how much does it cost?

Gospel Luke

14:25-33

Great crowds were traveling with Jesus,
and he turned and addressed them,
“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.
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? 
Otherwise, after laying the foundation
and finding himself unable to finish the work
the onlookers should laugh at him and say,
‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’
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? 
But if not, while he is still far away,
he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms. 
In the same way,
anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions

cannot be my disciple.”One of the most important questions for me is, how much does it cost? I always want to know the price. If I go to the store and it doesn't have the price I have to find someone who can tell me the price. I don't think I'm a cheapskate, but the price is important. I usually have in my mind that this should be the price and if it is more, I do not want it, it isn't something I need, or I figure I can do without it. I also have the other problem that if something is very cheap I have to buy it simply for the good price, look how much I saved.

It seems like Jesus is the same in today's reading. Jesus wants us to know the price of being his disciple. And Jesus is very clear about how much it is going to cost. If you want to follow Jesus, if you want to be his disciple, then it’s going to cost you everything! Jesus is saying that he does not want half-baked disciples. He does not want disciples on Sundays but from Monday to Saturday servants of money or power. No, if you want to be a disciple of Jesus you have to be willing to give everything.

Today's gospel is very clear about the price of being a disciple of Jesus, and he gives two parables explaining that we have to be ready to give everything. In the parables Jesus is saying if you don't want to give everything, if you plan to be a half disciple. If you think you can be a disciple, not full time, better not be my disciple. If we are going to build a tower or if a king is going to go to war, he has to know how much it will cost, the sacrifices, and whether or he will be able to finish the job. And if he can't finish the job, then it is better not to start. So as a disciple of Jesus we first have to know how much we have to give, and Jesus just told us everything. The only way we can be a disciple of Jesus is if we are willing to give everything. Second, if we begin to follow Jesus as his disciples, if we are baptized, if we have started down the path we must be able to finish it.

For me, today's Gospel is interesting because I am preaching in Spanish and English. And the two readings are very different. In Spanish it says, if you do not prefer your mother, father or husband, you cannot be my disciple. But in English he says, if you don't hate your mother, father etc. It is easy to say, "I prefer Jesus over all others," But hate, this word is very strong. The truth is that hate is too strong, but prefer is very weak. The point of Jesus is that if you want to be a disciple we have to be willing to give everything, including putting our own family second if necessary.

The truth is that it is very difficult to be a disciple of Jesus. We must never be tempted to think that being a disciple of Jesus is something easy, or that it does not require some sacrifice. It is not easy, and if you have to sacrifice a lot to be a disciple of Jesus. Then one can think; well if it is so difficult, if it requires everything, if I have to sacrifice everything better not to start. Like the architect of the tower who figures out whether or not he can finish the project before he starts out. The truth is, not one of us has enough to be a disciple of Jesus.

That is why I am very happy that we have the church. Because we don't follow Jesus alone. We don't have to worry if we have everything it takes to be a follower of Jesus. We have the Church, we have one another, the church exists, to guide us when we are lost, to pick us up when we are tired, and forgive ourselves when we have sinned. Our protestant brothers and sisters speak of accepting Christ as my Savior, of earning my salvation. But we Catholics are not like that, we follow Jesus in community, we have the help of others.

What does it cost to be a disciple of Jesus? Everything! As a community of faith that we are, we answer the call together.