The Discouraging Leader
Lk 14:25-33

Fr. Jijo Kandamkulathy CMF
Claretian Missionaries

Jesus uses three discouraging conditions to follow him in the gospel today: (1) Hate your father and mother, (2) Renounce all your possessions, (3) Take up one’s cross and follow. These are suicidal conditions for any leader to place to one’s followers. These discouraging demands can be understood only in the context of the final journey of Jesus to Jerusalem.

As I have mentioned often, the pilgrimage of Jesus to Jerusalem begins from the time Jesus sets his face to Jerusalem (Luke 9: 51). As the journey progressed from Galilee through the villages and towns, it was gathering more and more people and Jesus was worried, that those following hm might have misunderstood the purpose of his journey. He is dissuading them, by clarifying the purpose and hardships of this journey. He was worried they have taken hasty decisions without knowing the consequences of their choice to accompany him. The metaphors of going for a war or building a tower are to indicate the gravity of the pursuit of the Kingdom of God following Jesus.

The followers seems to have imagined the defeat of Herod and Pilot, the takeover of Jerusalem and the reestablishment of the Davidic Kingdom. Jesus, of course knew that this is a different ball game. He was sure from the transfiguration moment that he would be killed in Jerusalem. It is in this context Jesus makes the three dissuading statements.

Hating father and mother. This journey is quite dangerous. Jesus knew, he would not survive but who else will lose their lives? Did he know about it? Not sure. But he was definitely worried about it. It is possible that they might not return. When he was getting arrested, at the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was making sure, that no one else should be arrested and he told them, if they were looking for him, let his companions go. He was worried about their safety.

The usage of the term, cross might have been very ominous to the listeners. It had only one meaning. The cross was carried by those who sentenced for crucifixion. As mentioned earlier, Jesus was worried, together with many others might get crucified. He was not telling them about any metaphoric cross. He was talking about a real cross and he would be the one to take it first. They would have to follow them. Metaphorizing the cross as burdens of life has taken away from us, the sense of the impeding peril that Jesus was predicting to all of them. John would write in his gospel that many followers left his company on the way. He mentions it because of the difficult teachings. Well, that teaching included offering the possibility of a crucifixion for those who followed him to Jerusalem.

Jesus also asks about renouncing all possessions before undertaking the journey. There are no metaphors here. He was talking about renouncing their possessions for real, not about things that a person considers precious, real land and property because they were embarking on a journey that he was not sure if they would ever return. If people regretted later about poverty and lack of resources on the way, then, there was no point of beginning this journey. We can easily remember the journey of Israel through the desert of Sinai. They regretted leaving Egypt, because they missed the food and comfort of Egypt. Jesus was reminding them to renounce the possessions, nearly legally, meaning write off their possessions to those staying behind.

In other places, particularly in Luke, there is little reference to renunciation. It is always about sharing. Here, the renunciation is not for sharing, but leaving the properties behind because they might not be able to return to claim them. This is not because of the love or compassion for the poor. It is just renunciation of the riches possible only for those who have found worth in the pursuing the Kingdom of God.

Understanding that journey in a real sense does not take its present metaphoric meanings. The journey could be well taken metaphorically for our personal faith journeys or that of our societies. Societies our times have changed their life styles. Children who live with elderly parents are becoming fewer, especially in the context of large migrations happening inter-hemispherally. The oldies often have someone else other than their children caring for them by the end of their lives. Loving parents, as the most precious relationship on earth is not found true in many cases, now. I hate to say this. But this reality is just on us. The number of parents who love their children more than anything else is also on the decline. A lot more adjustments in family life would have taken place, if the parents really cared for their children. I am not talking about maintaining abusive marriage relationships. I am talking about the silly reasons on which some divorces are initiated.

Crosses have their metaphoric meanings as well. We find more and more people stressed and worried in our times. The ratio of depression and mental illnesses in societies are climbing due to the inability of the people to come to terms with the crosses people have to carry. Resilience in bearing pains – the pain threshold – is pretty low. There is a need to learn to embrace the sacrifices we have to make for living a purposeful life.

The invitation of Jesus is to live for a sublime purpose. If we have clarity on the purpose only, we will be willing to sacrifice, our precious relationships, our precious possessions and embrace our crosses. The one who is not convinced of a sublime purpose, or living without purpose will not be able to forgo any present convenience for a future advantage. This question challenges me to the core: “What is the purpose for which I am willing to sacrifice everything I have?”

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Cum Approbatione Ecclesiastica 2025