Luke 14:25-34 The Message

25-27 One day when large groups of people were walking along with him, Jesus turned and told them, “Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters—yes, even one’s own self!—can’t be my disciple. Anyone who won’t shoulder his own cross and follow behind me can’t be my disciple.

28-30 “Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesn’t first sit down and figure the cost so you’ll know if you can complete it? If you only get the foundation laid and then run out of money, you’re going to look pretty foolish. Everyone passing by will poke fun at you: ‘He started something he couldn’t finish.’

31-32 “Or can you imagine a king going into battle against another king without first deciding whether it is possible with his ten thousand troops to face the twenty thousand troops of the other? And if he decides he can’t, won’t he send an emissary and work out a truce?

33 “Simply put, if you’re not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can’t be my disciple.

34 “Salt is excellent. But if the salt goes flat, it’s useless, good for nothing.

“Are you listening to this? Really listening?”

The NIV translation of this parable begins,  “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.”  

And this is the reason I chose this parable.  I could not accept the idea that God – who is essentially love – was telling me I had to hate my father, mother, husband, children, etc. in order to follow him.  Chances were good I was misinterpreting yet another bible passage so my research began.

The Cost of Discipleship is neatly tucked between The Parable of the Great Banquet and the Prodigal Son.  And there are actually three mini parables within The Cost of Discipleship.  Jesus tells the parables about the building of a house and a King going to war.  It wouldn’t be smart to begin to build a house without figuring out if you had enough money to finish it.  And it’s not the brightest King who engages in a battle without first determining if he has the resources to win.  Nor is it the best idea to become a disciple without first knowing how it will impact your life.

In “Stories with Intent” Klyne R. Snodgrass states, “Discipleship changes allegiances with family, requires the willingness to die, shifts the focus off self-centeredness, places one at the disposal of another, and changes the way one handles financial resources.”

I was unknowingly discipled for two years by my friends Dan and Kathy before they asked if I was ready to be baptized.  And I answered them with a resounding “NO!”  I knew this required a really big “yes” and I just wasn’t there yet.  Mostly because I knew this “yes” would continue to change and shape my life in ways I couldn’t even imagine so I wanted to be sure I knew as I could before taking the plunge.  I became the homeowner deciding if I could build and the King determining if I should enter the battle.

I experienced much of what Snodgrass references.  The biggest challenges for me were being less self-centered and putting others’ needs first.  Not that I was incredibly selfish and ignored those around me prior to knowing Jesus.  But what would it look like to be intentionally less selfish and more giving of myself?  What demands would this put on my time and my wants?  This was not as difficult as I imagined.  My eyes were opened to a new way of viewing the world.  I saw more, felt more and cared more.  My world became smaller.  People became bigger.  Their needs, wants, hurts and joys came into focus.  A moment, a conversation, a confidence to keep, a hand to hold, a sorrow to shelter or a laugh to share.  For me this is being a disciple of Jesus.  

There are days when this is challenging.  Days when I don’t want to listen or hold someone.  Days when I need to be heard and held.  And this is the rhythm of life and being human.  The times when I am heard and held recharge me to then do the same for others.  Geez, it’s like we are all one body – connected – one part in need of the other – rather useless all on it’s own.  

Oh.  And then there is the “way one handles financial resources.”  I suck at money.  And quite frankly, I would happily give Jesus my debit card right now and turn the whole sorted mess over to him if I could.  If it’s God’s money he should really take over because I’m doing a lousy job.  But I continually trying to be a better steward of my money.  And while this is icky and uncomfortable I want to do it.  Not so much out of need for obedience but out of desire to fully surrender myself.  What would that look like?  What would that feel like?  What would that do?

The Cost of Discipleship closes with the parable of Salt, “Salt is wonderful; but if salt has become insipid, how can you make it salty again?”  

I had no clue what Jesus was talking about here.  Once again Mr. Capon to the rescue.  “Salt is not worth buying for it’s own sake, but dirt cheap considering the way it perks everything up.  Much the same can be said about salvation.”

I don’t follow Jesus because it’s my ticket to heaven.  I don’t follow Jesus because I fear hell.  I don’t follow Jesus for a thousand other wrong reasons.  I follow Jesus because my life is tastier with his salt.  

