What must interest us directly is to see why, in this eucharistic gathering, the Lord Jesus brings up once again the harsh conditions for being his disciples of the 21st century. (Luke 14:25-33) 

We ought to keep in mind that our Lord is still on “his way to Jerusalem.”  

Thankfully, the real number of those who come after Jesus carrying their cross is large, even though their climb of mount Calvary goes mostly unnoticed to the eyes of this distracted and self-absorbed world. 

However, nowadays too, the setting includes great crowds traveling with Jesus but are not ready for the challenge. 

Most of them, occasionally, perhaps we included, are traveling with Jesus as if it were a pleasant excursion in the countryside. 

That is the reason why, in his infinite love, he feels compelled to turn around and clarify what genuine discipleship entails. 

Once again, Jesus is blunt, totally candid, brutally honest about the harsh reality of his brand of discipleship.  

We should take him very seriously and feel the weight of each one of his words, so that we can determine if we can accept the challenge. 

But why would he, today, spell out for us so unequivocally clear his conditions for discipleship?  

I can only think of one reason: he loves us with the intensity which God alone possesses; and because of it, he cannot let us continue the journey with a divided, lukewarm heart, a confused mind and double loyalty, to him and to the world. 

He knows that so many in the crowds tagging along are curious spectators rather than committed disciples.   

Others claim to be numbered among his disciples but are simply deluding themselves.  

It includes those whose claim of discipleship is less than skin deep: accommodating politicians, those who do not practice what they preach, those ready to compromise, unprincipled folks, wishy-washy, unwilling to sacrifice time-treasure-talents-for-a- worthy-cause people, those who are driven mostly by self-interest and by personal gain, and the list goes on. 

They are all unwilling to pay the price of discipleship. 

But, today, Jesus turns around to “uproot us” from the amorphousness of a non-committed life so evident in the great crowds traveling with him. (Luke 14:25) 

With the unmatched intensity of his love, he dares us to step forward and be counted among the number of genuine disciples, who pass the triple test that assures the genuineness of the needed commitment. 

The first requirement is the most basic one, which is the catalyst for anything worth living and dying for: love. 

We become his disciples only if we love him and his Church above anyone else, including our closest blood relations; above also the most treasured possession we all have: our very self. Compared with the love the Lord demands we reserve for him, our love for our family should be consider “hatred!” 

Surprisingly, the second prerequisite is about the way we handle the predicament besetting every member of humanity: the cross.  

Each human being has his/her cross to bear or to reject. It consists of whatever causes pain and challenges.  

True disciples carry theirs behind him with courage, perseverance, and hope, refusing to let it crush them. 

Those in the great crowds either carry their cross as a curse which fills them with bitterness and anger, or are crushed by it, helplessly, damping all hope. 

The third and final prerequisite is the one that somehow tends to slip under the radar of our consciousness: we ought to renounce ALL our possessions. 

Historically some of Jesus’ disciples were wealthy.  

So, it can be said that the third prerequisite simply demands poverty in spirit, i.e. that nothing and no-one should take the place of God in our heart. 

The life of a true disciple of Christ is lived continuously in the security of the Father’s hands, while being totally engaged for the best output of generous love as possible.  

It should not be controlled, held back, derailed by any ideology, conflict of interest, lure of power, and greed—by nothing at all.  

Today, we have seen that the cost of discipleship is very steep.  

We must face the uncomplicated fact that only if our love for Jesus is strong and intense, we can make the decision to follow him to Calvary and then, to glory.