“will he not first sit down and calculate”
Jesus is our example, He has paved the way. God the Father commands us “Listen to Him”. The Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Mother commands us at the Wedding at Cana “Do whatever he tells you.”[19][i] He is the perfect model. As the tower builder and the king in today’s Gospel, we count the costs of following Christ. Of course we count the cost of following Him, but we must not count the cost of what will happen if we do not follow Him. The rich young ruler calculated the costs. “There is only one choice: to live for self or to live for God.”[20][ii] The rich young ruler’s choice was to live for self, the result: “he went away sad”[21][iii] The result will be the same for us if we chose to live for self. “Our highest ideal is to follow Christ closely. We don’t want to go away as the young man did, his soul filled with sadness because he was unable to renounce some possessions of little worth in exchange for the immense riches of Jesus Christ.”[22][iv]
“The Word became flesh to be our model of holiness: ‘Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me’ ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.’ On the mountain of the Transfiguration, the Father commands: ‘Listen to him!’ Jesus is the model for the Beatitudes and the norm of the new law: ‘Love one another as I have loved you.’ This love implies an effective offering of oneself, after his example.”[23][v]
When we look at Christ, our model of holiness, we can count the COST by looking at the virtues in His life that helped Him to renounce His possessions, deny Himself, pick up His Cross, do the will of the Father until the work was finished. The reward for Christ is a reward that He promises and shares with all disciples, the resurrection and life eternal.
The C.O.S.T.ly demands of discipleship
Chaste – “Blessed are the pure of heart they shall see God” Obedience – “humbled himself and became obedient even unto death”
Sober - “Be sober and alert, your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
Selfless - “Deny yourself”
Truthful- “I am the way the truth and the life” “The truth will set you free” “Do not bear false witness”
Reflect and discuss one to two ways each of these demands can be exercised in our life.
[19][i] John 2: 5 (Wedding at Cana)
[20][ii] Divine Intimacy; Father Gabriel of Saint Mary Magdalen, O.C.D.; section 81
[21][iii] Matthew 19:22 (The Rich Young Ruler)
[22][iv] Father Francis Fernandez; In Conversation with God; Vol. 3, section 64.3
[23][v] Catechism of the Catholic Church; section 459