Luke 14:25-33

Gospel according to Luke 14:25-33

Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and he turned and said to them, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate their father and mother, spouse and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he cannot, then while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.

Reflections

In today’s Gospel, Jesus talks about possessions. What are possessions? Jesus gives a few illustrations, such as our family, our lives, our money. He invites us to ponder this thought further and to take it seriously that “…whoever of you does not give up all their possession cannot be my disciple.” What could Jesus be meaning with such a radical statement?

Possessions are what we have. These are the things that belong to us, that we manage, that we acquire, or we have at our disposal. For example, since the beginning of our lives, we have a mother, a father whose child we are. We may have brothers and sisters; a house where we live; clothes that we wear; food that we eat, and so on. We have our lives, and we often think that what we have control over the things that belong to it. The first point about possessions is that the real control of them is ultimately

A second point is that there is a difference between what we have and who we are. We are not identical with what we own or what we don’t. Therefore, the question of who we are gets to the essence of Jesus’ message of today. If we are the children of God, which is who we are, all of us, then it matters less what we have, as far as our means allow us to do that what is God’s will for our lives. It is in this sense that Jesus advises to think with reason and to keep our focus on what is our mission, rather than to have unnecessary attachments to persons, or to things. Jesus gives several examples whereby one needs to let go of whatever is not essential for the purposes of accomplishing the will of God and to accept sacrifices and hardships in being Jesus’ disciple. Jesus reminds us that the way to salvation and the way to Heaven goes through the acceptance of the cross.

Letting go is not an irrational and senseless abandonment. Jesus doesn’t ask us to start squandering our possessions and forget our family relations. He calls us to a rational choice and a decision to let God be at the center of our lives and our intentions.

Quote of the Day

“The sacred Scriptures grow with the one who reads them.”

– Pope Gregory I