Luke 14:25-33 - INTRO
Those of you
who were here a few weeks ago may remember the passage we read from Luke’s
gospel where Jesus said to his followers,
“I have not
come to bring peace, but rather division…
where mother
will turn against daughter, and son against father.”
We talked
about how the Jesus we encounter in that passage seems out of character –
because his words don’t fit the image of the kind, compassionate, and
peace-loving teacher that we’ve come to know.
When we
encounter these difficult passages it is tempting to just skip over them and say,
“You know Jesus seems a little stressed
out this week, he must have been having a bad day, so let’s see what Jeremiah
has to say and we’ll come back to Jesus next week when he’s calmed down a bit.”
Well, here we
are a few weeks later, and Jesus has not calmed down.
If anything,
he seems to have ramped up his stress level –
as this time
as he talks to his followers about the cost of discipleship.
Here Jesus
tells his disciples that they must leave all of their possessions behind and pick
up the cross as he will.
And then he again
talks about families,
but this time
he uses the word “hate” to describe
what his disciples must do to their mothers and fathers, brothers and
sisters, spouses and children.
In English,
the word hate has a very definitive meaning.
It means to
despise, or loathe, or to dislike with a passion.
But in ancient
Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic –
the meaning is
not so straightforward.
In fact in
Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke, there is no word for “like”-
You either
loved someone or you hated them,
And when you
said you hated someone it didn’t always mean you despised them,
it could also
mean you simply loved them to a lesser degree than others.
We do the same
mixed meaning gymnastics with the word “like” –
When you think
about the boy or girl who sat next to you in 8th grade –
did you like them or did you “LIKE”
them?
There are
numerous examples in our Bible where the word hate is used in this same ambiguous
way – sometimes it means “to despise” and other times it’s used to describe a
lesser degree of affection than love.
So which
meaning was Jesus intending for us to hear when he used the word “hate” in
reference to our families of origin?
In the context
of describing the cost of discipleship is he saying we must walk away from all
that we know and love –
and come to
despise what we’ve left behind –
Or is he
saying that we must elevate our love of God above all else - and commit ourselves fully to walking
the way that he set before for us?
These are
challenging words either way.
The Rev. Maureen R. Frescott
Congregational Church of
Amherst, UCC
September 8, 2019 –
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Luke 14:25-33
“Sign Me Up!”
A
few weeks ago I had the honor and the pleasure of presiding at two weddings on back-to-back
weekends.
Both
were destination weddings, with the happy couples exchanging their vows outside
with scenic mountain overlooks.
The
settings were idyllic, but as with many weddings there was much for the bride
and groom to be anxious about.
The
brides were worried about slipping on the grass in their heals, one groom asked
his best man continuously if he was sure he had the rings,
the
location of one of the ceremonies had to be changed at the last minute due to a
mix up at the wedding venue,
and
one couple had the added stress of a weather forecast that called for
thunderstorms, hail, and gusty winds to arrive just as they would be saying
their I-do’s.
Thankfully
the stormy weather held off until we were all safely inside at the reception.
As
I told both couples just before they spoke their words of commitment to one
another, perfect wedding days are about as common as perfect relationships.
Ask
any clergy person/JP and they’ll share stories of wedding day mishaps.
There
was the couple who included their dog in the ceremony and when the priest asked
if anyone present objected to the marriage, the dog started crying and howling.
There
was the wedding reception where during the Father/Daughter dance the DJ
mistakenly played Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On."
The
Tonight Show’s Jimmy Fallon shared that at his cousin’s wedding,
the
bride and groom’s arrival at the reception was announced with pulsating lights
and a dramatic cloud of dry ice – and with all eyes on the entranceway out of
the mist walked Fallon’s mother looking for a bathroom.
Thankfully
both couples I married a few weeks ago, have known each other long enough and
well enough to know what they are getting themselves into.
They
were not expecting perfection – on their wedding day or in their relationship.
They
both seemed to understand that commitment is about accepting the challenges and
the disappointments along with the blessings and the joys.
Commitment
gets a bad rap in our current culture -
Partly
because people are a lot more mobile and moveable nowadays…
Changing
jobs, changing locations, changing spouses and relationships much more
frequently than the generations that came before.
And
if you talk to any group that depends on the time, talent, and treasure of volunteers
to keep it functioning and thriving,
getting
folks to commit is becoming more and more of a challenge.
Our
schools, our charitable organizations, our churches, talk about the
difficulties of planning, scheduling, and implementing programs and events
because people either won’t or can’t commit ahead of time,
or
don’t show up when they say they will.
But
in this alleged age of lack of commitment,
we
might also say we have an issue with over-commitment.
Think
about the calendar you have at home, or have in your purse or your phone.
Many
of us maintain daily, weekly, and yearly schedules that are overflowing with
commitments.
I
can’t tell you how many people I’ve encountered in the last week – people of
all ages – who bemoaned the fact that we’ve now turned the page from August
into September.
Not
just because they’re going to miss the warmer and longer days of summer.
But
because they’re going to miss the slower pace and fewer commitments –
the
commitments that seem to rush in and fill all the empty spaces in our day
planners and in our lives when summer turns to fall.
It
doesn’t matter if we have kids at home or away at school,
if
we’re working or retired,
if
we have aging parents or aging bodies that demand our attention.
It’s
likely that many of us here spend our days running from one appointment or
meeting or gathering to the next –
committing
our time and energy and passion to the people and places and events that are
counting on us to show up and be present in some way.
And
then there are the days when we have competing commitments.
