(Luke 14.25-33)

25-27One day when large groups of people were walking along with him, Jesus turned and told them, "Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters—yes, even one's own self!—can't be my disciple. Anyone who won't shoulder his own cross and follow behind me can't be my disciple.
28-30"Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesn't first sit down and figure the cost so you'll know if you can complete it? If you only get the foundation laid and then run out of money, you're going to look pretty foolish. Everyone passing by will poke fun at you: 'He started something he couldn't finish.'
31-32"Or can you imagine a king going into battle against another king without first deciding whether it is possible with his ten thousand troops to face the twenty thousand troops of the other? And if he decides he can't, won't he send an emissary and work out a truce?
33"Simply put, if you're not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can't be my disciple.

There are always choices in what you want to do and how you want to live your life.

Do you prefer to stay up late or get to bed early?
Do you prefer cereal or toast for your breakfast?
Do you have a television in your bedroom – yes or no?
Do you prefer soap opera or reality TV?
Do you prefer a quiet evening in or a night out?
Do you wake up in the morning to the radio or to an alarm clock?

Which one out of Barry and I work on Christmas day?

1. Which one out of Barry and I got married with the price tag on the bottom of a new pair of shoes?
2. Which one out of Barry and I have the second biggest head that Moss Bross have ever had to deal with?
3. Which one out of Barry and I eat with our fork in our right hand even though we are right handed?
4. Which one out of Barry and I buy the Sun newspaper daily?

On the surface, in these three statements, it seems that Jesus is going out of his way to repel disciples, not make them. Could I ever persuade you, on the terms of what is set out here, to follow a course of action where the benefits are not immediately apparent and the fall out is difficult and painful? It doesn’t sound like a winning formula for church growth. Why would you want to sign up for something with such clearly unattractive fringe benefits? Of the remaining eleven apostles, after Judas committed suicide, ten gave their lives in martyrdom. Only John lived into old age, dying (tradition says) in his 90’s. But even he suffered intense persecution for his testimony. The Apostle Paul was beheaded in Rome.

Where does this type of sentiment fit into our risk averse urban culture where we try to live within our own comfort zone and do their utmost to avoid challenging or threatening circumstances? We live in a time of ‘cheap grace’ (Bonhoeffer), and easy believism. I am no different to any one else; I fall into exactly this way of thinking - the reasons that I use to persuade people to come to church are generally more to do with emotional wellbeing, being a part of a wider community something interesting than it is by sacrifice and service. Sometimes I long to put my hands on someone’s shoulder, look into their eyes and say to them ‘come to church for no other reason than because it is true’.

Jesus is not asking us to hate our families whatever the passage might say. The words have a different timbre in Jesus’ culture to how we might interpret them. When a passage appears paradoxical as this one does, then we can use scripture to interpret Scripture:

If anyone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.”

When Jesus uses the word 'hate', he is just saying in a dramatic way, and in Semitic style, that he expects his disciples to be committed to him to the extent of being prepared to turn away from their families if they try to block their discipleship. It would be self-evident for many people that if someone in their family did want to stop them doing something that was deep in their heart then they would feel frustration, even to a point of estrangement.

Some of the people listening are in the category of the merely interested; they are a part of the crowd of people surrounding Jesus. They will listen with interest if Jesus is passing through but are not going to look him out. They are not going to risk alienating their family. Some people have been captivated by Jesus’ message and they want to know more.

Everyone has their own agenda in coming to Jesus: Some were hoping for healing. Some were political activists looking for a liberator. Some were merely curious, as people tend to be when some new movement arises. But some, some considered themselves Jesus’ followers, his disciples: not simply the Twelve disciples that Jesus had chosen larger group outside of the Twelve (See, for example, Luke 6:13,17,20). Exactly what they believed about Jesus is not clear. But in some sense they had committed themselves to being students and followers of Jesus. They considered themselves disciples. Still others in the great crowds that followed Jesus on this day were thinking about becoming his disciples.

Are you one of the disciples or one of the crowd? What he says here only makes sense if we suppose that he is speaking to those who genuinely want to be his disciples. Jesus deliberately does not present discipleship as easy, or even attractive.

Mother Teresa, the ultimate, disciple, suffered agonies of doubt and felt huge swathes of loneliness and emptiness. Discipleship was her giving up herself: she once wrote: "I am told God loves me -- and yet the reality of darkness & coldness & emptiness is so great that nothing touches my soul."

So it is only logical for Jesus to say, in effect: don't rush into becoming one of my disciples, think about it. He uses the image of a Tower Block – don’t start a major building project unless you are fairly sure of having enough money to finish it. Constructing a whole life is a much more important and potentially much costlier project than building a tower, so think carefully about whether you have what it takes to live that life, and whether you are really prepared to pay what it may cost - enthusiasm alone is not enough. As Christians we are asked to act intelligently, thinking realistically about our situation and behave accordingly, rather than rushing in blindly armed with no more than good intentions. Are you one of the disciples or one of the crowd?