From the Gospel according to Luke 14:25-33
Great crowds were traveling with Jesus, and he turned and addressed them, “If anyone comes to me unwilling to sacrifice his love for 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, everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.”
A Decision
All we have to do is look around us to realise how many things try to awaken our desires and capture our attention: advertising, special offers, mobile phone notifications, social media… Everything seems designed to seduce us, make us want more, and turn our desires into consumption. How different Jesus is! When an enthusiastic crowd follows Him, He does not try to keep their enthusiasm alive with pleasing words. On the contrary, He turns to them and speaks clearly about what it means to follow Him; He speaks of renunciation and the cross. He enlight them with two situations: a man who wants to build a tower and a king who considers whether he is prepared for battle. Following Jesus requires determination, perseverance, and a willingness to fight against ourselves. How good Jesus is! He neither deceives us nor hides the demands of the journey from us. Rather, He uses our enthusiasm to win our hearts and teach us how to love. And what about us? Do we follow Him because of the excitement we feel about what He is doing in our lives, because we hope He will grant us what we desire, or because we are truly willing to let Him transform our hearts?
Lord, today I want to ask You to make Your home in my heart; to put my desires in order, free me from my attachments, and teach me to love as You do.
Applied to married life
Luke: Ever since we went on the Marital Love Project retreat, I’ve been looking at our marriage differently. This is about so much more than simply getting along… We were missing out on the supernatural life that God wants to give us.
Bella: That’s why I don’t want the retreat to remain just something we liked. We need to make a commitment. We can’t leave the tower half-built, can we?
Luke: We need to take a step forward. I suggest we join a group to continue the Proyecto Amor Conyugal catechesis and commit ourselves to helping others discover the wonder of marriage…
Bella: That excites me… but it won’t be easy. There will be Saturdays when we can’t be bothered to go out, when we have other plans, and when comments from our family make us doubt ourselves.
Luke: I know. We’ll have to fight against ourselves and against that habit of putting God off until it suits us… This is the battle Jesus speaks about. We’ll have to deny ourselves time and time again. But if we want the Lord to transform us, it’s not enough to come back from the retreat feeling enthusiastic.
Mother
Help our love to be more than just words. Blessed are you for accompanying us on this journey!