13th Sunday of Ordinary Time

The Cost of Discipleship Mt. 10:37-42

Jesus lays it on the line today;

“Whoever loves father or mother or son or daughter more than Him is not worthy of Him. “

So When Jesus called James and John to follow Him,

They had to make a choice. 

To stay with with their father in the boat or leave him and follow Jesus. 

They chose to drop their nets and left Zebedee their father and followed Him. 

St. Francis of Assisi had to choose between his earthly father and a comfortable life in the family business 

Or his Heavenly Father and a life of abject poverty. 

He chose to follow Jesus. 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran Minister

Who wrote a book called,

The Cost of Discipleship. 

He wrote it from his own personal experience

Because his discipleship

Cost him his fiancée and his life

As he was killed by the Nazis 

For following Jesus. 

There is a Cost to being a disciple of Jesus. 

But Jesus is not asking us to do anything He hasn’t already done for us!

When Jesus calls us to follow Him,

He bids us to come and die with Him!

This sounds difficult, even harsh. 

The irony however is that everyone who is living for this world 

Is really dying,

While everyone who is dying with Christ

Will live forever. 

Now Jesus does not ask everyone to give up their father and mother, or son and daughter,

But if He asked you to,

What would you say?

There is a Cost to discipleship. 

Sometimes great 

But those who are willing to pay the price,

Jesus promises that they will not lose their reward!