Luke 14:25-33
September 4th, 2016
We are about to hear a scandalous text extreme language. The challenge for the listener this morning is to let this text speak with all of its extremities, yet to hear it within the flow and purpose of the gospel itself.
25 Now large crowds were travelling with him; and he turned and said to them, 26‘Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. 27Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? 29Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, 30saying, “This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.” 31Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace.33So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.
I’m sure when Jesus first spoke these words to his the growing crowd following him on the way to Jerusalem he did not imagine that they would be etched in our holy book, nor did he imagine that the church would eventually organize itself to read the Word of God publically every Sunday and eventually a 3 year system called the lectionary would come to be so that preachers and church leaders would all adhere to this system and for the most part agree to teach and preach on an assigned text with the rest of the church around the world and that this text, this heavy, hate-filled, offensive and worrisome text would be read, every 3rd year on Labor Day weekend.
This is not convenient Jesus, the remnant of the church that worships today is simply the folks that couldn’t get out of the town for the long weekend! So, we’re here in church hoping for something to lift us on our way to lounging for the rest of the weekend. We’d like a Word from God that could lull us into some lakeside reading or boat riding or at the very least to comfort us on our way to family gatherings or our afternoon nap.
Or maybe, this is an opportune meeting of this teaching from our Savior and our union won weekend is simply another illustration in the foundational point of the gospel reading today. Jesus knew all about our desires for convenience, our hope of being lulled and comforted, our propensity to apathy and Jesus doesn’t care about any of that.
We’ve been following this Jesus man for quite a few weeks through the gospel of Luke. He has been welcoming the worst of society to be his disciples, he’s been reaching havoc in the synagogue and showing outward defiance at dinner parties. The people are talking, the crowd is growing and now — before Jesus takes a sharp turn toward Jerusalem (CHECK THIS) Jesus turns and tells the massive crowd to bug off!
It is at this moment that we hear Jesus speak the rudest words to describe the life of a Jesus-disciple. He uses the word “hate” (and believe me, I did my research on the Greek meaning of this word — hoping that it would spin in a more gentle direction…it does not), he says to hate our families and even our own lives. He tells us to carry our own cross — the most vile and wretched tool of execution of his day. Pick it up, Jesus says, think about what I’m asking of you, take stock, sell your possession and let’s go — next stop, Jerusalem.
Is Jesus hoping to scare some people away? Or is the crux of his mission on earth being distorted by the attention he is receiving? It’s so hard to know what is happening here. But the journey Jesus is on seems to be beckoning in those who lives their lives on the margins of society, the ones that the world and the religious leaders have ignored and neglected and he is turning to the masses and laying down a cost of discipleship that is certainly too steep for anyone to be able to pay.
What a scene for our Labor Day weekend.
Now, I love our church — and I’m not just talking about Memorial here, I’m speaking of the broader national church of the ELCA. I love this church so much I can be a harsh critique and also acknowledge my role in the critiques.
When I hear this teaching of Jesus…if I’m really honest and reflecting deeply on the Lutheran Church in America, I fear that this is the message for most mainline protestant churches. I fear that our church has become a beacon of conveniences, a resting place for apathy. As a church body we tend to have laryngitis, losing our voice to speak of the Living Word we have been given, too timid to answer a summons of Jesus and say, “Yes, Lord…send me.” I sense that we, as Jesus-followers are terrified to say that our beliefs matter at all!
This call to discipleship is radical, Jesus was clear that for those who follow there is a demand (a demand!) that we would make decisions not based on “what’s best for me,” or even “what’s best for our marriage/family/children.” It may mean living in that “dangerous neighborhood” or attending a less achieving school, because a gracious presence is needed there. It may mean living more simply because one’s resources can be used better for others. It may mean making unpopular choices despite the protests of one’s family. This is real and critical engagement that Jesus is talking about, a stark contrast to the typical depiction of “the happy Christian home” where one’s faith is demonstrated by how committed on is to providing every possible advantage to one’s own. That kind of call to discipleship, it seems to me, has to be cast in the strongest language possible, because we will domesticate the gospel and make it a matter of enhancing ourselves and our families until we hear this kind of extreme language and let it shake us.
The national bishop of the ELCA is Bishop Elizabeth Eaton. She is a fiesty theologian and wrote a powerful article in the Lutheran magazine a year ago. I would like to read a portion of her writing to you this morning, but because the article is so good and you’ll need to read it more than once…there are copies available in the back on your way out. Bishop Eaton says this of our broken and beloved Church,
“There was a campaign during the 1980’s church growth movement to get rid of any denominational markers whatsoever. The stolid St. Paul Lutheran Church on the corner was supposed to be renamed something like “The Church at Pheasant Run.” How evocative! How vaguely woodsy! A simple name change would accomplish two things at once: stop scaring the denominationally averse away and attract tons of people. It didn’t. In an attempt to become more attractive we became generic. Having a clear sense of who we are and what we believe isn’t a detriment but an asset. If we are well-defined and well-differentiated, we are more able to engage in ecumenical and interreligious dialogue and can be a clear voice in the public square.
If culture and cuisine don’t define us, our theology must. Lutherans have a very particular way of understanding the Jesus story…. And it’s not about our effort or goodness or hard work. It’s about God’s gracious will to be merciful….ask someone you know what they must do to be in a right relationship with God. After picking their jaws up off the floor that they were asked such a question, my guess is that people will talk about keeping the commandments, being a better person, reading the Bible more.
No. The love of God at work in the crucified Christ creates this right relationship. It is a transformational relationship. We who were dead in sin have now been made alive. We are free to respond to that deep abiding love. What we eat, what hymns we sing, what jokes we tell, what counties we hail from, what color we are, what we wear— none of this binds us together or makes us Lutheran. It is God’s grace. And that is good news in any language.
Back my critique of the church with laryngitis…I certainly do not have all the answers, but I have some hunches. I wonder if the church has been lulled into such a place because we know that if we strike out on the journey of discipleship that Jesus is setting before us we will most certainly fail. I will fail this call to hate my family and life and sell my possessions and I will fail to love you more than I love my own agendas.
I will fail. And you will fail. And the church will fail.
God knew this and loved us anyways. And God did send Jesus into our crying world to be our Savior. And he alone was asked to carry the cross of death that would ultimately be transformed into the cross of salvation and hope.
So in the face of our apathy we look for a Savior.
When we face challenges that we can not overcome on our own, we pray for a Savior.
When it seems as though the life of faith itself is chasing us away through disappointments and injustices we beg for a Savior to be our guide and our only, only hope.
People of God, we hear harsh words from our Lord and Savior this morning for he is on his way to a harsh and unbelievable end. And we are invited to this serious call to be a person of faith, to die with him so that in the eternal love of God we can also be raised with him. And we can dare to answer this impossible call to discipleship not for our own convenience or comfort, but for the sake of this world that needs a Savior too. Amen.