I don't think this sermon needs a whole lot of introduction. Just look at the news in the United States and you will understand instantly all that you need to know for why I have said what I have said.
It's time for the church...the whole church...to decide what we are willing to give up (security, popularity, complacency, timidity) and decide to follow the one who stood on the side of the marginalized.
I simply don't know how to read Luke's Gospel any other way. But maybe I'm wrong.
See what you think.
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What does it mean to be a disciple of
Jesus?
Our Gospel passage today had me thinking
about some of the ways we quickly proclaim that we’re on Team Jesus.
We wear necklaces with Christian
symbols.
Put on a T-shirt proclaiming the
goodness of God.
There’s a billboard that I would see
every time I drove into Wakulla County…south of Tallahassee…on Crawfordville
Highway.
I’m not sure if it’s still there…since I
haven’t driven that way in a long time.
But it was this big blue billboard with
white lettering that announced proudly, “Wakulla Loves Jesus.”
That’s nice but what does that really
mean?
If we say we love Jesus…how do we
actually show that?
Paying close attention to our Gospel
text…it seems to show that we love Jesus is to say that we’re willing to follow
him.
And following Jesus clearly has a cost.
What are we willing to give up to follow
Jesus?
I think that’s an interesting…and a
difficult question to consider.
Imagine what it was for the original
hearers of this Gospel.
Although we’re hearing this some two
thousand plus years later…Luke’s Gospel was written and shared with followers
who had already lost a lot.
The Roman Empire had already destroyed
the Temple in Jerusalem…the center of their worship and social gathering
space…for a second time.
The Jewish attempt at rebellion against
this oppressive regime had failed.
In many ways…the Lukan audience was
likely feeling broken and defeated.
The cross…which we now hold as a symbol
of Christ’s ultimate victory…was anything but a symbol of triumph.
It was an instrument of torture and
death.
So imagine what it must have been like to
have Jesus saying to those who were in the crowd following him:
You must hate your family members and carry
a cross.
I don’t know about you…but such a demand
would probably leave me feeling as if all the blood was draining out of my
body.
Again…what is that we are willing to
give up to follow Jesus?
To help us figure that out…Jesus gives a
couple of examples….images that are a little more concrete…to help us
understand the demands of discipleship.
He talks about the person who decides to
build a tower.
For our own sake…let’s think of this in
a more generic way.
“Tower building” could be a stand-in
phrase for “any major construction undertaking”…as if we’re doing a big
renovation on our house.
Nobody…or at least I hope nobody
here…just decides to take on such a project without first doing some number
crunching…and finding the most reputable contractor.
We’d want to understand the costs involved
with labor and supplies…what it will take to pull a permit…what is the time
frame for finishing the remodel et cetera et cetera…
In other words…there’s more to this than
simply saying, “I’m gonna remodel my home…or in this case…build a tower.”
The same thing with the king who wants
to go to war against another king.
Anyone with any sense…whether they have
a military background or not…can figure out that it’s not a good idea to wage
war against a more powerful nation…without first considering the cost…both financial
and human.
The point that Jesus seems to be making
is that discipleship is a two-step process.
There’s the weighing of consequences…and
the consideration that one must be willing to risk giving up some things…maybe
even precious things like the security of family or being part of some “in
crowd” in our friend group…to become a disciple.
Because discipleship…following Jesus
into a mission of love…compassion…and mercy…is not about being liked or being
popular.
Taking a position that goes against what
society has accepted as “normal” is the risky turn that Jesus is taking in this
march toward Jerusalem.
He knew that he was going to meet with
tremendous resistance and that the threat to his life was real.
But he also knew the Empire was causing hardship
and terror for the people.
The ways of the Empire…with its
commitment to power over others… was not in keeping with the
dream God had for the world.
A vision such as what the prophets
describe…where mountains are lowered and valleys are lifted up (Is.40:4)…and
all are treated with equity and “justice rolls down like waters, and
righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” (Amos 5:24).
The commitment of Jesus was to stand
against the tyrants and the bullies of the world and build up the people who
have felt lost and left behind.
And he was not looking for cheerleaders.
Jesus was seeking those who were ready
to let go of those things that got in the way of dedicating themselves to this
mission of mercy…compassion…and justice for all.
That mission remains the call to us
today.
If we say that we are followers of
Jesus…if we profess a belief in God…if we have a sense of the Holy Spirit as a burning
flame…or the dove of peace hovering over us in our lives…then it follows that
we should be doing all that we can to work toward a world where people are
treated with respect and dignity.
We are a far cry from that right now.
At some point…we need to address the sins
happening in our name.
The epidemic of gun violence that allows
for the killing of school children should have stopped with Columbine.
It should have ended at Sandy Hook.
Why did we have to have Parkland?
And now kids are shot during their mass
in Minneapolis?
The building of prison camps…when we
interred Japanese citizens during World War II…should have taught us something
about not stigmatizing people based on their heritage.
But here we are today…with masked men
grabbing Latino and Latina people off the streets…at their workplaces…even
showing up at the court hearings to arrest those attempting to comply with the
law…and sending them to prisons hundreds of miles from their families with no way
to find them.
We even had 450 people taken away from
the new Hyundai plant in Chatham County a few days ago.
We know that we are a diverse
country…reflecting the beautiful mosaic of God’s human creatures.
And yet…there are state and federal
authorities actively attempting to erase the existence of the LGBTQ+ community.
There are those in positions of power
who are ignoring our medical scientists and their expertise…an insult to their
God-given talents…shunning them for work that has saved the lives of millions
of people for decades.
The horrible abuse of girls and women…not
just by the likes of a Jeffrey Epstein…but what has happened to young children
out of the spotlight for decades which leads to hurt and traumatized adults.
These are all sins against that very
basic tenet of our Baptismal covenant: to strive for justice and peace among
all people and respect the dignity of every human being.
To address all of this can feel
insurmountable and numbing.
But it doesn’t have to be…if we are
willing to acknowledge the sins…and then commit to the hard work of repairing
the damage that has been done.
It’s our refusal to face what is wrong
with honesty…integrity…and truth that only further compounds the sins.
This is the cost of discipleship.
To be willing to offend those who would
want to maintain silence…and just go along with what is happening.
It requires us to break from
attachments…our need to be accepted…to let go of our prejudices and
hatreds that keep us separated from each other…and to join our lives more
deeply to God…accepting the consequences that come with that.
Those consequences will mean some losses…but
they also will mean gaining solidarity with those committed to making this a
world where all can enjoy the life-giving and liberating love of God.
And that soil of God’s love is more
fertile…and more sustaining than the acrid bitter soil of fear and hatred.
Our society needs the church…you and
me…to live into the discipleship that Jesus has called us to…come what it
may…cost what it will.
A discipleship that stands with those
who are speaking up and even joining the chorus of voices insisting that we
must get back to a way of Love...respecting each other and recognizing that our
differences are not the definition of our whole being.
It’s time to follow Jesus…and make our
own march toward Jerusalem.
In the name of our One Holy and
Undivided Trinity.
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