Tuesday, September 14, 2010
September 1/5 - Pentecost + 15
Today's gospel lesson is hard; it's demanding
We join Jesus as he is traveling around
& large crowds are with him;
crowds that likely have mixed motivations; compromised commitments.
Jesus was the equivalent of a rock star/celebrity:
healing, teaching, holding his own in religious debates,
offering words of hope, deliverance,
but also of challenge (to those in power & authority).
People were traveling w/ him for lot of reasons
– curiosity, desire for healing, just to be close to celebrity,
some probably even wanted to be honest-to-goodness disciples.
But before they sign on the dotted line – Jesus wants to make sure they've read the fine print.
He wants them to know what they're in for.
He lays out vision/requirements of discipleship.
The words that are hard for us to hear, as hard as they would've been for the crowd:
If you don't hate mom & dad, spouse & kids, brothers & sisters,
& even your life itself,
you cannot be my disciple.
If you don't carry the cross & follow me,
you cannot be my disciple.
If you do not give up all of your possessions,
you cannot become my disciple.
I don't think you'd find this in “How to Win Friends and Influence People”...
But Jesus knows that following him won't be easy,
because following him will mean traveling down the same road he's traveling.
And they don't know where this road is headed yet,
but Jesus does;
and we do too.
Jesus has set his face to go to Jerusalem
– he's been on the way there since all the way back in chapter 9.
His road twists & turns, but that is the ultimate destination.
Already he has had to leave behind his family, his hometown, his familiar life, any possessions he may have had.
And when he gets to Jerusalem,
he will pick up his cross and carry it to the end,
giving up his life for us & for the whole world...
Yes, Jesus knows how much traveling this road will cost him,
and what it will cost us if we would become his disciples.
True discipleship is demanding;
it requires 100% of who we are and what we have;
there's no part-time position for a would-be disciple of Jesus.
It is a complete and all-consuming commitment.
And we know none of us is up to the task.
No matter how hard we try, other commitments will edge their way in
& compete for 1st place in our hearts and in our lives.
But Jesus knows it too.
And no matter what we do or fail to do,
Jesus commits completely to us.
He holds nothing back.
He gives it all.
And when we choose the way of Jesus,
when we make a commitment to him to follow
wherever he leads and whatever it costs,
he walks with us
and helps us every day, every hour, every minute, every second
to shape our lives around his and renew our commitment again & again.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.
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