Well, isn’t this a fine way to start
a rally Sunday; a Sunday that we celebrate the beginning of another Sunday school
season. The words are the kind that will just…let’s face it, these words are
horrible. “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, brother and
sister, wife and children, yes, even life itself cannot be my disciple.” What
kind of love and care is that for Jesus to say? Is this all about hate? What
kind of Jesus is this that tells us that in order to be a disciple of Christ we
must hate?
This Gospel reading is not about
hate. This is about upsetting the norms and standards that applied to Jesus
times. In the first century, everything was determined by family and community.
The first born got many of the privileges, inherit the Father’s business, farm.
The children carried on the Father’s legacy and profession. Family determined what
you did and who you were. It makes sense because it is in the Ten Commandments,
“honor your Father and Mother.”
While we are to honor our Mothers
and Fathers, there is one commandment that is above them all. That Commandment
is to Love God with all our heart, mind, and soul. See, Jesus is pointing out
that the people of Jesus time can tend to take things to the extreme. While
honoring Mother and Father, they can tend to idolize parents or parent figures
and there may even be an expectation of idolization; whether it is the
community or the parent.
Jesus is not talking about hate, but he
is asking…no…telling people to stay focused on who is the one to be loved with
all our heart, mind, and soul. He is telling the people that discipleship is
remembering who it is that created the heavens and the earth and all that is
within it. Jesus is telling us that discipleship is about hearing the Word of
God and remembering the Word by living it out in their daily life. In the time
of Jesus, the people had so many things to distract them; living by the law was
difficult enough. Trying to remember what you could and could not eat, who was
clean and who was not, what kind of sacrifices were necessary to become clean
again. Then there were rules of the community. All that stuff could be daunting
and distracting. I could imagine that it could be confusing and maybe painful
in some cases.
Jesus tells these people that
discipleship means listening to the Word of God. It means living by the Word of
God. In the people of Jesus time they had the Books of scripture that we call
the Old Testament. There were stories in there of people who were also told to
live out their lives according to God’s wishes and not by their own wishes.
There are stories of people who got distracted and did not want to do what God
had asked them. One example of that is Moses. Moses did not want to do what God
asked him to do, but eventually Moses went to speak to Pharaoh. Almost all the
other prophets go through this same thing of saying “no” at first. But through
their yes to God’s call their discipleship…to the living God is not easy but
God does not abandon them. God carries them through and protects them. They
lived out their discipleship. They worked to teach the word of God and share
the word of God.
Then we have the people of Jesus time.
With all the things I spoke of before (laws, regulations, community rules,
society expectations) it was easy for the people to get distracted from their
lives of discipleship. Because they have ONE BIG FLAW…they’re human. They make
mistakes and Jesus knew they would fall short of living their lives to the
Glory of almighty God. Jesus knows that, sometimes, when the going gets tough,
humans choose the easier way rather than the way God would want the people to
choose. Jesus is saying that being a disciple means sometimes choosing the more
difficult path than the easier. Being disciples means proclaiming the Word of
God through teaching and actions that all people are valued, worthy, and
invited to experience the grace, mercy and love of God.
Being a disciple means being a witness
to God’s glory here on this earth. Discipleship is about one title on this
earth for all of us. It is the title “Child of God.” It is about telling the
story of how God “so loved the world that he gave his only Son not to condemn
the world but so that the world might be saved.” Discipleship is about giving
thanks to the one who gave us all these relationships. It is about realizing
that God gave us the gift of family and friends, the gift of strangers, and
even all our possessions; realizing that they all come from God and giving
thanks to God publicly and privately for all that we have received.
Discipleship is sharing that our lives have meaning, not because of our
accomplishments, but because of God’s only Son, Jesus Christ who showed us the
extent of God’s love. That is why our lives have meaning.
Isn’t it funny how time does not change much?
Don’t we want the best for our children? Don’t we want to see them succeed?
Sure we do! We want them to be productive citizens in society, have the
opportunities that we never had when we were growing up. Every parent,
grandparent, and parent figure want that for all the people we love. We even
want them to follow in our footsteps from time to time, Carry on the family
business, the family profession, or even like the same sports teams that we
like. Sure we want that to happen, but it is not always because we want our
neighbors to think highly of us or because our status is on the line. Sometimes
it may be ego and other times it may be nice to share that part of our lives.
But we forget that one important flaw.
There comes a point in time where we realize or it is pointed out to us that we
are human. We make mistakes and fall short; we fall short of the expectations
of others and we fall short of the glory of God. It is the harsh reality that
we all face every day; a missed appointment, practice, something we said, did,
or did not do. We fall short and at times it can be painful or even
devastating.
But the Good News is that is also part
of discipleship. God knows that we fall short. God knows that we make bad
choices, make some dumb mistakes, and sometimes look out for our own interests,
put our needs over the needs of others. God knows that we do this and that is
why God sent Jesus into this world. Jesus came into the world to show us the
Good News that God is not going to abandon us. God gave us the gift of
salvation and forgiveness through the death and resurrection of God’s only Son,
Jesus Chris. Jesus shows us the strength and courage to proclaim the Grace and
Mercy of God through God’s only Son on the cross; a cross that calls us to
bring our shortcomings and burdens to the cross and give it all over to God.
But it does not stop there. We are not
only to bring our failings and burdens to the cross. We are called to bring the
talents that God has blessed us all with to share them with others. See, in our
last verse, Jesus tells us that God wants it all. He wants our relationships
with one another…our job skills, our hobbies, and yes everything we own, our
possessions. Give it all over to God, because guess where it all came from? IT
CAME FROM GOD to begin with! Give it all over…even your heart and mind.
So what does that look like for us
to give it all over and be a disciple of Christ? Here are some ways: when we
give our weekly offerings think about and try giving a little bit more for the
ministries that we do here at the church. When we come up for communion, say a
short prayer before you receive it. Let God’s word sink in a little deeper to
your heart…take the readings home and read them over again. Talk about the
readings with your family. When people ask you why you go to church, think
about the question and let them know how God’s word inspires your life and
faith. When you hear the words (and I have heard these too many times) that
“church is just a bunch of hypocrites. Say, “That’s right and there is always
room for one more, because we all are sinners and saints.” Share your
experience of giving God one hour on a Sunday morning to lift your soul and you
receive an eternity. Discipleship can look like taking time out of your busy
day to sit down with your family and share a meal at the table, together; or
plan to come to worship every Sunday morning. Studies have shown that families
who share meals and take time to be together for worship are healthier and have
a balanced life.
I do believe on this rally day,
Jesus asks us this question through our scripture reading: “are you ready to
give everything that you have and all that you are to be a disciple of God?”
AMEN.
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