203. Christian Conditions (Luke 14:25-35)

“But above all things maintain peace of heart which surpasses every treasure. For maintaining this peace nothing is more effective than to renounce one’s own will and to set in its place the will of the Sacred Heart…”
St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

Luke 14:25-35: Great crowds accompanied him on his way and he turned and spoke to them. ‘If any man comes to me without hating his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes and his own life too, he cannot be my disciple. Anyone who does not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. And indeed, which of you here, intending to build a tower, would not first sit down and work out the cost to see if he had enough to complete it? Otherwise, if he laid the foundation and then found himself unable to finish the work, the onlookers would all start making fun of him and saying, Here is a man who started to build and was unable to finish. Or again, what king marching to war against another king would not first sit down and consider whether with ten thousand men he could stand up to the other who advanced against him with twenty thousand? If not, then while the other king was still a long way off, he would send envoys to sue for peace. So in the same way, none of you can be my disciple unless he gives up all his possessions. Salt is a useful thing. But if the salt itself loses its taste, how can it be seasoned again? It is good for neither soil nor manure heap. People throw it out. Listen, anyone who has ears to hear!’

Christ the Lord We easily become familiar with Christ; we lose our sense of wonder and amazement of him. But the people of his time knew that it was no ordinary man who walked among them – rather, they knew that he was an ordinary man who at the same time was extraordinary. Thus we run into brief phrases like “great crowds accompanied him on his way” strewn throughout the Gospels. Try to picture that. A rabbi walking the dusty streets of Palestine, drawing thousands of people in his wake…. Even if later some of the people in these crowds were also in the crowd that convinced Pilate to crucify him on Good Friday, we should credit them with recognizing that Christ was more than a name in one of Western culture’s great books – indeed, he was and is the Lord.

Christ the Teacher  At this point in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus is steadfastly making his way to Jerusalem, where he knows that he can expect nothing but betrayal, condemnation, humiliation, torture, and death, but he knows that on the third day he will rise again. He also knows that everyone who wants to be his follower, everyone who has tasted the incomparable meaning and deep joy of his Kingdom and wants its fullness, will have to follow the same path – every Christian has to die with Christ in order to rise with him. (cf. Romans 6:8) Death in this sense will not necessarily take the form of physical crucifixion, although for many of his closest followers (the martyrs) it did. But whatever form the cross takes in a particular Christian’s life, it will require a painful renunciation of things dear to us. Like a good surgeon, Christ has to cut away whatever holds us back from him, and that can hurt. The Church has always understood that Christ’s exhortation to hate father and mother and brothers and sisters simply points out that a true Christian can prefer nothing to Christ.

PartRestored2PikiWikiIsrael4803TowerOfDavid1925Christ the Friend Jesus didn’t want his followers to be under any illusions. Perhaps some people in that crowd were hoping for a sweeping political victory to overthrow the hated Roman yoke as soon as they would arrive in Jerusalem. Perhaps some were entertaining fanciful illusions about effortless prosperity – after all, hadn’t Jesus multiplied five loaves so as to feed more than five thousand people? Jesus knew that his Kingdom was of a different stripe. He knew that it was much greater, much better than anything they could imagine, but he also knew that attaining it would be more demanding than they thought. If they would be his friends, then, he would tell them right from the outset what such a friendship would entail. “None of you can be my disciple unless he gives up all his possessions…” Jesus isn’t advocating delay or hesitation in following him, but he is advocating firm resolution. Salt that loses its flavor is good for nothing, just so a disciple who loses his fervor when fidelity to Christ gets tough. Jesus is no fair-weather friend, and he’s looking for more than fair-weather followers.

St. Luke doesn’t tell us what tone of voice our Lord used when speaking these words, nor does he say how the crowds reacted, but we don’t really need him to. As always, Jesus was inviting these people to trust in him, and in his eyes was the fire of love and the warm hope of a heart that longs to give.

Christ in My Life Open my eyes, Lord. I want to know you better. I fall into routine so easily. Grant me the grace to perceive your majesty, your goodness, and your wisdom. If you don’t let me see your beauty, I will be turned aside by the passing fancies of this world. Open my eyes, Lord; increase my faith…

I want to be your follower, cross and all. But it’s hard for me to recognize my crosses. The contradictions and struggles of every day seem so petty – where is the redemption in them, Lord? I know it’s there somewhere, but where? Teach me to see my crosses, so that I can bear them, united to yours, with faith, hope, and love…

I know that following you will be costly. It’s much easier to go with what’s popular, easy, and pleasurable. But as long as you walk beside me, I would never desire another path. What would life be like without you? A tumbleweed, a passing cloud, a firecracker. You plug my life into eternity, and I know in my heart that’s where I belong…

PS: This is just one of 303 units of Fr. John’s fantastic book The Better Part. To learn more about The Better Part or to purchase in print, Kindle or iPhone editions, click here. Also, please help us get these resources to people who do not have the funds or ability to acquire them by clicking here.

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Art: Cover of The Better Part used with permission. Partial restoration of Jerusalem postcard Tower of David 1925 Cities in Israel, circa 1925, Yigal Shalhevet submitted 25 September 2009, PD-Worldwide, Wikimedia Commons.

Profile photo of Fr. Bartunek

About Fr. John Bartunek, LC

Fr. John Bartunek, LC, S.Th.D, received his BA in History from Stanford University in 1990. He comes from an evangelical Christian background and became a member of the Catholic Church in 1991. After college, he worked as a high school history teacher, drama director, and baseball coach. He then spent a year as a professional actor in Chicago before entering the religious Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ in 1993. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 2003 and earned his doctorate in moral theology in 2010. He provided spiritual support on the set of Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” while researching the 2005 Catholic best seller, “Inside the Passion”–the only authorized, behind-the-scene explanation of the film. Fr. John has contributed news commentary regarding religious issues on NBC, CNN, Fox, and the BBC. He also served as the English-language press liaison for the Vatican’s 2005 Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist. His most widely known book is called: “The Better Part: A Christ-Centered Resource for Personal Prayer”. His most recent books are “Spring Meditations”, “Seeking First the Kingdom: 30 Meditations on How to Love God with All Your Heart, Soul, Mind and Strength”, and “Answers: Catholic Advice for Your Spiritual Questions”. Fr. John currently splits his time between Michigan (where he continues his writing apostolate and serves as a confessor and spiritual director at the Queen of the Family Retreat Center) and Rome, where he teaches theology at Regina Apostolorum. His online, do-it-yourself retreats are available at RCSpirituality.org, and he answers questions about the spiritual life at SpiritualDirection.com.

This article is reprinted with permission from our friends at Roman Catholic Spiritual Direction.

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