Conscious Discipleship
Twenty-Third Sunday Scripture Readings
Let’s become dedicated Christians and follow Jesus religiously. What could possibly go wrong? Well, there are myriads of disappointed and disaffected Christians over the centuries who’d be happy to answer that question for us. They may have missed or misunderstood the cautionary advice Jesus gave his followers in today’s gospel. We might dismiss his message of turning away from family, friends, and possessions as too radical and too harsh, and say to ourselves, “I can’t imagine God would expect me to do that.” If that’s our thought, we’ve most likely let Jesus’s words eclipse his meaning.
When Jesus says, “If anyone comes to me…” he’s referring to the ancient practice of spiritual seekers coming to a master or guru, asking to be taken on as students or disciples. This was quite literally the situation during Jesus’s public ministry. We can be sure of at least twelve whom he chose for those positions, but there may have been others, and certainly, even more disciple wannabes among the crowds that followed him. The conditions Jesus laid down in today’s gospel—leaving behind family and friends, professions and plans, property and wealth—applied quite literally to those Apostles. But they were in a special situation, being trained to take over the master’s work as masters themselves. For the rest, what did it mean to follow Jesus as his disciple? It didn’t necessarily mean becoming a nun or a monk. What it did mean was a decision to undergo a change of mind and heart.
Following as Jesus’s disciple has very little to do with church membership, following religious rules and regulations, memorizing Bible passages, or catechism lessons. It’s not even limited to believing in God or being a good person. If all that were enough, there would’ve been no need for Jesus. Every sincerely religious person does those sorts of things. What Jesus requires of his disciples is something more. He wants his disciples to be like-minded. Saint Paul, in his letter to the Philippians [2:5] exhorts his readers to adopt “the same mind that was in Christ Jesus.” He goes on to describe how Jesus emptied himself in order to attain the glory of the resurrection. For Jesus, discipleship requires single-minded dedication. He accepted no part-time disciples.
The conviction that discipleship requires self-emptying is what lies behind Jesus’s caution in our gospel passage. He asks those who would follow him to give serious consideration to the cost of discipleship, and he spells it out for us. We need to understand that his demands that his followers “hate” their families and their own selves cannot be taken literally as we understand the words. He’s using Semitic hyperbole to create a strong contrast. Along the road to discipleship are many obstacles and distractions. There are family concerns and business concerns and employment concerns. There are concerns arising from our own personal needs and wants. There are concerns regarding property and goods. Jesus warns that discipleship must take first priority. Discipleship can’t be an impulse or an afterthought. There’s an old saying that where your time, talent, and treasure lie, there your heart will be also. With discipleship, we come to appreciate the cost when we realize that our time, talent, and treasure are no longer available as a priority to family, career, or personal goals.
Jesus advises careful consideration of the cost of discipleship. It means performing an honest risk assessment. How committed are we to saying no to those extraneous demands on us? We’re not talking about fulfilling the demands of justice and love. That’s of the essence of discipleship. Jesus is asking us to consider how committed we want to be to turning away from distractions—even seemingly important ones—that can threaten our full involvement in the pursuit of our spiritual mission. That mission’s not a burdensome one, nor is it joyless drudgery. It’s the commitment we make on a daily basis to deepen our conscious contact with God, and to live lives of integrity, love, and service. How capable and willing are we to set aside anything else that would get in our way? That’s what Jesus is asking us today.
Discipleship requires resources. What do we do if we don’t have enough funds to complete our tower, or if we don’t have enough strength to meet the enemy? What will we need to do to gain the resources we lack? That, too, is part of discipleship: recognizing and acknowledging our weaknesses honestly and having the courage and commitment necessary to make up for our shortcomings. Don’t think it takes only strength to take up our cross and follow Jesus. Watch him. As he fell with the cross and collapsed under its weight, it took someone else to help him bear it. No, mere strength and stamina aren’t required. What is required to carry our own cross is simply the courage and commitment to do it. That’s the truest cost of discipleship: to summon the courage and commitment to persevere despite distractions and obstacles, and despite the odds. That’s the question we’re asked today, and the question we have to ask ourselves every day: do I have the courage and commitment to be a disciple, even just for today?
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