hope no one wants to hate their family. What do these have to do with discipleship? It is a passage that has confused many – yet also shines light upon what it means to follow Christ and to live the Christian life.
Building a tower – on the one hand, this is very practical advice – “calculate the costto see if there is enough for its completion” – there are plenty of examples in history of places funding ran out mid-construction – and there are plenty of people to make a joke about a big hole in the ground where a building was supposed to be. When starting something, be ready to see it through, know what it will cost - There is something here that connects to discipleship – there is a cost to following Christ – the Christian life is not easy; it is not cheap. If one is to follow Christ, it is essential to know the cost – and be ready for it. One cannot follow Christ and only go halfway – do not be like the building that is only half built. – If one is to be a disciple – one must be ready for the total cost of discipleship.
And that cost? Well, being a disciple means following Christ – Not just in his resurrection – but also into his death. That means following him to the cross. After all – “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”
It is easy to not think about what the cross really is - think of it as carrying a few struggles or challenges – difficulties in life – “it’s the cross you must carry” – that is not wrong per se –but historically, the cross is a means of execution - “What Jesus is calling us to is to be crucified, to die and be buried with him” sacramentally in baptism – but also potentially in the body as well.
Hence the line about hating one’s one life – it is not that one should actually hate one’s life, but your love for Christ – devotion to follow Christ, even to the cross, should be so great as to be gladly willing to give up one’s life if that is what it takes. Martyrdom may seem unlikely today, in 2022, in the United States. However, many martyrs have done just this throughout the history of the Church; the 20th Century is thought to have martyrs more martyrs than all other centuries combined.
And what of the family? Should one hate their family? No – but what price is one willing to pay – the cost of discipleship can be high. While it may seem foreign, some are ostracized by their family for being baptized – a Muslim who converts potentially does so at an extreme cost – potentially rejected from their family. In the words of St Augustine – “we are to hate our families insofar as they are an obstacle to eternal life” - While Jesus’ words might be a hyperbole to make the point –The cost of the Christian life can be high – we must follow with our cross, ready to accept the price - which is everything– potentially including life and family.
The challenge of being a disciple is immense. The Christian life has a high price – the price is everything – how can anyone follow Christ? It seems too much, impossible. How are we to do it? How did the saints do it? This seems impossible – It really is like preparing for a battle that cannot be won – for there is no way that our 10 thousand soldiers can overcome the enemy’s 20 thousand. Here comes Jesus’ last piece of practical advice.
If a king knows he cannot win the battle, “he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.” – the strength is not there to follow Christ by one’s own power – we cannot do it – the saints did not do it by their strength – so it is request mercy from Christ – that he might help us by his grace. And he will if only we will follow him, but to do so, we must renounce our claim to do it ourselves – we must hold our possessions loosely, always ready to let them go – have nothing that gets in the way of following Christ – “anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.”
But in the grace of Christ, we follow – not thinking it will be easy – but we have accounted the cost, not building a tower, but of following Christ – we know that we must be willing to give all possessions, family, our own life. Knowing our weakness, we beg for mercy – and Christ gives that mercy and grace - if only we follow, and it is in all this that we not only join Christ in his crucifixion and death – but also might join Christ in his resurrection and be with him in heaven.