You
might be familiar with the term day-trader. A day-trader is a high-risk
investor who jumps in and out of the stock marker often many times a day to
take advantage of small price changes. Day traders usually do not have any
interest in the companies whose stock they are buying. These people are simply
trying to catch stocks that they think are going to rise in value and then they
will sell and go looking for other quick-pick opportunities.
There
are other investors who have become known as “dot-com” investors. They look for
Internet companies, especially those with “dot-com” at the end of their names.
They spend a little time researching the firms who have these stocks and they
buy them on a marginal basis and sell them as soon as the price increases.
Within
the church there are some people who can be called day traders and dot-com
investors. They know a little about God in reality and many think that they can
buy a small share of christianity.com without first investigating Jesus’ claim
to being Lord over all of their lives.
At
this point in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus has attracted a large following. He was so
popular that, like a rock star, groupies began to gather. They had heard of his
preaching, teaching and healing. They wanted to get close to him and experience
his unusual energy. Some even thought that he would be a military-type person
who would drive out the Roman army and return Israel to the glory days of the
reign of King David. They were thinking to themselves, “Oh boy! Happy days are
here again!”, but oh boy, were they in for a big surprise!
Jesus
quickly dashed their hopes. He knew what his true mission was and what the cost
would be. He asked them to consider the cost of following him, and he asks us
the same question today. Jesus calls for an exclusive commitment from us.
Everything else in our lives must take a back seat. This is similar to what I
was told when I joined the Mersey Band over 30 years ago. At that time, I was
told by the bandmaster that my priorities were to be work or school first,
family second, the band third and then everything else. Now, for some members
everything else takes priority over the band. We must be prepared to leave
everything else behind and follow him when he calls us, just like the disciples
did when Jesus called them. Faith frees us from those things which keep us from
the genuine joy of following Christ.
Moses
said the same thing in Deuteronomy 30:15-20 just before he died, and just
before the Israelites entered the Promised Land. He was concerned that their
descendents clearly knew what was in store for them. They had a choice to make:
obey God and be blessed, or disobey God and be punished.
Jesus
gives us the same choice today. Our decision has a cost. If we disobey God, we
will be punished by eternal damnation. If we obey God, we will be rewarded by
Him, but we could be punished by our world today. We may suffer rejection or
discrimination. Some of our friends and/or family members may shun us. We must
honestly ask ourselves if we are prepared to pay the cost.
Today,
as it was in Jesus’ time, he has many followers, but few disciples. For
example, look at any church record of attendance or stewardship of time, talent
and substance. What is the percentage of those who put Jesus first? There are
still many people who seek the blessings but they are either not counting the
cost or are not willing to pay it. In other words, they want the benefits but
they do not want to pay the costs. Such people seek the cheap “no commitment”
blessings he does not offer. Such seeking ends in disappointment and disillusionment.
That’s why lots of his followers get discouraged with him in our day, just as
they did in his day.
The
dangers of being Christian in a violent world have not passed. Recently a group
of medical aid workers in Afghanistan were executed by the Taliban, the reason
being that they supposedly had proselytizing materials in their possession. All
of the victims were associated with the International Assistance Mission, a
Christian organization which provided humanitarian relief and aid in
Afghanistan for decades. The Taliban claimed they were killed as Western spies
who were preaching Christianity; however, security forces in Afghanistan said
robbery was the probable motive.
Jesus
knew that just as he would be rejected, abused and killed by the world, that
his disciples would also face extreme hostility and hatred. Here are the fates
of his original disciples:
1. James, the brother of Jesus, and James, the son of
Zebedee, were killed by mobs in Jerusalem.
2. Matthew was run through with a sword in Ethiopia.
3. Philip was hanged in Greece.
4. Bartholomew was flayed alive in Armenia. In other
words, his skin was stripped off of his body by whipping.
5. Andrew was crucified in Achaia and Thomas was killed
with a lance in east India.
6. Thaddeus was slain with arrows and Simon the Zealot
was crucified by the Persians.
7. Peter was crucified upside down by the Romans.
8. John died alone on the island of Patmos.
Greatness
means there is a price to be paid. It always has meant that and always will
mean that. Jesus knew that if his disciples could reject the earthly ties that
bound them to human allegiances and loyalties first and foremost, then they
could focus their faith and draw their strength from God’s power, love and
kingdom.
Some
of you may have heard of a Baptist minister by the name of Dr. Charles F.
Stanley. He is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, and the
president of In Touch Ministries. His church services are televised worldwide
on the program “In Touch. He is also a world-renowned author. In fact, the
Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible is one of the many resources that I
use when preparing my sermons. His motto is “Obey God, and leave all the
consequences to him”. What this means is that if we choose to follow Christ, God
will give us the strength and courage to face the consequences of our
decision-both positive and negative. God will give us the courage to face
adversity.
Our
decision to follow Christ will involve huge sacrifices and the spending of vast
amounts of energy and resources on serving our fellow man. This has been done
by ordinary people. After all, God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary
things. Jesus’ disciples were ordinary people ranging from fishermen to a tax
collector. God used Billy Graham, a farm boy from North Carolina, to create one
of the greatest spiritual revivals on the 20th century. God uses
Billy’s son Franklin to ease the suffering of humanity through his work with
the Christian relief organization Samaritan’s Purse. Billy Graham recently said
that he feels called by God to preach again at the age of ninety, even if it is
for one last time. Closer to home, God uses me and other volunteers, some of
whom are from our own parish, to help ease poverty through the local food bank,
which was started in the 1980s by the now-defunct local association of
churches. God uses our rector to ease the plight of sailors on ocean-going
vessels through his work with the Missions to Seafarers in the Port of
Liverpool and Brooklyn.
