Challenge of Discipleship
In our Gospel reading for Sunday (Luke 14:25-33), Jesus speaks some challenging, and even harsh words that can raise a lot of questions in our minds: “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.”
Why would Jesus say something like that? There is a footnote in the New American Bible about this passage that points out that Jesus is calling for a full commitment to discipleship, and attachment to one’s family, or even one’s life, is not to get in the way of that commitment.
But does that mean we’re supposed to hate those closest to us? Or do we really have to choose between Jesus and our families? First, I don’t believe that the One who has told us to love even our enemies is calling us to hate. But He is calling us to put God first, and as we heard a few weeks ago, that might put us in conflict with some family members.
As I was reflecting on this, I saw Jesus’ words as not so much ending our relationships in order to follow Him but challenging us to consider our relationships in terms of following Him.
At the end of our reading, after Jesus tells the crowds to seriously consider the costs of discipleship, He says, “In the same way, anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.” For me, Jesus is calling us to let go of materialism and greed, but also, I think, to forsake any claims of “owning” any thing or any one.
Our second reading, from St. Paul’s letter to Philemon illustrates what I’m thinking. Philemon, apparently, was a Christian who owned a slave named Onesimus. And it seems Onesimus ran away from Philemon and somehow ended up being someone who worked with Paul. It looks like Paul has decided to send Onesimus back to Philemon, asking that Onesimus continue working with Paul. But he asks Philemon to change the relationship: “Perhaps this is why he was away from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a brother, beloved especially to me, but even more so to you, as a man and in the Lord. So if you regard me as a partner, welcome him as you would me.”
I know there are questions about why Paul just didn’t denounce slavery, but putting that aside at the moment, Paul is encouraging Philemon to change the relationship from slave to brother. In the light of following Jesus, we are called to renounce any transactional considerations in our relationships. We are not to look at others (and for that matter, all of creation) only in terms of how they may serve our interests, but in terms of how they are beloved of God. We are called to love as Jesus did, even to the point of carrying a cross. In following Jesus, our love is not to be limited to the ones closest to us, or the ones like us, but extended to everyone, which translates to working for justice and making peace.
This is all still very challenging. And we are not likely to do it perfectly. But by the grace of God, we can make the commitment to which Jesus is calling us, helping build up the kingdom.
I welcome any comments or questions. Thanks for your time.
