Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple

6 NOVEMBER (Lk 14,25-33)

Who reads with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit the Old Testament will find many of those little lights that guide and lead toward the beauty of the full light that is Christ Jesus. Abraham is one of these lights. But he is a great and a very great light. He knows how to live the total poverty in spirit. His only wealth is God, not his son. It is not his land. It is not his property. He is a true figure of the heavenly Father. Abraham gives his son to God. God, instead, gives the Son to men, he gives him from the cross for their salvation.

Some time after these events, God put Abraham to the test. He called to him, “Abraham!” “Ready!” he replied. Then God said: “Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There you shall offer him up as a holocaust on a height that I will point out to you.” Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey, took with him his son Isaac, and two of his servants as well, and with the wood that he had cut for the holocaust, set out for the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham got sight of the place from afar. Then he said to his servants: “Both of you stay here with the donkey, while the boy and I go on over yonder. We will worship and then come back to you.” Thereupon Abraham took the wood for the holocaust and laid it on his son Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two walked on together, Isaac spoke to his father Abraham. “Father!” he said. “Yes, son,” he replied. Isaac continued, “Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the sheep for the holocaust?” “Son,” Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the sheep for the holocaust.” Then the two continued going forward. When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up his son Isaac, and put him on top of the wood on the altar. Then he reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the Lord’s messenger called to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. “Do not lay your hand on the boy,” said the messenger. “Do not do the least thing to him. I know now how devoted you are to God, since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son.” As Abraham looked about, he spied a ram caught by its horns in the thicket. So he went and took the ram and offered it up as a holocaust in place of his son. Abraham named the site Yahweh-yireh; hence people now say, “On the mountain the Lord will see.” Again the Lord’s messenger called to Abraham from heaven and said: “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you acted as you did in not withholding from me your beloved son, I will bless you abundantly and make your descendants as countless as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore; your descendants shall take possession of the gates of their enemies, and in your descendants all the nations of the earth shall find blessing – all this because you obeyed my command” (Gen 22,1-18).

The choice of Christ demands that he alone is chosen, his Word, his Gospel, his life, his cross, his hope, his resurrection and his eternal life. Who chooses him cannot choose other things. Who gives his heart to Christ, cannot give it to others. Jesus asks that this choice is weighted, measured with the greatest diligence. Who is not able to give his whole heart to Him, it is good that he does not operate the choice of Him.

Great crowds were traveling with him, and he turned and addressed them, “If any one comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him and say, ‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’ Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down and decide whether with ten thousand troops he can successfully oppose another king advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops? But if not, while he is still far away, he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms. In the same way, everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.

There is no separation between Christ and his life, truth and grace. Christ is the life, the truth and the grace. Who wants these divine and eternal goods must possess him. Peace, eternal life, blessing and communion cannot be enjoyed, outside of Christ. Everything happens in Him, with Him and through Him. Jesus is not a tree near which you go to reap the fruits. He is the fruit of God for our eternal life. Only by feeding with him, truth and grace, word and eternal life, we come into possession of eternal goods, of true peace.

Virgin Mary, Mother of the Redemption, Angels and Saints make us choose Christ the Lord.