George Washington has a book out that is attributed to him, though it is not his actual writing. When he was 14, his teachers made him copy down lines from a French etiquette manual to help him practice his writing. The result, is a tiny book that stayed with Washington his entire life…so let that be a lesson to us all…be careful what you use as your examples, because they have a stronger impact than you think. The book is called, “Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation.”
The rules were things like number 31: If anyone far surpasses others, either in age, estate, or merit, yet would give place to a meaner than himself in his own lodging or elsewhere, the one ought not to except it. So he on the other part should not use much earnestness nor offer it above once or twice.
And there were 110 of these things. All the way from number 10: When you sit down, keep your feet firm and even, without putting one on the other or crossing them. To some that were less practical though very important like number 22: Show not yourself glad at the misfortune of another though he were your enemy.
The reason I am sharing this with you is that George Washington had many rules of civility and decent behavior in company and conversation, and among them are rules in talking about money. How it should never be discussed in polite company, and how you should not broach that subject among friends. You do not talk about Money, Religion, and Politics…but Jesus talks about all of them.
That book must have been compiled well after Jesus’ time because he talks about money a lot, like he does in our scripture reading this morning.
He is talking directly to the Pharisees that he describes just a few paragraphs earlier as lovers of money. And, this is two chapters before Jesus says the often quoted passage, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven. Clearly, Jesus has something to say about money.
And so I want to admit to you that when I read this passage, I didn’t want to preach a sermon to you about it…because one does not talk about money in polite conversation. I looked for some other passage, but I kept being brought back to this one. And it was a note from one of our third graders that gave me courage and conviction that this scripture was the one we needed to hear.
It is from a thank-you note from Anna Varner. Wesley and Jennifer, and I’ll bet Johnny and Helen have something to do with this too, you should be so proud of her. Her thank-you note was for her Bible, that she received as a gift from this church. In it she writes: Thank you so much for my Bible. I have 2 children’s Bibles, but this is my first REAL ACTUAL Bible. I am looking forward to continue to learn about Jesus.
Now it is our job that Anna, as well as the rest of us, learn about Jesus. And Jesus is pretty clear in this story, and he talks about something that we don’t like to talk about in polite company, money.
This is the kind of story that makes us fidget in our seats.
It makes us begin to question value systems and judgments.
It makes us begin to wonder about systems, and greed.
C.S. Lewis, the wonderful author of The Chronicles of Narnia as well as other Christian classics, once spoke on a radio program in London, where he argued that based upon everything that Jesus says and does, there are three options that one can take when making their opinion about him. He is either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord.
I believe we have three options that we can take when we read a passage such as this. We can ignore it, water it down, or change. My three options don’t have the cool alliteration that Lewis’s does, but I believe they run in the same vein.
We can ignore it. We can say to ourselves that this book we have here was written a long time ago in very different circumstances particularly very different economic circumstances. They didn’t have capitalism back then, and land was the main source of wealth whereas now it is in electronic code that a bank somewhere says you have. So, because the times are so different, we will just keep living our lives the way we want, and move on. We like Jesus, but we don’t like him talking about our money.
In looking at the parable we see two men. One rich, one poor, and there is a huge chasm between them. Both on earth, and in heaven. The rich man feasts sumptuously, while Lazarus, the poor man, begs that maybe some crumbs will fall from the rich man’s table. Then, when they die, the rich man goes to torment, while Lazarus goes to paradise. There is a gap between them.
And the rich man’s sin is not so much that he doesn’t help, Lazarus, though that is in there; his main sin is that he doesn’t even see him. He is ignorant. He has no idea that there are others outside of himself. Others who need food and shelter. He doesn’t even see the poor. He ignores Lazarus, much like many ignore this passage.
There is still a gap today. If you look at statistics, the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer. Just this week a statistical study came out that pays poverty is on the rise in this country. We can blame, because that is easier, but at some point we need to look squarely at ourselves. That is what we have built upon. For every rich nation in the world, there is a poor nation that suffers by its exploitation.
When the movie Wall Street came out with Charlie Sheen and Michael Douglas, Michael Douglas helped create the iconic character of Gordon Gekko. He is wall street trader, who makes millions of dollars a day and the famous quote from that movie is; greed is good. There is a sequel to that movie that is in theatres right now called Wall Street: Money never sleeps. It picks up the story of Gordon Gekko after he has served time in prison for fraud. And I haven’t seen it, but in the previews Gordon Gekko is giving a speech where he says, “I once said, Greed is good, now, it seems, it is legal.” And that fiction, is based on truth.
