The Cost of Following the Lord

October 4, Memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi
Daily Readings: Nehemiah 2:1-8, Lk 9:57-62

The desire to follow Jesus requires total commitment. That commitment gives no room for excuses. In Luke 9:23, Jesus lays down three important conditions/requirements for following him. “If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”  The quality of one’s commitment to follow him is measured by one’s sincerity in following those conditions.

The Gospel reading of today presents the stories of two men who are called to follow Jesus and the story of one man who expresses his desire to follow Jesus. All three men were willing to follow Jesus but whether they finally decided to follow Jesus or not is no longer presented. Luke may not be interested in their decision because he wants to focus on the conditions given by Jesus.

Jesus gives no room for excuses in following him.  He demands radical commitment which is expressed in his responses to the two men who made excuses before following him. “Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.” To another, he said, “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God.”

Listening to the words of Jesus, we may ask ourselves: How radical is my commitment to following Jesus? It is easy to talk about commitment in the absence of major problems in life. When the problems come around us, our commitment is challenged, and we make some compromises in following Jesus. We could prioritize our needs or concerns over the Lord. Through his words, Jesus tells us that in whatever situation we may face, we need to trust everything to him, make him a priority, and then he will take care of the rest. Such commitment can be recovered only if we trust in him.