A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 14:25-33)
Jesus turned and addressed the crowds: “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?”
Jesus sets down the conditions for discipleship in sharply defined terms, laying on the line the complete dedication necessary in carrying one’s own cross. Using two earthly images, he compares discipleship to one who calculates the cost of building a tower and to a king assessing whether he has enough troops to win a battle. In both cases, the cost must be calculated and a decision made one way or another: to engage or to withdraw. The terms for discipleship, Jesus says, are this: “In the same way, everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.” In the first reading, Saint Paul describes this commitment in terms of sacrificial love, writing, “Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.”
Father in heaven, help me understand what is at stake and what resources I have when I sit down to calculate the cost of discipleship. When Jesus says I must “hate” my brothers and sisters for the sake of following him, that’s not meant to be taken literally but to emphasize complete devotion to him and abandonment of all possessions. Still, this seems impossible; I need your grace for this, Lord—to love one another and to renounce the spirit of this world. In sizing up what seems to be impossible on our own, Saint Ignatius suggests that the only true way to calculate the cost is not to count at all but instead completely trust in you. He puts it this way: “Teach us, good Lord, to serve you as you deserve; to give, and not to count the cost.” Teach me to do your will, Lord, and let me trust that you will supply everything I need.
From the responsorial psalm: “Lavishly he gives to the poor; his generosity shall endure forever; his horn shall be exalted in glory. Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need.” Help me be gracious, Lord, as you are gracious!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.