the cost of dicipleship...and apostleship. And are you ready to pay?

Today Best Dude went with me to Beach Town Parish for Mass this morning.


On this second Sunday in Ordinary Time the priest talked about how discipleship & apostleship are not easy.


In today's Gospel lesson from St Matthew, Jesus tells his disciples what it will mean to proclaim Him as their risen LORD. This is a part of the discourse in Matthew's Gospel that is unsettling to we 21st-century Christians. Look closely at the text for today:


Jesus says" ...and whoever does not take up the cross and follow Me is not worthy of me. "




Ouch.




Jesus is letting His disciples , and also we Christians in today's modern era, that discipleship & apostleship is not for the weak or faint-of-heart. Taking our Crosses and doing Jesus' work here on earth is hard. In order to BE Christ's hands & feet in the here & now, I've come to the conclusion that I must be of good spiritual & emotional health.  In order to give my best in the service of God, I must first BE my best.


As hard as it can be, sometimes service to God requires that we alter our earthly relationships with some people who might hold us back from giving our all in the Service of the Creator/Redeemer/Sustainer Godhead .Jesus was obediently even to a very physical death, and His disciples were left bereft of His physical Self. he sends the first apostles to do His work, and He warns them very explicitly that the cost of being a disciple & apostle is heavy 


Humans are created to be in relationship with each other, but this passage of Matthew's Gospel reminds me that we are also called into a relationship with God, and unhealthy relationships with  other humans can metaphorically bleed into out spiritual lives.


Following Jesus is not easy. Yet , as Marines are fond of saying" I never promised you a rose garden."


Amen.


SEM


2 Pentacost 2014