So are we really that different? Can we continue to ignore scriptures such as these? I don’t think we can.
So we look at our second option. To water down the passage. This isn’t a new strategy. People have been watering down scripture for years to make it a little easier for people to digest without upsetting how they live their lives. People flock to a watered down Bible because it lets them stay in their security.
Scripture is used to keep people poor as scripture is quoted at them that they will receive their blessing after they die. Preachers and church-goers hear messages that the reason they have wealth is because God gave it to them as a blessing for them being such a wonderful person.
We water it down to a morality play, that if only the rich were a little bit more compassionate, then they would not suffer torment. We don’t notice where we are in this story.
But I do not believe we are called to water-down scripture. We are given scripture as a gift from God, so that we might know Him and know what his Kingdom looks like. When we water it down, we gain comfort, but I believe we lose our soul. And Anna said…I want to learn about Jesus. Not a watered down Jesus, but Jesus.
So our third option…is to change. To work for change in this world where people are not poor. That in all the abundance God has given to us, we give abundantly to others. That we see the world with compassion and grace because that is how God sees us. That we give and give and give, because that is what we constantly ask God to be, and who we know God is…one who gives, and gives, and gives.
We tithe. Every month, my family tithes. And yes, we come into situations where we can use that 10% in our house as we have the bills spread out on the table, some of which have the words FINAL NOTICE on them. But it is God’s money, not ours. And it is more important for us to give because God gives so much to us. We begin to save money for our faith community. We give it away, because we see and have compassion on the poor, and know the healing power of Jesus Christ, and we want them to be healed. We want ourselves to be healed of our attachments and insecurities, so we give as a spiritual discipline so that we might know God on a deeper level, and thus know ourselves on a deeper level.
We change, and we do not use scripture to justify hate, but instead embrace it as instruction on how we can fully live into our inheritance as children of God.
I didn’t want to preach on this text. If I am honest with myself and with you, I don’t really want to change when I approach scripture. But I do every time, because that is who God has called me to be. God has called me to open myself up to new scripture and insight every time I look. Because change is hard, and we should not talk about money in polite company, and some of you may not like me after I preach this sermon. But I believe, that change is what happens when we meet Christ. And while that change may not look “successful” in the eyes of the world…it is change towards truth.
George Washington wrote in number 110: The very last line in the book. Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience.
Labor to keep alive that childlike wonder and openness to be affected by Jesus; even about money, religion, and politics. Because that is what is good. And who God calls us to be.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
Founder's Day
I have been here at Bold Spring for 80 days now, and it is amazing what all can happen in that short amount of time. Jules Verne, the iconic French Novelist, wrote a book entitled “Around the World in 80 days,” which showed the hero, Phineas Fogg traveling around the world by train, boat, and even elephant, using only public transportation. Now, I can’t say that I have been around the world in these 80 days, but I have been listening and observing all of you, and the community, to see what kind of church we are, and what kind of church we can hope to be.
And here is one of the things that I have observed the most with all of you. This church will do whatever it takes, as long as it takes, until the job is done. And so you inspire me, and this community to do the same. If we see a need, then this church will fill it. Whatever it takes, as long as it takes, until the job is done.
It’s a rare quality in this world, and this church has it in droves.
That is how I view this shepherd and peasant woman in these parables.
In our scripture today, we hear two parables that are essentially the same story. A shepherd, and a peasant woman lose one of many things. And they leave them to go in search for them. Doing whatever it takes, as long as it takes, until the thing is found. The sheep and coin that are lost, can do nothing to help themselves be found, they can only rely on being found by their owner. Then, there is much rejoicing because that which was lost has been found.
When I lose something, I am much like these people. I will be sitting there, minding my own business, doing work, when I will think about one article of clothing or trinket, and I can focus on nothing else until I find it. I will tear the house apart, putting things in all kinds of disarray until I find it.
When I was in seminary, I took P501, which is the introductory preaching course. I held out until my third year to take this course, and I actually took some higher level preaching courses in my time at seminary and purposely delayed taking the introductory course for one reason. I wanted to take the course with Dr. Tom Long when he was offering it to a small group of students.
