Reflection on Luke 16:19-31

 

It is so easy to get distracted from what is truly important in this parable about the rich man and the poor man, Lazarus.  If you are anything like me, I get distracted because of where the rich man ends up in the story after he dies.  The story reads:

 “The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham.”  The rich man also died and was buried.  In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side.  He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger is water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.’”

These verses immediately fire up my imagination and I think of the images of hell as depicted in Dante’s Inferno.  Dante’s Inferno of course is the poem which inspired many artists to paint images of hell containing demons dragging people beneath the ground into the searing fire below, and people being strapped to medieval torture devices all while suffering intense heat. 

If I were in one of those really big churches, I would throw up on the screen a picture of Michelangelo’s “Last Judgment” which is found covering an entire wall in the Sistine Chapel.  Had I the technological capabilities, I would zoom in to show you the bottom of the painting which depicts shocking images of the devil peering out from the flames as his minions yank people by the hair, bite their flesh, and rip people out of loved ones arms in order to drag them down to the fiery pits.  However, I am not the pastor of a huge church with large multi-media displays, so you get this (a page of clip art with the devil and fire).  Scary!  I know!

But I have to tell you that all of this hell imagery is a distraction which does not allow us to see the true meaning of this parable.  I would like to point out that this image of the devil and the fires of hell that are so clear in our minds today are not derived from the Bible, but are primarily derived from Dante’s 14^th century poem.

Now, fire does show up in the Bible, but mostly when it shows up, it is not about some sort of eternal punishment.  Rather, fire is used in the Bible to bring about God’s justice.  Think about the sulfur and fire that God rains down to burn the evil cities of Sodom and Gomorra.   And, the fire of God’s justice in Amos seems to make the same point as Jesus does in this parable.  Amos says, “Seek the Lord and live, or he will break out against the house of Joseph like fire, and it will devour Bethel, with no one to quench it” (Amos 5:6).  And, why would this fire of justice come?  Amos continues:

“Therefore, because you trample on the poor and take from them levies of grain, you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not live in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine. For I know how many are your transgressions, and how great are your sins— you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe, and push aside the needy in the gate” (Amos 5:11-12).

Now, that all sounds vaguely familiar: images of a fire of justice, rich men trampling on the poor and pushing aside the needy at the gate.  This sounds almost exactly like a story that you may have heard about two minutes ago.  It is a story about a poor guy who is brought to the gate of a rich man, who simply seeks scraps of food. 

Now, in the time of Jesus, rich people would build benches outside the gates of their homes and the poor would come and sit on these benches, waiting for some scraps of food from the rich people inside. 

Why would the rich build these benches you might ask?  After-all, we are used to seeing spikes upon gates and under city overhangs in order to repel those who are poor from camping out. 

In Jesus’ time, having the community see how good and honorable you are as you hand out scraps of food to the poor went a long way to prop up your social credibility.  It was the ancient form of posting videos of your good deeds on social media today.  This charity was absolutely self-serving, but at least the poor were being helped.  Obviously, not everyone helped in this way.

Jesus tells a parable (which you may remember is a made up story designed to prove a point) of a guy who does exactly what Amos warns us not to do.  This rich man pushes “aside the needy in the gate.”  And, because the rich man pushes aside the needy in the gate, he encounters God’s fire of justice. 

Again, it is easy to get distracted here.  I, regrettably, have ignored plenty of poor people in my life, and the images of those flames get personal quite quickly.  “They’re just going to use the money for booze,” I think to myself, and I imagine the fire is lit.  “I don’t have the time to deal with them right now,” I think to myself, and I imagine I am starting to sweat.  “They’re just lazy, they need to get a job,” I convince myself, and I imagine the demons pulling me down into the punishing fire like in the medieval paintings. 

I want to remind you though that in the Bible the image that we see as hell has long served as a metaphor to point to a deeper truth.  Take one of the most common terms in the New Testament that we translate as “hell,” Gehenna.  Not to be confused to Gahanna, Ohio, which I am sure is quite lovely. “Where are you from?”  “Oh, I’m from Hell, Ohio.”  No, no not confuse these.  Gehenna which is often translated as “Hades” or “Hell” in a lot of your Bibles, was actually a very real place in this life.  It was a valley (also known as the valley of Hinnom) located just southwest of Jerusalem.  It is where Jeremiah says that children were thrown into fire and sacrificed by kings.  I know; scary stuff.  In Jesus’ times, Gehenna was a trash pile full of scraps and carcasses which were perpetually burning, flames and ash rising into the sky.  This fiery pit served as a perfect metaphor, a perfect sermon illustration, for God’s justice.

