September 9, 2007

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15^th Sunday after Pentecost

Please Read Luke 14:25-33

Read also Jeremiah 18:1-11; Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18; Philemon 1-21

Now large crowds were traveling with (Jesus); and he turned and said to them,

"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.

 For 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.'

Or 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.

So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.

--- Luke 14:25-33

.     Hard Sayings      .

Jesus provides a check list:

What am I willing to give up

in order to follow Him?

Father?

Mother?

Brothers?

Sisters?

Wife?  (or husband, as the case may be)

Children?

Even life itself?

These were the standards he imposed.

“Too much!” I tend to say,

and would shrug and move on,

but he continues to probe

my conscience and consciousness.

Am I willing to carry a cross?

Why not? Well, if it’s gold, that is,

and hangs loosely from a thin chain

around my neck. Why not?

And I might even be willing

to carry a cross

in some ceremonial celebration

once or twice a year

But really carry a cross? 

A real cross,

rough-hewn

and splinter-prone

and too heavy to sustain

over a long uphill climb?

Or even worse:

the cross of stigma

and insult

and oppression

for being his disciple?

Let me think about these things. 

Let me count the cost.

Which brings us to the subject

of tower building and waging war.

These are costly things,

and Jesus uses them as little parables,

compelling us to weigh with care

the the cost of discipleship.

Both have a strangely current ring

in these anxious days

of sub-prime borrowing and mortgages,

and Iraqi troop surge woes. 

But just when I’m letting

contemporary headlines

distract me from the case at hand,

I’m driven back again to the main theme:

Discipleship.       

Hmmm. There it is again.

Why does he keep coming back

to this same theme:

The stark necessity of giving all,

of holding nothing back.

Hard sayings indeed!

Let me think about this.   

No scrimping on the cost of life’s design

When counting the disciple’s bottom line!

--- rvc

*** D I S C L A I M E R ***

The Weekly Lessons are based on the lectionary texts for the week – usually the Gospel lesson. They are not designed as a formal commentary.  Rather, they are the personal reflections and original compositions of The Relay Online editor, Rev. Robin Van Cleef, and offer a jumping off point, using the scriptures as triggers to thought, imagination, and (we hope) empowerment.  As you read them, let your own imagination play, and let the Spirit speak to you, leading you where it will.  The Gospel Lessons reflected on this site may not be copied, reproduced or otherwise manipulated elsewhere on the internet without the expressed consent of the author.

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