Lancaster First United Methodist Church
June 20, 2010
Luke 13:25-33
Rev. Sam Halverson

“Puzzling Parables: The Cost of Discipleship”

“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.”

Large crowds were traveling with Jesus.  He was becoming very popular.  It was almost a social event to follow Jesus – to go where he was going and to hear what he was saying.  There were times when, if you followed him long enough, you might witness a healing or see him confront some of those pious Pharisees.  “Isn’t it good to see Jesus argue with the Pharisees?  Isn’t it fun to hear him speak?  I wonder what miracle he’ll perform today.  Let’s follow him a little bit longer and find out.”

One can’t help but compare the attitudes and mindset of the large crowds following Jesus in today’s scripture to the church today.  While there are many who choose to follow the Christ because of a personal call of faith and a desire to have him in their lives, there are some who claim the name of “Christian” simply because it has become a social expectation.  “We enjoy hearing the speaker.  The words are provocative.  It’s expected of us.  I wonder what will happen and who will be in church today.  Let’s follow a little longer and find out.”

Luke makes it clear that for Jesus there is a difference between those who follow Jesus (as the crowds do) and those who are his disciples.  A follower is just that – someone who is curious or enjoys seeing what happens.  A disciple follows, but a disciple is called to a much more difficult path of following.  For a disciple, the path is, at times, risky, dangerous, uncomfortable, terrifying, and even impossible.

There are many who like to come to church and listen to the words spoken or hear the music – they enjoy the conversations and getting to know some really good folks.  All this is good, and it brings people into God’s Word so that they become familiar to it.  They find themselves drawn to it and begin to hear God’s call on their lives.  If someone says: "I want to be a Christian," or "I want to be a member of your church," or, "I want to do more than follow – I want to be a disciple of Jesus.  I want to go the next step,” what should we tell them?  What does this text say to them?

Luke tells us how Jesus describes a disciple, and it begins as a slap in the face.  Jesus says, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate mother or father, sisters or brothers, cannot be my disciple.”

Hate?  Is this Jesus?  Is this the same one who says we must love our neighbor as we love ourselves?  Is this the Word of God – God incarnate – author of love – telling us to hate those closest to us?  How can we be a disciple – a follower of God and God’s love – if we hate?

Ouch.

This is a hard one for me to ponder.  I love my family.  I consider myself a family man, and greatly appreciate it when people use “love of family” to describe me.  Kathy and I believe that part of our calling in ministry is to live out the importance of family in the community where we live. You have seen that, I hope, over the years we’ve spent here.  When we first came and spoke with First Church about coming to Lancaster we made it clear that family is important for us.  I try to be at all the functions – the dance recitals and the band concerts and other events involving my kids.  I made it clear that I would take my days off and you, as a congregation, have not only honored that but have shown us wonderful ways to live and love as a family.  You have been wonderful examples to us and to our kids of ways that family is nurturing and helpful, supportive and necessary in our lives as Christians.

So, why would Jesus tell us to hate our family?  Has Jesus gotten your attention yet?

Of course he has.  A comment like this wakes us up, and that’s why he uses it here.  It raises our eyebrows and puts us on the edge of our seats.  This kind of provocation is why so many follow Jesus in the first place.  He says things that sometimes go against what we think is correct, and we discover new truths to live by.

It is important to know as we read these words from Luke that "hate" is a Semitic expression meaning "to turn away from, to detach oneself from," rather than our animosity-laden understanding of the 21^st century.  In Genesis, we read in one verse that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah (29:30), but in the next verse, it literally says that Leah was hated ("unloved" in NRSV, see also v. 33).  Leah was not hated like we usually use the word, but Jacob simply loved her less than he loved Rachel.  Jacob didn't have an intense dislike for Leah.  In fact, he had seven children with her after these verses! (There must have been something he liked about her!)  Jesus is waking us up with these words, making us aware of a topic that may shock us and must motivate us or leave us behind – the cost of discipleship – something so costly that it calls for you and me to be willing to turn away even from our families.