You can still visit the holy land and see Gehenna today.  Today it is a beautiful valley where people take leisurely strolls.  Young people in love take selfies of themselves…in hell.  But, it was far from a lush paradise in Jesus’ time.  Instead, the burning trash heap was used as an image of what it is like to encounter the fire of God’s justice.  In other words, “Hell” was a metaphor. 

Now, “Hades,” is the term used in our story.  It was the Roman place where all the dead went.  Good or bad, you went to Hades.  But what is really, really interesting in our story today, is the word for “torment” which is paired with Hades.  The Bible reads, “In Hades, where he was being tormented…”  Now the Greek word for “torment” here is the word that means, “touchstone.”  A touchstone is a stone that you would rub on gold or silver to test the purity of the gold or silver.  The touchstone would tell the truth about the precious metal. 

The word was later used to indicate a torture device (thus the medieval paintings of torture devices in hell, I guess).  This development in the language actually makes sense because a torture devise is not used to kill; it is used to get someone to tell the truth.  The word for “torment” here is about getting at the truth.  Justice is about getting at the truth: the truth about the situation, and the truth about ourselves. 

Now, we are getting somewhere in understanding this parable, because the one thing that the rich man simply cannot allow himself to see is “the truth.”  Every single day the rich man feasted sumptuously, and every single day he seemingly could not see the poor man who was brought to his gate for help, who was covered with sores, who could not possibly be missed because the dogs would be there licking his sores.  The guy was a scrap, asking for scraps, but only the dogs were fed.  Now, after the rich man dies, goes to Hades, and finds himself tormented by fires intended to get him to face the truth.  He looks up and sees Abraham with Lazarus who also died.  He asks Abraham to send Lazarus to serve him some water. 

Seriously?  Even now, in the fires of justice, he is still so full of himself, that he cannot see Lazarus as anything but a slave.  He even knows Lazarus’ name.  Did you catch that?  He knew Lazarus by name, and still he never helped the poor guy.  He is so full of himself!

Abraham lays out the situation perfectly: there is this great chasm fixed between him and Lazarus.  The chasm is the man’s separation from love of God and love of neighbor.  He cannot see Lazarus as someone worth helping.  He cannot see the truth of how he failed to love during his lifetime.  He cannot see the truth about himself!  It is almost as if there is no hope for the guy.  His life has a fixed chasm which pushes away God and all that God cares about. 

Because, that is what hell is.  Hell is separation from God and all that God cares about.  It is not simply the place where the guy with the pitchfork lives.  Hell is all about the chasm that separates us from God and all that God loves.  Hell is being separated from God. But, I think that you know that. I think that you have probably experienced that.

Do you know what the guy never once asks?  He never asks Lazarus for forgiveness.  He is unable to see the truth about himself.  He never sees the coldness of his heart.  He never sees the excuses he allows himself.  He never sees his lack of compassion.  He never asks Lazarus for forgiveness, nor does he even talk to Lazarus! 

He never asks God for forgiveness.  He is in Hades.  He is separated from God.  He stands facing this great chasm in his heart which lacks truth and an empty hole devoid of love.  Though the fires of justice burn, he still cannot see the truth. 

But, if he could allow himself to see the truth, he would see something that is simply amazing.  He would not only see the sad truth about himself, but he would also see a man who goes to a cross to die and save a sad man like him.  He would see a man who is able to overcome death and the grave.  He would see a man who merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.  He would see a man to goes out of his way to heal and to save.  He would see the one risen from the dead, Jesus Christ.

Though the end of the parable is skeptical that someone rising from the dead could change anyone mind, Jesus still tells us this parable.  Why tell the parable if all was hopeless?  Jesus tells us the parable so that we can see.  Jesus has no desire for us to fall behind this chasm that keeps us from love and mercy.  In fact, Jesus desires more than anything that we be a people of love and mercy.  Jesus desires that we be a people of forgiveness. 

If only the man had asked Lazarus for forgiveness he would have heard the words, “I forgive you.”  How do I know?  Those who are found in the loving arms of God are instructed in the very next story that their job is to forgive.  Jesus instructs that even if the same person sins against us seven times a day, and turns back to us seven times and says, “I repent,” we must forgive. 

We are a forgiven people, and we are a people of forgiveness.  We are a people who seek forgiveness, and we are a people who grant forgiveness.  And, when repentance and forgiveness shine in the darkness, chasms vanish.

