Costing not less than everything

Q: Archbishop J, how can we promote discipleship in a culture of noise?

There are moments in the Gospel when everything becomes clear—and heavy at the same time.

In Luke 9, Peter has just confessed that Jesus is the Christ. It is a luminous moment. After months of walking, listening, and watching miracles unfold, the disciples speak the truth aloud. And immediately, Jesus shifts the tenor. “He strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone,” Luke writes. Then He says something that must have unsettled them deeply: “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected… and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life” (cf Lk 9:20–22).

Before mission, there is passion; before proclamation, there is the Cross. Only after announcing His own suffering does Jesus turn to them all and say: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (Lk 9:23).

In the Gospel of Matthew, the same teaching is rendered with a sharper existential edge: “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (Mt 16:26).

Matthew confronts us with the stark choice; Luke shows us the rhythm of how it is lived. Together, they leave no room for comfortable Christianity.

When the cross becomes real

Recently, I chose to speak publicly about a Carnival band that had crossed, what I believe, to be a clear line of decency. Many people were grateful; they felt someone needed to say something.

Others were deeply unhappy. That I expected. What I did not expect was the level of disrespect and vitriol that came my way—the personal attacks, the dismissiveness, the anger that quickly became contempt.

In those moments, the Gospel text ceased to be theoretical: “Take up your cross daily.”

Discipleship is not a matter of convenience. It is a matter of obedience. It would have been easier to remain silent, to calculate reputation, to avoid backlash, to preserve comfort. But obedience to Christ sometimes requires speech that costs. This is not about winning arguments. It is about fidelity.

When Jesus says, “The Son of Man must suffer,” He reveals something essential: faithfulness in a fallen world will meet resistance. To align oneself with Christ’s vision of human dignity, of chastity, of truth, of reverence, will not always be applauded. If the Master must suffer rejection, the servant should not be surprised.

Costly grace

The Lutheran pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who resisted Nazi ideology and was eventually executed, wrote powerfully about what he called “cheap grace” and “costly grace”.

Cheap grace, he warned, is forgiveness without repentance, baptism without discipleship, grace without the cross. Costly grace is costly because it calls us to follow. It is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ.

Bonhoeffer understood there are moments when faith must become visible—and visibility has consequences. Allegiance to Christ cannot remain a private sentiment.

Luke records Jesus saying, “Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory” (Lk 9:26).

Discipleship is public. It shapes what we affirm and what we refuse to endorse. It shapes how we speak into culture. It shapes what lines we will not cross, even when the crowd moves in another direction.

John Dalrymple, reflecting on holiness in our own time, used a phrase that lingers in the soul: holiness costs not less than everything, not something—everything. The Lord does not ask for a compartment of our lives. He asks for the centre.

The daily cross

Most of us will not face dramatic persecution. But we will need: daily patience; daily restraint; daily courage; daily integrity; daily forgiveness. In a culture like ours, vibrant and expressive, where Carnival celebrates creativity and freedom, the tension between Gospel values and public spectacle can sometimes become acute. To speak about dignity and limits in such a context can feel like swimming against the tide.

The cross is not always dramatic. Often it is the quiet decision to stand where Christ stands, even when applause fades.

The cross can be misunderstanding among friends.

The cross can be harsh words online.

The cross can be a misrepresentation of motives.

And yet Jesus does not say, “Take up your cross occasionally.” He says daily. The daily cross forms the will. It purifies motives. It detaches us from the need to be liked and anchors us instead in the desire to be faithful.

Saving and losing

Jesus presents a paradox that divides the human heart: “Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it” (Lk 9:24).

The world teaches self-preservation. Protect your brand. Secure your comfort. Avoid controversy. Maintain advantage. But Christ proposes surrender. To save one’s life in the Gospel sense is to cling to control—to calculate every move in terms of personal security. To lose one’s life is to entrust it to God.

Matthew presses the question even further: “What can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” (Mt 16:26). In a society where so much can be traded—time for money, values for influence, silence for acceptance—the soul cannot be bartered.

It is the place of communion with God. It is the deepest truth of who we are. To gain applause and lose integrity is loss; to lose applause and keep one’s soul is gain. Discipleship is not convenient. It is obedient.

Shame and glory

Luke does not end with warning alone. He ends with hope. “Some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God” (Lk 9:27). Immediately after this passage comes the Transfiguration—a glimpse of glory. It is as if the Gospel is saying: those who accept the Cross will glimpse light. There is glory beyond obedience; joy beyond sacrifice; freedom beyond surrender.

But glory follows the Cross. It does not precede it. When we choose fidelity over convenience, obedience over popularity, truth over silence, we participate—in some small way—in Christ’s own Paschal mystery.

A threshold for all of us

These Gospel texts bring each of us to a threshold.

Before we analyse what it means to deny ourselves…

Before we explore what it means to carry the cross daily…

Before we contemplate what it means to follow Jesus…

We must decide. Are we content with a faith that costs little? Or are we willing to embrace a discipleship that costs not less than everything?

In the coming weeks, I would like to reflect more deeply on the three movements Jesus names: denying oneself, taking up the cross daily, and following Him. Each of these is not merely a phrase but a path—an interior conversion of identity, a formation of the will, and a deepening into communion.

For now, we stand at the threshold. The Messiah must suffer. The disciple must follow. And in losing our lives for Christ, we do not belittle ourselves. We discover who we truly are.

Key Message:

Discipleship is not a matter of convenience but of obedience: to follow Christ means to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and remain faithful even when it costs us misunderstanding, rejection, or loss. In losing our lives for Him, we are not diminished; we safeguard our souls and discover our true identity in Christ.

Action Step:

This week, choose to do something uncomfortable for the sake of Christ. Pray for the Holy Spirit to guide you..

Scripture for Reflection:

Lk 9:21–27