Awakening and Letting Go
25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “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. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.28 “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? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’31 “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? 32 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. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
Those are rather harsh words coming from Jesus. Listen to this translation from the First Nations Version of the New Testament:
Large crowds were following him, so he turned to them and said, “The ones who come to me must put me first above all others. To walk the road with me, they must love and respect me above their own fathers and mothers, wives and children, aunties and uncles. They must love me even more than their own life. Only the ones who are willing to follow me and carry their own crossbeam are ready to walk the road with me and learn my ways.
Who would build a great lodge without first making sure he had enough trees to finish it? If he only builds the floor and then ran out of trees, others would laugh at him and say: how will you finish what you started? Would a chief go to war against another chief if he only had half as may warriors? No! He would send messengers ahead to make a peace treaty!
You must count the cost of following me. For all who are not willing to give up all they have are not ready to walk the road with me and learn my ways.”
Hard words coming from Jesus. No organization would use a message like this for recruiting new volunteers or workers. What is Jesus getting at? Is there any good news in this tough talk? Are we willing to walk the road with him and learn his ways?
A few Sundays ago, seminarian Ben Lukenchuk spoke how in the gospel for that day Jesus calls us to wake up. Today’s gospel is a wake up call to be disciples who put Jesus first. To do that, he tells followers then and now, what is required of a disciple. It requires a willingness to let go of all our attachments. It means traveling light.
A disciple of Jesus must be prepared to give up attachment to every possession, every relationship, even attachment to their life. This doesn’t sound very much like Jesus. Its time to take a closer look at this radical call of Jesus.
Counting the cost. Lately we are all counting the cost of just about everything. Prices for just the basics like food and clothing have risen dramatically. So have the price of cars, bicycles, houses, medications, athletic equipment and an education. We can’t seem to escape the necessity of counting the cost of living.
In today’s gospel reading, radical Jesus is speaking about a different kind of cost counting. He is talking about spiritual cost counting, the cost that comes with following the Son of God. So we best be clear about who we are following.
After his baptism in the Jordan River, Jesus is ushered into a wilderness and tempted for 40 days and nights. He rejects temptations including the offer to become a dictator ruling all the nations of the world. He calls 12 men and some women to be his disciples. He teaches his disciples to do what he does. He teaches them to let go, to travel light. To be wholeheartedly following him.
Jesus teaches wherever he goes. He heals people wherever he goes. He blesses little children. He turns the tables on the wealth seekers. He proclaims the reality of the kingdom of God. He calms storms and calms fears. He feeds hungry hearts and hungry bodies. He is betrayed but does not betray. He dies on a cross. He watches as his only possession, his clothes, are divided among those who crucify him. His broken body is buried hastily in a borrowed tomb. But death does not have the last word on his life. He also experiences resurrection, new life.
To be a disciple does not mean we stop loving mother and father, spouse and children, brothers and sisters. It does not mean we become indifferent to our physical and mental well being. It does mean we live our relationships with the open heart of the resurrected Christ. Disciples of Jesus are open hearted people ready and willing to serve Christ in today’s conflicted, chaotic world of suffering.
To be a disciple is to be a follower, a listener, a learner, an open hearted messenger of good news. Jesus of Palestine, Jesus of Jerusalem is also Jesus of Lutheran Church of the Cross. Oh yes, the cross! It in the name of this community. It is a reminder that resurrected Jesus is at work in our midst. He is shaping our lives to be disciples for this moment in history. He is inviting us to examine our attachments in a consumer society. He invites us to travel light.
His presence invites us to be present, to be awake. His simple lifestyle invites us to live simply so that others can simply live. Letting go of attachments. Letting go so that we can live in harmony with our risen Lord and each other. Disciples are ready to continually let go of whatever gets in the way of listening to the voice of Jesus. Ready to let go so we can live a life of fearless service.
Jesus loves the disciples. Disciples love him. They love who he is and his presence in their lives. They love their neighbours as themselves, but they also love and pray for enemies. Disciples of Jesus practice forgiveness and mercy. When a harm has occurred they don’t seek punishment or retribution. They seek reconciliation and restitution.
Open hearted Disciples are welcoming people. The see the diversity of races, cultures, genders and sexual orientations as a gift, not a danger. They see the risen Jesus in everyone they meet which is no easy task at times! Disciples nurture inclusive relationships. They listen to the voice of the Creator. They practice silence so they can hear that divine voice guiding their lives. They return again and again to this table to be fed and affirmed.
Disciples of Jesus are everywhere. They can be found wherever there is suffering. They are agents of rescue in war zones. They are comforting the dying in hospice centres. They are gathering, preparing, and serving food to the hungry. They are listening to teachers sent by Messiah. Disciples comfort those who grieve. They strive to do no harm. They are agents of Creator’s grace and encouragement. They confront social injustices like greed, racism, lack of housing, aggression. They are peace makers not dealmakers. They are raising families. They are agents of healing and hope. Disciples know what they are called to be in the world. They are about the mission of Jesus to be agents of redemption wherever there are broken hearts, broken lives, broken societies. They know the cost of being a disciple.
Today Jesus tells us to consider our attachments. He asks us to be ready and willing to let go of them so we can travel light and serve him wholeheartedly. He asks this of us as individuals. He also asks this of us as a community of disciples at Church of the Cross. Over the next couple of months we will be discerning our future. He will be inviting us to travel light, inviting us to walk the road he keeps walking with us. Blessed be our awakening to where Jesus wants Church of the Cross and each of us as modern disciples to be engaged wholeheartedly in serving him.
