Sunday, September 4, 2022

Pentecost 13

                       Luke 14:25-33

Luke 14: 25-33    Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

"Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.

In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples

Who would want the job?        Gordon McPhee

Our reading from Luke this morning presents us with a rather enigmatic, puzzling, teaching of Jesus because it appears to so emphatically and severely contradict what He has taught us about loving our neighbour and hating no one; “Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.” as stated in 1 John 3:15 or Jesus own words recorded in Matthew 5:22 “But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.”

As well, this passage flies in the face of all good church wisdom that would make our religion attractive and inviting to the would-be parishioner. Today, to sell Christianity, it must be low-cost and low risk with some sense of a return on our investment in time and money. To answer why we attend church is to evaluate what we’re getting out of it. Are programs for children, activities that provide recognized benefits to the local community, initiatives for social justice, famine relief and homelessness in place? Is affiliation respected in the community at large?

We like to speak of God’s love of us in Jesus Christ. His loyalty to us and to the cause of our salvation. We speak of the assurance of salvation, the faithfulness and steadfast provision of God’s nature. But seldom do we light upon the complete commitment and loyalty demanded of us. A difficulty Jesus doesn’t seem to reflect here.

Luke sets the stage for these teachings by telling us Jesus was being followed by a large crowd, ostensibly disciples but likely of varying degrees of interest. Jesus turns and addresses them, first with two statements demanding absolute allegiance and then with two parables advocating evaluation of the cost of this discipleship.

Now if I was to advertise an opportunity for employment these criteria may not be what human resources would encourage me to insert as the headline;

“Disciple of Jesus: Incredible career opportunity. God, the CEO and founder of all creation, will ensure the provision of all your needs, gainful and rewarding opportunities, and a guaranteed life time retirement plan, mansion included, all desires fulfilled, and nothing to worry about. One must only give up everything you love and care about in this world; family, friends, favourite possessions, personal goals and expectations, everything, and this can all be your’s.”

I think most of us would ask, as my sermon title suggests, “Who would want the job!?”

Yes, it seems like there are some really great future benefits to be had but the personal cost, apparently sacrificing everything that we value and that we identify as defining who we are, must be considered. How could anyone seriously ask such a thing?

Often, we find resolution by simply passing over this scripture, watering down its stark character and moving on to more pleasant pastures, consoling ourselves in the certainty that the Jesus who bore our sins on the cross would not ask us to hate anyone. And we would be right in the conclusion but not, I think, in the process.

The two parables that Jesus follows these two sayings with are no less challenging. Jesus’ call to weigh our resources against the commitment set before us is none other than the best advice available in self-help books on the market today. We are instructed to view the demands from every angle, surround ourselves with the best knowledge and capabilities, prepare ourselves for the tasks ahead so that when we begin, we’ll be fully cognizant of the high cost of success, and we won’t falter along the way. How do we absorb such cutthroat, careless of the marginalized and needy, instruction with what we know of the Gospel. Where in this is the God who defends the cause of orphans and widows? Well, He is not far, I think.

We should first address a small issue which is the use of the word hate in the first saying. Today we would call this hyperbolic language, over-the-top to make a point. We have many references showing us that this was not uncommon in scripture.

In Genesis 29 verses 30 and 31 we read of the relationship between Jacob and his first wife, Leah, and that of his second wife by a week, Rachael, who he had expected to marry first and only. Verse 30 says, “his love for Rachel was greater than his love for Leah” and a moment later in verse 31 we read “When the Lord saw that Leah was hated,”. Clearly, Jacob didn’t hate Leah, but the word hate is used to denote preference.

Also, Exodus 20 verses 3 and 5 through Moses God speaks “You shall have no other gods before me. … You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,” Hate describes having other gods before God; again, denoting preference, not a defined exclusive emotion.

In a New Testament context Matthew in chapter 10 refers to the same teachings, although not in the same setting, as we are reading in Luke. Jesus says in verse 37 â€œAnyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” Clearly using the word hate would be understood by Jesus’ hearers, as it was by Matthew, as designating a preference, not the antagonistic attitude it evokes in our understanding today.

Although more palatable, this understanding still leaves us with the need to carry our cross, put loved ones and life’s goals and necessities second and the imperative to ensure we can accomplish the goal before we even consider beginning. A tall order and not one to be either taken lightly nor one that will inspire many to accept the mantle of disciple of Jesus.

Statistics suggest there are 2.38 billion Christians representing one third of the world’s population. For us today anyone who even half-heartedly or on mistaken understanding commits to identifying as a Christian and going to church is a believer who has chosen Jesus; a disciple and has been won to salvation in Christ.

The two parables would suggest we are being encouraged to make a choice, commit or get out of the game. That there is even a viable choice to be made! An idea which is counter to our normal evangelical message that there is only one choice. So possibly we are looking at this from the wrong perspective, not the one Jesus intended.

This is not a job offer, but a call to relationship. An imperfect but adequate analogy of this would be the family. We don’t, or shouldn’t, love one family member above another, but our relationships with each is quite different. The eldest child is often given certain preference and the youngest is given more attention and so on. Jesus is inviting his disciples to become part of his family, in which he is the father, or eldest brother may be more accurate. We obey Him as we would a father, ostensibly with willingness and without question, but this does not eclipse our love for the rest of the family or others; because we know Jesus loves them too.

If we follow Jesus, are His disciples, then what we do will show His love, the truest and fullest love, to all those around us. We, to use Jesus’ hyperbole, ‘hate’ them because we follow Jesus, but following Jesus is showing the most perfect love to everyone else. In His two demands for complete allegiance Jesus is asking us to trust his love for our “father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters - yes, even [our] own life.”

The key to this relationship is the sacrifice of our own desires and goals in lieu of Jesus’, the Master’s, purposes. To relinquish all to Jesus because we trust, have faith, that His way is best.

Yes, the price of discipleship is high, even Jesus trusted twelve didn’t measure up. They all forsook Him and ran away. John records that later Jesus full of love and forgiveness, restored Peter with instructions to feed His sheep. The imperative to evaluate the cost of discipleship is not a call to decision, but a means to lead us to the first beatitude; to the realization that we are poor in spirit; the first step on the humble path to the cross. When we fail, when we see we cannot complete the tower, or win the battle, or carry our cross; we turn to Jesus, who bore the cross for us and has promised to forgive our shortcomings and enable us through the Holy Spirit. A church together serving Christ, His loyal, faithful, disciples, not because we are able, but because He is able. Poor in spirit, meek and humble, we come to Jesus as we are. So, who would want this job?

For love of Christ, for the sake of Jesus who went to the cross for us, we want this job. But what of the cost? How can we bear it? And the answer we must all arrive at is that we can’t. There is no strength, no determination, no discipline that we can call upon. No hidden resource, no secret stash of courage nothing we can draw on that will let us finish our tower or defeat our enemy. We will never have hearts that find Jesus before all the other family, loved ones, cares, concerns and possessions we have in this world. In reply to Jesus’ question, we can only cry “I cannot bear this cross!”. And Jesus will come and say, it's Ok, I’ve born it for you. Feed my sheep and come, enter into my rest.        Amen