Those who made up the large crowds that followed Our Lord, did so with different motives. Many sought what they could get out of him…to witness spectacular miracles…having heard of the multiplication of the loaves and fish, to be fed. Some sought places of honor in his kingdom, and his opponents sought to entrap him. I am sure not a few followed him merely out of curiosity. Our Lord had many casual followers and few committed disciples. It was when the crowd was great that Our Lord would deliver his most demanding or difficult teachings.
In today’s account he defines the true nature of discipleship and his definition is not easy to accept because discipleship is not always in lock step with what is current or popular. They are hard teachings that seem designed to “thin the ranks” in order to distinguish true disciples from mere followers.
The first “hard” saying is that one cannot be a disciple without hating one’s parents, spouse, or children. Of course, Our Lord is not instructing us to hate our loved ones. He is using hyperbole, which is to say, an exaggeration in order to make a point. We use it when we say things like:
Monsignor’s homily went on forever.
Our new car cost us an arm and a leg.
I’ve seen that movie a thousand times.
I’ve told you a million times—clean your room.
I would walk to the ends of the earth to hear the deacon’s homily.
The point Our Lord makes is that God must always come first. So many things clamor for our attention and we must be careful not to let them distract us or derail us from our relationship with the Lord and following his path.
If a friend suggests a way to cheat on your tax return, a disciple says, “No thanks.” If someone pressures you to engage in pre-marital sex, a disciple says, “Go away!” If someone tells you it’s OK to skip Mass or religious education class, a disciple says, “No way!”
Jesus must clearly be given the first place. This does not detract from our love of others but in fact, orders and directs it. If we love God most, we will love others best.
Giving Christ the first place, making faith a priority will often place us on a collision course with the popular culture. Which means we will face misunderstanding and even hostility. This is why Our Lord says, “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
This is why Our Lord’s allegories of constructing a tower, of a king marching into battle, and the call to renounce possessions, would have us consider the demands, the cost of discipleship.
We are part of that crowd that follows Jesus. In what group do we fall? Msgr. Charles Pope, a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington, puts it rather bluntly: “Tag-alongs, lip-service Christians, fair weather folks need not apply. Jesus teaches in a way that is meant to distinguish true disciples from “lip-service” disciples. He asks us to ponder in which category we most truthfully belong.”
