In this Sunday’s gospel (Luke 14:25-33), Jesus frankly tells us that following him is not easy. It demands that we carry our own cross, give up old vices and bad habits, and love him above everything and everyone else, including our very own selves.
We wonder if this is at all possible. Can anyone ever do what the Lord requires? Today he challenges us to consider the costs of following him, and to ponder on our capability to bear them. He provides us two analogies: that of a builder, and that of a king. He said that if one were to build a tower, he should first sit down and calculate if he has enough resources to complete it; otherwise, onlookers will just make fun of him if they see the structure unfinished. Likewise, a king marching to battle with ten thousand troops should first assess if, given this military strength, he can defeat another king with twenty thousand troops. If he can’t, then even before the battle begins, he should send a delegation to ask for peace terms.
Again, we have to recognize that we cannot complete the tower or win the battle of our salvation if we were to rely on ourselves alone. It is only by the grace of God that we can faithfully follow Jesus. By ourselves, we lack the wisdom to know the right way and persevere. The First Reading (Wisdom 9:13-18) says this beautifully. “For who knows God’s counsel, or who can conceive what the Lord intends? For the deliberations of mortals are timid, and uncertain our plans. For the corruptible body burdens the soul and the earthly tent weighs down the mind with its many concerns. Scarcely can we guess the things on earth, and only with difficulty grasp what is at hand; but things in heaven, who can search them out? Or who can know your counsel, unless you give Wisdom and send your holy spirit from on high? Thus were the paths of those on earth made straight, and people learned what pleases you, and were saved by Wisdom.”
Jesus himself empowers us to follow him. He sends his Holy Spirit to help us succeed in our journey. By his death and resurrection, he has liberated us from the yoke of sin and death. Thus, just like Onesimus in the Second Reading (Philemon 1:9-10, 12-17), we can now serve the Lord not as slaves but as his esteemed brothers and sisters – free to follow him, and free to love him.