I started going to church and asking questions about God because I was terrified of dying.  And life felt empty in a way that was hard to describe.  I’m not like my husband, Chris, who can hardly wait to kick the bucket and hang out with God.  But over the last few years my fear of death has evaporated.  As has the emptiness I felt.  Much as salt enhances the flavour of food, becoming a disciple has enriched the here and now.  The future will hold what it will hold and I am all good with that because what matters is how I live right now.  How I follow after Jesus.

As Snodgrass states, “Discipleship is not about humans straining on their own; it is the necessary result; and consequence of faith in and following after Jesus.  Relation to Christ activates and empowers the whole of life, but if humans do not choose to act and actually act, nothing happens.”

So now back to the hate.  Use of the word “hate” is strong in almost any context.  And this was no different in Jesus’ time.  Jesus needed to use strong language because at that time, family was the most influential voice in an individual’s life. Jewish families lived by strict moral, social and religious rules.  Husbands were the legal and spiritual head of the home.  And children were taught at a very young age to honour their parents.  So for Jesus to tell his parents he believed something different from them and had decided to follow a totally new path was a really big deal.  And then for Jesus to encourage others to allow God – not their families – to be the influence in their lives was blasphemy.  

In Mark 3, after appointing the twelve disciples, Jesus enters a house and is accused by his family of “being out of his mind.”  And by the teachers as “being possessed by Beelzebul!”

Jesus needs to counter this with equally strong language “…hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—.”  Had he said, “Come guys, we should totally hang out.  And you should listen to my rad ideas instead of your family.  For real man, it’s gonna be sweet!”  This would not have grabbed their attention or ear like the use of the word hate.  It wouldn’t have grabbed me either.  Or maybe it would have if Jesus spoke like a surfer dude.

So Jesus is not asking me to hate my family.  But He is telling me that He should be the one shaping my life.  Not my family.  Today this family metaphor applies but in a different way.  Families are obsessed with themselves – school, sports and extracurricular activities – these influence and dictate family life.  And there are tons of other influences too.  Jesus saying something like this would likely have more impact in our time, “If anyone comes to me and doesn’t hate their iPhone, Netflix, tattoos, beards, craft beer, bacon and squad goals – such a person cannot be my disciple.”

My friend Dan suggested I “elaborate on one specific situation where I had to make a choice; something that went against the grain of self-interest.”  The most obvious examples are relationships.  God wants us in relationship with Him and with each other.  I think Chris would agree that one of the reasons we are still married is because we know this.  And just like we choose God everyday, we also choose each other.  If I was only interested in myself I would have ditched him like a hot potato and pursued some loud, extroverted millionaire.  I joke but there is truth here.  In our darkest days as a married couple, I have clung to the idea that life isn’t all about me and my happiness.  I need to stop thinking about my needs and think about Chris’.  I need to extend the same grace and love to him that I receive daily from God.

Choosing Jesus was not a one off for me.  I have to consciously choose Jesus everyday.  Everyday I choose to surrender my plans and dreams to Jesus.  And so far it’s worked out pretty well.  I am living a salty, abundant life.

Some consider the cost of discipleship high.  But can you put a price on the freedom Jesus offers us?

 

Last week I was in Mississauga attending the ministry centre Christmas party and Dustin Schellenberg from Crestview Park Free Methodist Church in Winnipeg, MB spoke to our group of party goers via Skype about this image.  I was moved both by the image and what he said about it so with his permission I am sharing his devotional from last week.

This is a drawing is by Sister Grace Remington from the Sisters of the Mississippi Abbey.  It is a drawing of Eve and Mary, iconic women of history.  Eve, the first woman and mother of us all she stands as a representative of all humanity.  Her eyes downcast and face sorrowful she appears heavily laden.  She stands naked before the world with nothing to cover herself but that which she possesses herself, and it is woefully inadequate.  Clutched in her hand the very object of disobedience and sin, the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil.  Her feet are tangled by the personification of evil, the deceiver, Satan as the serpent.   You can imagine beneath those tight coils a bruised heel.  She bears the curse that we each bear.

She even appears to be moving away from the bower setting around the frame, an entrance to a garden.  The serpent has led her away.  She has nothing but shame and the forbidden fruit as her possessions and she stands alone.  This is our mother; through whom we are each born.

And across from her stands the virgin Mary, theotokos, mother of God.  Garments of white to symbolize the purity and righteousness that is to come through Jesus Christ, yet tinged in blue to represent the kingdom of heaven that he will proclaim.  The serpent’s head firmly crushed under her foot as she is almost taking a step back towards the garden when God and humanity were not at odds.  And yet she bears a familial resemblance to Eve.  She is not divorced from the humanity of whom Eve is the progenitor, rather she is firmly part of it.  Mary is part of humanity; she is one of us.  They stand as two choices, disobedience and obedience, pride and humility.  Examples of the consequences of choice and the love of God.