The
dance recital is at the same time as the swim practice.
The
doctors appointment is at the same time as the ladies’ luncheon.
The
family party is at the same time as the church picnic.
And
we can’t be in two places at once.
So
when we finally have the time to make it to the PTA meeting,
or
our grandson’s soccer game, or to a church service on Sunday morning, the last
thing we want or need to hear is how we’re not doing enough to show our
commitment – that we should be doing MORE to prove we appreciate the value
these people, places, and events add to our lives.
This
is another reason why we may want to take the passage we heard today from
Luke’s gospel and put in our file of Biblical texts that are okay to skip over when
they show up in the Sunday lectionary.
Not
just because the language is challenging and we may struggle to understand its
meaning outside of its time and context,
but
because Jesus is reminding us of yet another commitment that we feel grossly
unprepared to take on, or don’t even remember signing up for.
He’s
the teacher telling us we’re not volunteering enough in the classroom.
The
soccer coach who reminds us it’s our turn to bring the orange slices for the
kids at halftime.
The
church member who calls us for the umpteenth time asking if we can please
please please sign up to be a Deacon, or to make coffee, or help with another
project that we just don’t have time or bandwidth to take on.
But
Jesus is not asking us to bring snacks, or wash communion cups, or monitor a
school cafeteria.
Jesus
is asking us to leave everything behind and lay down our lives so that others
may know that God’s love has the power to change the world.
Jesus
said,
“None
of you can become my disciples unless you give up all that you have.”
We’re
used to Jesus saying things like this – to the twelve men who followed him.
Fisherman
and tax collectors and odd-job peasants who had only the tools of their trade
and maybe an extra cloak or pair of sandals to their name.
And
when it came to following itinerate preachers it was more or less expected that
you would be pulling up stakes and traveling to far off places for God knows
how long and leaving ties to home and family behind.
The
cost of discipleship in the first century was undeniable and obvious.
If
you signed up to be one of the twelve you wouldn’t be headed to your 9-5 job on
Monday morning or sleeping in your own bed at night.
You
also wouldn’t be bringing along your fishing nets or carpentry tools, or your
spouse or your children.
All
of your possessions, and your family members - all ties to your old life would
be left behind.
The
cost of discipleship was clear.
What
was not so clear was the part about the cross.
Then,
just as now, people who lifted up Jesus as the way, the truth, and the light –
had no conception of what it meant to follow him to the cross.
Then,
it was inconceivable, that the Messiah –
the
one sent by GOD to liberate the people of Israel –
would
die a criminal’s death as Jesus predicted he would.
That’s
not how the story was supposed to end.
And
now, it seems inconceivable, that we would risk our lives in the same way – as we seek justice, call for peace,
and open our arms wide in God’s name. That’s not how we believe our story is
supposed to end, either.
First
of all, we are not first-century fisherman with just a few attachments to leave
behind.
We
have mortgages to pay, and 401Ks to contribute to,
and
a calendar on our wall that is filled with people and places and events that
depend on our being there.
As
much as we may sometimes fantasize about cutting all ties to our hamster wheel
lives and going Into the Wild – to live off the land and go off the grid……the
reality is most of us have no desire to go that far in our commitment to a
cause.
We
love our families, and our friends, and our homes, and the work we’ve committed
ourselves to, as time-consuming and as challenging as they may all be at times.
If
being a disciple in the first century was about leaving everything behind to
help Jesus build this amazing and wonderful Kingdom of God…
What
does it mean to be a disciple in the twenty-first century?
We
have numerous examples of commitment to Christ in our recent history:
Mother Teresa, who devoted her life to
helping the impoverished and marginalized in India, giving up all of life’s
comforts in the process.
Dietrich Bonheoffer, who spoke out against the
Nazi regime, smuggled Jews out of Germany, and died in a concentration camp as
a result.
The Rev. Martin Luther King
Jr. who
practiced and preached non-violent resistance to counteract the forces of
racism and hatred, and who was killed by those forces in the end.
But
is leaving all that we know and love behind and picking up the cross as Jesus
did the only way that we have to live into our commitment as people of God?
When
we’re baptized or confirmed or become a member of a Christian community we make
promises to God and to each other to commit ourselves to a life in Christ.
What
that commitment looks like is up to us.
And
it doesn’t have to be life-threatening or world-changing to count.
Sometimes
it looks like offering someone a kind word even when we feel they’ve wronged us
in some way.
Sometimes
it looks like extending a hand in generosity when our instinct is to close our
hand to keep what is ours to ourselves.
Sometimes
it looks like listening and learning from the story of another, instead of
making assumptions based on our own experience,
which
may be miles away from where we need to be.
Commitment
to Christ looks like all of the above.
It
looks like compassion.
It
looks like grace.
It
looks like love.
And
if we’ve ever spoken harshly to someone and regretted it afterward.
If
we’ve ever said no to a request for help when we could have said yes.
If
we’ve ever dismissed someone’s pain because it’s not something we’ve
experienced ourselves….
Then
we know how challenging it is to commit ourselves to the way of Christ.
We
don’t have to leave our homes or love our parents or children any less to take
on this commitment to walk in the way of Jesus.
We
can do it at the grocery store, in the PTA meeting, at the church gathering –
where people seem more than willing to give us many opportunities to practice
compassion, love, and grace.
And
in doing so, we leave behind our old selves –
our
anger, our anxiety, and our fear.
And
when we do that, we just might change the world, with God’s help.
The
good news is, that’s a commitment that I know we all can live into.
Thanks be to God, and Amen.