Luke 14:25-33

I remember sitting in the Dean’s Office just after I was hired to teach my first college class. I was going to be teaching two sections of General Psychology and 1 section of Introduction to Philosophy. I was very excited and very nervous. The Dean offered me some advice. He said, “Start slow. These students have just returned from a summer break, and you need to go slow for a few weeks so they can get their feet back under them. If you move to fast you will lose them.” 

I thought about that for a while. I also thought about the amount of material I had to cover in 10 weeks so yes, I was that professor that assigned work before class even began. I will also say I did not lose anyone in my class.

So here we are after a long summer break. Although I did not assign any homework before class today, I am going to hit the ground running and dive right in with this somewhat challenging passage from the Gospel of Luke.

We don’t talk a lot about discipleship these days, but that is what we are commanded to do. Well, we are called to do more than talk about it we are commanded to go and make disciples. We are not called to make church members or any other such thing; we are called to make disciples. But before we can make disciples, we have to be disciples. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ means that we accept all of the consequences of following Jesus and walking in his will and his way. Being disciples also means that we have to make a definite decision; we cannot be wishy-washy if we are going to be disciples.

Three times in this passage, Jesus says that without a definite decision, a person cannot be a disciple. First, Jesus requires us to hate parents, spouse, children, siblings, and even your own life. Now stay with me here. Second, Jesus commands carrying your cross and following him. Third, he demands the giving up of all possessions. If we soften the word “hate,” just a little Jesus still leaves us with the requirement that we put all of our relationships second to him and his will. Being a true disciple is not an easy task; in fact, it is and will be a significant challenge.

To help us come to terms with that this “call of obedience” means for us today, we shall turn to what John Calvin has to say on the matter. I am not always a fan of Calvin, but I think he hits the mark on this one. Calvin offers a way of understanding the Christian life that will not seem a burden but will be liberating.

For Calvin, the Christin should understand their life from four implications of the teachings of Jesus; self-denial, cross-bearing, meditation on eternal life, and the proper use of the gifts of God in daily life.

1. Self-denial, Calvin’s interpretation is not bent on self-destruction as it would first seem, the denial of self, for Calvin, is the way Jesus offers us freedom from selfishness and the “deadly pestilence of a love of strife and love of self.” Denial of self is the escape from selfishness. Be able to deny one’s self enables one to dedicate their whole self to God and seek those things that are God’s will in our lives and not our will. The person who cannot give up the love of self is not truly able to love God and love neighbor, but, on the other hand, if we deny self, this makes room for the love of God and neighbor to flourish. Calvin is not saying we should hate ourselves, far from it, Calvin, and Jesus, are saying we have to be able to put others first in our lives.

2. Cross bearing; this idea of Cross bearing is figurative. Jesus is not asking us to find some wood, bang it together, and start carrying it around over our shoulder. Being able to bear our cross enables us to face suffering. To take our cross means to obey God even in our pain and loss, in meeting the trials and tribulations, and griefs of our lives. Calvin teaches that the Cross of Christ is healing medicine for the diseases and injuries of life, punishment, and correction for our mistakes in life, and comfort when we are persecuted because we stand with God’s justice. The Cross of Christ should bring us cheer, honesty to acknowledge our hurt, and freedom from bitterness.

3. Meditation on Eternal Life; this meditation enables us to contemplate the mystery and sense of wonder about the promise for human beings in the resurrection from the dead. We have lost mystery in our world and especially in the church. We can, or at least we try to explain everything. We attempt, in our human mind, to make sense of things that have no understanding, but Jesus is asking us to be okay with that and ruminate on it. We do not know how, but we all share in the resurrection of Christ. I believe that we will all see each other again, and for some that will be heaven and for others, well, not so much.

