Gospel: Luke 14:25-33
Great crowds were traveling with Jesus, and he turned and
addressed them, “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my
disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my
disciple.
Which of you wishing to construct a
tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough
for its completion? Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself
unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him and say, ‘This one
began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’
Or what king marching into battle
would not first sit down and decide whether with ten thousand troops he can
successfully oppose another king advancing upon him with twenty thousand
troops? But if not, while he is still far away, he will send a delegation to
ask for peace terms. In the same way, everyone of you who does not renounce all
his possessions cannot be my disciple.”
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Reflection:
The story is told about a man who was
being prodded by his friend to follow Jesus. So, the man asked his friend:
“What would I get if I decide to follow Jesus?” The friend told the man: “All
the crosses that you carry would evaporate the moment you decide to follow
Jesus.” With the promise of a problem free life the man followed Jesus.
However, the man noticed that as he followed Jesus the cross that he carried on
his shoulders started to pile up as well.
Why do you follow Jesus?
When Jesus noticed that great crowds
were travelling with him he knew that they were there because of the many
miracles and healings that he does. Jesus knew that the moment He stops doing
miracles for them they would eventually abandon him. Jesus knew it like seeing
through a crystal clear water!
So he addressed them, “Whoever does
not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:27).”
What is this cross that Jesus is speaking about? The cross are the many life
challenges, burdens and trials that we would encounter the moment we decide to
follow the Lord.
Other Christian denominations project
Jesus as a God who can immediately lighten our burdens the moment we accept Him
as our Lord and savior. A miracle worker or a cure all God so to speak! And
many are immediately hypnotized by this promise so they leave the church for
the Christian denomination.
However there would be instances
wherein Jesus would not help us carry our burdens; would not cure us of our
sickness. It may even seem that Jesus is an absentee God, a God who doesn’t
care. Yes, it’s not all the time that we would get what we want from Jesus. He
cares nevertheless and He is always with us even in the most difficult episodes
of our life.
What Jesus is telling us in the
Gospel is this: if you want to follow me be prepared to persevere. Be prepared
to carry your own cross and be prepared to sacrifice and leave your own comfort
zone. But don’t you worry about anything because I will take care of everything
for you.
Truth be told, to follow the Lord amidst your burdens, trials and challenges is the best decision that you can ever make in your life. Would you follow the Lord despite the many crosses that you carry? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
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