What if I told you that your job is to make chasms vanish?  What if I told you that your own chasms do not have to remain fixed in place?  What if I told you that Christ’s table of forgiveness is big enough for you?  What if I told you that other’s people’s chasms could vanish if only someone could help them see Christ’s love?  Would all the chasms vanish?  Would God need to make the table longer to fit everyone?  After-all, God’s table is not a table of scraps.  It is a feast of love and forgiveness that is big enough to everyone. 

Shout out with joy!  It is a day to vanish chasms!

Reflection on Luke 16:1-13 (from September 30th, 2019)

 

All the guy is worried about is his own survival.  But, at least that is better than what he was worried about just moments before: money. 

What are you worried about? 

I only ask because it is your worry that will control your life.  The dishonest manager is a clear example of what I am talking about.

At one time all the dishonest manager worried about was making money.  The man had been entrusted with keeping a rich man’s estate, and I assume that he was paid well for such a role.  However, the money that he earned must have still left him craving and desiring more because the manager started to squander the rich man’s estate.  The worry and desire for more led the man to take what was not his.

It is kind of like the church secretary and her husband who just a few years back were entrusted with a church’s money.  The couple stole from that church to the tune of thousands of dollars in order to fund their vacations to the Caribbean as well as other luxuries such as all terrain vehicles to drive around their home. 

On the outside, the couple appeared to be the epitome of great church members.  They would be the ones to greet people at the door with welcoming smiles.  They would be the ones who would encourage other people to get involved with things like Sunday School and the church’s soup kitchen.  They would be the ones to enthusiastically run the stewardship program.  Wait a minute.  That should have been the first clue.  No one enthusiastically runs a church stewardship program. 

In the end, the church discovered that the church secretary, who wrote out the checks for the church, was easily able to redirect investment money into her personal account because the church president and chair of finances who oversaw all of the money just happened to be…wait for it…her husband.

The dishonest manager is like them.  At one time, money and all that money can buy was what controlled the manager’s life and his actions.  What controls your actions?  What are you worried about?

I only ask because the punch line to Jesus’ whole story is, “No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."  In other words, everyone has something that controls their life. 

Everyone has some desire or ideal that is ultimately in control of everything.  Maybe, it is being a people pleaser, and everything that you decide has everything to do with what makes family and friends happy rather than what is good or right.  Maybe, it is children, and everything that you do revolves around what the children want in life and all other considerations have been left out of the equation.  Maybe, it is your career, and all of life’s decisions revolve around what your job dictates. 

Theologian Paul Tillich calls this having an “ultimate concern.”  Each one of us is controlled by some sort of “ultimate concern” whether you are religious or not.  And, these ultimate concerns direct all of our actions and decisions in very specific ways.  The dishonest manager’s previous ultimate concern, money, caused him to squander the estate entrusted to him.  But, once he was caught in his dishonesty and the money was taken away, his ultimate concern quickly shifted to “survival.”

“What will I do now?”  The soon to be former manager asks himself in his last hours of employment.  “I’m a weakling so I can’t go and dig ditches, but I’m also above begging.”  “You know what I will do?  I will make people happy so that they will love me and want to help me out once I am thrown to the streets!” 

That is exactly what he did.  During his last hours of employment the dishonest manager continued his dishonesty and squandered his master’s property even more by forgiving those who were in debt to the master part of their indebtedness.  So, the one guy who owed the master 100 jugs of oil had his debt reduced in the books to 50.  And, the guy who owned 100 containers of wheat, with the stroke of some ink, now only owed 80.  Soon, both the manager and the rich man were viewed as gracious and merciful people by those in the community because of the guy’s dishonesty.

Listen.  Let’s be clear here.  The dishonest, former manager is not gracious and merciful.  He only cares about his own survival.  But, at least his concern about his own survival caused him to do something good.  At least his ultimate concern was no longer money because money was no longer an option.

Money can be so corrupting.  It can lead people to think that they are self-made and make them feel self-righteous. 

“I’m rich, you’re not, and you must be doing something wrong if you also are not rich.  Work harder, care about money more, and you can be rich too.” 

I know that is portrayed quite crassly, but that is how it works, right?  Money and wealth is so powerful of an ultimate concern.  I once talked with a struggling single mother who lamented, “I don’t want to care about money.  I don’t want to focus on money.  But, when you are trying to keep your children safe and fed, I am forced to focus on money all the time.  How do I get more?  How do I spend it wiser?  Where did the kids put my purse?  I don’t want money to be my god, but it is anyway.”

