Lectionary Reading from Luke 14:25-33 (NRSV)
Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them, "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. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 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? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' Or 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? If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.
Freedom to Follow
In the above scripture we have several hard sayings of Jesus. Most of those sayings reflect that Jesus had a knack for seeing when crowds followed him simply to be part of the new “in” thing. Periodically therefore, he stops them dead in their tracks and forces their realization of what being a follower entailed. In fairly short order, he makes clear that his mission for God’s Peaceable Kingdom involves dire costs. In detailing those costs he pointedly says that nothing else in life can matter as much as the Peaceable Kingdom cause. Secondly, one must willing give up all one owns in pursuit of the cause. Lastly, the cause will require that one loves the mission for the Peaceable Kingdom more than one’s own life. It should be no surprise then to any of us that if we say those things with our backs to the crowd and then turn around, few if any will remain to see the cause through to fulfillment, especially in our day and time. Most will prefer to hang on to the possessions they have and keep to the routine that has defined their lives day in and day out, year after year, decade upon decade.
Some of us might reason that in Jesus time it was easier to drop everything and follow him and go wherever the Peaceable Kingdom mission might take a person. Most of humanity at that time had very little. Most everyone was poor. Having little more than the clothes on your back and a few possessions that could fit in a small satchel or backpack or be bundled onto the back of a donkey actually made for a kind of freedom. It’s a kind of freedom few of us have today if we reside in one of the world’s more affluent societies. In terms of North America and trying to live out such a freedom, it may sound intriguing and interesting, but how would one do it?
Recently, I daydreamed and then suggested such a possibility to my wife. Given that my current ministry in estate planning covers an eleven state region in the western United States, I pretty much determine what I need to be doing and where I need to be doing it and when I need to be in that particular. So I suggested selling the house, buying a modest RV, getting rid of most of our possessions, storing the rest, my wife quitting her job, us hitting the road, and her writing “the Great American Novel” which has long been one of her dreams. It was there and then that I first heard the phrase from her lips “nomadic lifestyle” followed by “no”. By and large, it was a repeat lesson for me in terms of two things in our marriage. My wife prefers to set down roots in a community and stay there. Secondly, she utterly detests RVs (or Road Whales as some call the vehicles) as she considers them an extravagance and poor investment and not good for the environment. Humorously, we’ve come refer to RVs and the nomadic lifestyle as marriage “deal breakers.”
Despite those realities, we think however that some degree of giving up possessions has sunk in for us. In striving to live more simply and with greater harmony toward the scripture above, we have the house up for sale. If the housing market ever recovers, we hope to downsize into a home half the size of what we have now. We anticipate the extra income will allow us to better support good works for the cause of God’s Peaceable Kingdom, perhaps even retirement travel (no RVs of course) to assist in worthy efforts such as Habitat for Humanity projects. In essence as we age, we increasingly turn to the question of legacy and what our legacy will be, especially the legacy we leave to our two daughters. Will it be that we simply looked after and tended to our own wants and needs and comforts? Or did we do something demonstrative, something selfless and wholly for others that eased their struggles and gave their lives dignity as God would have things be for every living soul in the Peaceable Kingdom.
Watching the movie “Syriana” this past week I had to question if the legacy we’re considering is enough in a world so driven and corrupted by greed, self absorption, lust for power, and satisfying narcissistic needs. Perhaps it is, perhaps it isn’t. After all, my wife and I are but two insignificant souls out of billions who live upon on this planet. Who are we to matter, who are any of us to matter? Yet Jesus makes clear that we do matter and we can impact the world around us tremendously but only to the extent that we willingly turn loose of the things that keep us in bondage to who or what wants control over us. In that regard, Syriana is a painful movie involving heartbreaking lessons about what matters most and then having the courage to pursue it. It provides a sense of that struggle from a position of great wealth and power but also from the position of living in grinding poverty and being considered expendable. If a person isn’t incensed by the end of the movie and willing to stand firm with Jesus or whatever great teacher or prophet one follows for the cause of God’s Day of Peace for all, then that individual needs to watch Syriana again and again until the message of peace and justice and generosity toward all sinks in.
May you and I be persons for whom the message sinks in; may we be numbered among those who find the freedom to follow – the freedom to remain committed to God’s great cause even after hearing the hard things Jesus had to say. Such is my prayer, my hope for you.
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