“Great crowds were traveling with Jesus (Luke 14:25),” we hear.
He’d rather they be students, or learners which is what disciple means from the Latin word discipulus. So, he teaches them three “cannots,” which is a great way to weed out the casual observers from the more serious followers because the brain processes negation (like cannot) by first acknowledging the positive concept and then applying the negative, which requires more time to reflect.
1. The first “cannot” is: “Anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:3.
Renouncing possessions suggests impermanence that all existence of people, places, things, is subject to a continuous process of change, and eventual disappearance from our sight. Embracing this truth, rather than resisting it, can lead to a deeper understanding of what we own so it does not own us, and a more peaceful, fluid approach to life by reducing attachment to temporary things, which includes various problems.
In the face of already certain judgement, attachment to possessions makes no sense.
To illustrate such readiness to spiritually walk away from all our stuff:
Disciple: I have come to you with nothing in my hands.
Master: Drop it at once!
Disciple: But how can I drop it? It is nothing.
Master: Then carry it around with you!
The Moral of the story: Your detachment can be your most valued possession.
2). The second "cannot be my disciple" this Sunday is about cross-bearing (Luke 14:27).
It should be understood as a perpetual discipline which includes suffering and self-denial,” and accepting the things we cannot change as our cross.
It’s like the “hating one’s own life” also mentioned, which means denying self to submit one’s human thoughts to God’s thoughts ... to his will, his plan, and his purposes, to have an intimate, instructive, and imitative relationship with the teacher, Jesus.
Humans require divine intervention if it is to do what is pleasing to God, we hear in Our First Reading from Wisdom, Chapter 9, “[who makes] the paths of those on earth made straight” (Wisdom 9:18).
3). The third “cannot” of discipleship is the family 'hatred' spoken of in our Gospel—but this is not a psychological hostility. Keep in mind that in Aramaic, hate is not necessarily a feeling word, but a word that denotes priority.
One editor did not understand this meaning for hate and commented after someone wrote the words, “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.” The editor wrote, “check the source; this can’t be right.”1
The fact is that when you make Jesus the center of your life, you will be a better spouse, son or daughter, and friend to yourself, but only if you choose your highest allegiance to follow God’s will as a disciple in and through Christ, Our Lord.
Practical discipleship examples given in our Gospel are: (1) constructing a tower, which is a defensive position as towers were originally used to guard large vineyards, and cities.
(2) The other example is about proper battle plans which is an offensive action.
When we realize that what we desire the most becomes our master, defensively protecting our relationship with boundaries so no one takes the de facto place of God in our live is a learned skill, and spiritual warfare is offensive to ward off the world, the flesh and the devil which are the three main sources of evil and temptation that Christians to stay saved.
The world represents corrupt societal values, cultures, and institutions that are contrary to God's will. The flesh symbolizes our fallen human nature and its disordered, sinful desires and passions. The devil is a real, personal enemy—a fallen angel and the instigator of evil who seeks to deceive and lead people away from God.
Concluding illustrations that sum up discipleship:
The philosopher Diogenes was dining on bread and lentils. He was seen by the philosopher Aristippus who lived in considerable comfort by fawning on the king.
Said Aristippus, “Learn subservience to the king and you will not live on lentils.”
Said Diogenes, “Learn to live on lentils and you will not have to cultivate the king.
[Jesus must have our highest allegiance as the center of our life]
And:
Pastor James W. Moore writes that one his pastor friends became annoyed at a member of his congregation. This man was loud and overbearing. And whenever he saw his pastor out in public, he would shout, “Attention, everybody! Here comes the man of God.” Naturally, everyone within earshot turned to stare at the pastor.
But one day, the pastor turned the tables on his church member. When they were out in public and man began saying loudly, “Here comes the man of God! How is the man of God today?”
The pastor responded, “Just fine, thank you.” Then the pastor added, “By the way, whose man are you?” The loud and boisterous man didn’t say a thing.2
1. cf. Christian Century, July 15, 2020
2. Dynamic Preaching, Sept-Dec 2022.
