The discourse of Jesus on the cost of discipleship, or on the mission His disciples share from and with Him, details fundamentally the detachment they must have from everything else and the total commitment to Him demanded of them (Matthew 10:37-42). The love of Jesus Christ must come before all else and must be the basis of all else.
More than father and mother
The total commitment of Jesus Himself to the will of His heavenly Father sets the tone for those who would follow after Him. One has to make a decision: choose His way and become His disciple, or reject it and deny Him. To believe in Jesus is to go the full extent of His gospel: God is absolute and ultimate. This radical claim underlines the fact that God demands of us an absolute and unique commitment. Ultimate reality demands ultimate commitment. “I am the Lord your God…you shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:2-3). Love of God with one’s entire being is the first commandment; it is second to none.
The followers of Jesus must have proper priorities, the correct hierarchy of values. Not worthy to be His disciple is anyone who loves father or mother, son or daughter (to say nothing about spouse) more than Him. The revelation of God in Jesus Christ demands that we measure up to Him; Jesus is our standard. That is why we are called after Him: Christians, Christ’s people—maka-Kristo (for Christ) and ala-Kristo (Christ-like). This ultimate loyalty means we invite everybody else to join us and be of kindred spirit with us (kadiwa, kapuso), so that we can all be kapamilya (one family and communion) with God in and through Jesus Christ. Our ties of kinship marked by natural love and affection must be based on and promoted by our commitment to Jesus, not in competition with it.
Carrying the cross
Matthew rounded up the necessary attitude of the followers of Jesus by referring to the post-resurrection understanding that the cross is the root of their identity. The cross of Jesus represents both His total commitment to God’s purposes and the human, religious-political rejection of those purposes by His enemies. And as the cross was the measure of the love of Jesus for us, it is now the measure of our love for Him. We cannot be worthy of Jesus, if we do not also take up our cross symbolizing our radical commitment to God and to Jesus and to His gospel and therefore our readiness to suffer any pain and even death. Anybody following and imitating Jesus will necessarily have to face the rejection and opposition of those from one’s own family perhaps or from society who would want our ultimate loyalty, the allegiance we owe only to God.
The cross, to loss one’s life on account of Jesus, is the way to life. Hinging on the imagery of “finding and losing,” to “find” one’s life means decidedly to live on one’s own terms and according to one’s own philosophy. Such a “selfie” life can give only temporary satisfaction, never a life of ultimate fulfillment. The life that one willingly “loses” in self-sacrifice and in communion with Jesus will be rewarded with eternal life. We Filipinos are proud of our first kababayan to be canonized to have measured up to Jesus Christ’s total commitment to God, Saint Lorenzo Ruiz, who faced martyrdom with extraordinary flair, proclaiming that he would offer a thousand lives is he had them for his God whom he would never deny or exchange for anything.
Alálaong bagá, discipleship has its rewards. The dynamic relationship between Jesus and His followers reflects the intimacy between Him and His heavenly Father. Just as to receive Jesus is to receive the Father who sent Him, to receive his disciples is to receive Jesus. “Whoever receives you receives me,” demonstrates the esteem Jesus has for His followers. He identifies himself with them, as they are asked to identify themselves with Him. Jesus identifies Himself with every just person, be they the least of the little ones, and He promises a sure reward to anyone who receives and loves Him in their persons.
Join me in meditating on the Word of God every Sunday, from 5 to 6 a.m. on DWIZ 882, or by audio streaming on www.dwiz882.com.