Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
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Scripture |
LUKE 14:25-35, 25 Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them, 26“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. 27 Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 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? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 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? 32 If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. 33 So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.
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Devotional |
These saying are addressed to the large crowds following Jesus. Jesus intends to warn those who would become disciples to consider the cost of the commitment. Jesus warns the crowd that the way of discipleship will not be easy. Are these saying offensive? Hate your family! Take up at cross and follow! Give up all our possessions! Jesus explains that discipleship requires all that you have. Some churches, preachers, and TV programs present the gospel as though they were selling a used car. They make it sound as easy as possible, as though no real commitment were required. Jesus’ call was far different. He was not looking for superficial commitment or a crowd of tagalongs. 1 Dallas Willard refers to this as Christian consumerism. “We have generated a body of people who consume Christian services and think that is Christian faith. Consumption of Christian services replaces obedience to Christ. And spirituality is one more thing to consume.” 2 We become consumers of Christian services before we read the small print. Even before we discover the real cost. This passage offers the opportunity for us to step back and use the process of reflection to explore whether we are followers of Jesus. Do we use Jesus’ words as a yardstick for measuring our discipleship? How do we measure up? The cost of discipleship is paid in many different kinds of currency. For some persons a redirection of time and energy is required, for others a change in personal relationships, a change in vocation, or a commitment of financial resources; but for each person the call to discipleship is all consuming. A complete change in priorities is required of all would-be disciples. No part-time disciples are needed. No partial commitments are accepted. 3 If Jesus’ demands for discipleship are offensive, we have a steep climb ahead.
1 Alan R. Culpepper, “The Gospel of Luke” in The New Interpreters Bible, Volume IX. p. 292 2 Dallas Willard, the Great Omission, New York : Harper One, 2006. p. 52 3 Alan R. Culpepper, “The Gospel of Luke” in The New Interpreters Bible, Volume IX. p. 294
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