At that time, large crowds were following Jesus. He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother,

 

At that time, 25 large crowds were following Jesus. He turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, wanting to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to finish? If not, 29 he will lay the foundation and not be able to finish. And everyone who sees it will begin to mock him, saying, 30 ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or again: What king, going to war against another, does not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to meet the one who is coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he sees that he cannot, while the other king is still a long way off, he sends messengers to negotiate terms of peace. 33 In the same way, therefore, any of you cannot be my disciple unless he renounces all that he has!"

— Word of Salvation.

Reflection

1. Faced with the rejection of the banquet prepared by God for his guests, Jesus presents the essential condition for truly being his disciple. Jesus wants a whole heart. A divided heart is a sign of indecision, uncertainty in faith, doubt about one's vocation, attachment to material things and to oneself. Indecision kills the human being in the depths of his soul. Jesus Christ is the choice of life, of the greater good, of the reason for being. To follow Him is to recognize in Him the bearer of the fulfillment of God’s saving desire, the greatest and most important wealth for human beings, the most lovable and adorable brother, the only Way, Truth and Life for human divinization and their filiation with God.

2. To follow Jesus demands a conscious and radical decision. One must measure one’s own capabilities. One must know whether one is truly willing to face the radicality of renouncing oneself, family attachments, friends, material goods, luxuries, and one’s own concepts; furthermore, whether one is capable of facing rejection by many, including one’s own family and friends; suffering for the sake of the name of Jesus; often being excluded from groups of brothers and sisters of the same faith; being despised for taking the mission seriously, with love for the Church and God, fearlessly defending the faith and human dignity; not being afraid to denounce and proclaim passionately; feeling content when persecuted for the sake of the Word of God, in the name of Jesus Christ himself; not to fear martyrdom, to become an authentic witness to Christ.

3. The only wealth of a disciple is Christ himself, who is the Torah of the New and Eternal Covenant. It is up to the disciple to give up his dreams in order to seriously live God's dream, through total responsibility for the Word of Salvation, total dedication to the evangelizing mission and to the good of God's people. The disciple must be faithful, absolutely focused on the Father, like Jesus, his Master (Pros thon Theon). God is faithful to the Covenant and to everyone, and expects everyone to respond with the same fidelity. Through Christ, loving Him deeply and living His teachings, following His steps and going in the direction He has chosen, the disciple will fulfill the Father’s will.

4. The fulfillment of the Father’s will will only occur by renouncing three important things: attachment to material things (using them for the good of all), family (remembering that we form a new family in the blood of Christ and that only in Christ can we learn to truly love our earthly family; and also understanding that our blood relatives are not personal possessions, because they belong to God and must be educated for Him) and ourselves (loving ourselves also depends on loving God. Through the Lord, we discover ourselves much more and love ourselves with divine love). Therefore, it is necessary to renounce everything in order to have EVERYTHING.

A big and affectionate hug.