4. Proper use of the gifts of God in everyday life; Calvin would counsel simplicity of life in a way that enables us to understand that our earthly life is a pilgrimage and we should only carry what we absolutely need. There seems to be a push back these days from the accumulation of things. It might be a slight push back, but it is a push back. The world tells us we are successful when we accumulate stuff. The big house, the fancy car, etc. But how much is enough? When the rich man came to Jesus and asked him what he had to do to enter eternal life, Jesus told him to go and sell all that he had. The man was greatly distressed by this; Scripture tells us because he had many possessions. Jesus knew that it was the man’s possessions that kept him from truly following God.

Scripture tells us that if we have two coats and our neighbor has none, we are to give him one of ours. It’s okay to have stuff but is our stuff keeping us from following God’s will? Are we so distracted by our stuff and the hours we have to work to maintain our stuff, keeping us from noticing that others need our help? When does the physical church become so great a burden that maintaining it becomes a distraction from the mission to go, do, seek, make, feed, clothe, visit and all of the other things we are commanded to do as followers of Jesus?

I started by saying that being a disciple is a challenge. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ requires us to be counter-cultural; it requires us to stand up when everyone else is sitting down. Being a disciple means we have to have the mind of Christ in all things and think and act the way Christ wants us to think and act. Being a disciples means we have to put others first and yes, we have to love our neighbor and care for those less fortunate then we are without qualification or conditions. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ means we have to take stands on issues that may cost us friends, relatives, and maybe our very lives. All of this is what it means to say yes to the call to come and follow me.

Romans 12:3-8

Paul loves this image of the church being a body. Each part of the body carries out its own function, sometimes that function is supported by the other members, and sometimes it is not. But, either way, each part has a role, and when it all works together, it is excellent.

Paul lays out some rules, as he usually does, in this passage, and it is worth taking a look at them.  First, Paul urges us to know ourselves. We cannot get very far in the world if we do not know what we can and what we cannot do. We have to have an honest assessment of our capabilities, and we have to do this without conceit and false modesty.

Second, Paul urges us to accept ourselves and use the gift that God has given to us. I guess we first have to figure out what that gift is, but once we do, we have to use it. We cannot, and should not, envy what other people’s gifts are.  I would love to be able to play the piano, but that is not my gift, and I should not be envious of people who can. I mean, I have lots of free time, and they have to practice. By accepting ourselves as we are and where we are might mean that our gift is something that no one notices. We might always be behind the scenes doing our thing and never getting seen. But, having people behind the scenes is as important as having folks in front. Paul is saying that we must accept our position even if what we do is unseen and goes without acknowledgment.  Sure, it is helpful to be thanked and acknowledged for what we do and the contribution we make, but if we are doing it just to be publicly thanked, we are doing it for the wrong reason.

Third, Paul is saying that whatever the gift is we have come from God. Paul calls these gifts charismata, and in the language of the New Testament, this is something given to us that we could have acquired on our own. For example, I might be able to play the piano, I took lessons for a few years, but I was not very good at it.  I could read the music and play the notes, but I could not make the music. But the one who can make the music has the charismata, the gift from God to make music. Each of us has our charismata, and it is that which is given to us from God.

Fourth, and this ties back into something I have already said, we each have a gift, but we should not use that gift for our prestige, but it should be our duty to use that gift for the common good. Now, I am speaking of the life of the church here, no life outside the church that is a different conversation. So, we use our gift for the betterment of the House of God.

Now we must turn to the gifts that Paul mentions.

The gift of prophecy. Rarely does prophecy in the New Testament have to with foretelling the future. Usually, prophecy, in a New Testament context, has to do with forth-telling the word of God. The prophet is the one who can announce the Christian message with the authority of one who knows. Now, some think they know, and some know.  Many are called, but few are chosen.  I hear people all the time say that God has called them, and I have no doubt that they believe that. But, God calls, and the church confirms that call. God indeed equips those he calls, that is why we have seminaries and other schools where preachers and teachers study.  It has always amazed me that we will not trust a medical professional that is not licensed and insured. A medical professional that has not gone through years of schooling and other training. We would not go to a surgeon for an operation who flunked out of medical school but decided that they were “called” to be a surgeon. But, we are willing to follow anyone who says that God has called them to preach.  Anyone can say they are a preacher, that does not mean they are. God calls, and we have to equip those he calls.

