Called to Follow..
Luke 14:25-33
Over the last week, many of you will have gotten a letter from me in our "In Touch" newsletter.
In it, at the end, I talked about how Jesus was the Way, the Truth, and the life. That I liked to think about it in Technicolor, with surround sound, in the same way some Army TV ads seem to say that life in the army was great, the only real life. Life as a follower of Jesus really is the real life.
I stand by my comments, but my goodness what are we to do with the readings today then? Jesus says that to be a true follower of his we are to give up everything! And he puts it in the context of family, friends, life itself.
Let me read a part of it again:
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.(Luke 14:26-27)
Or, like Jesus says it in the cotton patch Gospels, anyone who won't accept his own lynching, can't be my man (or woman).
I will begin today by telling you about two situations I read about this week.
There was once a man who left work one Friday afternoon. But instead of going home, he stayed out the entire weekend playing golf with the boys and spending his entire paycheck. When he finally appeared at home, on Sunday night, he was confronted by his very angry wife and was balled out for nearly two hours, where she explained clearly, how she felt about his actions. Finally his wife stopped and simply said to him, "How would you like it if you didn't see me for two or three days?" To which the husband replied: "That would be fine with me."
Monday went by and he didn't see his wife.
Tuesday went by and he didn't see his wife.
Wednesday came and went with the same results.
Finally on Thursday the swelling went down just enough so he could see her a little out of the corner of his left eye.
1
There is also a story about a marriage counselor who gave a talk to a group of married couples. His purpose was to tell them about the method he uses to deal with couples who are having marital problems. He said that he gives them a homework assignment. They are to spend 24 hours together, without Radio, TV, Newspapers, Magazines or Books. His idea was that if the couple with the marital problems had nothing else to do but communicate, perhaps they would find their love for each other once again.
Well, after his talk, this one couple came up to him and told him how happily in love they were, and how much they enjoyed the talk. Then the husband (who was a Lawyer) said, "But there's one thing that troubles me. How do you find time for all that intimacy?"
And the Counselor responded, "You know, there's one thing that troubles me, too. Given how much you say that you're so happily in love, how do you find time to attend to your law practice?"
2
Both of these stories are overstatements to get your attention, to get you thinking.
Just like these two stories, Jesus was using overstatement to get my attention…I have been married for 17 years, and I am sure I am not called to hate Marilou, my Mom, the kids the way we think of hate today. Hate can mean to "turn away from" and I prefer this reading in this context. But I do need to get my priorities right.
Jesus is saying we are called to put our faith first. To be ready to step up to the plate when the call comes. Sometimes this can take huge proportions and sometimes not so huge.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is not one of social conservatism, where we are to stand for good citizenship, and the way that it used to be when we were kids. We are for good government, and much has changed for the worse lately, but the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a radical call to redefine your life around the knowledge that Jesus came into the world, to save us, to save us because we cannot do it on our own. In response to his saving free gift, we are called to pick up our Cross daily, and follow him.
In other words, we are called to be agents of Jesus love and caring in this broken world of ours. We are called to allow the spirit to transform our lives more and more into the shape that we are called to be. To become Jesus hands and feet and heart in the world.
Yes, we are called to come to reflect Jesus in all that we do. Never forget that Jesus life here on earth did not end sitting on a throne, or reclining in an easy boy, but in excruciatingly pain, nailed to a bloody cross, through absolutely no fault of his own.
Jesus is focusing our thoughts today, on just how we have set up the idols in our lives. Is it our houses and our cars, our education or our knowledge, our money, our family or maybe our security? It will all be gone one day. But not Jesus.
Perhaps the most well known book on Discipleship, was written by Dietrich Bonhoffer,
a German pastor and theologian who tried to lead his church in resistance to the Nazis and who ultimately was killed in 1945 for his part in a conspiracy to kill Adolf Hitler. A few years before being hanged in a prison yard just before the war ended, Bonhoeffer wrote:
Where will the call to discipleship lead those who follow it? What decisions and painful separations will it entail? We must take this question to him who alone knows the answer. Only Jesus Christ, who bids us follow him, knows where the path will lead. But we know that it will be a path full of mercy beyond measure. Discipleship is joy.
3
The man who is eventually hanged in a Nazi prison is able to write about a path full of mercy beyond measure, and about discipleship as joy.
This is the amazing news we all need to remember. That while we are call to difficult things from time to time, the walk with Jesus is the walk that you and I were made for.
So we are back to real life. Real Commitment, Total commitment. The good news is that Jesus also says that his yoke is well fitting, and that he will be with us in all of our walk.
He walks with us, but we are called to walk with him too, no excuses, no half measures.
Let us walk together, to find out what God is calling us to, and then let us be ready to step up to the plate, and DO it.
Amen
©2004 Steve E. Timpson
1 http://www.housetohouse.com/hth/archives/v9n3/v9n3p4.htm
2Counselor story adapted from Herbert Smith, and quoted in a sermon by Deacon Paul rooney, of Mary our Queen Parish in Omaha
3This discussion of Bonhoffer is based on a sermon by The Reverend John Thomas preached September 5, 2004, on Day 1, The Protestant Hour.
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