Luke 14:25-33
Proper 18 / Year C
Jesus turned and said to the large crowds
following him, “None of you can become my
disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.” – Luke 14:33
Don’t get me wrong. I am
truly glad each of you is here this morning.
But I take your presence as a sign you didn’t win last night’s Powerball
drawing. I didn’t either. In fact, I diminished my chances by 1/293
millionth when I didn’t even buy a ticket.
Never-the-less, it did not stop me from daydreaming in quieter moments
about what I would do with all that money.
I would travel, for sure, and probably amass a sweet collection of
antique cars. But I mused most about all
the good I could do to help others… family members, institutions I believe in
(like Chanco), and the churches I have served.
And while my fantasies have something of an altruistic bent, I am still
a far way off from falling in line with Jesus’ teaching we heard this morning.
Its context is important. We
are told “large crowds” are following Jesus.
He has been healing, fed the masses with a few fish and loaves, and he
has been teaching. He has invited
everyone to be a disciple. Jesus understands
they don’t understand the benefits nor the cost of what he is offering. So, as the throng is walking along, literally
following Jesus, he stops and addresses those who have just recently joined him
on his journey. In essence he asks them,
“Have you considered what it costs to follow me?”
It’s a good question for us to consider on this day when our
parish asks us to make a commitment to the financial operations of our
church. And it’s a good question to ask
while, over the course of this month, we are inviting you to commit to serving in
one of our lay ministries. What does it
cost you to follow Christ? What does it
cost to be a part of St. Paul’s parish family?
At the heart of who we are, we humans are transactional people. In other words, we only give up something
when we believe we will get something better in return. Every purchase, every trade, every allotment
of our time is an exchange of something we have for something we want. Even my altruistic fantasies about divvying
up lottery winnings is based in transaction – a belief I would feel better
about helping others than I would by hoarding all I have. So, along with “what does it cost?”, Jesus
invites us to ask a second question about discipleship… “What is the benefit?” What is the benefit of following Christ? What is the benefit of being committed to St.
Paul’s?
What does it cost follow Jesus? He gives us a hint in today’s reading: “Whoever does not carry his/her cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” – Luke 14:27 “Pick up your cross and follow me” is one of Jesus’ teachings we hear so often it becomes easy to acknowledge it without ever really pondering what it means. We tend to think of bearing a cross as tolerating a burden (a difficult family member or a physical disability perhaps). But this isn’t what Jesus means in his teaching.
We might ask what
those listening to Jesus thought he meant when he told them to pick up their
cross. I suspect they were perplexed. They are aware the cross is an instrument of
Roman execution. Probably they know a condemned
person is forced to carry his cross to the site of the execution. But most likely they never thought of
personally possessing a cross they could pick up and take with them. It would be as obscure to them as if someone
said to us, “Pick up your gas chamber and follow me.”
Perhaps we should
ask what the Cross is for Jesus? From
what we read in the gospels, Jesus considers the Cross to be his destination in
life. It is his purpose, his aim, his
goal. His entire life is oriented toward
it. And his hope is fixed on what lies
beyond it. So, based on this
understanding, when Jesus says to us “Pick up your cross and follow me”, he is saying
our highest hopes, our deepest dreams, our most passionate pursuits, every
ounce of energy we can muster, all we strive to do and have and be is to be
fixed on him. And yes, it is a huge
price to pay. If we take him seriously,
it costs us everything.
But what are the
benefits? Well, if you are burdened with
regret over things you have done and left undone, you will find
forgiveness. If you are anxious, you
will gain peace. If you are lost, you
will be given purpose. If you are empty,
you will be filled with the Holy Spirit.
If you are hurting, you will be healed.
If you are dead inside, you will be born again. If you are dying, you will be given life in
the world to come. You will gain
communion with the Creator and Lord of all that is. You will learn to live in accord with the way
you are made to be. You will discover
your life, like every life, matters.
What does it cost
you to be a part of our parish family?
Money. Sleeping in on Sunday
morning. The time and effort required to
volunteer and to get involved. You will take
on more people to care about. You will
have to put up with a few people who get on your nerves. And, from time to time, you will have to
tolerate something said from the pulpit which may make your blood boil or your
eyelids heavy. What are the
benefits? You will find inspiration in the
beauty of this building, the music we hear and the hymns we sing, the cadence and
poignant words of our liturgy, and the word of God made known through Scripture
and proclamation. You will be fed
through the Lord’s Supper and in our times of fellowship. You will be a part of a genuine community; a
family gathered around shared convictions.
You will be loved and have a place where you can love both those here as
well as those beyond our walls. You will
find meaning for your life and you will realize you are not alone.
So, will you take
up your cross and follow Jesus? Will you
join us and travel through life with us as a fellow pilgrim on the way?
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