Luke 14:25-33
Now large crowds were traveling with him, 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. Luke 14:25-33 (NRSVUE)
Jesus is laying it on the line.
Which is sort of his way. Ask what you can do to inherit eternal life, insist you have not sinned, assert you are righteous because you have followed all the rules and Jesus will push you, raising the ante on your assertion. Ok. So maybe you haven’t committed a sin. But have you thought about it? Maybe you have loved some of your neighbors. But have you loved EVERY one?
Maybe you want to follow Jesus but have you actually given up EVERYTHING to do so?
If we want to be the ones responsible for faith, salvation, righteousness, eternal life, and even discipleship, Jesus is going to show us just how hard it is for us to accomplish such things. The cost is too great, the demand too high. Give up all your possessions? We won't do it. We can’t do it. If we want to look to ourselves, rather than God, for our life and salvation, we will come up short every time.
We can’t make ourselves into disciples.
What then?
What is impossible for us, is possible for God. Jesus does count the cost of following him and he pays that cost with his very life. Jesus, Word Made Flesh, shows us that what God says IS. God proclaims you righteous and you are righteous. Jesus says you are forgiven and you are forgiven. Jesus calls you disciples and you are a disciple. Made one not by your own decision but by God’s decision for you. What God says IS.
Some of us will want to protest this. Do I not have to DO something? Well, yes, you do do something. You follow and spend time in those places where Jesus has promised to be: scripture, the body of Christ, the sacraments; you serve others, sometimes even bearing a cross. But these doings are not your own doing, they are the gift of God in Christ Jesus our Lord, who chooses you, claims you, and, in giving you life through forgiveness and grace, gets you to follow and even give your life away. In calling you and making you a disciple, Jesus reorients your life to see the One who leads you – Jesus, Christ himself. And when you have a leader, what do you do? You follow.
For you are what God has claimed and made you to be: a disciple.
You. Made a disciple. Thanks be to God!
Questions for Reflection:
- How does being made a disciple make a difference to how you think about being a disciple?
- When Jesus makes us disciples, we are compelled to do the things of faith, even picking up crosses. What crosses has your God-given faith led you to carry?
Prayer:
Good and gracious God,
You call and we follow. Give us ears to hear!
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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