In his book entitled The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran theologian once wrote: "When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die."

According to Bonhoeffer, true discipleship is costly. It is costly because it demands that we take up our cross and follow Christ to the extent of sharing in his sufferings and in even losing our lives for his sake. It is a discipleship of self-giving and sacrifice for others.

Many Christians, says Bonhoeffer, prefer to live out a 'cheap' form of discipleship. They want a Christianity that provides them with the maximum benefits with minimum effort on their part. A 'cheap' form of discipleship avoids anything that has to do with sacrifice, hardships and suffering. It is a discipleship of comfort and convenience.

All the readings today, remind us once again about 'costly' discipleship. In the first reading, we can sense the struggle that Jeremiah goes through in doing the will of God as a prophet. He is ridiculed, laughed at and threatened by people, and yet he cannot but proclaim the message of God to them.

St. Paul, speaks of the challenges we face in offering ourselves as living sacrifices to God and in not being influenced by the values of the world.

In the Gospels, Jesus calls us as his disciples to live out a "costly discipleship", that is, to be willing to die to ourselves and to follow him in our daily lives.