Luke 14: 25-33 (Common English Bible)

In this reading from the Gospel of Luke, Jesus talks about the cost of discipleship and what to give up. Jesus speaks in radical terms about commitment to be a Disciple. The need for commitment in daily lives is best shown in the parable of a king who began building a tower and failed to finish it. And another was about a man who started the war without the resources to win. In both examples, persistence is needed to accomplish that goal.  

In a time where church memberships are declining in many communities, the cost of discipleship is still asked. Be prepared for loss, poverty and suffering. John the Baptiser and many like him did.  

Jesus spoke in the Aramaic language, which used a lot with symbols, metaphor and idioms written. Carrying one’s cross could mean the death of one’s self or one’s ego together. One example that rejected the ego were the communities that shared what was written in Acts 4: 31-36 to a communal living and food to eat for all.

Still during the early years of the church, some Christians did literally pick up their cross to be executed. Others lived alone in the desert. Some would join communities of faith like monks and nuns. The more extreme penitent would be wearing a hair shirt or being whipped across his own back to be closer to God as all people thought was good. But it seems the God I worship has never required that on anyone.

In the 1950s some religious leaders proclaimed in the United States that peace, faith and mind can keep America safe. Now in the 1950s when churches were sprouting faster than daises. Metaphor there. President Dwight Eisenhower even encouraged Americans to attend church for the good of the nation. During that decade church membership was at it’s all time high. Some even said that God wants you to be rich. Now that is a bunch of malarkey. Jesus never preached any “prosperity gospel” in his ministry. 

Jesus is inviting all of us to be his followers. From the most highly educated to people with little or no education. God uses ordinary people to do amazing things. Examples are helping in mobility issues. Working within the hospital and bringing humanity when they need some comfort. And also opposing injustice all the way to the cross.  

Salvation is a great prize given by God’s grace. It can’t be earned, it requires effort on the part of those who receive it. The cost to be paid will vary from person to person. Some in foreign nations will be persecuted. Some will leave homes and families to preach the Good News. The Christian faith is not about a system of belief but instead, an open door for everyone. The WAY of Jesus will encounter both hate and love. While the world burns around us caused by both hate and global warming, let us have hope and science in the coming generation of doctors through the hand of God. AMEN.