Dr. Long wrote the book on contemporary preaching, literally. He is a wonderful preacher, and a wonderful professor. So I was really excited that he was going to be reviewing my sermons so that I could glean his insight. (Secretly, I think I was hoping for him to tell me that my preaching was the best he has ever seen, and that I was on the right track.)
When I got into the class, I learned that Dr. Long would NOT be evaluating our sermons, but a local minister from the community would be. I was disappointed by this because I wanted Dr. Long to evaluate me. So, I wrote a draft of a sermon I was delivering later, and made an appointment with him during his office hours, so that he could evaluate it.
We sat at a round table he had in his office. He read my sermon. Put it down, and looked directly at this hopeful student’s eyes, and said something I won’t soon forget, “It’s a good sermon, well written and presented, but you make one, huge, glaring theological mistake throughout its entirety.”
That’s not what I wanted to hear. He went on.
“Throughout the entire sermon you talk as if it is our action, and not God’s.”
That changed my life.
It is God’s action, not ours.
Lately, what has been en vogue when it comes to churches is “seeker friendly” churches. In a society where we choose where we go to church not because of denominational affiliation, and we have become able to travel wherever we want, churches have had to employ marketing strategies in order to entice people to choose their church over another. It is just the culture we live in where churches have even been subjected to the marketplace, and are consumer-driven.
“Seeker-friendly” is the term that has been employed by the mega-churches that you hear about, in that those who are “seeking” God can find access to God through these churches with their particular worship style and offerings. It is not confused by creeds, or sacraments, or traditions. Everything about it caters to the individual who is “seeking.”
Seekers read this parable and see themselves as having lost something. And they would see it as a call to search high and low, tearing their house apart so that they would find God.
But, I think when it is read that way, we make one, huge, glaring theological mistake throughout its entirety. We think it is our action, and not God’s. We make the mistake when we make ourselves the shepherd, or the peasant woman. We are the sheep, and we are the coin. God seeks us. God seeks those who are lost. God celebrates the finding of those that are lost. God celebrates finding us.
We don’t seek God, God seeks us. Its part of who God is. The one who continually calls for us, even when we do nothing to be found. Even when we run away. God searches for us.
The sheep and the coin can do nothing to be found. The sheep is in the wilderness, scared, and doesn’t want to make a sound because the sheep most likely will be found by a predator. Same with the coin. It cannot make a noise or shine any brighter so that it might be found. It can only be in the state it is in.
When I was leading backpacking and kayaking trips for Camp Glisson, I was trained and certified in Wilderness first aid. In that class we learned that if you get lost, don’t move. Because if you continue to walk around, you will continue to move out of reach of those tracking you, and searching for you. Its best if you stay in one place.
If we are feeling lost. That we don’t know where God is. When we hear bad news at a doctor’s office, if a loved one is dying, if we feel trapped in our career. It would be good for us to remember, God seeks us, and calls to us, and God finds us. It is God’s action, not ours.
Today is an important day in the life of this church. It is a day when our third and fourth graders received from this church their Bibles. God seeks us with his words in scripture, that we read and study so that we might be found. So that we might be called to service because we have been found. I want to encourage you kids to read your Bible. Apply it to your lives. Ask questions about it. Challenge it. Embrace it. It is God seeking to find you through words that have been passed down and made holy.
When we are found, the entire community rejoices. So if there are any in our community or beyond who come here because God has found them and brought them here, we will celebrate with God. Because they once were lost, but now they are found. And we can get glimpses of God’s grace embracing us as a community of faith. Only glimpses, because we cannot understand the depths of God’s love for us, but we can be assured, that we are found.
I want us to be a “founder-friendly” church. Those who are found and welcomed by God. Welcoming others who are found, which the scripture tells us, will be everybody. We need to be the church that celebrates with God when another founder comes through the doors. Being the community that is gathered together knowing God will continue to seek, and God will continue to find.
Phineas Fogg traveled around the world in 80 days. And he ended exactly where he started. When we become lost, we end up where we started as well. It does us good to remember that we are constantly coming home. That we will be found. And we will end up where we start, in the palm of God’s loving hand…where we will always be.
And here is one of the things that I have observed the most with all of you. This church will do whatever it takes, as long as it takes, until the job is done. And so you inspire me, and this community to do the same. If we see a need, then this church will fill it. Whatever it takes, as long as it takes, until the job is done.
It’s a rare quality in this world, and this church has it in droves.
That is how I view this shepherd and peasant woman in these parables.
