Readings:
Sermon:
Hello, I’m Robert Jones, Archdeacon of Worcester, and am going to share some thoughts with you today about the gospel reading set for this Sunday from Luke’s gospel.
It isn’t an easy passage – for example, the bit about hating father and mother, brothers and sisters, even life itself is a challenge to a church which likes to hold family services and one which talks a lot about family values. Clearly this is a bit of Luke or Jesus’ exaggeration to make a point. He’s not asking us to hate anyone, rather confronting us with the priorities Christian commitment brings, and a reminder of the new surrogate family to which his disciples belong.
What Jesus does here is make very clear that being a Christian does not lead to an easy life or social enhancement. It’s not the done thing to be a Christian, as we know in our increasingly secular world. Sometimes the followers of Jesus find themselves at odds with the world, not only comforting the afflicted, but at times afflicting the comfortable. This is certainly the case for many of our fellow Christians in other parts of the world: to be a Christian is a decidedly risky business.
So he speaks about each of us having to carry our own cross. There’s something everyday about this identification with Jesus, and it’s personal – not his cross, or their cross, but my cross and yours. No easy ride then. And rather alarmingly he continues to tell us that disciples must be willing to give up all their possessions. Material possessions can have such a seductive appeal that they move from being our servants to becoming our masters. Jesus’ radical call to follow him is a call to wholehearted discipleship.
Well, he’s saying all this to the large crowds travelling with him. He is, of course, on his way to Jerusalem where the going will really get tough, so maybe he is preparing those following him for this. But this passage also comes after a story of a disastrous dinner party, in which all the invited guests come up with all sorts of excuses not to be there. The host of the party is determined to go ahead, so sends out his servants to bring in the poor, the blind, the lame, those in the countryside.
It is a remarkable story of God’s remarkable grace reaching out to those who might have been looked down on or even excluded. It is easy to send excuses, even when such generous love is on offer, and maybe that is what Luke is getting at as he puts these two stories next to each other. On the one hand God’s love is more generous than we can imagine. However, on the other hand, don’t simply take it for granted by not turning up to the party when invited. There is a cutting edge to being a disciple, which requires a response. If they were to become regular diners at Jesus’ table, they need to know the possible consequences.
So, where’s the good news in all of this? Our God is a God who goes out to find the least likely candidates to walk in the company of Jesus – just look at the first disciples he chose, of whom it could be said their one constant feature was their ability to get things wrong and not quite understand what he was up to. How reassuring is that to this particular disciple speaking to you now!
But to go back to the story, Jesus asks who in their right mind would build a tower without sorting out the costs, or would go to war without sorting out the army – two delightful little scenarios no doubt related to common current affairs of the time. Who indeed would be so foolish? Who indeed would not count the cost? None of us, most surely, but neither too would God. God has counted the cost. God has made the calculations. God has called the likes of you and me to be His Church in this place at this time, knowing full well who he is calling.
And who he calls is faithful. Those first disciples didn’t really know what they were letting themselves in for. They did end up as part of a movement which as to change the world, the Church of which you and I are a part, a challenging and privileged calling. So as fellow travellers with them, what does it feel like for you to be disciple of Christ where you are today?