There is the gift of practical service, what Paul calls Diakonia, which is where we get the word Deacon from. Deacons were those chosen to serve at the table. The ministry of the Deacon is the ministry of service.  We may not all be called to preach in the church, but there are many other ways that we can be called to serve — driving someone to an appointment — sitting with someone who has just lost a loved one. Setting up the tables and chairs in the hall. Baking cookies for coffee hour. Praying for people. All of these are what Paul would call practical service. We show other the love of Christ by doing simple things for others.

The gift of teaching. The Christian message not only needs to be proclaimed it needs to be explained. If we do not explain, we have no hope of proclamation that will change lives.

Close to the gift of teaching is that of exhortation. Exhortation should be encouraging, not frightening. For far too long, we have brought people to church out of fear. People were afraid they would go to hell, and so they came to church and did whatever the person in front told them to do. As one can imagine, this led to all sorts of abuse, not only physically but psychologically and theologically. Real exhortation aims not so much at dangling a person over the flames of hell as spurring them on to the joys that we find in our life with Christ.

Leadership is another of the gifts Paul mentions. If leadership is to be taken up, it is to be taken up with zeal. We all know that fewer and fewer people are stepping forward to lead in the church. It has been said that 80% of the work is done by 20% of the people and that number is getting older and smaller each year. One of the roles of church leadership is to encourage, train, and equip the leaders of tomorrow.  All of us in any leadership position should be looking for our replacement. We cannot wait for people to come forward; we need to seek them out.

In the end, Paul speaks of mercy, and we must show that mercy with gracious cheerfulness. If we must forgive, and you know how I feel about forgiveness, then we must remember that we are also in need of forgiveness.  “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” We must forgive as we would like to be forgiven. I have said this before; forgiveness is not for the other person; forgiveness is for us. By offering forgiveness, we take back power over our lives, and by withholding that forgiveness, we allow the other to have that control. But we must forgive with graciousness and not hold it over another’s head. If the body is to function correctly, then all of the bits must work together and function together. When one is struggling the others come and help. We all have our function, but if we function together, things work better.

Romans 12:1-2

We hear a lot about sacrifice these days; in fact, I believe the word sacrifice is as overused as the word hero is in today’s language. It seems everyone is a hero for just doing their job, and everyone is making a sacrifice for this or that thing. But are we truly making a sacrifice or are we only fitting it into our schedule?

I always like to start with the definition of a word, so we have a common base to work from so, according to the dictionary sacrifice has three possible meanings;

1. an act of slaughtering an animal or person or surrendering a possession as an offering to God or a divine or supernatural figure.

2. an animal, person, or object offered in a sacrifice.

3. an act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else regarded as more important or worthy.

As to the first meaning: In Jewish ritual law, one had to sacrifice an animal in atonement for your sins. The size of the animal was directly related to the size of the sin, the greater the animal, the greater the sin. Outside of the temple, there would be all sorts of people selling all kinds of animals that would be taken into the temple, ritually killed, and burned on the altar. As Christians, we believe that the final sacrifice was that of Jesus Christ on the Cross, he was, and is, the lamb that was slain and so there is no need for the further sacrifice of this type. It was said that the smoke from the burning sacrifice was pleasing to God, and thus pleasing God, or sins were forgiven.

However, the second part of the first meaning makes mention of surrendering a possession as an offering to God; in other words, a tithe of time, talent, or treasure. But is it a real sacrifice, or is it just something that we do? We do not want to make ourselves destitute, but at the same time, it should hurt just a little.

