Sermons for the Month
Considering the cost
DATE: September 9, 2001
BY: Rev. Deborah Wissner
TEXT: Luke 14:25-33“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I went out to spend our tax rebate check. The unexpected chunk of cash would, we thought, be a good start toward replacing our battered old living room sofa, which has seen just too many years of use and abuse. We emerged from the furniture store hours later, having spent that check three times over, ordering not only a sofa, but also the matching loveseat and chair. Then we went home, and tried to figure out where in our average-sized living room we were going to put all that furniture. After several days of measuring and sketching, we concluded that this was going to call for, at minimum, a couple of new floor lamps and some new, smaller end tables. Over the Labor Day weekend, as we did a thorough cleaning in preparation for the new arrivals, we took the drapes to the dry cleaners; once the drapes were down, my husband decided that the walls really needed a fresh coat of paint; and once that was done, the living room area rug suddenly showed every spot of grape jelly, pizza sauce, and Coke that has ever been spilled on it, so we rolled that up and put it out with the trash. The bottom line is that my new sofa hasn't even been delivered yet, and already it's cost about four times what I expected to spend, not to mention a "holiday" weekend of hard labor! If I had known that at the beginning, I'm not sure I would have embarked on this venture! Isn't that true of so many things in life? If only we could know in advance all the hidden costs and unforeseen consequences! Instead, it often seems as if our consumer culture goes to considerable effort to persuade us that we are getting "such a deal," with no downside worth mentioning. One thing you have to admit about Jesus, when He makes an offer, there's no fine print and no sugar coating. He wants us to know the cost, right up front. "Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple…"; anyone who does not "hate" everyone and everything that has been dear to them, that is, is not ready to set those precious things aside, will never be able to keep up with the pace Jesus sets. Make no mistake about it, Jesus wants us, each and every one of us, at His side, and ON His side, doing the work of God's Kingdom in this world; But He loves us too much and honors us too highly to coax us onto that path without appreciating the consequences. Because when you begin to follow Jesus, you won't come away unchanged. Once you've begun to listen to Him, you can't easily go back to telling yourself the same old same-old. When you take the risk of walking with Jesus, you WILL be changed, and by definition, "change" means that something will be left behind, something will be LOST. So Jesus asks: Are you WILLING to surrender things that right now are important to you? Are you willing to "lose" in an objective sense -- people, no matter who and how special they might be, who turn away from you because you're "just not the same" as you used to be before you took this God-stuff seriously? Are you willing to spend time and energy, willing to hand over the "stuff" you possess, in order to BE the Good News of God to others? Are you willing to "lose" in the sense that there are things that will no longer seem as important to you; activities, behaviors, agendas which now drive your daily routine and seem to make up who you are, some of which will fall away as you are transformed into the person God needs you to be? If not, Jesus seems to suggest, we might want to say "No thank you" and walk away now, rather than expose ourselves to further risk and frustration. Well, what kind of a church growth strategy is THAT?? No strategy at all, of course - just Jesus' usual "tough-lovin'" truth. For all the good times, all the good friendships, all the moments of laughter and rejoicing and just out-and-out FUN that we Christians have together, Jesus' words remind us that we are engaged in a serious business here, a matter of Life with a capital "L", in contrast to Death in a whole variety of manifestations. What we do here as a congregation, in worship and in Explorer's Club, in adult Bible study and in confirmation class and youth group, in small group learning and serving and caring, in prayer and in song, and in a multitude of other ministries, all of that is strengthening us to carry the cross - to put our shoulders to the burdens of a world spoiled by sin, and in the process of being redeemed by the grace of God; strengthening us to sacrifice our time, our talents, our comfort, our desires, our wealth - in a response of love for God, and loving service toward our neighbor. It's serious business, and the truth is, it's an impossible challenge for sinful, selfish human beings. UNLESS we keep following Jesus, keep putting one foot ahead of the other and taking the risk of following where He leads, clinging to His promise of a peace beyond any that the world can give, a steadfast joy beyond our imagining, and a fellowship with God and with one another that more than outweighs anything we fear we might "lose." yearnings of our hearts. Now, I've been told to "keep it short today" to allow time for the Call Committee Presentation, and I mention that not to embarrass anyone, but purely to keep you from getting your hopes up for future Sundays. I won't always sit down this quickly! But I will sit down, after one final thought. In the months to come, this congregation will be pondering and praying, attempting to discern and then to extend the call of the Holy Spirit of God to a Christian brother or sister to be the Shepherd of God's flock in this place. Most of us in our adult lives come to have a good deal of experience with the process of hiring and being hired. We have much less opportunity to participate in the call of God, which is something rather different. There are a good many criteria by which to evaluate a pastoral candidate, and the Holy Spirit can work His Will through whatever convoluted human means we devise. Yet Jesus' words today remind us that in, with, and under everything else a pastor might be or do, he or she is called to teach us, to encourage us, to demonstrate TO us the uniquely Christian art of carrying the cross, showing us HOW and challenging us TO lives of selfless service in the name and by the power of God in Jesus. May God's Spirit move powerfully among us, in us, and through us in this exciting and oh-so-important time in the life of Faith. AMEN