Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 18, Sept 7 2025,
Rev. Kathy Monson Lutes, St. Martha and Mary, Eagan
Deuteronomy 30:15-20, Psalm 1, Philemon 1-21, Luke 14:25-33
Luke keeps at us, never lets up, parable after parable, and it just keeps getting harder, this life of following Jesus. In this one, Luke comes off a little harsh, don't you think? 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.
That's not really what discipleship is about, is it? That's not really what Jesus asks of us, is it?
Well, what do you think? Take up your cross and follow. Know what you're getting into before you get into it.
I think what is being described in this passage is the cost of discipleship. Discipleship is not cheap, nor is it easy. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a man who knows about paying a price-he was a prisoner in a concentration camp because he opposed the Nazi's - and wrote a book called The Cost of Discipleship, writes, "Earthly goods are given to be used, not to be collected. In the wilderness God gave Israel the manna every day, and they had no need to worry about food and drink. Indeed, if they kept any of the manna over until the next day, it went bad. In the same way, the disciple must receive his portion from God every day. If he stores it up as a permanent possession, he spoils not only the gift, but himself as well, for he sets his heart on accumulated wealth, and makes it a barrier between himself and God. Where our treasure is, there is our trust, our security, our consolation and our God. Hoarding is idolatry."
What Luke describes, and what Bonhoeffer interprets is not any sort of Christianity Lite. A low cost, low buy in sort of Christianity. It's not Christianity only on Sundays, or any days of my choosing. It is not Christianity that is about feeling good and being nice. It is not Christianity that is about getting what I want, or even being successful. The kind of Christianity that Luke describes means giving it all up, laying it all down. Following Jesus means letting nothing, not even our relatives or our possessions get in the way. The cost of following Jesus is high, it hits us at the core of our humanity, it is about dying to that which is killing us, it is about rising to the new life that God promises us. Discipleship - following Jesus -
demands our transformation, it asks us to see the world differently to be present in the world differently.
You see, the Good News is that with Jesus, nothing is the same. It's not about how much you have, or what you can buy, or who your family is. Remember, honor was the highest good in Jesus' time, and the way to garner honor was to whom you were related. So the admonition to give up family relationships, father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, was about finding value and worth in being children of God.
Following Jesus is about divesting yourself of your possessions and relationships that keep you from relationship with God and with others. Jesus probably is a proponent of the sport’s concept, “Go big or go home.” Jesus does not seek Sunday-only followers or part-time disciples; Jesus expects our full commitment. Rather than giving God our leftovers, we are compelled to offer God our lives. Jesus asks us to take up our cross, by laying it all down. As another of my favorite philosophers so wisely has said, "Do or do not, there is no try."
That same philosopher, who is Yoda, by the way, also said to his disciple Luke Skywalker, "Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose." Fear will kill us, fear ties us up, fear lives deep in our guts and kills us from the inside out. Jesus knows this about us. Jesus knows that it is the fear of losing our possessions that keeps us accumulating more. Jesus knows that it is those possessions that keep us from living fully and completely. And our culture encourages us to accumulate more and build bigger. But the problem is that accumulating more only anesthetizes us to the reality that none of us get out of this life alive, so instead, we live as if we are already dead. It is new life indeed, that Jesus gives us.
You see what Jesus asks of us as followers is to live this life unencumbered. We are to live this life with our pack on our back, nimble and ready to serve. I like to watch Rick Steves, the PBS travel expert, on how to pack. He advises, lay everything out that you think you need, and then cut it in half, and cut it in half again. And Rick Steves also says, if you need it, you can get it when you're there. When we tell stories about my mom, one of them ends with “they do have stores there,” because she would not only pack everything, she would also bring enough food to feed an army.
That's what Jesus is talking about. What we think we need gets in the way of living our lives wide awake,
encountering the amazing world that surrounds us, accepting the hospitality of those whose paths we cross, paying attention to God's gifts, giving thanks for what is right there and who is right there in front of us. When we are carrying too much stuff, we miss the hospitality of the moment, we miss the invitation to rest awhile, we miss the connection to one another and all of God's creation. When we lighten our load,
when we divest ourselves of that which we are convinced we must have, when give up our possessions,
when we give up our fear and our anger, the world begins to let loose of us, and we are freed to receive the love that wins, the love that blesses, and we are transformed. We are changed into followers of Jesus, who are fully capable of loving our neighbors as ourselves.
This is your chance. What is it you are afraid to lose? What is it you need to lay down? What is in your pack that you can leave behind? Put it down, put it down. That is the cost of discipleship. And rise up to meet the new day. Rise up to follow the one and only one who can give you the love and life that you yearn for. Rise up to follow the one who loves you.
Amen.
Prayer in a time of Gun Violence
We stand together in hope. We stand together in faith. We stand together in love. We stand individually as ambassadors of hope, vessels of faith, and sentinels of love. We stand as a community committed to making no peace with gun violence. We pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to inflame and enkindle our lives, our churches, our communities, our cities, and our nation with a passion for lasting peace; through Jesus Christ the Author of Peace. Amen.
Blessing
Life is short, my friends,
and we do not have too much time
to gladden the hearts of others.
So be quick to love,
and make haste to be kind.
And the blessing of God Almighty,
who created you in love,
who walks with you in love,
and who will bring you home in love,
be upon you and all whom you love,
this day forth and forever more. Amen.”