In our scripture today, we hear two parables that are essentially the same story. A shepherd, and a peasant woman lose one of many things. And they leave them to go in search for them. Doing whatever it takes, as long as it takes, until the thing is found. The sheep and coin that are lost, can do nothing to help themselves be found, they can only rely on being found by their owner. Then, there is much rejoicing because that which was lost has been found.
When I lose something, I am much like these people. I will be sitting there, minding my own business, doing work, when I will think about one article of clothing or trinket, and I can focus on nothing else until I find it. I will tear the house apart, putting things in all kinds of disarray until I find it.
When I was in seminary, I took P501, which is the introductory preaching course. I held out until my third year to take this course, and I actually took some higher level preaching courses in my time at seminary and purposely delayed taking the introductory course for one reason. I wanted to take the course with Dr. Tom Long when he was offering it to a small group of students.
Dr. Long wrote the book on contemporary preaching, literally. He is a wonderful preacher, and a wonderful professor. So I was really excited that he was going to be reviewing my sermons so that I could glean his insight. (Secretly, I think I was hoping for him to tell me that my preaching was the best he has ever seen, and that I was on the right track.)
When I got into the class, I learned that Dr. Long would NOT be evaluating our sermons, but a local minister from the community would be. I was disappointed by this because I wanted Dr. Long to evaluate me. So, I wrote a draft of a sermon I was delivering later, and made an appointment with him during his office hours, so that he could evaluate it.
We sat at a round table he had in his office. He read my sermon. Put it down, and looked directly at this hopeful student’s eyes, and said something I won’t soon forget, “It’s a good sermon, well written and presented, but you make one, huge, glaring theological mistake throughout its entirety.”
That’s not what I wanted to hear. He went on.
“Throughout the entire sermon you talk as if it is our action, and not God’s.”
That changed my life.
It is God’s action, not ours.
Lately, what has been en vogue when it comes to churches is “seeker friendly” churches. In a society where we choose where we go to church not because of denominational affiliation, and we have become able to travel wherever we want, churches have had to employ marketing strategies in order to entice people to choose their church over another. It is just the culture we live in where churches have even been subjected to the marketplace, and are consumer-driven.
“Seeker-friendly” is the term that has been employed by the mega-churches that you hear about, in that those who are “seeking” God can find access to God through these churches with their particular worship style and offerings. It is not confused by creeds, or sacraments, or traditions. Everything about it caters to the individual who is “seeking.”
Seekers read this parable and see themselves as having lost something. And they would see it as a call to search high and low, tearing their house apart so that they would find God.
But, I think when it is read that way, we make one, huge, glaring theological mistake throughout its entirety. We think it is our action, and not God’s. We make the mistake when we make ourselves the shepherd, or the peasant woman. We are the sheep, and we are the coin. God seeks us. God seeks those who are lost. God celebrates the finding of those that are lost. God celebrates finding us.
We don’t seek God, God seeks us. Its part of who God is. The one who continually calls for us, even when we do nothing to be found. Even when we run away. God searches for us.
The sheep and the coin can do nothing to be found. The sheep is in the wilderness, scared, and doesn’t want to make a sound because the sheep most likely will be found by a predator. Same with the coin. It cannot make a noise or shine any brighter so that it might be found. It can only be in the state it is in.
When I was leading backpacking and kayaking trips for Camp Glisson, I was trained and certified in Wilderness first aid. In that class we learned that if you get lost, don’t move. Because if you continue to walk around, you will continue to move out of reach of those tracking you, and searching for you. Its best if you stay in one place.
If we are feeling lost. That we don’t know where God is. When we hear bad news at a doctor’s office, if a loved one is dying, if we feel trapped in our career. It would be good for us to remember, God seeks us, and calls to us, and God finds us. It is God’s action, not ours.
Today is an important day in the life of this church. It is a day when our third and fourth graders received from this church their Bibles. God seeks us with his words in scripture, that we read and study so that we might be found. So that we might be called to service because we have been found. I want to encourage you kids to read your Bible. Apply it to your lives. Ask questions about it. Challenge it. Embrace it. It is God seeking to find you through words that have been passed down and made holy.
When we are found, the entire community rejoices. So if there are any in our community or beyond who come here because God has found them and brought them here, we will celebrate with God. Because they once were lost, but now they are found. And we can get glimpses of God’s grace embracing us as a community of faith. Only glimpses, because we cannot understand the depths of God’s love for us, but we can be assured, that we are found.
