Sermon by The Rev’d John C. Bauerschmidt

Proper 18, Year C
September 9, 2001
Christ Church, Covington

"…[Jesus] 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… So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions." (Lk. 14:25-26, 33).

There are two things going on in our Gospel today: one which is quite shocking, and another which is much subtler, but perhaps even more significant and essential. The shocking part may cry out for comment, but it would be a shame to miss the subtler bit; please indulge me as I skate lightly over one, in order to come to grips with the other.

First, the shocking part. Again, this is a section of the Gospel of Luke that stands our conventional idea of living on its head. If we value a tight-knit and prosperous family (and few among us would fail to identify with such goods), we must also recognize that the Gospel subordinates them to the good of discipleship. In fact, Jesus challenges the ultimate value of family and possessions in no uncertain terms.

Following Jesus in the way of the cross is the ultimate value. It is shocking to our human sensibilities to follow Jesus in this way, subordinating the natural ties that bind us to those closest to us, and the possessions which sustain our lives, to our relationship with him. It is in this sense that we are called to hate our father and mother, wife and children, brother and sister, and even life itself. It is in this sense that we are called to give up all our possessions.

The wisdom which Jesus proclaims is no merely earthly wisdom, an exhortation to family togetherness and prosperity. It is a wisdom which comes from heaven; something beyond human ken which reflects the values of the Kingdom of God. As disciples, we reflect the values of the Kingdom as we live out our lives in the Church, a community in which we put our possessions at the service of God, and in which we become related to a much wider circle of fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, beyond the range of purely human kinship.

There is so much more that could be said; I’m resisting the temptation to say it, because there is that other, more subtle and significant point in our Gospel. As we follow Jesus in this way of discipleship, this shocking and radical way of life, we are warned to be intentional, and to consider the cost. "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?… Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able…to oppose the one who comes against him…" (Lk. 14:28, 31).

In these two sayings, Jesus is doing something more than trying to discourage, or to foster prudence among, his disciples. Jesus is calling us to self-examination and to a journey inward, by which we seek to be intentional in our commitments in the life of discipleship, as well as faithful and focused. Jesus does not call his disciples to go off half-cocked, unprepared for the way of the cross; he calls for action which is considered, measured, and based on a disciplined way of life. Remember, "disciple" and "discipline" are in origin the same word.

In short, Jesus is calling for a life which is rooted and grounded in prayer. Sometimes we think we know what prayer is, but I bet there is much more to it, and that this "much more" involves reflection and consideration. Think about it: to pray is to examine one’s heart to discover its contents; to pray is to consider the call of God and the action of God in our lives. To pray is to pause and to "sit down" like the builder and the king in the two stories that Jesus tells, to estimate the convergence between the call of God and the gifts we have been given to accomplish it.

Most profoundly, to pray is to pay attention to what’s really going on, and to avoid being sucked in by our human temptation to unreality. Another way of saying this is to point out that there is no hope of being able to discern the true issues of our lives, or the true "lay of the land" for us as disciples and moral beings, without prayer. It can also be turned around; if you have reflected on your life, then you are a person of prayer, even if you weren’t conscious of what you were doing.

Our Gospel brings together the call of God, and the process by which we authenticate it. We will have to journey inward, and examine ourselves, if we would grow in discipleship, and journey with Jesus on the way of the cross. The second of these journeys may be the more shocking, but the first is its necessary prelude, if we would arrive in Jerusalem with Jesus, and share his cross and resurrection.

The Rev’d John Bauerschmidt is Rector of Christ Church, Covington.

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