As to the second meaning: It ties in with the first but not in a ritual way. Native cultures would often thank the animal after it was killed to be used for food. They thank the animal, and its spirit, for the sacrifice of the animal’s life that the hunter may live and provide food for their table. How many of us think of this when we sit down to a nice steak or another form of meat that has been provided for us. The meat did not fall from the sky or appear by some magic in the supermarket; it was attached to a living, breathing, being, created by God, and it deserves our respect and honor.

As to the third meaning: This is more in line with what Paul is writing to the Jewish Christians in his letter.

Paul always grounds his letters in practical advice for those he is writing to. He tackles some pretty heavy theology in his epistles, but in the end, he brings us round to the practical. As preachers this is what we are supposed to do, we can tackle heavy theology, but if I do not bring it around to application in our lives, it is just lecture of sorts and may be of no use. Your job is to find that application and then, apply it to your life.

Paul is telling them to “Present your body to God as a living sacrifice.” To the Greeks, this was a strange idea because the spirit was the highest form, not the body. The body was the vessel that held the spirit. The body would give way, but the spirit was eternal. So, just as Jesus was causing a stir in thinking, now Paul is doing the same thing. For Christians, the body belongs to God just as much as the soul does, and we can serve God with our physical body, our mind, and our soul.

The body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and the instrument through which the Holy Spirit works in the world. It has been said that we are the hands and feet of Christ, and that is meant in the physical sense. But, more importantly, the Incarnation of God becoming a man in the person of Jesus Christ means that it was not beneath God to take on human form and to live and work through that human form.

So what Paul is saying is that we present our body, our whole being to God and everything we do should be pleasing to God. We worship God by being the best we can be at whatever it is we are called to be. If our job is to stock shelves or bag groceries, we bring worship, honor, and praise to God by being the best at it. If our job is to teach, preach, sing, dance, garden, or whatever it is, then we are to be the best at it, and by being the best, we bring honor, glory, and worship to God.

The Greek word that Paul uses for worship means a voluntary undertaking; it means to serve but not in a way that would make one a slave but something that one would give their whole life to. It also means to give your life in the service of the gods; this is not human service but rather service to God.

True worship is the offering to God of one’s body, and all that one does every day with it. Real worship is not the offering to God of liturgy, and ritual. Authentic worship is the offering of everyday life to God, not something transacted in a church, but something that enables us to see the entire world as the temple of God.  As much as we are to say, “I am going to church to worship God,” we must also be able to say, “I am going to work, to school, to the park, to the beach, to my job, to worship God.”

This is a radical change. Paul goes on to say that we must not be conformed to the world but must be transformed from it. Paul uses two Greek words that are almost untranslatable to English. One word means the outward form, the appearance that we have that changes from day to day. I do not know about you, but I do not look the same today as I did a year ago, five years ago, or 20 years ago. We change. We dress differently depending on the situation we find ourselves in.

But the word Paul uses for transform is not about the external but the internal. Paul says that for us genuinely worship God; we have to undergo and transformation, not of our external expressing but our internal one. We must change our life from that dominated by the world and what the world expects of us, and we must conform to what God expects of us and have the mind of Christ. Once we have allowed this transformation to begin, we no longer live a self-centered life we now live a Christ-centered life, and this must happen by a renewal of our mind and how we think about the world and how we feel about others. When we allow Christ into our lives when we sacrifice what we want for what Christ wants of us, we become new beings. When Christ becomes the center of our lives, we can then present real worship, not just the worship contained in the four walls of the church but true worship of all of God’s creation and our lives will truly become a living sacrifice to God.

Philippians 4:8-9

There is an awful lot packed into a few lines of text, and it might take us some time to unpack it all This is a clear case of drilling down past the surface of a passage to get to the heart of the matter.

What Paul is telling those in his church in Philippi is that they need to set their minds on the right things in life. A good attitude does wonders for the soul. It has been said that in large part anyway, a positive mind help aid in the healing of the body. If one believes they will overcome, then they will overcome. In philosophical, and maybe psychological terms as well, if someone thinks something long enough for them, it becomes the truth, and it is challenging to extricate them from that thought. What Paul is saying is that it is of the utmost importance that we set our thoughts on the beautiful and useful things, and thankfully, Paul leaves us with a list of those beautiful things.

