Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Those Who Can’t

Luke 14:25-35
One of the joys of being part of a clergy couple is the conversations my wife and I have concerning scripture in particular and church life in general. Just this morning––knowing that I had not yet posted my blog for today––my wife called the gospel passage to my attention and made a very helpful observation. The gist of our conversation was that in today’s gospel reading, and especially in the two related parables about the half-built tower and the king with too small an army, Jesus was talking about himself. Looking ahead to his passion, Jesus knew that in what he was about to do he would seem like an abject failure. Even his followers would desert him. So Jesus offered these words of warning to all who would listen: "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.…So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions” (Luke 14:26-27, 33).

The one aspect of faithful discipleship that seems most problematic, especially to those of us who live in the western world and who, by global standards, are quite prosperous, is the call to let go of everything, to leave behind all that we hold dear––family, possessions, life itself. If we can’t do that, we will find discipleship to be impossible. If we do not have it within us to build a tower of faithful obedience, if we do not have the strength to wage a successful war against our idolatrous tendencies, if we cannot bear the thought of sharing in Jesus’ apparent failure on the cross, then we will likely turn back and go no further. But if, by God’s grace and with God’s help, we are able to let go of all that holds us back, if we are given the courage we need to suffer the loss of what we call life, then we walk on toward Jerusalem.

The good news is that God alone gives us the ability to respond to Jesus’ claim on our lives, God alone makes of us what we can be in light of the gospel message. God alone inspires us to see beyond the cross, beyond what the world calls failure, and to embrace the new thing that God is doing. Perhaps none of us are truly capable of choosing discipleship as the path we will walk, but with God nothing is impossible.

Prayer: Lord, help us to live as your people, following in the footsteps of faith that your Son Jesus Christ has set for us, that we may let go of all we hold dear and become instruments of your coming reign. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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