Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost… So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:25-33)
I imagine that when the small group who followed Jesus faithfully, went out preaching for him, and provided for his physical needs saw a huge crowd following their master, they were elated. We can imagine them saying to one another, “Finally! His message is being received—the people are coming!” Ask any church planter or pastor, and we will all tell you that we long for the moments when a crowd of new people bursts through the door!
But Jesus looked at the huge crowd more soberly, with a type of compassionate honesty. They were all invited, but they would not all follow to the end. It wasn’t right to pretend that this would be a walk in the park, a joyous journey to a life of ease. This path to Jerusalem would cost his life, as well as the lives of many of the disciples. Following casually wasn’t an option; it was a form of naivete. They needed to know the cost. And so, Jesus warned them: “Your family? Your life? You might lose it all. You have to choose me before everything else if you want to follow me.”*
There are places even now where following Jesus means being ready to lose everything, where there are no casual Christians. North Korea, Afghanistan, Somalia, Pakistan, Nigeria, China—the list of countries where following Jesus means the potential of losing everything, including life itself, is long. We need to be praying for the Christians in these countries!
It is easy for us, who don’t face this danger, to forget the cost of following Jesus. “Counting the cost” isn’t just about the threat of external persecution—it is also about letting go of ourselves as masters of our lives. We want to follow Jesus, but also to have the life we have mapped out for ourselves. Jesus calls us to choose him above everything else, including our own desires for a particular life. It simply isn’t possible to have two masters, and he calls us to renounce ourselves and put him first.
We might chafe at this, wondering if it is a bit extreme. But it comes from the one who was willing to give his life for us, and he speaks in compassionate honesty as he calls us to trust him as master.
Steven+
A Prayer for Calling
The following prayer was written by Rebekah, and when she shared it with me, I was eager to pass it on to the entire congregation. I encourage you to read it, and then pray it for Erich and Justin.
But as you do so, consider your own calling. Each of us is called to follow the Son, bearing our cross as we walk through desert places. Each of us is tempted by more comfortable paths. Each of us needs the light of Christ shining in our heart. Each of us is called to help usher others into the presence of God with fear and trembling. The point is that there are not supposed to be spectators in the Church—each of us is called by God to be the presence of Christ to others.
After you have prayed this for Erich and Justin, I encourage you to go back and pray it for yourself.
Steven+
A prayer for Erich and Justin, as they begin their ministry as priests:
Yahweh, God of our fathers, your promises are as particular and individual as they are wide and all encompassing. May Erich and Justin, being rooted and grounded in your love, walk through the desert following your Son, bearing their crosses. May they not be tempted into other, more comfortable paths, that they may shine your light into the dark places of their own hearts and of your world. As you call them into roles of servant leadership in your church, may they help and not hinder, encourage, and strengthen and not provoke or pull down, respect and honor and not despise or ignore. Your people—all and each—are called by your name and are precious in your sight. Remembering this, may they usher your people into your presence with fear and trembling, always consulting you, keeping your words before them, acting only in your strength and not in their own understanding—lest they put themselves and your beloved ones into danger. Help them, O our High Priest, to trust your trust in them as they lean wholly on you, who are faithful in all your ways and just in all your judgment.
Scripture Reflections
In both our gospel reading from last Sunday (Luke 12:13-21) and the passages that follow (12:22-31 and 32-34), Jesus addresses our relationship to money. He makes three basic points: guard against covetousness (13-21), don’t be anxious about money (22-31), and be sacrificially generous to those in need (32-34). All of these commands are part of a larger teaching about what it means to be faithfully prepared for the coming Son of Man.
Underneath these commands are three foundational truths. The first is that we are deeply valuable to God the Father (v. 7), who will provide all that we need (v. 31). The second is that true life only comes from God, and not from our money or possessions (v. 15). And the third is that our money both reveals and changes our hearts (v. 34).
Each of us probably struggles to believe one or another of these truths. Face-to-face with a month with too many bills, it can be difficult to believe that God will provide all that we need. Anxiety over money is a fairly natural response! And it is difficult to persuade ourselves that a new purchase won’t add to our life—we usually want the item because we feel it will enhance our lives! Finally, most of us never consider that our purchases reveal our hearts and can change them.
Yet throughout this chapter, Jesus encourages us to be “rich toward God,” and “seek his kingdom.” These aren’t abstract truths in context. Instead, they are Jesus’ description of the person who generously gives to those in need. It is in generosity that we seek the kingdom; it is in generosity that we become rich toward God. As Jesus said, “Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail…For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
I assume that this statement was as radical in the 1st Century as it is now. It cuts against all of our basic patterns of life, asking of us something that seems outlandish, impossible, and unwise. Most of us probably cannot imagine how we might begin to follow Jesus in this. (The short answer is, “one step at a time, as the Spirit prompts you.”)
But the promises of Jesus stand. You are deeply valuable to the Father, and he will take care of you. All that his children need will be provided to them. We don’t need to be anxious about money or hoard it to protect ourselves, because true treasure is only in heaven. When we begin to trust this, we can give freely to others.
Steven+