Whatever things are true: Many things in this world are not accurate or only half correct. We live in a world where if we disagree with something, we call it fake news and move on. We are quick to believe the things that fit within our pattern of thinking rather than having the ability to expand our thoughts as new information becomes available. Just because something was one way at one point does not mean that things are the same now. Sure, there are absolute truths, but those can be rare. We need a discerning heart and mind, and some help from the Holy Spirit, to get us to what the truth is.

Whatever things are noble; some translations use the word honest, honorable, and venerable. There are all these choices because the original Greek word is difficult to translate. It is the word that is characteristically used to describe temples and gods. When applied to describe a person, it is as if the person moves throughout the world as if it were a temple of God. But what the word describes is, that which has the dignity of holiness upon it. There are things in this world that are foolish and things of this world that are serious, and the Christian should be more concerned about the serious, but it is okay to have a little of the foolish now and again as well.

Whatever things are just; the Greek word used here can be translated as duty faced and duty done. The Christian’s first thought should always be on their duty to God. Sure, one can be patriotic, and all that but their first and only allegiance is to God, everything else comes secondary to that.

Whatever is pure; another difficult Greek word to translate, but when used ceremonially, it describes those things that have been cleansed and set apart for the ceremony. It describes those things that are fit to be brought into the very presence of God. Remember that Jewish liturgical practice was that only one man, the high priest, was allowed to enter into the Holy of Holies. So sacred was this place that a rope was tied to him, so if something happened, they could pull him out rather than go in after him. Paul is using this to describe those things that are morally undefiled. So, our thoughts and our actions should be such that they could be brought into the very presence of God. This is not just church time of course but in all of our speech and interactions with others in what we say and in what we Tweet.

Whatever is pleasing; or, as in other translations, whatever is lovely or that which calls forth love. There are those people who have their mind so set on vengeance and punishment that all they call forth is bitterness and fear in others. There are those whose mind is so set on criticism and rebuke that they call forth resentment in others. But the mind of the Christian should be set on the lovely things such as; kindness, sympathy, and forbearance. In other words, love your neighbor!

Paul reminds them to “do the things they have learned.” He is telling them that he taught them all of this and they need to remember what they learned. There are two ways to look at theological teaching there are those doctrines that the church puts forward and then we, and by we, I mean me and you, we have to take those doctrines and run them through the lenses of our lives and our teaching. We cannot just take things on face value we need to understand where they came from and how we came about them. But, we also need not fear to adapt or changing the way we think about things. As I mentioned before, just because we have always done it that way does not make it right.

Finally, Paul tells them that if they are faithful, God will remain with them. Paul calls God the God of Peace. This is Paul’s favorite title for God he uses it in almost all of his writings. To the Jew, and Paul, peace was never just the absence of trouble; it was everything that makes for a person’s higher good. Only in friendship with God can we live to our full potential as humanity was supposed to be lived. Again, for the Jew, this peace came from the right relationships not only with God but with other human beings. It is only by God’s amazing grace that we can enter into these right relationships with God and others. We must strive, every day, to live in harmony with other human beings and that means we must strive to understand them, respect them, and honor the divinity that is inside each of them, even if, especially if we disagree with them. For Paul, the command to love others is not just a nice Hallmark card kind of sentiment; it is at the heart of what it means to be a Christian. If we cannot honestly look at another human being and show them the love and respect they deserve as fellow human beings, then we have no right to call ourselves Christians, bottom line, end of the story. That is indeed the peace of God, which passes all understanding.