Now consider their hands.  Mary doesn’t stand with her hands at her side or raised up nor even making some sort of holy gesture.  With one she reaches out to comfort Eve as if to say there is hope, lift your head, you no longer need to be downtrodden and defeated.  There is an end to the weight of your grief and you can know joy again.  Her other hand is entwined in Eve’s and rests upon the yet unborn baby.  These two hands stand as a symbol of salvation being interwoven with humanity, as if Mary is inviting Eve to come be part of the experience of redemption.

The focus of both women in the picture is also very important.  Where it could have been drawn with Eve looking at Mary and Mary looking to heaven or even facing forward as she is often depicted, they both instead peer downward at Mary’s belly, the unborn baby.  Mary isn’t the focus; Eve isn’t the focus; rather this incredible event is central to their focus.  And it is such a human event.  Pregnancy, childbirth, the very means by which we continue to exist is the method by which God enters the world.

The artist could have drawn Mary holding Jesus as a baby, but I think something really profound is said when she stands there pregnant.  If you recall the specific curse placed on Eve was that childbirth would be a painful ordeal and I imagine some of the sadness in her face as she looks down at Mary’s belly is how every childbirth is a reminder of that curse.  And yet Mary too looks down at her belly and knows that even though this childbirth will be painful, through it salvation will enter the world.

Because of this birth and the actions of the Son of God we are being invited back into communion with God.  So we look at these two women from the doorway of eternity.  We stand on the threshold of life with God because of this moment, not fully in the kingdom but not outside it either. I want to close with a poem one of the other sisters wrote to accompany this image entitled O Eve!

O Eve!

My mother, my daughter, life-giving Eve,
Do not be ashamed, do not grieve.
The former things have passed away,
Our God has brought us to a New Day.
See, I am with Child,
Through whom all will be reconciled.
O Eve! My sister, my friend,
We will rejoice together
Forever
Life without end.
— Sr. Columba Guare copyright© 2005 Sisters of the Mississippi Abbey

Call to Worship 

We gather –
people of faith
and no faith,
people of hope
and no hope,
people of peace
and no peace.

We gather with the longing
to be made whole again
if just for this time, here
and now.

We gather with a prayer,
however vague and tenuous,
that in spite of the absence
of virgins and angels,
wise men
and shepherds,
we might still be a witness
to the birth of all love.

We gather
as ready as we’ll ever be
for this story of faith to unfold.

Song  – O Come, All Ye Faithful

Reading 1 – John 1: 1-5

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Reading 2 – Luke 2: 1-7

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.  ⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

Song – Away in a Manger

Reading 3 – Luke 2: 9-18

⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah,the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. – Luke 2: 9-18

Song – The First Noel

Prayer – All

God, we confess that often we find darkness more comfortable than light.
We confess that we find your good news frightening and unsettling,
especially when we consider its demands as well as its promises.
Forgive us, break us, bend us, remake us.
Give us the courage to lay ourselves open to the wonder and healing of your coming.

Song – Joy to the World

Benediction 

This Christmas
I wish for you light to crumple up the darkness.
I wish for you love to pull us closer to one another.
I wish for you peace the same as the angels sang.
I wish for you starlight to follow on your way home.
I wish for you promise to keep hope alive for you.
I wish for you God newly born and in the flesh.
I wish for you Jesus Christ, light of the world.

Go in peace.

 

Reading – John 20

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Mag’dalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.  He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in.  Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there,  and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself.  Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed;  for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.  Then the disciples returned to their homes.

