Fr Mike's Message - 9/4/22

The Gospel: ​Luke 14:25-33
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."

Prayer: ​Lord, you have promised that when two or three gather in your name you will be present with them. We depend on that promise today and pray that you will move among us. Lord, we pray that have you inspired Mike's preparation, that you will enliven his presentation and that you will empower our application.  Amen

The Message: ​Good morning and welcome to our continuing journey with Jesus in Luke.

A few months ago I preached a series of messages on what I termed the "hard words of Jesus." These were things that Jesus said that I considered that most of us would have difficulty with. 

They were things that I believe that we would find difficult to actually put into practice in our lives because of the demanding nature of what Jesus was presenting to us. 

Something in the words of Jesus challenged us to consider changing our behavior. To choose between some patterns, or some behaviors in our lives, which were leading us away from our Christian faith and principles. To choose instead to focus on our relationship with Jesus. In other words to choose between bad behaviors and good behaviors. The scriptures would describe that as choosing between good and evil. 

I talked about those as the "hard words" of Jesus because many times it is hard for us to think about the things we are doing as being bad or evil. Before we can change we have to recognize that the things we are doing or saying are not edifying. It is not easy to give those things up. It is hard to make changes in our lives, and to, as the scriptures say, amend our lives. It takes determination and effort on our part to realign our lives. It is hard and Jesus' words to us seem hard.

There is a sense of that in the reading from Jeremiah this morning. There is a clear directive in the reading from Jeremiah that the people have to recognize what they are doing and then to do something about it.

"Then the word of the Lord came to me: Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the Lord. Just like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. At one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, but if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it."
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"Turn now, all of you from your evil way, and amend your ways and your doings."

There is a clear directive here, and in many of Jesus' words in the Gospels. It seems clear and understandable. When we recognize that our behaviors are bad, or even as extreme as being evil, we should change them. 

Now, as we come to the Gospel reading this morning from Luke 14 I would like to suggest that we are again faced with the hard words of Jesus, but for very different reasons. I would like to suggest that perhaps these words from Jesus are even harder for us than the ones we were just reading in Jeremiah. 

Because in this passage from Luke's Gospel we are not being asked to choose between good and evil, we are being asked to choose between two good things. I actually think that this is harder for us. To choose between two things which are good and worthwhile makes it extremely difficult. It means that we have to count the cost of our choice more. 

The commentators I studied in preparation for this morning pointed out that this scripture comes after the parable of the Wedding Feast. Context is everything. This passage follows on the heels of the Wedding Banquet and the decisions that those invited made. 

In the story of the Wedding Banquet Jesus takes the opportunity to point out that despite the host's best efforts to invite people they found all kinds of excuses for why they couldn't or wouldn't come. Other things and other people were prioritized before the banquet and the host.

Then in this section of Luke, following that parable, Jesus continues to examine what it might cost someone to follow him.

Let's examine what Jesus is saying here:

In our society stable relationships, especially stable family relationships, are highly valued. Having loving caring relationships with your parents, your wife, and children, and with your siblings, are considered to be the marks of a well-adjusted and healthy person in our society.  

Then having a stable and productive place in society, an occupation that provides for your family and contributes to the overall well-being of society is considered a mark of a person who is a good steward of the resources they have.

Making sensible and well-thought-out decisions, about future developments and investments, is considered the mark of a careful person who is unlikely to become involved in reckless or ill-advised financial projects.

Being someone who can avoid unnecessary conflicts with others and someone who will work hard to maintain stable and productive relationships is seen as the mark of a thoughtful and peace-seeking person.

All of these attributes and behaviors are applauded in our society. These are seen as the measure of a person who we would like to have as our neighbor or as our friend. We hope that others will see us this way. All of these things are good. People who endeavor to be such people are seen as good people.
Jesus challenges all of this in this scripture this morning and he calls on us to consider our priorities. As I said near the beginning of the message Jesus is asking us to choose between two good things. 

He even uses extreme language to illustrate his point at the very end of the scripture verse: "So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions."

Ouch! How do we make that kind of decision and what would be the consequences in our lives if we choose following Jesus over everything else? 

These are truly hard words! There is no collective answer to these questions. We can't sit down as a church congregation and say to one another "I will if you will." "You show me how you are willing to do this and I will do it as well." 

We have to wrestle with the central question of the scripture from Luke today for ourselves. We have to do some heart and soul searching to decide just what this passage, nine short verses, is saying to us. 

Can I just say at this point that it is important to realize that is not a question of the goodness of the thing that we are deciding about? They are good. But perhaps we have come to put our trust and faith in those things. We somehow have come to think that they show our goodness to others. Or we have come to trust in them as markers of our deserving God's goodness in return. 

It is not a matter of if they are good or not. It is a matter of how we have prioritized those things in our lives. We have come to trust in them over other things even our relationship with the Lord.

So, the question then becomes: "How do we prioritize our faith journey and our relationship with God before everything else?"

Especially when we have to choose between that and the many other good things which we could choose instead?

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry has developed a reputation for choosing an old Gospel hymn to illustrate the central point of his messages when he preaches. He sometimes sings the lyrics to the hymn he has chosen. I am not going to sing this morning but I will offer these lyrics:
I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
No turning back, no turning back.

Tho' none go with me, I still will follow,
Tho' none go with me I still will follow,
Tho' none go with me, I still will follow;
No turning back, no turning back.

My cross I'll carry, till I see Jesus;
My cross I'll carry till I see Jesus,
My cross I'll carry till I see Jesus;
No turning back, No turning back.

The world behind me, 
the cross before me,
The world behind me, 
the cross before me;
The world behind me, 
the cross before me;
No turning back, no turning back.

Or perhaps I can encourage you to consider the words of our Collect for today:

Grant us, O Lord, to trust in you with all our hearts; for, as you always resist the proud who confide in their own strength, so you never forsake those who make their boast of your mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. 
Amen.