Commitment - a Sermon for Sunday September 4, 2022
GOSPEL: Luke 14:25-33
The holy gospel according to Luke.
Glory to you, O Lord.
25Now large crowds were traveling with [Jesus;] and he turned and said to them, 26“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. 27Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? 29Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, 30saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. 33So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.”
The gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
“Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother,
spouse and children,
siblings,
yes, and even life itself,
cannot be my disciple.” Jesus says.
“And none of you can become my disciple
if you do not give up all your possessions.” Jesus says.
Wow. What do you do with that?
This is where the preacher might say;
“I know Jesus said this,
but what he really meant is…”
I don’t want to presume.
This is no riddle to sort out.
It’s straight forward -
a little too straight forward.
What I do know:
Jesus is telling us that the cost of discipleship is high.
When Jesus says;
“hate father and mother,
wife and children,
brothers and sisters,
yes, even life itself,”
Jesus is using a rhetorical device.
It is softer in Matthew’s Gospel,
where Jesus says “love less” or “love more”.
If you love family more than you love Jesus,
you are not worthy to be his disciple.
Luke’s version is harsher,
but it is not about giving permission
to be hateful and antagonistic
to our siblings,
spouses or parents.
Jesus does not teach hate.
Think of it this way, as seen in the Psalms and Proverbs:
the wicked hate things like;
justice, knowledge, and discipline,
while the righteous hate things like;
falsehood, gossip and wickedness.
It’s not about hating the thing,
but focusing on the other.
The wicked focus on falsehood,
the righteous focus on justice.
It’s like; a Calgary Flames fan might say
“I hate the Oilers”
and the next week say
“I hate the Canucks”
but they don’t really hate them.
It’s about commitment to their team over another.
So it is with “hate” for sibling, spouse and parents:
you don’t really hate them.
The disciple is committed to Jesus
above and beyond all else,
even the most treasured people and possessions in our lives.
It is not about hate,
it is about radical commitment to Jesus.
Perhaps it leads us to ask of ourselves:
What relationships do I need to be let go of
in order to follow Jesus?
Which relationships need to change?
What possessions might I need to leave behind
so I can travel light and follow Jesus?
Jesus shared a couple examples to teach commitment,
in a similar fashion to the parables
that we will hear next week,
again like a rhetorical device;
a way of teaching us
using examples that are backwards.
What shepherd, having lost one sheep,
will leave 99 behind and search for the lost one?
None.
No shepherd would do that.
But God does.
“What king, going out to wage war against another king,
will not sit down first
and consider whether he is able with ten thousand
to oppose the one who comes against him
with twenty thousand?
If he cannot, then,
while the other is still far away,
he sends a delegation
and asks for the terms of peace.”
None. No king does that.
Think about this conflict between Putin and Ukraine.
I know Russia always seems to play the long-game,
but did they know just how great
the cost of their invasion would be?
They’re not seeking out peace talks.
Putin wants to conquer
and the cost, dollars and humans,
keeps getting higher and higher.
It’s kind of like a boxer or mixed-martial-artist
who comes up with their game plan
for how to win their fight,
but those plans change
once you’ve been punched in the face.
There’s only so much advanced planning
that comes with an emotional attack.
The king and the fighter wont retreat.
They want glory for themselves
whatever the cost.
“which of you, intending to build a tower,
does not first sit down and estimate the cost,
to see whether he has enough to complete it?
Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation
and is not able to finish,
all who see it will begin to ridicule him,
saying, ‘This fellow began to build
and was not able to finish.’”
I have not been to the Holy Land,
but as I understand it,
you will see buildings continually under construction.
I heard it is because of their property tax laws,
which go back to the Ottoman Empire tax codes
stipulate that property taxes
can only be levied on finished buildings.
So, you want to save on taxes?
Don’t finish building your house.
In Greece, you will see many unfinished homes.
This is because Greek people
build what they need for today
and leave the rest of the building
unfinished for the future.
(https://www.explorecrete.com/mycrete/customs/greek-customs.html)
Plenty of people in this city will start their building project,
and it will sit unfinished,
maybe because of underestimated cost,
but also time and difficulty.
Just look at my neighbour’s house;
it has been under construction for years!
I think Jesus is being funny here:
using humour to soften the extreme examples.
The people would know of king after king
who waged war unprepared for the cost.
The people would see home after home,
building after building,
under continual construction.
But that’s human commitment.
Human commitment can be fickle.
I returned from holidays
and I noticed that my clothes aren’t fitting
like I would like.
Frankly, they weren’t fitting well before vacation.
I have decided that I need to lose weight.
So I’m committing to counting calories
and stepping on the scale
and continuing with fitness.
I have a goal in mind
for how much weight I would like to lose.
But will I be committed to weight loss
in a couple weeks
when there’s pizza, beer, cake and ice cream
set before me?
The first week is easy.
Have I considered the whole cost of my commitment
to losing weight?
Maybe.
But here’s the thing;
If I indulge in a little too much food,
I can re-commit myself,
drink a bunch of water,
and only be set back a couple days.
I can pick back up where I left off.
If I chose to renovate my kitchen,
and get started,
but run out of money,
I can let it sit unfinished,
save up,
and I’ll just be set back a few weeks or months.
When it comes to following Jesus,
we are going to face temptation.
We are going to sin;
intentionally or unintentionally.
We are going to make decisions
that are not in accordance with God’s will.
We will make excuses.
We will forget our commitment.
We might follow Jesus when it is easy and convenient,
and turn to ourselves when times get tough.
We can hear Jesus say “give up all your possessions”
and then we might go out and buy a new dinner ware set
because the old one is … old.
We can hear Jesus say “take up your cross”
and we instead take up self-indulgence.
But with Jesus,
we can pick up right where we left off.
With Jesus, there is forgiveness,
there is the gifting of the Holy Spirit.
The apostle Peter was committed to Jesus,
and then the cock crowed.
Even Peter’s betrayal was forgiven,
and Peter was able to pick up where he left off,
and continued to be a disciple of Jesus.
That’s human commitment.
Human commitment can be fickle.
God’s commitment is never fickle.
God in Jesus is completely devoted,
radically committed to you.
We can never truly be worthy of being Jesus’ disciple,
We are only worthy by our baptism into Christ.
We are only worthy because we are chosen and cherished.
Indeed, like the Deuteronomy text,
set before us is life and death,
blessings and curses.
What do we choose?
Choose life or choose death?
It is hard to love God.
It is hard to follow Jesus.
It is hard to choose life.
Oh, but it is so worth it.
Not because we obtain wealth and prestige.
If you’re following Jesus for financial security
for fame, for prestige,
then you’re following the wrong Rabbi.
Glory is for God alone,
that’s not ours.
But what is ours with Jesus
is so worth the cost of discipleship,
for in following Jesus:
Joy immeasurable is yours.
Devoted relationship
with the God of the universe is yours.
The health of a community
and the community to come is ours.
The security of your soul.
Meaning and purpose for your life.
the inheritance of the Kin_dom of God.
Grace for your excuses
forgiveness for your sins
bread and wine for your journey
is yours.
May you find your place in the crowd that follows Jesus
and continue to be astonished by God’s Word.
May you choose life
and with it commitment and devotion
to our God,
And in living this life,
May you experience the grace of the God
who is completely devoted,
radically committed to you.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
