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Luke 14:25-33
25 Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them,26 "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.27 Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.28 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?29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him,30 saying, "This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'31Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand?32 If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace.33 So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.
SERMON
“When Christ calls a human, he bids him come and die.” These are no doubt powerful words. Anybody familiar with that quote? Do you know who wrote it? “When Christ calls a human, he bids him come and die.” When put into context, these words are all the more powerful.
In 1937, at the height of the Nazi Regime, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote a well known book called “The Cost of Discipleship.” Bonhoeffer was German pastor and theologian, and perhaps most well know for his resistance and opposition to the Nazi party. From the beginning, Bonhoeffer publically and passionately opposed the Nazi party. Even more so, he was deeply troubled by the misuse of the gospel message and power of Christianity to justify mass genocide. He was worried that the secularization of faith and grace was a cause for complacency and indifference - that the cost of our salvation was taken for granted, that forgiveness was an endless gift, and therefore and failure or shortcoming as disciples of Christ was shrugged away under the gift of grace. He called this cheap grace. Grace that is abused and taken for granted. Grace that abounds despite our own sinfulness, our indifference, our hatred, and inability to act.
So, Bonhoeffer spoke adamantly of costly grace. Grace that convicts us to live into the crucifixion of Jesus and rise again to work towards the kingdom of God, despite the costs.
In his book, he wrote. “Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ.
It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: 'Ye were bought at a price', and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.”
In the mid 1930s, despite being a vocal and public opposition to the work and belief of the Nazis, Bonhoeffer returned to Germany. For several years to risk his life traveling from town to town, educating and training clergy and church leaders in underground seminaries. By 1940, he was shut down by the Gestapo. Banned from Berlin. He was silenced.
He accepted a job at Union Theological Seminary in the US, where he would be safe from persecution. But within a few short years he said, “I have come to the conclusion that I made a mistake in coming to America. I must live through this difficult period in our national history with the people of Germany. I will have no right to participate in the reconstruction of Christian life in Germany after the war if I do not share the trials of this time with my people ... .I must choose but I cannot make that choice from security.”
By his convictions as a Christian, and at a cost, he returned to Germany to proclaim the gospel and the grace of Christ. He was silenced. Harassed. Arrested. Imprisoned in concentration camps. And eventually he was hanged.
“When Christ calls a human, he bids him come and die.”
I suppose today’s reading calls to question, what is the cost of being a disciple. What does it cost to be a Christian. To be a follower of Christ. And I mean that seriously, myself included, what does it cost us to be disciples and followers of Christ?
You don’t have to answer out loud if for no other reason than I don’t know what my own answer would be. And to be clear, I’m not talking about an hour in worship and a few hours a week of service. I’m not talking about your 10% tithe or charitable giving. It’s so much more. And it’s what Jesus talks about in front of a large crowd today, what does it cost to be a follower. A disciple.
And I would venture to guess, that once most of us had a chance to think about it, the answer would frankly be “nothing.” It doesn't really cost us anything. Being a Christian, being a disciple is not in and of itself a risky endeavor. On a day-to-day basis, it cost most of us nothing to be a part of the body of Christ.
Since baptism, God claimed us and named us, grafted us into the body of Christ. Into the one mission we share. We were called to be God’s children. And from that day forward, we’re Christians, followers of Jesus, free to invest as much or as little of ourselves, our time, and our possessions as we choose. And we can be as Christian as we want without it costing us a thing.
But, given today’s text, shouldn’t it cost us something to follow Christ? Should there be some sense of risk involved? Why doesn’t our discipleship stir up a bit of trepidation or hesitation? Is following Christ really that...easy?
The word “follow” has taken on such a different meaning in the context of today’s world. Our cultural and social media dominate life has almost redefined what it means to follow. With the click of a button you can follow almost anyone you want. And just as easy you can broadcast all of your life for anyone in the world to follow you. Status is gained by having a higher number of followers.
When we think about Instagram, Facebook, twitter...whatever it is, we are invited to follow the lives of whomever we want. Famous movie stars, and athletes. Musicians, friends, hobbyists...whomever. With one click we become a follower. A subscriber.
More importantly, we follow at a distance. We can watch their every move, read and hear what they have to say, we can like or ignore whatever we do or don’t support. We follow at a convenient distance. We become subscribers of content. And the larger the following the more powerful the person we follow. But this sense of following is actually simply observation, empty and vain. And it cost us nothing.
