I have a friend who is fond of using part of today's gospel reading in arguments about the Bible. She likes to use it with people who say that every word in the Bible means exactly what it says, and that's it! Case closed. Argument's over. And then she'll say, "I'll believe you as soon as you give up all your possessions!" As you can well imagine, this doesn't go over very well. However, it does raise a very good point. If we're going to insist that the Bible says it and that settles it, then we cannot also be selective about which passages we're going to follow! The truth is that there are some very difficult passages in the Bible which require us to do some wrestling with them in order to discern what God's message for us really is.

Now, of course, there are those who have taken passages like today's gospel quite literally, and have left their homes and families, have renounced all worldly possessions, and have devoted themselves to a simple life of prayer and service. I think of some of the groups that started up historically like the Franciscans or the Poor Clares. However, is that what everybody needs to do in order to be a follower of Jesus? Obviously many have decided that, no, this is not what's required. Obviously there are people who stay with their families and who have children and who have possessions, and who still consider themselves to be followers of Jesus. Have these people wrestled with today's gospel and determined another meaning, or have people just chosen to ignore it? It seems that it would behoove us to do some wrestling with this text today and to see what we can come up with.

Now, I do need to observe to begin with that Jesus would not win any contests for marketing strategy. In fact, it almost seems like he's encouraging people not to follow him! However, consider some of the people that Jesus has met along the way. There was the one who said, "I will follow you wherever you go," but had no idea what following Jesus would really mean (Lk. 9:57). There was the one who wanted to wait, perhaps even years, for his father to die before following Jesus (Lk. 9:59). There were the people that Jesus talked about who were invited to the great dinner but only had excuses (Lk. 14:15-24). Everything else was more important than responding to the invitation to come and share in the feast. Maybe Jesus had just had enough of people who said that they wanted to follow him, but only when it's convenient for them or doesn't interfere with something else that they've already planned!

And so, Jesus comes out and says, "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" (Lk. 14:26). Wow! Did Jesus really mean that? Should I be telling you all about how to hate your family members? Well - let's "unpack" that for just a moment.

First of all, "hate" means something different as a Semitic expression than it does when we use it today. A more accurate way to say it might be to turn away from one's family or to detach oneself from one's family. Consider at the same time the role of the family in the first century Mediterranean world. If the father of the family converted to Christianity, then the whole family would be considered Christian. On the other hand, if somebody wanted to follow Jesus, they would have to get their father's permission. Just how many fathers do you think would say, "Oh, sure! You have my blessing to go off and follow this Jesus around the countryside."? I would suspect, not very many!

And so, perhaps what Jesus is saying to us goes something like this: "If there's a conflict between what your family wants and following me, discipleship has to come first. I don't want you to follow me only when your family says it's okay. I don't want you to follow me just because your family does. I want you to follow me because you have experienced God's love and want to love God in response. I want you to follow me because you know that life in all its fulness is to be found through me. I want you to follow me as if you have found the pearl of great price that is worth selling everything else in order to have it." Jesus is asking people to come in with both eyes open, and ready to count the cost.

Then, just in case people still haven't clued in, Jesus continues, "Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple" (Lk. 14:27). Listen to these observations from a commentary on Luke by Culpepper:

The question, then, for potential disciples of Jesus is, "Are you ready to learn a new way of life?" To be a disciple of Jesus means following in his footsteps and learning from him. Are we ready to do that?

So then, after some other illustrations about counting the cost, Jesus gives one more reason for us not to follow him. "So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions" (Lk. 14:33). Now, if nothing else that Jesus was saying made the crowds stop and take notice, surely this would have?! It has probably even more shock value than the bumper sticker that says, "If you love Jesus, tithe. Anybody can honk." Even tithing seems better than giving everything away! The obvious question that is raised by this passage is, "Is it possible to have possessions and be a follower of Jesus?"

As mentioned earlier, there have been people throughout history who have taken this statement quite literally and have gotten rid of all of their worldly possessions. In fact, there was at least one individual who came to Jesus and was told quite directly to sell his possessions and give the money to the poor (Lk. 18:22). The individual in question was "very rich." In a sense, Jesus was asking the question, "How on earth can you keep all that for yourself when there are people in need all around you?"

It strikes me that at least part of our answer is to be found in the word itself: "possessions." If I possess something, then it is mine. If I manage something that belongs to somebody else, then it is stewardship. Isn't Jesus asking us to recognize that the maker and owner of everything is God? Isn't it easier to give things away to people who are in need when we recognize that we're just looking after it for God anyway?

The problem comes when we get caught up on "mine" and "for me." When that is our outlook, it really is impossible to follow Jesus. There is only one God, the maker and owner of all things, and followers of Jesus need to worship the only true God. When the possessions that we do have are understood to be tools to be used in God's service, then haven't we already given them up, and left behind their power over us? Perhaps it is possible to have possessions and follow Jesus, as long as it is God who possesses them!

Now, how easy is all of this to actually do? How easy is it to be a disciple of Jesus? Perhaps - just perhaps - the message of today's gospel is that it is difficult and maybe even impossible for us to be disciples of Jesus under our own power and on our own abilities. However, what is impossible for us is quite possible for God. There are times when we need to come to the point of saying "I can't" before we can be open to God's "I can." God can do all things through us, by the power of the Holy Spirit. But when we insist on doing everything ourselves, we just get in the way.

We can't, but God can. And God calls us to life in all its fulness through Jesus Christ our Lord (cf. Jn. 10:10). There are reasons to be a disciple of Jesus: Eternal life, resurrection, the love of God in our hearts, the peace that passes understanding, forgiveness of sins, salvation, and new life. Yet, discipleship is costly, just as salvation was costly for God - so costly that it meant the suffering and death of God's only begotten Son. Are we up for it? Amen.

Proper 18(C) Luke 14:25-33 September 5, 2004 St. Luke's Zion Lutheran Church Pastor Lynne Hutchison

? 2004 Lynn Hutchison All Rights Reserved