Luke 10:39-42

A recent article published on one of the church growth websites I frequent focused on some of the reason churches close. The report stated that some 300 churches, of various denominations, close each year and about the same number are on life support and will close their doors in the next three to five years. The article cited example after example of churches that, only a few years before, were thriving ministry centers and reaching out to the needs of their communities. All of the example churches cited had one thing in common; they turned their attention inward and stopped looking outward. They started to care more about meeting the needs of their present membership and less about the needs of those around them. They began to focus more on what it takes to keep the institution going, money, and less about what was needed just outside the doors of the church, love, compassion, and yes, a little Jesus.

Any organization be it church or business that loses its focus will not last long, and churches especially have to be ever vigilant in their duty to serve humanity rather than their own needs. This is challenging in the 21st-century world that is continuously changing. The church, any church, has never been good at change. Some churches have “we’ve always done it that way” emblazoned in their stained-glass windows, I’m joking of course but if not in their windows it is at least in their minds, their vision, and they thoughts.

Being an outward-looking church is not easy. Caring for others and their needs are not easy, especially when those needs continuously change, but that is what we, as the church, are called to do. If we do not open our doors and lookout and go out, no one will ever come in.

But with that said, we cannot focus on ministry, I mean, who is going to pay for it?  I am a realist, and as much as I would like to think we can do everything we feel called to unless we have someone to pay for it, it’s not going to happen. The 21st-century world is expensive and if we hope to be one of the churches that survive we need to strike a balance between the sacred and the secular or what is called in church work the holy and the profane.

We see a glimpse of this in the Gospel we heard read tonight. The story of Mary and Martha is more than just a tale of two sisters; it is the story of the church and how we are to find balance in everything we do. We need the Mary’s, and we need the Martha’s!

We have tonight, the story of Martha and Mary. We have seen them before, and perhaps you remember that they are the sisters of Lazarus whom Jesus would rise from the dead. I believe this to be their first introduction to Jesus, and the friendship builds from here. I also find it interesting that there is no mention of Lazarus, I guess Luke and the others were saving him for a much more significant role later in the story.

Jesus always found rest and refreshment in Bethany. He would often go there after a particularly tricky ministry period. He would stay there for a while to just rest, be with friends, and regain his strength for the mission ahead of him. On this trip, he is staying with Mary and Martha, and we find Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus taking in all that he has to say. She is hanging on every word, soaking it all in. Then, Martha enters the room. She has been slaving over the visitors the entire time, by herself and she has reached her limit to what she can take.

Martha comes in and challenges Jesus and tells him to tell Mary to get off her duff and get back to work. But Jesus cautions Martha and tells her not to worry about so many things for she is being distracted from ministry. What Jesus is not saying, although it certainly sounds like he is, that what Mary is doing is more important than what Martha is doing. What he is saying is we cannot always be worried about the worldly things, yes, we need to be concerned about them, but our focus needs to be on the spiritual as well.

The fear is that churches will be run without any sense of the Holy. In our constant desire for money and other such things, we lose God in it all when God should be first in everything and the prime mover of everything that we do. We should not start or stop anything in the church, without the guidance of God.

When the church is led to position itself at the feet of Christ, reading scripture, asking after its meaning, listening to fabulous sermons, and wrestling like Jacob for God’s blessing even those nitty-gritty details will take care of themselves. The setting for this story is home as a reminder that every pastoral call is potentially an occasion to listen for God’s word or to participate in the drawing near of God’s kingdom.

Some of the more profound moments in ministry begin when we join a dinner party where an off the cuff question provides the opening for a conversation about life’s meaning and purpose. The same can happen when we enter a hospital room or another setting where ministry can take place.

But there is also a necessity for work to take place. We would not have that dinner on the table if we did not have Martha’s in the kitchen. We would not have this beautiful spot to be tonight if we did not have Martha’s who clean, paint, move furniture and all the like. So important was the ministry of serving that the early church, as noted in Acts, appointed seven to serve at the table to free up the Apostles for ministry.

The result of the article I mentioned earlier was the healthy churches find balance in all things ministry related. Just like we need to find balance in our lives between the physical, the mental, and the spiritual, the church also needs to find that balance, and it is up to the leadership to continually strive to find that balance.