Wis. 9:13-18; Phlm.9b-10, 12-17; LK. 14:25-33
It
can take years and years of hard work, along with millions of dollars, to
complete a monument. Despite all that effort, sometimes, they are left
unfinished. The reasons can include lack of manpower, lack of funds, lack of
proper planning or even the deaths
of those involved with the construction.
The National Monument
of Scotland is one of such unfinished monuments. It is referred to as
“Edinburgh’s Disgrace” by locals for it was never finished. It was built with
the intention to commemorate the sailors and soldiers who fought during
the Napoleonic Wars. The construction began in 1826, but remained incomplete
for almost 200 years due to lack of funding and was abandoned in 1829. In total, the project would cost £42,000, a huge sum
for the day. Despite the support of wealthy men, the project was only able to
raise £16,000. The first phase lasted from 1826 to 1829, when the twelve
pillars that stand today were raised at a cost of £13,500. Once the funds ran
out, supporters had trouble finding anymore backers. With no funds, the
monument stood half-finished, as it would remain for the next 200 years.
Another
unfinished monument is the Ta Keo Temple. In the
ancient city of Angkor sits 5 sanctuary towers surrounded by a moat. The
pyramid shaped sanctuary, likely built to represent the Holy Hindu mountain of
Mount Meru, began construction around 975 AD under the order of King Jayavarman
V. Ta Keo Temple. It was abandoned right before reaching the decoration phase.
Like these there are many examples.
In today’s Gospel
Jesus stresses that the discipleship is a very serious matter. It cannot be
seen as frivolous. If it is taken lightly it will remain like the
unfinished monuments.
Jesus gives two very
important parables to stress the importance of discipleship. In the first parable, Jesus related that before
someone builds a tower, he sits down and calculates the cost. If he does not
have enough wealth to finish the tower, in all wisdom, he does not begin the
project. Otherwise, the project will come to an end before it is completed and
everyone will laugh at the builder.
In
the second parable, Jesus said that a king going to war against forces that are
far more superior than his, must carefully calculate the cost. He must
carefully consider his chances of winning the battle. If he does not have any
chance or the risk is too high, he must surrender unconditionally.
Jesus
explained the demand that is placed on a disciple in very strong terms.
“Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, spouse and children,
brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever
does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”
The
demand that Jesus made can be summarized in two statements.
Firstly, Jesus should
be the highest priority in the life of a Christian. Martyrs and saints proved
it with their own examples. There are
hundreds of martyr saints who were put to death for their faith, but a few
stories stand out as particularly shocking. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Catholics were forced to go underground. Margaret Clitherow, did all
she could to protect her coreligionists. Margret was caught and her sentence
was to be pressed to death. Pressed, on her back, over a sharp stone, with a
door on top of her that was topped with an 800-pound weight. It took 15 minutes
for her to die.
Like Margret there
were hundreds of believers who had given up life for making Jesus the
highest priority. Today’s message to us too is to make Jesus our highest
priority. It will demand martyrdom at every moment of our life. We have to
uphold Christian values. We have to support every human cause. We have to stand
on the side of truth. We have to stand by the suffering. We have to fight for
justice and resist evil. That is true martyrdom for Jesus.
Secondly, accept all
the challenges in our life with a heroic attitude. Jesus said, “Whoever does not carry their cross and follow me
cannot be my disciple.” Our crosses today are the challenges that we face. It
might be financial challenges. It might be physical and health issues. It
might me challenges in interpersonal relationship. It might be personal
challenges. Whatever might the challenge be we must be able to accept it with a
heroic attitude.
As the first reading
says it is possible only with the help of the Holy Spirit.
We can hardly guess at
what is on earth,
and what is at hand we find with labour;
but who has traced out what is in the heavens?
Who has learned your counsel,
unless you have given wisdom
and sent your holy spirit from on high?
and what is at hand we find with labour;
but who has traced out what is in the heavens?
Who has learned your counsel,
unless you have given wisdom
and sent your holy spirit from on high?
It
is not possible to live the fullness of discipleship without Divine assistance.
St Peter denied Jesus three times. St. Thomas refused to believe in the
resurrected Jesus. But once they received the Holy Spirit on the day of
Pentecost they became transformed. They boldly bore witness to the life and
death of Jesus. For us too the challenge of discipleship is very high and we
require divine assistance.
May Jesus help us to walk behind him with our
cross on the path of service and sacrifice.
Satish