Jesus tells his followers that they must be willing to sacrifice their love for those closest to them if they wish to be his disciples?

There is a certain selfishness and self-centeredness within us.

And these are not boloney sufferings and sacrifices.

These are the ones that invite us to have confidence and trust in God.

Ｗho gave up everything for our sake?

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Philippians 2:12-18

Therefore, my dearest friends,

As you always obeyed me while I was with you, even more, now that I am far from you, continue working out your salvation "with fear and trembling." It is God who makes you, not only wish but also, carry out what pleases him.

 

Do everything without grumbling, so that without fault or blame, you will be children of God, without reproach, among a crooked and perverse generation. You are a light among them, like stars in the universe, holding to the word of life. I shall feel proud of you, on the day of Christ, on seeing that my effort and labor have not been in vain.

 

And if I am being poured out, as a libation over the sacrifice, and the offering of your faith, I rejoice and continue to share your joy; and, you, likewise should rejoice and share my joy.

 

Ps 27:1, 4, 13-14 The Lord is my light and my salvation,

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊     

Luke 14:25-33

One day, when large crowds were walking along with Jesus, he turned and said to them, "If you come to me, unwilling to sacrifice your love for your father and mother, your spouse and children, your brothers and sisters, and indeed yourself, you cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not follow me, carrying his own cross, cannot be my disciple.

 

Do you build a house without first sitting down to count the cost, to see whether you have enough to complete it? Otherwise, if you have laid the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone will make fun of you: 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish. '

 

And when a king wages war against another king, does he go to fight without first sitting down to consider whether his ten thousand can stand against the twenty thousand of his opponent? And if not, while the other is still a long way off, he sends messengers for peace talks. In the same way, none of you may become my disciple if he doesn't give up everything he has.

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"Carrying our own crosses." 

As Jesus' disciples, self-sacrifice should always be part of our daily disposition. It will be difficult for us to proceed with this faith journey unless we grow in our sense of sacrifice. Our faith demands of us to make sacrifices. Today's Gospel narrates Jesus teaching his disciples an important lesson on discipleship – the lesson on self-sacrifice.

 

This sacrifice is tantamount to carrying our own cross. The path of discipleship challenges us to give up everything for Jesus' sake and for the sake of the gospel. Hence, becoming Jesus' disciples is not a joke. It is a serious matter. It entails self-sacrifices. Nowadays, many people think that there seem to be ready-made answers for everything due to the advancement of information technology.

 

If one wants to access information about anything, the Internet seems to be ready to provide easy answers. However, there is no amount of information that can transform us into true disciples of Jesus. We can only be transformed if we are willing to undergo the formation appropriate to Jesus' disciples. In the course of such formation, the very first thing we must learn is self-sacrifice.