COUNTING THE COST

Reflections on the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time: Wisdom 9:13-18b, Philemon 9-10,12-17, Luke 14:25-33

Ignatius of Loyola taught us to pray, “Teach us, good Lord, to serve you as you deserve, to give and not to count the cost”. The liturgy, however, seems to teach the contrary: count the cost of true discipleship. Jesus turns to the large, eager crowd following him and speaks words that seem designed not to attract, but to filter. He speaks of hating family, carrying crosses, and renouncing possessions. He narrates stories about unfinished towers and kings facing war. His message is clear: Discipleship is not cheap. It has a cost. It demands everything. And you must count the cost before you commit.

1. The Cost of the Cross: 

Jesus begins with shocking intensity: “If anyone 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”. Does discipleship mean hating one’s family and oneself? No, Jesus does not call for literal hatred or neglect. He is using a Semitic idiom to evoke absolute priority. Discipleship is the radical reversal of our order of priorities. God becomes the centre of our lives, replacing every other loyalty, every cherished relationship, even our instinct for self-preservation. Jesus claims the supreme place of our hearts.

Then comes the central image: “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple”. In Jesus’ time, the cross wasn’t considered jewellery or art. It was Rome’s ultimate instrument of public torture, humiliation, and death. To “carry your cross”, therefore, means embracing utter identification with Christ, even unto rejection, suffering, and the surrender of your own will and life for His sake. It means dying to oneself daily. Prioritising Jesus involves making his destiny our own. Our discipleship is one long Way of the Cross that leads to fullness of life.

2. The Cost of Commitment:

Impulse is insufficient for discipleship. Following Jesus isn't a momentary emotional high or a superficial addition to our existing life. Jesus offers two practical examples of a Tower Builder and a King at war. Their crucial first step isn't action, but assessment. They sit down. They calculate resources. They confront the stark reality of their own limitations and the project's demands. This logic resonates profoundly with the first reading, which unveils our fundamental human limitations: our reasoning is weak, our vision myopic, our designs prone to failure. We struggle to grasp earthly realities, let alone divine purposes. We are fundamentally ill-equipped, on our own, for the scale of the discipleship project or the spiritual battle.

Our discipleship is not merely about human prudence. We are called to profound humility. To “take the leap” of total commitment, we must recognise our insufficiency. This calculation enables realisation, “I cannot do this alone”. It drives us to our knees, not in despair, but in dependence, recognising that the commitment of discipleship ultimately requires resources beyond ourselves. We count the cost to see our need, so that we might rely utterly on God, who provides the means to complete the journey.

3. The Cost of Total Surrender:

The gospel concludes with the non-negotiable condition: discipleship requires renouncing “all our possessions”. This transcends material possessions to encompass all we are and all we claim to own: our time, talents, ambitions, relationships, reputation, and our very selves. It means relinquishing ultimate control, holding our lives and resources in trust for Christ’s kingdom. The second reading presents a vivid example of this radical transfer of ownership in the story of Onesimus. Once a fugitive slave bound by social and economic chains, Onesimus encountered Paul and surrendered his life entirely, not just to the apostle, but to the Lordship of Christ Paul proclaimed. Paul sends him back to Philemon not as property, but as a transformed man: “no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother”. Onesimus embodies the cost by surrendering his autonomy and returning to his master. He relinquishes control of his future to God’s purposes and Paul’s advice. Paradoxically, this surrender turns out to be his path to liberation.

The cost of discipleship is scary. With such expectations, is Jesus being unreasonable, negative, or harsh? No, on the contrary, they are signs of his love. How? Jesus desires followers who understand the commitment, not fair-weather fans who melt away when trials come. He wants disciples, not just admirers. He knows the battle awaiting them. Half-hearted commitment will crumble. Only total devotion endures. When Christ is supreme, everything else finds its proper, ordered place.

We are liberated from the tyranny of lesser loves that ultimately enslave and disappoint. Christ doesn’t demand everything because He is greedy, but because when we give up everything, we gain the One who is infinitely more valuable. The cost is high, but the reward is precious too. Counting the cost, therefore, is to be aware of the cost and still give without counting (Ignatius of Loyola).  Let us resolve to count the cost honestly, the grace to surrender completely, and the faith to follow Him wholeheartedly, knowing that in losing our lives for His sake, we truly find them.