Thirteenth Sunday
after Pentecost (Proper 18C)
Luke 14.25-33
St. Gregory’s, Long Beach
Most
of us are old enough to remember the TV ads for various medications in which,
at the end of the ad, there was a voice over with the legal fine print.
Invariably, it was something along the lines of “in rare instances, use of this
medication may cause . . .” going on to list a variety of potential side
effects, usually from lesser intensity to greater. And it seemed like all
medications had the exact same potential side effects. Usually ending with such
effects as heart attack, stroke, suicidal thoughts, and even death. Even
medications for benign ailments included such dire warnings. To which my father
would invariably quip, “Why, then, would I even consider taking this
medication?”
That
is the image I had upon reading today’s Gospel passage. That Jesus is issuing
the obligatory legal fine print regarding becoming his disciple. “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. Whoever does not
carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” And ending with “none of
you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.”
So,
let me get this straight, Jesus. If I want to become one of your disciples, I
have to hate my own life, hate everyone in my family, and give up all my
possessions. And not only that, I have to be willing to carry an instrument of
torture and execution, with the very real possibility that I might end up on
that cross myself? To paraphrase my father, “Why, then, would I even consider
following you?” Jesus is not able to answer that question for his audience—then
or now. At least not directly, in this encounter. Although the answer is
ultimately provided through what will happen in Jerusalem, with his own
encounter with the cross and his subsequent resurrection. No, everyone must
answer for themselves the question of whether they are willing to follow Jesus,
as we are unique individuals with our own unique circumstances. Jesus
illustrates this with a couple of examples.
Within
the pericope, Jesus uses two images. One of a landowner wanting to build a new
tower but not having sufficient resources to complete it, and the second of a
king wanting to go to war, necessitating an evaluation of whether he has
sufficient troops to defeat his enemy. The message in both images is the same.
Before entering into any decision, particularly one as serious as a major
building project or going to war—or dedicating one’s life to following
Jesus—one must consider the costs. The total costs. For if one is not willing
or able to bear the cost of their decision, the venture is doomed to failure.
In the case of the decision to follow Jesus, one must consider what is often
referred to as the cost of discipleship. Can one “afford” to follow Jesus.
Admittedly, the cost of discipleship is far more nebulous and perhaps harder to
define than calculating the cost of a building project or determining whether
one has more soldiers than one’s enemy. The costs are going to be dictated by
one’s personal circumstances. And the calculation needs to include not only
cost to self, but also the cost to those impacted by the decision: one’s family
and broader community.
Jesus’
final statement in today’s reading is “So therefore, none of you can become my
disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.” When it comes to making
that critical decision to be a disciple, the condition of giving up all one’s
possessions is about so much more than physical possessions. It is about giving
up anything and everything that stands in the way of being Jesus’ disciple. It
is about giving up anything that would inhibit us. Anything that would get in
the way of being able to commit to following. Be that our material possessions,
be that some if not all our relationships, be that our uncertainties and fears.
The bottom line in Jesus’ statement is that no one can truly follow him unless
they are willing and prepared to go all the way. To be all in, come what may.
Now,
admittedly, there are some very real differences between making a decision to
become Jesus’ disciple 2,000 years ago in an outpost of the Roman Empire as
opposed to today in our own context. Let’s start with what Jesus said about
hating family. First off, why—how—could the incarnate Son of the God of love,
the physical embodiment of God’s love, possibly even suggest that we must hate
others? Particularly family. The Greek word translated as hate is miseō.
While miseō most directly means to hate, detest, or abhor, it can also
mean to love less or to prefer something else over it. The actual meaning
depends on context. In the case of Jesus’ statement about “hating” family, and
given just who Jesus is and what he stands for, the implication is one of preferring
or prioritizing our relationship with God over other relationships. To
prioritize following Jesus over other relationships. Particularly where the
demands of those relationships might come into conflict.
