HOW TO WAIT FOR THE LORD (Lk 14:25-33)

25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and he turned to them and said, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—cannot be my disciple.

26 Whoever does not carry their own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

27 Suppose anyone wants to build a tower. Should they not first sit down and count the cost, to see if there is enough money to finish it?

28 Otherwise, after they have laid the foundation and not been able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule them,

29 saying, ‘This person began to build and was not able to finish.’

30 "So then, anyone who does not renounce everything they have cannot be my disciple.

31 "Salt is good. But if it has lost its saltiness, how can you season it?

32 It is not fit for either the soil or the manure heap; they throw it out. "Whoever has ears to hear should listen."

Let us have a bright and hopeful outlook on the images of anticipation and hope during Advent, as well as the self-sacrifice of Jesus, who carried the cross.

 

Becoming a Disciple of Jesus Who Gives Up Everything

Luke 14:25-33 is one of the scriptures that is meditated on during Advent. This passage reveals what it means to become a disciple of Jesus. Our focus when reflecting on this passage is the relationship between Advent and becoming a disciple of Jesus. How should we wait for Jesus?

Sometimes we hear news about people who tried to rescue someone drowning in water but unfortunately both of them ended up dying. Even if someone is a good swimmer, they can't save a drowning person who is holding onto them for dear life. The only way both can survive is if the drowning person either loses consciousness or entrusts themselves to the rescuer. Similarly, a disciple of Jesus must release all their strength and surrender their entire being to Jesus. Finally, self-surrender emerges from this act of entrusting everything to Jesus. Being a disciple of Jesus and self-surrender are mutually necessary and sufficient conditions for each other.

The Cross of Jesus

The passage from the Gospel of Luke that reminds us of Jesus' cross during Advent has a profound meaning. Jesus said that anyone who wants to be his disciple must carry their own cross and follow him (Lk 14:27). But what does it mean to carry our own cross? And what was Jesus' cross like? In verse 26, we can see Jesus' cross. He said, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple."

This is the same image we see of Jesus on the cross. Judas betrayed him, and he was hanging on the cross at Golgotha hill. His twelve disciples were nowhere to be seen. Neither were the people who had shared bread with him, or those who had been healed by him, or the people who had welcomed him into Jerusalem with cries of "Hosanna!" Only the screams of "Crucify him!" echoed in the air, drowning out the cries of "Hosanna!" 

No one was there to help the person on the cross. Even the disciples who had shared their lives with him had left. The relationship between the teacher and the disciple was cut off and severed at the foot of the cross. In a situation where there was no help, no hope, and no expectation, Jesus carried his own cross. Carrying our own cross means giving up everything we have, including our talents, abilities, worth, and anything we can boast of. It means denying and giving up ourselves, even when we can't rely on anyone close to us for help. This is what the passage means by "carrying our own cross."

The Kind of Giving Up That God Wants: Giving Up One's Own Self

Verses 28-32 provide two parables that illustrate how to give up, or "renounce," something in the way that God desires. The first parable compares renouncing something to building a tower or a house. Before beginning construction, one must carefully calculate the cost, or else they may run out of resources and be unable to complete the project. In the same way, before deciding to renounce something, one must carefully consider the consequences and commit to following through. The second parable compares renouncing something to going to war. Before entering into battle, one must evaluate their own strength and the strength of their enemy, and then make an informed decision about whether to fight or to seek peace. Both of these parables emphasize the importance of being intentional and well-prepared when making the decision to give up something in the way that God desires.

Why did Jesus use such a strange but obvious analogy? I believe that the two analogies he used were about your attitude of self-sacrifice. Jesus is showing his disciples, and those who want to become his disciples, the correct attitude of a disciple. The two analogies are Jesus' exhortation not to carry the cross recklessly when they have abandoned everything. Jesus is telling them to calculate and carefully consider before giving up everything. This is not a command to carry the cross with a furious attitude. To be swept away by emotions and throw yourself away is like building a house without calculating the cost, only laying the foundation and then being criticized for running out of construction costs. Planning and calculating construction costs and construction time are essential. Nowadays, it is also necessary to carefully consider the value that will arise after construction is completed. The second analogy is to plan the scenario of the war before the war. It is a warning to examine the forces of allies and enemies and to judge the situation well before going to war. This is also a matter of course. Where is the country that would start a war recklessly?

Jesus does not want those who want to become his disciples to abandon everything and carry the cross recklessly. This is not the kind of self-sacrifice that Jesus desires. Self-sacrifice without careful consideration and conflict can never bear one's own cross and cannot follow Jesus. When Peter denied Jesus three times on the night when Jesus was captured, he said empty words, "I will follow you wherever you go." Peter's words were like building a house without any substance. Upon hearing Peter's words, Jesus knew that he was empty and said to him, "Get behind me, Satan!" Emotional self-sacrifice is like starting to build a house without any plan or strategy and just laying the foundation. It is like fighting recklessly without tactics, strategies, or even a decent war council. Jesus does not want those who want to become his disciples to deny themselves and carry the cross without any thought. This is not the kind of self-sacrifice that Jesus desires.

Here is a passage that gives us a glimpse of what self-denial looks like, which I will share with you. When Peter, who denied Jesus three times, was fishing for food, Jesus came to him and had a conversation with him. Jesus asked Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?" Peter was hesitant and unsure how to answer. Jesus asked him again, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?" As Peter continued to hesitate, Jesus asked him the same question a third time. Peter finally answered, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." What might Peter have been thinking as he received the same question from Jesus three times? Peter's response was not emotional or impulsive, but rather a reflection on his own weaknesses and a confession of his love for Jesus. This is an example of the self-denial that Jesus desires from us.

So why does Jesus want us to think carefully before answering? I think it's because he recognizes both the frailty and the wickedness of humanity. We often come up with justifications for our actions that may not be true. We can't seem to find a solution no matter how much we think about it or analyze it, and when we feel like we've reached a dead end, we finally look up to the heavens. It's then that we begin to see Jesus. In the following verses (Mt 5:13-14), Jesus speaks about salt that has lost its flavor, urging us to make a decision.

"Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear."

During the season of Advent, we deliberately set aside time to reflect on the meaning of the coming of our Lord. Specifically, the Gospel of Luke presents a powerful image of the anticipation and hope of Advent combined with Jesus' self-sacrificial posture as He bears the cross. Those who wait for the Lord, especially His disciples, must be willing to surrender themselves. We cannot overlook the fact that Jesus, after wrestling with agony so intense that His sweat was like drops of blood, bore the cross for us. The Lord desires for His disciples to think deeply like He does. He desires for us to surrender ourselves completely, with all of our hearts, minds, and souls, just as His disciples did. This is what the Lord desires from us as we wait for Him. It is like the prayer in Gethsemane; To float in water, we have to entrust our body to the water. Lord is to adopt this self-sacrificial posture, to surrender everything to Him.