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It is not easy to be a true disciple as today's readings show us. In the first reading Elijah, one of the early prophets, was asked by God to anoint Elisha to succeed him. Elijah was far from happy with Elisha's request to say goodbye to his parents first and in the end Elisha did as he was asked.

The first part of the gospel reading deals with another aspect of discipleship - how to treat those who are hostile to us. Samaritans were not friendly towards Jews especially when Jews were passing through their territory on the way to their holy city, Jerusalem. When the Samaritans of a certain village refuse to welcome Jesus the disciples want to take revenge, but Jesus teaches them that his way of dealing with enemies is non-retaliation. The last part of the gospel echoes the story from the book of Kings. The powerful proverbs Jesus uses are not meant to be taken literally but to jolt his listeners into seeing things in a completely new way. The ways of God's kingdom are not necessarily in line with human ways. Discipleship or following Jesus is costly and challenging - not an easy option.

As Paul tells us in the letter to the Galatians, following Jesus means being free from all that enslaves us, serving one another and loving our neighbour as ourselves. Let us allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit and ask him to show us the path of life and the fullness of joy.