How does Jesus recruit His followers?

HOW JESUS RECRUITS HIS FOLLOWERS

Lk. 14: 25-33

We start certain jobs but somehow, they are never finished.  Progress is halted and now they sit there day after day, reminding us of our failure to complete them for whatever reason.  Some homes are filled with partly made garments, partly written books, partly painted pictures, partly earned diplomas and partly realised dreams.

Jesus talked about this in today’s Gospel reading.  He told two brief stories.  One was about a man who estimated the cost of a building and wanted to be sure that he had enough money.  The other was about a king who calculated his military strength to determine his chances of winning a war.  The meaning of these two stories is fairly obvious:  Jesus was praising the wisdom of careful planning and cautious action before starting a project.  It would be foolish to start a building, and then discover that there was only enough money for the foundations.  It would even be more foolish for a king to declare war with little or no chance of winning.

The traditional interpretation of these two parables is that Jesus is warning would-be followers to be careful about making a commitment to Him and His cause.  In effect, He was telling them to go home, think it over and be sure that they could finish what they were intending to undertake.  If you cannot complete something … do not start it.

Some would say that Jesus is not being consistent.  Jesus never deceived anyone about the cost of becoming a follower because He was open and honest about the risks involved and the sacrifices that would be required.  But His invitation always contained a note of urgency.  In calling His followers He never once told anyone to go home, think it over, and calmly decide.  One prospective follower said, “Let me go and bury my father first.”  Jesus replied, “Leave the dead to bury their dead; your duty is to go and spread the news of the Kingdom of God.”  Here it appears that Jesus is giving this person no time to calculate the cost but I think he must have done this already - because I cannot imagine Jesus expecting someone to make this blind commitment.

Again, the Gospels are filled with examples of spontaneous enlistment to His cause.  Peter, Andrew, James, John and Matthew were all called and immediately abandoned everything to follow Jesus.  Although it is reasonable for us to assume that these four fishermen and a tax collector made arrangements for someone to take over their businesses, there is a recklessness about the way these men answered Jesus’ call.  It was more a daring adventure than a calculated choice.

That is how Jesus recruited His first followers.  He appealed to their hearts as well as their heads, to their spirit of adventure more than their sense of prudence.  I find it hard to believe that later on, He began to tell prospective followers to go home and think it over!

Another possible interpretation is that He was expressing confidence in the Kingdom of God.  He was assuring His followers that God will finish what He has started.  His war with evil will not be fought to a stalemate.  It will be won and the Kingdom which He has started will be established.  It was this conviction that saw Jesus through His ministry.  He was never frustrated by apparent failure, nor frightened by opposition.  Even in those final days, when the shadow of a cross fell across His path, Jesus was sure that God would finish what He had started.

This is also why Jesus could look people in the eye and demand first place in their lives.  He said, “If any man comes to Me without hating his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes and his own life too, he cannot be My disciple.”  How could He make that kind of demand?  He was inviting people to share in the only cause that can never fail – the Kingdom of God.

Jesus never entertained the thought that His cause might fail. He did not leave it in human hands.  He left it where it had always been – in the hands of God.  He was absolutely convinced that God would finish what He had started.

Lord Jesus, You have plans for each one of us.  May the plans we make be the same as Yours for we know, then, You will give us all the help we need to make a success of our lives.

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