I want us to be a “founder-friendly” church. Those who are found and welcomed by God. Welcoming others who are found, which the scripture tells us, will be everybody. We need to be the church that celebrates with God when another founder comes through the doors. Being the community that is gathered together knowing God will continue to seek, and God will continue to find.
Phineas Fogg traveled around the world in 80 days. And he ended exactly where he started. When we become lost, we end up where we started as well. It does us good to remember that we are constantly coming home. That we will be found. And we will end up where we start, in the palm of God’s loving hand…where we will always be.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Measuring the Cost
In college, I was required to take one philosophy course. I took a lot of courses in various disciplines as only a liberal arts education can offer, but I really had no idea what I was going to take when it came to philosophy. So I did what anyone would do. I asked as upper-classman what the easiest class was to take, and I signed up for it.
It turned out to be a class on the logic of argument. And it was exactly as boring as the title. It was all about the linguistics of arguing. And if the conclusion of the argument was based on the facts presented.
We had to write statements like:
Whereas: All Methodist Colleges need to be registered with the United Methodist Church and
Whereas: Wofford College is a United Methodist College.
Therefore: Wofford College needs to be registered with the United Methodist Church.
That was our written work. It was mind-numbingly boring and tedious. When I read this passage from Luke, it looked like Jesus was speaking in this pattern.
Whereas: 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 and
Whereas: Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
Therefore: None of you can become my disciples if you do not give up all your possessions.
You can tell, the logic of the argument does not make sense. The conclusion is not consistent with the facts presented.
So, I don’t think that we can read this passage with its individual parts, but most look at the entire statement as a whole. They are all interconnected so that you can’t parse out certain aspects of it and say that this is the essence of what Jesus is saying, you must look at the entire statement.
Jesus uses repetition to get his point across. He uses different images but he says the same thing. Whether we’re taking up our cross, building a tower, or fighting a battle—we must always measure the cost of our actions. We should always think through the consequences of our actions.
What Jesus is talking about, is measuring the cost.
Have you all noticed that we have been reading the scripture out of Luke a lot?! Ever since I’ve been here actually. That’s because it is the lectionary Gospel for this ordinary time in our Christian Calendar, and all of these teachings happen on “The way to Jerusalem.” Jesus is traveling toward to holy city the entire time…and we know what happens in Jerusalem, and Jesus does too. In Jerusalem, prophets are killed. In Jerusalem, there is a very cruel punishment and execution that awaits the fate of Jesus. We know what happens there, and the entire time, that is where Jesus is headed.
And, Jesus’s teaching is so effective, and revolutionary that huge crowds are beginning to follow him along the way.
I would imagine that is what at this point that Jesus faces a pretty severe temptation, and one that we are still facing today. The temptation to settle.
People LOVE Jesus in Galilee. It says, large crowds are following him. People are traveling from miles away to see him, to touch him. They are listening to what he is saying and the crowds are growing.
So why even continue on to Jerusalem? Like we’ve already said, we know what happens in Jerusalem. So why not settle down in Galilee? That is where the people are. That is where his friends are. And that is where people like him.
I think this happens in churches all the time. Things start going well, so churches just keep doing things like they have always done them. They become satisfied and complacent with what has been accomplished. We stop looking for avenues of mission and ministry. And, ironically, it is precisely at that moment that a church settles with its ministry, that it begins to die. We are called to more. We are called to do more, and to be more. That is the cost of calling ourselves disciples of Jesus Christ.
So when Jesus has these huge crowds surrounding him, does he say, lets just sit down and enjoy being together? No, he says, its going to cost more than that to be my disciple because I am called to do more. Jesus reminds them, I am called to continue to Jerusalem where I will be mocked and executed, and rise again, because there is a greater purpose to my coming to be with you, and that is to make certain that death does not have the final word. To make certain, that you all have life and life abundantly. That is the cost of being called. Are you willing to pay that cost?
I can imagine that there was stunned silence. What does he mean take up our cross? Things are great! No crosses around here in Galilee!
What does he mean that we must sell all of our possessions? Does that include everything I have worked so hard for?
What does he mean to hate our families and our life? I love my family, I could never hate them!
I believe, first of all, hate is a strong word, but that in everything Jesus is saying as the cost of discipleship is meant to push us beyond our comfort. To push us beyond the temptation to be complacent. To push us beyond our bonds and our ties to what truly matters. Life, and life abundantly, for all.
