Great crowds were traveling with him, and he turned and addressed them, 26 “If any one 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. 27 Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 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? 29 Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him 30 and say, ‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’ 31 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? 32 But if not, while he is still far away, he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms. 33 In the same way, everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple. 34 “Salt is good, but if salt itself loses its taste, with what can its flavor be restored? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”'
Jesus had already explained what was required of his disciples (Lk. 9:23-27; 57-62). Jesus now explained in stronger language what was expected of those God has chosen for the Kingdom. Their response must be a total commitment to serving Jesus. Even family must take second place to serving God (v. 26); “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me (Mt. 10:37).” It will not be easy, and the disciples must be prepared for difficulties (v. 27); “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me (Lk. 9:23)." They must ponder and decide if they are willing to sacrifice everything, give up all their possessions, and follow Jesus (vv. 28-32). The disciples must inspire others and persevere so as not to become ineffective (vv. 34-35). Listen to Jesus!
Almighty God, we can barely make out the path you made for us and we cannot see the plan you made for our lives. Grant us the grace to trust in you when we cannot see and to have faith when we cannot hear so that bearing all difficulties your plan of salvation will deliver us. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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