Don't you wonder if sometime Jesus says things just to get our attention?  Some of the things that come out of His mouth seem like that to me.  For example, the business about cutting off one's hand or plucking out one's eye if those body parts cause us to sin. 
          I can't imagine that He really means that, and I think I'm not the only one who feels that way.  When is the last time you saw someone take that direction literally? Wouldn't we suggest that someone who wanted to engage in self-amputation or disfigurement should get professional help?
         No, Jesus gives that direction not so that we'll get out the knives but so that we'll take his point seriously.  He wants us to get sin out of our lives and He wants us to realize that those things which cause us to sin should be excised, even if doing so is as difficult as cutting off one's own hand.
          He does the same thing today (Lk 14: 25-33) when He tells us that those who want to follow Him need to hate their fathers, wives, children, mothers, sisters, brothers-- even their own life.  He doesn't really want us literally to hate those people closest to us.  If that were His intent, how could He square that with the Fourth Commandment, which requires us to honor our parents?  After all, jesus is very clear that He does not intend to change the commandments God gave the people of Israel.
           No, Jesus says these things to get us thinking, because He wants us truly to understand what we're signing up for if we want to follow Him.  There will be a cost, and it will be a serious one, as serious as the cost of one's own life.  
          So, He says, count the cost.  Think about it.  Don't start something you can't finish, like the person who sets out to build a tower without calculating the cost and can't afford to finish it.  Following Jesus is a major commitment, and should be treated that way, He seems to be saying.
           OK, that's tough stuff, right?  Do we have the ability to carry through with something that requires the sort of commitment that would be involved in hating one's family, even hating one's own life?
           Probably not, is the answer.  But here's the good news.  jesus knows that.  Sure, He wants us to do our part in following Him, but He recognizes that we can't do it on our own.  After all, neither could His disciples, who all abandoned Him when the going got tough.
            So that's where grace comes in.  That's where we have to rely on God's power.  That's where we have to stay connected in prayer.  That's where we trust.  That's where we make the leap of faith.
            That's where, as St. Paul says, in our weakness we are strong.