So there it is. Its laid out before us on this table. The body and blood of Christ so that we might be for the world the body of Christ. We promised to be Christ’s disciple at our baptism, and to follow him wherever he would have us to go. And our promise to be disciples might lead us to unexpected places.
That might be in mission into the high schools, where we gather up at-risk youth under our wings to let them know that they are loved, and they are worth something in this world, because too many kids to count don’t know that.
That might be delivering food to families in our community who don’t have enough, but are too proud to say so.
That might be giving all that we have, so that someone else may live.
The cost of discipleship is a lot. But Jesus never calls the disciples to follow him, for a little while. He simply says, follow me.
We possess so many things. And sometimes it seems like our possession actually possess us.
That is the one of the problems with our global environment right now. Too many people, in too many places refuse to give up their comfort for the sake of the greater good around the world. Too many natural resources are being funneled to too few people, and as a result the entire world suffers. Not just human beings, but all of creation. We are loosening ourselves from being physical beings, and in doing so, have lost grip with being a community together. I believe it is a moral and theological issue that this is happening. That we must give up a part of ourselves, in order for another to have life and have it abundantly.
Because that is what God promised. God promised to be with us, and that we are to follow Him. So that is what we must do.
I love being a United Methodist and especially being Wesleyan. Because part of being a United Methodist means that God is never done molding us and shaping us to be the beautiful creation that we are intended to be. At all moments and on all days, God is working in our lives through his loving grace so that we might fully realize who we are as children of God. Every day is the first day in the rest of our life.
And what fool doesn’t consider the cost before building a building? Or what King would fight a battle if they didn’t think that they would win?
So Jesus puts the cost before us in being his disciple. Can we afford it?
I think we can. But not only that, I think we must. Because the world NEEDS it. The world needs redemption, and transformation. I hear too many stories of pain and hate. The world needs disciples of Jesus Christ who pay the cost not because of what it will benefit them, but what it will benefit their neighbors. To introduce them to Christ, so that they might be disciples as well.
We are going to gather at the table this morning to partake of communion. It is a very special time to me when I get to share this meal with you, and we are doing it a little bit differently this morning. When you kneel at the altar, I will come by, and give you a piece of bread, and then Chip will come by and offer you the cup. You will dip the bread into the cup, then eat it.
This is nourishment for our body and soul. Remembering who Christ is in our life. What Christ means in allowing us to be his brother and sister. And it is strength to pay the cost of discipleship. Bonding us together as one family, united by our Lord. And gives us clear vision to see the crosses around us that need to be carried, because that is what we are called to do.
Jesus says, Come, Follow Me.
Will you come?
It turned out to be a class on the logic of argument. And it was exactly as boring as the title. It was all about the linguistics of arguing. And if the conclusion of the argument was based on the facts presented.
We had to write statements like:
Whereas: All Methodist Colleges need to be registered with the United Methodist Church and
Whereas: Wofford College is a United Methodist College.
Therefore: Wofford College needs to be registered with the United Methodist Church.
That was our written work. It was mind-numbingly boring and tedious. When I read this passage from Luke, it looked like Jesus was speaking in this pattern.
Whereas: 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 and
Whereas: Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
Therefore: None of you can become my disciples if you do not give up all your possessions.
You can tell, the logic of the argument does not make sense. The conclusion is not consistent with the facts presented.
So, I don’t think that we can read this passage with its individual parts, but most look at the entire statement as a whole. They are all interconnected so that you can’t parse out certain aspects of it and say that this is the essence of what Jesus is saying, you must look at the entire statement.
Jesus uses repetition to get his point across. He uses different images but he says the same thing. Whether we’re taking up our cross, building a tower, or fighting a battle—we must always measure the cost of our actions. We should always think through the consequences of our actions.
What Jesus is talking about, is measuring the cost.
Have you all noticed that we have been reading the scripture out of Luke a lot?! Ever since I’ve been here actually. That’s because it is the lectionary Gospel for this ordinary time in our Christian Calendar, and all of these teachings happen on “The way to Jerusalem.” Jesus is traveling toward to holy city the entire time…and we know what happens in Jerusalem, and Jesus does too. In Jerusalem, prophets are killed. In Jerusalem, there is a very cruel punishment and execution that awaits the fate of Jesus. We know what happens there, and the entire time, that is where Jesus is headed.
And, Jesus’s teaching is so effective, and revolutionary that huge crowds are beginning to follow him along the way.
