Wis. 9:13-18b; Ps. 90: 3-6, 12-14, 17; Phil. 9:12-17; Lk.14:25-33

Today Jesus makes clear the cost of discipleship is one of sacrifice.  It is the sacrifice of carrying our own cross.  A mother bears the pain of childbirth but then comes the joy of her suffering in the life of a newborn.  This is the mystery of the cost of discipleship that it gives birth to the joy of the resurrection in that Jesus lives through us and in us.  As John (Jn. 3:29-30) reminds us in scripture, “So this joy of mine has been made complete.  He must increase; I must decrease”.  

It begins and ends with our surrender of our will to do his will.  Our purpose is to seek his will, listen for his voice, be open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit by our life of prayer.  The cost of discipleship does not compare to the joy of receiving the Lord in this life and for eternity.   Our mortal bodies return to dust but the soul’s act upon death is to face our personal judgement.  As Simon Peter tells Jesus in the miracle of the fish, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”  Who can stand before the Lord when we come face to face with our sins before him?  The disciple who followed him after he made his salvation known. 

The Lord is our refuge.  We turn to him and he will place his laws in our hearts.  The challenge is can we keep his commandments and accept the cost of discipleship.  The “hating” of father or mother, wife or children, brothers or sisters is not the hate of a person since we are also called to love one another.  The “hate” is the sin and how we deal with the sins of others.  In a culture that calls for “safe space”, the rise in sensitivity to anything that can be labeled as a “microaggression” and the efforts to “cancel” any person who does not support specific cultural norms is the sin of “hate” in its evil ways.  Jesus is calling us to hate the sin and love the sinner by being truthful of the sin and not denying its danger.  The ultimate danger is the loss of a soul from heaven. 

The cost of discipleship is to stand for the truth as revealed by God.  The truth is that our days are numbered and possessions are a passing resource, a blessing to serve a good when we call out to God to “prosper the work of our hands”.  If by some tragedy we lose all our possessions, a fire, a storm, a flood or any other major event the heart that was detached from its possessions will bear their cross with greater strength than the heart whose meaning was attached to its possessions.  The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh as we have often heard, “praise be to the Lord”.  Kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall but the Lord remains with his people and rescues us and is our refuge. 

Jesus gives the example of the King marching into battle who first decides if he can successfully oppose another king who is much stronger in troops.  In this case because he lacks the strength of enough troops he seeks “peace terms”.  It is an act of prudence and so we are called to be prudent with all our possessions.  When is “enough too much”?  One way to seek peace and not let our possessions “possess us” is to ask ourselves “is this still serving a purpose”? 

The will of God is that we serve our purpose, a greater purpose and not let anything or anyone stand in the way of achieving God’s purpose.  This is the cost of discipleship, to let go and let God be the one who possesses us.