While family is important for me, it is number two on my list of priorities.  It’s right below being a disciple of Jesus Christ.

That’s what Jesus is saying has to be first if we are to become his disciple.  There is a cost of being a disciple, and it will cost you everything, he says – your family, your comfort, your priorities, your plans – even your life as you know it.

Just before this account in Luke we read about a great feast where a king invites everyone to attend – the outcasts, the people on the streets, the beggars.  All are welcome at the table.  It’s an image of grace and invitation, but in the story there are also those who turn down the invitation.  They will not taste the dinner.

If you wish to follow Jesus – to listen to his words and see what he does – that’s one thing.  All are invited to follow – to taste what Jesus has to offer.  But Jesus tells us the difference between followers and disciples.  If you are to be a disciple there is a high cost, and you must ask yourself if you are willing to pay that cost.

Some, when they consider the cost of discipleship, interpret that to mean that they must give up the worst things in their lives: their bad habits, anger, lying, deceit, drugs, alcohol, promiscuity, in order to follow Jesus.  Jesus demands, however, that – in order to be a disciple – we give up the very best and most important things in our lives.

Jesus tells us, then, two very short parables.  He reminds us that anyone about to build a tower, if he is wise, will first take an account of resources and belongings, making sure that there is enough to complete the tower.  Otherwise people will mock and point fingers, saying, “Look, this person started building and didn’t have enough to finish.”   

How many of you have seen homes that people started building but had to stop because they ran out of resources?  I remember when Kathy and I were looking at houses for our move down to Georgia and we saw complete housing developments that were put on hold or abandoned because the builder didn’t have the resources to continue.  Jesus says that before you commit to being a disciple you must look at what is going to be expected of you.  A wise person would consider the "cost" of building a tower before beginning work.  Similarly, a would-be disciple needs to consider the demands of discipleship.

Jesus also relates this consideration to that of a king who is determining if he has the resources to go to war against another king.  If he looks at his army and sees that it is only half of the aggressor’s army, then a wise person would sue for peace.  The parable serves to remind a would-be disciple to consider the cost and respond according to what they are willing to give.

Jesus’ harsh words – the words about family and these parables of the building of the tower and the king preparing for war – have various effects on us as the listener.  On one hand, the words awaken the half-hearted or the lukewarm follower to the disastrous consequences of discipleship.  If a follower believes he or she is a disciple, then wake up and put your priorities in line.  There is more at stake here than simply looking for a good story or being seen in the right places.  Jesus’ call to discipleship is hard and it is the way of the wise.

Another effect of Jesus’ harsh words is to dissuade the prospective Christian.  The words serve to draw out the genuine seeker, the person more likely to go the distance, and bring others to turn away – to cull out those who have no long-term or dedicated interest.  If you’re not willing to pay the cost, then this isn’t for you.  Join the band, or move on.  We’ve got work to do here.  Being a disciple involves your commitment, your time, your priorities, your possessions, and your life.

The difficulty with this parable, though, is that there are many times when we, as disciples of Jesus Christ, are called to step out in faith without knowing all our resources.  
Often, if we wait until everything is perfectly planned before beginning a project, we would never get started.  On one hand, one should know about the costs of following Jesus and not just "go along with the crowd", but on the other hand, we don't know exactly what "crosses" may be before us.

Do we – as the community of faith – operate on faith, trusting that God will provide the needed funds or do we operate with the best business sense possible?  Do we, as accurately as possible, determine next year's income and create a spending budget no higher than the anticipated revenue?  How often does the church appear foolish because they haven't planned well enough?  How often does the church appear foolish because it was too scared to risk and act on faith?

A church member I know from another congregation talks about being elected and attending his first council meeting.  At that meeting they "passed the hat" among the council members so that they could raise enough money to pay the pastor.  Does that indicate that the congregation was acting on faith, or being a bit foolish in their budget process?