In today’s Gospel text Jesus continues his journey to Jerusalem. Word has spread about the things he has done and said. People continue to gather around him and the crowds follow. Now we don’t know how big the crowd was, but it was big enough for the gospel writer to make mention of it. Jesus turns to them all and offers some very blunt words about what is at stake if they desire to be his follower.
After all, Jesus has his eyes on Jerusalem, where he’ll be arrested, beaten, tried, and crucified. This journey is not for simple onlookers, marginal observers, and curious inquires. No, Jesus is ushering in a new reign of God, a kingdom that will rattle the foundations of the known world, unsettle the bedrock of the cultural, societal, and political norms. And if, IF you desire to continue to follow Jesus, you must be honest about what lies ahead, and that it might cost you your very life.
“When Christ calls a human, he bids him come and die.”
In Jesus’ day, it really was a costly decision to follow Christ. I think we too often make light of it because in the beginning of the gospel Christ calls and the disciples drop everything and follow. No big deal.
But the reality was, following Jesus often meant encountering conflict...with family, friends, coworkers. It meant forsaking or changing your life-long beliefs about the Messiah and what to expect. It meant denouncing the ways of a sinful world, challenging powerful systems, venturing to hostile territories, dining with sinners, accompanying the unclean, caring for the oppressed, loving the last and least, finding the lost, and healing the broken.
Following Jesus truly and literally meant following in his footsteps. It meant, as the definition goes, paying close attention to Jesus, acting according to his example, conforming to his ways, and striving for his witness. Following Jesus meant you were bid to come and die. Die to the old ways of life, be transformed by his radical witness of love and justice, and live in proclamation of God’s kingdom.
So when we ask ourselves what does it cost us to be a disciple and follower of Christ and our answer is nothing, then I think we must re-encounter the gospel message, reassess Christ’s call to come and follow, reevaluate our identity as Christians. I suspect that when Jesus laid out the cost of being a disciple to the crowd, several people turned around and said never mind. I bet they went on home where life felt safer, easier, and more content.
Friends, being a Christian, a disciple, a follower of Christ is not something we should take lightly or for granted. Because the truth is, the call to discipleship has in fact cost us our lives.
In the waters of baptism we drown to the old way of living and rise again, claimed and named into a new way of life. And baptism isn’t simply a Rite of initiation. We don’t haphazardly click subscribe to be a Christians and follow safely from a distance. Leaning in when convenient or beneficial. Stepping back when too risky.
No, we’re in the thick of it. IN the footsteps of our radical, counter-cultural Messiah, we’re on a journey to Jerusalem, where our very lives are stake. Believing in the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus changes the way we see the world. Being washed in the waters of costly grace and fed at the holy banquet table, where we receive a foretaste of the feast to come transforms the way we live out our life. Our calling. Our discipleship.
And in part, that’s exactly what God’s Work. Our Hands day is about. It’s not just a time of church wide service. It’s not simply about giving our time and resources to intentional serve our neighbor. God’s Work. Our Hands. Is intended to be a public affirmation...a re-affirmation really that we are called, claimed, named, and appointed disciples of Christ.
As followers of Christ we don’t just choose to get our hands and feet dirty in the muck of the world, we absolutely cannot help but engage with the brokenness of the world.
As followers of Christ we cannot help but forsake the lifelong teachings of sinful world, Can’t help but denounce sin, death, devil, and all the forces that defy God.
We cannot help but challenge unjust systems of power, venture into hostile territory, break bread with sinners, accompany the unclean, care for the oppressed, and love the last and least. We cannot help but heal the broken and care for creation.
And the truth is, this calling may cost us everything. Following Christ, being a disciple may cost us everything. And for many of the apostles and early church leaders, it did. It cost them their lives.
My siblings in Christ, our world is bent, broken, oppressed, and in desperate need of healing. And as the church, the incarnation of God’s costly grace, we absolutely must engage. We must pick of the cross, take the risk, and harken Christ’s bid to come and die.
Because through death is the promise of resurrection. And at the cost of following Christ, God promises hope. God promises forgiveness. God promises grace. God promises everlasting life. And thanks be to God, it is freely given.
Amen.
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