I get it.  I understand.  Even when you do not want to sin, you sin even more.  The Apostle Paul has a lot to say about that in Romans, chapter 7, “I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do…I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand.”

But, do not forget that the dishonest manager is commended for at least choosing to help someone through his dishonesty rather than hurt someone.  What I mean to say is: Jesus is able to take your less than honorable concerns and turn them in a way that serves him.  The man’s desire for survival was used to relieve other people’s burdens in ways that his pursuit of money never did.  I guess it all comes down to who you serve.  Who do your serve? 

Serving money never leads to God.  Jesus is clear about that.  But, serving your own need to survive?  Jesus might be able to work with that and transform it.  Serving your need to keep your children safe?  Jesus might be able to work with that and transform it.  Serving your need to make others happy?  Jesus might be able to work with that also and transform that too.  Jesus is able to transform your weakness into something merciful and compassionate and good.  Jesus is able and willing to transform you.

As Paul says in Philippians 3:20-21:  “Our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.”

Jesus was a guy with no money who healed, fed, and forgave everywhere he went.  Ultimately, he gave his life on the cross to show mercy to the whole world.  His focus was in no way on money.  He never accounted for how much money his ministry of mercy needed.  Jesus just did it.  He just showed love and served those who needed him.  Jesus’ focus was entirely on God’s love.

How is that for an ultimate concern?  What if God’s love directed your every action?  What if God’s love was the final factor in your thoughts and decisions in life?  What if God’s love was the final factor in the church’s thoughts and decisions? 

Maybe, just maybe, people would find relief when they encounter you rather than stress.  Maybe, just maybe, people would find love when they encounter you rather than deception and false motivations.  Maybe, just maybe, people would find God’s love, because you have actually allowed God to fill you with that love.

Be devoted to the one who is devoted to you, even to the point of death; Jesus Christ our Lord.

Reflection on Luke 15:1-10

 

What this world needs right now is a little more joy.  Am I right?  In a nation where people are so divided in our ideals and where these differences are allowed to destroy friendships, we could use a little more joy.  With illness and death threatening our loved ones and knocking on our own doors, we could use a little more joy.  In a world that seems to be falling apart at the seams, where the world we used to know is no longer, we could use a little more joy. 

In fact, I think that it is time for a party!  It is time to go, as Jesus suggests in his parable of the banquet, out into the streets and invite everyone we see.  Are they poor?  It does not matter; there is plenty to go around.  It is time for some joy!  Are they blind?  It does not matter; music needs no eyes.  It is time for some joy!  Are they crippled or lame?  It does not matter; even those stuck in bed know how to raise their hands in celebration.  It is time for some joy! 

Are you lost from joy?  Are you a coin that has rolled into a dark place?  Are you cast away, not accepted, despised, hated, looked down upon and forgotten?  Are you forgotten?  Are you a sheep who has wandered far, far away?  Maybe, you wandered away on purpose.  Maybe, you thought being lost was your only option.  Maybe, you wandered away accidentally.  Maybe you lost touch with everyone and they lost touch with you, and your relationships slowly, faded away until you became forgotten.

Jesus has a message of good news for you this morning.  Jesus is not like everyone else.  Jesus does not forget you.  Quite the opposite, Jesus is like a woman who loses a precious coin from her headband containing her marriage dowry.  In fact, Jesus is like you when your wedding ring slips from your finger and rolls to some dark corner somewhere on the ground.  Just as you search everywhere, looking under low places, retracing steps, and enlisting help, so too Jesus searches for you.  And, just as you would jump and shout in pure joy when finding your ring, and just as you would throw a thank you party for everyone who helped search and find the lost ring, so too Jesus throws a party for everyone when he has found you.  “I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

There is joy whenever Jesus enters the room of the lost.  There is a party to be had whenever Jesus shows up.  Wherever Jesus shows up, there is joy.

So, today we ask you Lord Jesus to show up.  Find the lost people gathered here today.  Make this place a party!  Let us celebrate together because when you show up, Lord Jesus, the lost are found!

But, I have to say that kind of celebration is a major problem for lots and lots of people.  The Bible tells us, “Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to [Jesus.]  And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’”  Jesus found the lost tax collectors and sinners.  The unacceptable people of Jesus’ time were drawn to the Jesus, and Jesus was drawn to them, and this basic fact caused a lot of grumbling.