There
is a movement abroad today by people who want a very different kind of Christ.
This movement is called the Prosperity Gospel. Supporters of the Prosperity
Gospel emphasize that Christ wants to make his followers wealthy. A billboard
for a revival by evangelist Benny Hinn promised “Business Breakthrough: Special
Prayers for Your Business & Finances.” The Prosperity Gospel is a movement
that started in the United States and has spread throughout the world. People
find it attractive because it promises material rewards for discipleship. It
tells them that Jesus will make them wealthy, BUT Jesus said, “None of you can
become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.” What he meant
is that we cannot be his disciples if we allow the God-space at the centre of our
lives to fill up with the love of money or material goods.
Jesus
does not promise that our walk of faith will be easy. To paraphrase the title
of a song recorded by Loretta Lynn, Jesus never promised us a rose garden here
on earth. In fact, he makes it quite clear that there will be a cost. At this
point in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem, and he knows that
when he gets there he will be arrested, tried and crucified-a sacrifice that he
has to make so that we can be restored to a relationship with God. Now God is
not calling us to make this kind of sacrifice like Christians in the Third
World often have to do. He is also not calling us to sell everything we have
and lead a life of a travelling missionary, although some great souls such as
Mother Theresa have done that in the past. Most of us have far too many
responsibilities to do that, but we can take some small steps in that
direction. We can do things such as donating extra clothes or furniture that we
don’t need to the poor or by donating time and money to help the less fortunate
in our community. For example, the local food bank has seen the demand for its
services increase at a faster rate than the increase in donations. The
situation has reached the point where the food bank has almost run out of money
and has had to discourage people from using the food bank.
Jesus
calls on us to look again at those society sees as “outcasts” and see them as
valued members of society. He himself was considered by many people, especially
the Pharisees and Sadducees, as an “outcast’. His life and death placed him
with the outcasts. Those who believe in him and his life, death and
resurrection are often considered by our society to be outcasts because they,
like Jesus, choose to go against society’s rules.
When
Jesus said that we must “hate father and mother”, he was talking figuratively,
not literally. Good thing, because that would mean disobeying the commandment
to honour our parents-a commandment that I take seriously especially with my dear,
sweet mother (and especially if I want to continue living at home!). As I
mentioned earlier, what Jesus means is that we must have a secondary attachment
to everything in our lives except Jesus. He must be our number one priority.
Even then, there will be times when we will have to make choices that put our
discipleship in the line. There will be times where we will have to say “No” to
what seems to be alternative or easier ways of doing things. There will be
times where we will be tempted like Christ was when he was in the wilderness.
Following Christ is not a guarantee of a conflict-free life. In fact, Jesus was
quite capable of blistering verbal assaults and even violence when he drove the
money-changers out of the temple. In the words of General Dwight Eisenhower
when he addressed the troops on the eve of the D-Day invasion in World War II,
“There will be no victories at bargain-basement prices”.
The
most famous book on the meaning of discipleship, which is entitled “The Cost of
Discipleship”, was written in the 1930s by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He was a German
pastor and theologian who tried to lead his church in resistance to the Nazis
and was martyred in 1945 at the Flossenberg concentration camp for his part in
a conspiracy to murder Adolph Hitler. Bonhoeffer wrote these words in the book,
“Where will the call to discipleship
lead those who follow it? What decisions and painful separations will it
entail? We must take this question to him alone who knows the answer. Only
Jesus Christ, who bids us follow him, knows where the path will lead. But we
know that it will be a path full of mercy beyond measure. Discipleship is joy.”
Jesus
does not promise us material wealth if we follow him, but he promises us a
wealth beyond anything we can dream of in terms of material goods. His wealth
is the wealth of the Holy Spirit and the wealth of heaven. God and Christ are
willing to share this wealth with us. There is a hymn in the Common Praise
hymnbook entitled, “Will You Come and Follow Me”. All we have to do to receive
Christ’s wealth is to say “Yes” and follow him in faith. As a result, our
earthly journey may be hard, but when we get to heaven, we will find that the
streets of gold are waiting for us-and they don’t have any potholes either!
Thanks be to
God, AMEN
Bibliography
1.
Charles F.
Stanley Life Principles Bible, New American Standard Version
2.
Steve
Berneking, Ph.D., “Do You Know What You’re Getting Into?” Retrieved from www.ezinearticles.com
3.
Jude
Siciliano, O.P., “First Impressions, 23rd Sunday, Year C” Retrieved
from www.preacherexchange.org
7.
ESV Study
Bible. Part of Wordsearch Bible Software package
8.
Barnes’ Notes
on the New Testament. Part of Wordsearch Bible Software package
9.
Matthew Henry
Concise Commentary. Part of Wordsearch Bible Software package
10.
Rev. John
Thomas, UCC, “No Joy for Those Unwilling to Accept the Cost”. Retrieved from www.day1.org
12.
Dan
Clendenin, “When the Fairest Cut is the Deepest: The Risk of Renunciation”.
Retrieved from www.journeywithjesus.net
18.
John
Shearman’s Lectionary Resource-Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year C
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