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus.  Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him, “Teacher.”. Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'” Mary Mag’dalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

Song – Great Storm Is Over

Prayer

We really didn’t think this was going to happen
But now that it did
Now that you are standing here in front of us
The holes in your hand, the look on Mary’s face
It’s starting to make sense
You died so we didn’t have to
We die, so we don’t have to
You hung on that cross, in such a shameful way
So broken, so distraught that God forsake you

We felt forsaken too
We believe, help us in our unbelief
You lived the life that Israel couldn’t
You died the death that Israel wouldn’t
All these prophets words started to come back to us
You were the suffering servant
You were the broken Saviour
This is what we’ve been waiting for
This is Abraham’s promise being fulfilled
Jacob, Isaac, Joseph, David…
You were the light to the nations, you blessed the nations
You freed Israel from the law
You freed us from it as well

We welcome your death
Because this morning, even death doesn’t stay
Teach us how to die
So that we may live
Teach us how to live
So that we may die

We accept your gift
Your sacrifice
Your presence
Thank-you
Thank-you for everything
Creation
Your Patience
Your Direction
Your Way
Your Death
Your Grace

We rejoice in your resurrection
We accept your new way of life
Give us strength to keep on this new life
You’ve turned back news into good news
Now we will turn this good news into real life
You have risen
We choose to follow you
Be here with us

Amen

Song – In Christ Alone

Reading – 1 Corinthians 15

Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you–unless you have come to believe in vain.

For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them–though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.

Prayer

By making this our story
May we live lives in light of the resurrection
May we live lives that that promote life – and not death
May we live lives confident in your forgiveness
May we live lives that reflect the reality that you are alive
That today – you have risen – death is no more
Life – newness – joy – peace – shalom.

Amen

Communion

Partake in the body of Christ.

Good Friday Liturgy

You are encouraged to hold the stone in your hand throughout the service.   

Place your worries on it. 

Feel its weight. 

At the end of the service, leave your stone at the base of the tree.

The liturgy is structured around Jesus’ last words.  Each reading is followed by a short prayer, each prayer followed by silence, each silence ended with a song. The length of the silences will also increase through the service.

 Liturgy

One: All you who pass this way
Many: Look and see, the shadow of sin
One: All you who pass this way
Many: Look and see the weight of the world
One: All you who pass this way
Many: Look and see, the suffering of our Savior.
One: All you who pass this way
Many: Look and see, the sorrow of Jesus Christ
One: Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.

Song:  Go to Dark Gethsemane – Louisa Flute

Shadow of Condemnation

Reading: Luke 23: 32-34 – Candace

Prayer – Alison

Forgiving Christ,
when the world condemns us, when wrong is done to us, when we carry the weight of things that are too much to forgive, come along side us in the darkness, and give us the grace to be forgiven and forgiving.

Silence – 30 seconds

Song: Before the World Began – Violin Solo

Shadow of Separation

Reading: Luke 23: 35-43 – Louisa

 Prayer – Alison

Reconciling Christ,
we are weighed down by sin and separation, a world that is not at peace, people who are not whole. You reached out to the thief, you welcomed him to God’s side. Come alongside us in the darkness, and bring grace and peace to everything that is broken.

Silence – 1 minute

Song: Jesus, Remember Me – All (Louisa Flute)

Shadow of Sorrow

Reading: John 19: 25-27 – Candace

Prayer – Alison

Loving Jesus,
we carry the weight of the people we love, concern for their sorrows and suffering. Our care for them is deep, and sometimes there is not much we can do. Come alongside us in the darkness, and cradle the ones we love in your strong hands.

Silence – 1.5 minutes

Song: Ah, Holy Jesus – Violin Solo

Shadow of Despair

Reading: Mark 5: 33-34 – Louisa

Prayer – Alison

Lord Jesus Christ,
you know what it is to feel that God is far away. You know what it is to call out for God’s presence. Come alongside us in the darkness, and help us call out for God.

Silence – 2 minutes

Song: Our Darkness – All (Candace Violin)

Shadow of Suffering

Reading: John 19: 28-30 – Candace

Prayer – Alison

Suffering Savior,
in all our thirst, in all our sickness, in all our longing, in all our pain, you are there. Come alongside us in the darkness, and walk with us through all our suffering.

Silence – 2.5 minutes

Song: I Want Jesus to Walk with Me – All (Candace Violin)

Shadow of Death

Reading: Luke 23: 44-49 – Louisa

Prayer – Alison

Dearest Jesus,
even in death, you are there. When we mourn, when we are afraid, when we come to our own end, you have been there, too. Come alongside us in the darkness, and carry us through death to life.

Silence – 3 minutes

Song: What Wondrous Love Is This – Solo Violin

When you are ready, leave your stone at the base of the tree. 

Leave behind your worries.  Let go of the weight.  Mark an encounter with God and honoring Jesus in his time spent in the grave until Easter morning.

Then break a piece of bread and instead of partaking, place the bread in the wine. 

Leave in silence.

Modified from The Young Clergy Women Project – Good Friday: A Service of Shadows and Stones