Grumbling.  In a world that Jesus wants to fill with joy, I hear a lot of grumbling and so do you.  Let us face it; I create a lot of the grumbling.  I see despicable people in the world gaining attention and even starting to thrive, and it causes me to grumble.  I see the world becoming less holy, and I start to grumble.  I see the unholy receiving accolades, and followers, and appreciation in this world, and I start to grumble. 

Do you know the one place these people should not receive accolades, and followers, and appreciation?  “In the congregation of the holy, that is where,” I say to myself.  “Sinners are not to be given praise in the presence of God’s holy congregation,” I argue to myself.  “Churches have walls and locking doors for a reason,” I convince myself.  “There needs to be at least one place where I can retreat away from the sin and craziness of the world.  It pervades our politics.  It pervades our schools.  It pervades our art.  It should not pervade the people of God,” I declare to myself.  “The common can stay common and the set apart should remain set apart.  Filthy oil and fresh water do not mix,” I justify to myself, impressed by my own scientific sounding oil and water metaphor. 

I and the Pharisees and the scribes are in complete and total agreement as we grumble together, and I secretly wish that Jesus would agree also.  In fact, as a pastor I have the power to make it sound like Jesus agrees with me.  I can denounce any sort of deviant or sinful person from this pulpit, require that they repent, and make it look like I am preserving the one, true faith.

There is only one, true problem.  The Bible says that Jesus eats and celebrates with the sinners and tax collectors.  I can yell and denounce everyone I want, but the Bible says that Jesus will just leave me behind and go out into the streets and invite the outcasts into his party.  I can yell and denounce all I want, but songs of joy will still boom above me from the angels of heaven each and every time that one of those common, unholy people, who I despise so much, encounters Jesus and repents.

Do you know what “repent” means in the Greek language (the language of the Christian scriptures)?  It does not mean “feeling really bad about yourself.”  It does not mean “begging and pleading for mercy.”  Do you want to know what it actually means?  It means “changing your mind.”  It means “starting to follow another way.”  When you throw Jesus into the picture, it means being with Jesus and allowing him to change your mind.  Repentance is being with Jesus and allowing him to change your mind.

Let me set two things straight for you this morning.  Let me “change your mind” about the world and the way that Jesus works. 

First, the Bible does not paint the world as “the rotten” verses “the Godly.”  The Bible does not paint the world as some place that used to be really, really Godly, but has now devolved into trash.  No, the Bible paints the world out there as very good.  Genesis 1:31 in your bibles reads, “God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.”  Further, the Bible simply classifies this “very good” world as “common.”  In other words, the world is simply the way that the world is.

The people of God are defined as being “holy” which means “set apart.”  We are “set apart” to be God’s representative in the world.  We are “set apart” to love all that God loves in this very good world. 

So, the state of the world is not “the rotten” verses “the Godly.”  The state of the world is: “everything that is basically good and common” mixed with those whom God “set apart” to minister to those who are good and common.

That brings me to the second thing that I want to set straight: we do not become holy only after we repent and change our minds.  Instead, we repent and change our minds because Jesus finds us.  The holy one…the one set apart one…finds us.  We are not saved because we suddenly want to change our ways, we are saved because Jesus searches and finds us.  

We are changed because a party is thrown in our honor and even the angels celebrate with exuberant joy.  I know this distinction can seem tedious, but it can mean the difference between a life of grumbling disappointment in the world, and a life of heavenly joy as we look at the world, seeing all the possibilities.  Are we set apart to be a people who grumbles against the world, or a people set apart to bring joy to the world through Jesus Christ?  I think you know the answer.

After-all, Jesus Christ has found you.  Like a coin which did nothing to be found, or a sheep who did nothing before it was found and thrown upon the shoulders like a beloved child, you have been found by Jesus Christ, and the very fact that you are in his presence is what changes your mind and life in ways that are deeply profound and holy.

It is like the foster child who was passed on from home to home because of the anger in his fists and the stomach churning feces left on the carpet in front of his foster parents’ bedroom doors.  Things started to change for him the day that a loving and devoted couple came into his life and adopted him with joy in their eyes.  They threw a party the day he entered their life forever.  Did he do anything to deserve such a gift?  No.  Did his new life filled with love change him instantly?  Not at all.  Lots of carpet cleaner had to be purchased in the years to come.  Would the kid have ever found joy and love in his life if not for the couple who found him as he was, and loved him as he was, and adopted him anyway?  Jesus finds us, and it makes a difference. 

