Renouncing All...

Renouncing All for the One Who Is Worth It

As time passes, Jesus makes his request more demanding. The call to follow him not only reflects readiness to acknowledge him as just and worthy of trust, but also the need to renounce oneself. In a certain sense, this is obvious: in order to follow someone, we have to abandon our own position, ourselves. This is what he asked of his disciples—to follow him at the cost of forsaking their attachments to either family life or possessions…. The profound meaning of this renunciation—the renunciation of “self” as a criterion—was destined to emerge later in the souls of those who followed him….

But Jesus not only demanded that they follow him by detaching themselves from their possessions. He asked them to live “for him” in the face of society. He also asks man to follow him in an exterior social way (witnessing), and makes man’s very worth, his salvation, depend upon this. If anyone declares himself for me in the presence of human beings, I will declare myself for him in the presence of my Father in heaven. But the one who disowns me in the presence of human beings, I will disown in the presence of my Father in heaven (Mt 10:32). But then, no relationship is complete and true if it is not strong enough to be revealed in public…. This is why the Lord insists on this process: that he be followed to the extent of abandoning everything, and adherence to him cannot be truly complete, even if one is detached from all things, until one stands with him before everyone.

Servant of God Luigi Giussani