I would imagine that is what at this point that Jesus faces a pretty severe temptation, and one that we are still facing today. The temptation to settle.
People LOVE Jesus in Galilee. It says, large crowds are following him. People are traveling from miles away to see him, to touch him. They are listening to what he is saying and the crowds are growing.
So why even continue on to Jerusalem? Like we’ve already said, we know what happens in Jerusalem. So why not settle down in Galilee? That is where the people are. That is where his friends are. And that is where people like him.
I think this happens in churches all the time. Things start going well, so churches just keep doing things like they have always done them. They become satisfied and complacent with what has been accomplished. We stop looking for avenues of mission and ministry. And, ironically, it is precisely at that moment that a church settles with its ministry, that it begins to die. We are called to more. We are called to do more, and to be more. That is the cost of calling ourselves disciples of Jesus Christ.
So when Jesus has these huge crowds surrounding him, does he say, lets just sit down and enjoy being together? No, he says, its going to cost more than that to be my disciple because I am called to do more. Jesus reminds them, I am called to continue to Jerusalem where I will be mocked and executed, and rise again, because there is a greater purpose to my coming to be with you, and that is to make certain that death does not have the final word. To make certain, that you all have life and life abundantly. That is the cost of being called. Are you willing to pay that cost?
I can imagine that there was stunned silence. What does he mean take up our cross? Things are great! No crosses around here in Galilee!
What does he mean that we must sell all of our possessions? Does that include everything I have worked so hard for?
What does he mean to hate our families and our life? I love my family, I could never hate them!
I believe, first of all, hate is a strong word, but that in everything Jesus is saying as the cost of discipleship is meant to push us beyond our comfort. To push us beyond the temptation to be complacent. To push us beyond our bonds and our ties to what truly matters. Life, and life abundantly, for all.
So there it is. Its laid out before us on this table. The body and blood of Christ so that we might be for the world the body of Christ. We promised to be Christ’s disciple at our baptism, and to follow him wherever he would have us to go. And our promise to be disciples might lead us to unexpected places.
That might be in mission into the high schools, where we gather up at-risk youth under our wings to let them know that they are loved, and they are worth something in this world, because too many kids to count don’t know that.
That might be delivering food to families in our community who don’t have enough, but are too proud to say so.
That might be giving all that we have, so that someone else may live.
The cost of discipleship is a lot. But Jesus never calls the disciples to follow him, for a little while. He simply says, follow me.
We possess so many things. And sometimes it seems like our possession actually possess us.
That is the one of the problems with our global environment right now. Too many people, in too many places refuse to give up their comfort for the sake of the greater good around the world. Too many natural resources are being funneled to too few people, and as a result the entire world suffers. Not just human beings, but all of creation. We are loosening ourselves from being physical beings, and in doing so, have lost grip with being a community together. I believe it is a moral and theological issue that this is happening. That we must give up a part of ourselves, in order for another to have life and have it abundantly.
Because that is what God promised. God promised to be with us, and that we are to follow Him. So that is what we must do.
I love being a United Methodist and especially being Wesleyan. Because part of being a United Methodist means that God is never done molding us and shaping us to be the beautiful creation that we are intended to be. At all moments and on all days, God is working in our lives through his loving grace so that we might fully realize who we are as children of God. Every day is the first day in the rest of our life.
And what fool doesn’t consider the cost before building a building? Or what King would fight a battle if they didn’t think that they would win?
So Jesus puts the cost before us in being his disciple. Can we afford it?
I think we can. But not only that, I think we must. Because the world NEEDS it. The world needs redemption, and transformation. I hear too many stories of pain and hate. The world needs disciples of Jesus Christ who pay the cost not because of what it will benefit them, but what it will benefit their neighbors. To introduce them to Christ, so that they might be disciples as well.
We are going to gather at the table this morning to partake of communion. It is a very special time to me when I get to share this meal with you, and we are doing it a little bit differently this morning. When you kneel at the altar, I will come by, and give you a piece of bread, and then Chip will come by and offer you the cup. You will dip the bread into the cup, then eat it.
This is nourishment for our body and soul. Remembering who Christ is in our life. What Christ means in allowing us to be his brother and sister. And it is strength to pay the cost of discipleship. Bonding us together as one family, united by our Lord. And gives us clear vision to see the crosses around us that need to be carried, because that is what we are called to do.
Jesus says, Come, Follow Me.
Will you come?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