Certainly,
in Jesus’ time, there was more potential for one’s decision to follow Jesus to
be in direct conflict with family. Jesus’ message was radical, controversial,
and, in some contexts countercultural. Choosing to follow Jesus may well have
been in conflict with the religious beliefs of one’s family. Certainly, if
one’s family were pagans, but even if they were devout Jews, one’s decision to
go off and follow an itinerant teacher could create conflict, even being
ostracized. In such conditions, one would definitely need to be willing to
place following Jesus over one’s family. Today, with Christianity being the
largest religion in the world, one’s decision to follow Jesus is less likely to
create conflict. Possibly in some areas, but certainly less likely in the
Western world. In fact, in our own nation, families of mixed religions or of a
religious person and others with no religion at all are relatively common.
We’ve figured out how to make it work, to minimize the conflict.
Even
the suggestion of needing to give up possessions to follow Jesus would have had
different significance in his time as opposed to ours. Those who first followed
Jesus, particularly while he was still alive, lived a largely itinerant life,
moving about from place to place. In such a life, one just could not easily
carry and care for any possessions beyond the clothes on their back. Following
Jesus would have necessitated the giving up of possessions so as to move about
unincumbered. And frankly, back then, people just did not have as much stuff to
begin with. Today, things are different. Aside from monastics, who do give up
their possessions upon entering the monastic life and any others who willingly
take a vow of poverty, the giving up of possessions is not viewed as necessary
to following Jesus. Rather, the emphasis has changed. The reality is that in
our contemporary society, we need resources to survive and to engage in
ministry. It is more about how we use our resources than whether we have resources.
The idea is more about whether having possessions becomes more important than
following Jesus; whether our possessions become an impediment to our following
Jesus; whether our possessions distract us from what we are called to do as
disciples of Jesus.
As
for Jesus’ statement that “Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me
cannot be my disciple,” the idea behind that has changed, as well. In Jesus’
own time, anyone who chose to follow him lived with the threat of the cross.
Literally. The cross was a form of torture and execution reserved for non-Roman
citizens who were insurrectionists. And, in the eyes of the Roman Empire at the
time, Jesus’ message was counter to the values and practices of the Empire.
Jesus being the Son of God was viewed as a threat to the emperor, who was
viewed as being divine. All of this making him an insurrectionist in the eyes
of the Empire. Just as Jesus was ultimately crucified as an insurrectionist,
anyone who willingly followed him could potentially be subject to the same
fate.
Today,
we do not have to fear the threat of crucifixion because of our beliefs. For
us, carrying the cross takes on a new and different meaning. It means living
according to the commandments of the One who went to the cross on our behalf.
The one who went to the cross so we don’t have to. It means being willing to
proclaim through our words and actions the truth of who Christ is and what he
has accomplished by going to the cross and then defeating death and rising to
new life. That through his cross and resurrection, we have all been forgiven of
our sins and assured of new and eternal life with him. Taking up our cross
means devotion to proclaiming that new reality, to living that new reality.
So,
as we take a critical look at what Jesus says about becoming his disciples, it
is obvious that the conditions for being a disciple have changed over time.
These changes are largely due to the fact that Jesus was talking about what it
meant to follow him prior to his death and resurrection whereas we live
post-resurrection. What, at the time of his original words, was a radical,
countercultural message has become the largest religion in the
world—countercultural though it may still be, in many ways. Moving from the
margins to mainstream resulting in fundamental changes in perspective, and
thereby removing some of the more extreme conditions for becoming a disciple.
While
the specific conditions—the costs, if you will—of following Jesus have changed
and even softened over time, the basic message, the fundamental purpose, of
Jesus’ statements in today’s Gospel remains unchanged. We do not take the
decision to follow Jesus lightly. In choosing to become his disciple, we are to
do so wholeheartedly, fully committing to the cause. Fully committing to living
the Gospel, to proclaiming that Gospel in our words and actions. In so doing,
we are to not allow anything else, be it relationships or possessions or any
other allegiances, to get in the way of or conflict with our calling to be a
disciple. Which means, we still, as Jesus cautions, need to carefully consider
the cost of being his disciple. To consider whether we feel we can truly afford
to follow him. But, then again, given what we have gained through him, through
his death and resurrection, can we afford not to follow him?
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