Many of us call ourselves Christians and do our best to live good and devout lives. We make effort to go to church as often as possible, some even daily. However, let us consider for a moment: if Jesus were to come to you and ask you to “Come, follow me,” what would your answer be? Would you say “yes” immediately, or would you start thinking of all the things you need to settle before following Jesus, or make all sorts of excuses instead?
Today’s gospel gives us a very clear picture of what is required of us to be Jesus’ disciples. In a nutshell, we must be prepared to give up all things that we value in order to follow Jesus. In the Gospel, we see three different situations. Firstly, Jesus reminds us that although all other creatures may have a home, the Son of Man himself has no permanent home. This means that a disciple needs to give up all forms of security such as a good job, a good family, or even a good education, to follow Jesus. The second man was unable to follow Jesus immediately because he needed to fulfil his filial obligation to bury his father. Yet even this, according to Jesus, does not take precedence over the call to follow Jesus. Finally, the third man is reminded that if one is to follow Jesus, there is no turning back: “once the hand is laid on the plough, no one who looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” These three situations are examples of the high cost of discipleship. However, Jesus is not asking us to be not filial or to discard our obligations to our parents and elders, since service to God should never be used as an excuse to escape from one’s obligations to one’s parents. But what the Gospel is telling us is that one must be prepared to die to one’s personal needs, likes and dislikes, and even agenda to follow Jesus.
The first reading tells us of Elisha, who answered the call of Elijah, and slaughtered the oxen and burned the plough. What Elisha was doing is that he is giving up everything: he is abandoning his life as a farmer to be a prophet and follow Elijah. This is a sign of firm commitment. Are we willing to make a firm commitment like Elisha did, to follow Jesus? Remember that once we have truly and sincerely decided to follow Jesus, there is no turning back. Are we willing to sacrifice everything for Jesus, for the sake of the Kingdom of God?