Loving God, you call us to come and follow, and also to count the cost.  Open our minds and our hearts this day to your Holy Spirit, that we might see not only the cost, but the incredible benefits of following Jesus Christ as Lord; for in his name we pray.  Amen.

    How many of you would say that you are disciples of Jesus?  That means that you follow him and continue to learn from him.  And how many of you think that you might be interested in becoming a disciple of Jesus?  And how many are totally wary and suspicious about what being a disciple might mean?

    For those of you who wish to be disciples, how many of you would say that you hate your parents and your siblings and your spouse and your children?  Okay – same people, different question: How many of you have given up all of your possessions?  And how many of you are ready to give up your life for Jesus, and even be crucified if that’s necessary?  Does it sound like a good deal to you?

    I can’t help but think of one of the e-mail stories that circulates every so often about a masked man who entered a church one Sunday morning.  There were about 2000 people at worship that Sunday, and the man rushed in with a gun and yelled out, “Anybody willing to take a bullet for Jesus, stay right where you are!”  Of course, people got up and started running from the church.  Eventually, there were about 20 people left in the sanctuary.  The man took off his mask, turned to the pastor and said, “Okay, pastor.  You can continue now.  I got rid of all of the hypocrites.”

    Really, is this story true?  Were all the people who ran out of the church hypocrites, or were they just being prudent and counting the cost?  Let’s try to sort that out, along with today’s gospel.

    First of all, what about those seemingly impossible demands that Jesus lays out?  What possible reasons could he have for making discipleship sound so totally demanding?  For one thing, perhaps Jesus is asking people to consider how committed they really are to following him.  Certainly, this question of commitment is suggested by the parable that Jesus told right before we come to today’s gospel.

    You see, the people have just heard the parable of the great banquet, where those who are invited have a long list of excuses when it is time to come.  One has just gotten married.  Another has just bought a piece of land and needs to inspect it.  Yet another has just bought some oxen and needs to go try them out.  For the people in the parable, it seems that everything else is more important than coming to the feast to which they were invited.  And so Jesus asks the crowds that are following him, “How committed are you to following me and becoming my disciples?  Are you ready to put your whole self in and to love God with all your heart and mind and soul and strength?”

    However, rather than simply asking, “How committed are you?,” Jesus gives some rather specific examples.  First of all, Jesus asks his followers not to “hate” their family members, but to love them less than they love Jesus.  Then, Jesus asks if we are ready to be ridiculed for our faith, or persecuted, or imprisoned, or even put to death.  This is still a very serious question in many parts of the world where people do risk their lives if they profess their faith in Jesus Christ.  Finally, Jesus asks us to say farewell to our possessions - to take leave of them - to love them far less than our love for Jesus and for other people.

    There may have been people following Jesus around who simply wanted a favour from him, or perhaps wanted to see a miracle.  It’s kind of like people today who really don’t have much to do with Jesus most of the time, but suddenly want their prayers to be answered when trouble hits.  Jesus is letting people know that he’s not a genie who will grant them their three wishes.  Rather, he is the source of all life who wants to radically transform their view of the world and the way that they live.  This includes transforming their view and ours of how much we have the power to do.

    One of the things that we miss in an English translation is some of the underlying meaning in this text.  In today’s gospel, each time it says “you can’t be my disciple” or “you can’t become my disciple,” the underlying meaning is, “You don’t have the power to become my disciple.”  You might think you want to, but you don’t have the power -- Just like Peter when he says that he’s ready even to die with Jesus, and yet is too scared even to admit to knowing Jesus when it comes right down to it.  Without the Holy Spirit working in and through Peter, he does not have the power to be Jesus’ disciple.  And without the Holy Spirit working in and through us, we do not have the power to be Jesus’ disciples.

    And so, if you have a hard time loving your family less than you love Jesus, or leaving your possessions behind, or being open to ridicule because of your faith, do not despair.  We do not have the power to do these things on our own.  However, God’s Holy Spirit does have the power to change hearts and to change lives.  In fact, God has the power to do all kinds of things through us that we would never dream of doing under our own power.  This is good news!  We can’t, but God can.

    Thus far we have ignored the parts of today’s gospel that talk about counting the cost.  In fact, the parables where people sit down and count the cost probably make the most sense to us.  After all, it’s just wise, isn’t it, to make sure you can afford it before you take on a major project?  Yet, in both cases, it seems as though the person might count the cost and find that they don’t have enough.  The implication seems to be that there isn’t enough there to complete the tower, and there aren’t enough resources at hand to merit the king going to war.

    Perhaps the whole point is that if we really counted the cost of discipleship, we would conclude that we can’t do it.  We do not have the power to become Jesus’ disciples.  However, God does.  God has the power, and gives us the Holy Spirit, and gives us whatever is needed in order to build up the kingdom of God.  God does this because he wants us to be part of the kingdom of God and to be inheritors of eternal life.  God does this because he loves us and has saved us and redeemed us.  God does this in order to help us to grow up and become the people whom God created us to be.

    Ultimately, when it comes to following Jesus, the benefits far outweigh the cost.  It is just like when Paul writes that “this slight momentary affliction” cannot even begin to compare with the “eternal weight of glory” (2 Cor. 4:17).  Life in all its fulness - the peace that passes understanding - forgiveness and healing - resurrection and eternal life - all of these come with knowing Jesus Christ as Lord.  Benefits, of course, do come with a cost - and the greatest cost was to Jesus.  For our part, we are asked to trust and to follow, relying on the power of the Holy Spirit to carry us through.

    And so, to return to the gunman in the church and the people who ran away: Were they hypocrites?  Perhaps that depends on how much faith they professed to have.  Perhaps all we can say is that they weren’t yet ready to put their whole selves in, trusting in Jesus Christ.  But then, neither are we – until the Holy Spirit enters in and transforms our hearts and minds.  Then, there is no telling what God might do through us.  Amen.

Lectionary 23(C)                                Luke 14:25-33
September 5, 2010
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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