Jesus calls us, as Christians, to place him first.  That includes all our resources and our ministries.  While this parable reminds us that it is important and wise to take an assessment of our resources before taking that step as a disciple, we must remember that our strongest resource and the source that gives us all we need is God.  Jesus’ call is to give up our reliance on wealth and our own know-how and, instead, to trust in his leadership.  It’s a hard thing to do, but the first act of a disciple is to know the cost, and the cost, says Jesus, is all your possessions.

We are all called to be Jesus’ disciples.  We are called to do more than simply follow.  We are urged to consider the next step, and when we’re ready, to take that leap of faith.  A decision to be a disciple is more than a decision to follow. It is a willingness to give up everything else.

When Kathy and I understood our calling to move from Lancaster and serve in this congregation in Georgia it was after we had already understood that I am called to pursue a ministry with youth ministry at its core – and that came after an understanding that I would follow whatever form of ministry God had called me to.  Our decision to pick up our household and our family and follow a calling was a response to our highest priority – to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Yesterday I told someone that we were moving to Georgia to take an appointment with another congregation.  This person looked at me with some apprehension and uncertainty and asked, “Is that what you want – to move away?”

The question has been asked of me before, and I never really know how to respond to it.  You see, as a disciple, any time I think I am doing what I am called to do then it is truly what I want.  To follow your top priority means you are doing the most important thing, and there is no arguing that point.  If I were to look at my comfort and say, “I should live where I am most comfortable” then that would be placing my comfort ahead of discipleship.  If I were to look to my relationships first, then I would say, “I have more relationships here in Lancaster than anywhere else” and that would be placing those relationships ahead of my discipleship.

When we first told Jesse and Megan about the move, they were quite upset, as you can imagine.  I can honestly say that there was never an instance with more intensity and passion from them regarding a decision we were making than this decision.  They were angry, sad, upset, frustrated, loud – very loud.  If I were to place the desires of my children first, then I would say, “my children are happy here in Lancaster, and that’s where I need to stay” and that would be possibly be placing my family ahead of my discipleship.

But I when I place my discipleship first I am, in fact, modeling to my family what I want them to be.  When I live out my call as a disciple, I am showing my community of faith how to respond.  When I answer a call to move out of my comfort zone and go where God has called me I am living out this faith that I have stood here and told you to live out over these almost 14 years.

Is it what I want?  To take this move?  What I want more than anything is to place my whole trust in God and follow the path God calls me to follow.  I can only do that if I am willing to give up all my other priorities.  I can only be a disciple if I place myself in the back of the line and focus on what he calls me to do.  Then I will be able to direct my resources, my household, my family – my church and ministry – on their own way to discipleship.

You, the congregation of First UMC, also are called to place Christ first.  Rather than worry about whether you have enough resources to do this ministry or that ministry, understand that the first thing is to realize that the cost of being a disciple is to give up everything else – your comfort, your security, your priorities – and then to be discern where it is that God is calling you – what ministries and actions you are being called to take on as a community of faith.

We have had a rough year – responding to the tough economy, finding out about misdirected finances, having to make budget cuts and laying off a number of staff.  All this, though, is a part of the cost of discipleship – recognizing what needs to be fixed, reforming our priorities and beginning to step ahead in following the Christ where he is leading us.  It’s a part of building that tower and assessing how we can have the best year of ministry ever.  We’re on the right track, and as long as we continue to put Christ first, you – First UMC – will be devoted and faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.

My prayer for you is that you will continue to place the Christ first in the life of First UMC – ahead of comfort, ahead of security in things and security in possessions, ahead of even what you want – and willingly follow into areas where Christ is leading you as a community of faith that is reaching out to the lost and the least of Lancaster and Fairfield County.  There are many who need to begin following the Christ, and they need a congregation like you to show them what it means to be true disciples – what it means to pay the cost of discipleship.