IN THIS Sunday’s gospel (Luke 14:25-33), Jesus reminds us that it is not easy to follow him. Just as he has carried his cross, so shall we carry our own cross, not literally but in the tests and trials of daily life.
Of course, the demands of everyday life are enormous. In our desire to live responsible lives, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year all seem not to be enough to accomplish everything we want to do.
In fact, a lifetime will not suffice. The First Reading (Wisdom 9:13-18b) tells us that “the corruptible body burdens the soul and the earthen shelter weighs down the mind that has many concerns.”
The same reading tells us that on our own, it will truly be difficult to fathom the things on earth, but thanks be to God, our paths can be made straight by the wisdom that God sends – by the Holy Spirit that comes from on high.
Following Jesus is also made difficult by the demand to love God above all persons and things, in fact, to love him more than we love ourselves. It is to renounce many things that we value, if these things hinder our relationship with God, or if any of them takes the place of God in our priority list of what counts most in life.
The cost of following Jesus is high. Thus, he tells us that similar to building a tower, we first have to sit down to calculate if our resources are enough to bring the project to completion.
It is also similar to a king who goes to war with another king, reckoning if his troops are enough to overpower the more numerous troops of his opponent.
All these, however, should not leave us in desperation, thinking that we are not capable of freely following Jesus. Like Onesimus in the Second Reading (Phm. 9-10, 12-17) we can be set free from slavery unto freedom.
And how can this be done? By standing on the words of Jesus himself who in Luke 18:27 said, “What is impossible for human beings is possible for God.” With God we can overcome, just as he told Zechariah, “Not by might, and not by power, but by my spirit” (Zech. 4:5). Thus, with Paul we can declare, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).