Jesus finds you, and it makes a difference.  And, when we join Jesus Christ in this life of searching and finding, the world suddenly seems so much more filled of joy.  There is joy whenever Jesus enters the room of the lost.  There is a party to be had whenever Jesus shows up.  So, let us celebrate together because when our Lord Jesus shows up, the lost are found!

Reflection on Luke 14:25-33

 

In our popular culture we have a phrase that goes something like this, “And, it was at that time when I had my ‘coming to Jesus’ moment.”  The “coming to Jesus” that people are referring to is usually a moment of seeing the truth, or gaining some sort of clarity in life, and then finally taking a step to turn toward Jesus.  The day that I realized that Reese’s Peanut Butter cups were the thing getting in the way of me being healthy and thus becoming the person that God has created me to be could be described as a “coming to Jesus” moment.  Just a side note: that particular “coming to Jesus” moment has not really happened for me yet.  It is a theoretical “coming to Jesus” moment at this point. But if it ever does happen, you can clearly see that “coming to Jesus” moments usually have some sort of “giving up” or some sort of “loss” attached to them.

It makes me think of the story of a hard working guy, close to retirement, who devoted his life to doing well at work and supporting his family.  For weeks, as he walked to his truck to go to work, he would have to walk around to the back of the truck in order to remove the neighboring boy’s bike out from his half of a shared driveway.  It annoyed him that the bike was on his half of the drive, and he fanaticized about just running over the thing to teach the kid a lesson.  He never did, of course.  Every day he would just quietly check for the bike, move it, and grumble on his way to work.

The day of retirement finally came, and along with his day of retirement also came the deep loss of his sense of purpose.  He would walk around the house, looking for something to do to keep his mind and hands busy.  One day, as he wandered around the house in his new found state of “lostness,” (Is that a word; “Lostness?”) the man glanced out his window and saw a kid who looked to be about four or five sitting on the drive with his small bike.  Finally, able to deal with the problem, he went out to have a talk with the kid who had made the start of his working days so miserable. 

            As he approached, he heard the kid crying.

            “What’s wrong?”

            “I keep falling and my Dad is not here to teach me.”

            “Where’s your Dad?”

            The kid points up to the sky.

            ”Where’s your Mom, can’t she teach you?”

            “She’s too sad,” the boy replies.

            “I guess…I have the time to teach you.”

And, with that, God took a lost man, paired him with a lost boy, and created something new and loving.  It was the man’s “coming to Jesus” moment.  It was almost as if the man was required to give up his job and his identity in order for him to see the need of his neighbor.  Following Jesus often requires giving up something quite precious to us.

Jesus looks squarely in the eyes of us who come to him seeking to follow, and he teaches us in Luke, chapter 14, verse 33: “None of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.”  Wow.  Jesus means business with all of this giving up talk.  But, before I walk with you down Jesus’ path of giving it all up for the sake of God and for the sake of your neighbor, I want to talk with you first about the benefits.  Otherwise, it will just sound like chastising directed down upon you from the pulpit on high.  “You need to give up your alcohol for Jesus to want to be near you.”  “You need to give up the things you appreciate in life for Jesus to walk with you.”  “You need to be someone else in order for Jesus to count you in.”  That is not the message that I want you to hear. 

What I do want you to hear is the story that immediately follows Jesus’ teaching concerning the need to give up things and people in order to follow.  In that story, Jesus is sitting with the people in his culture who had lost everything.  He was sitting with the sinners.  He was sitting with the hated tax collectors.  He was sitting with those who had lost respect and trust and integrity.  It was about them that he tells a parable in which a woman who had lost a precious coin rejoices when she searches and finds it.  In the same way, while Jesus sits surrounded by people who are utterly lost in life, he tells the tale of a sheep who wanders away and tells how its shepherd leaves the rest of the sheep in order to search and find it.  The shepherd rejoices when the sheep is reunited with him and he carries it upon his shoulders like a treasured child.

Do you want to know what you get when you are lost?  You get Jesus’ presence.  You want to know what you get when everything you rely upon is now gone?  You get the embracing arms of the divine?  When you have lost it all, you get what your heart has truly desired all along: the one who is “the way, the truth, and the life” sitting and standing and walking right beside you.  You get Jesus who has searched and searched and found you.  You get the gift of God.  That is the benefit.

There are so many things that can stand in the way of your life with God.  In sort of a jolt to the system, Jesus points them out in a very dramatic way.  “Father and mother,” “wife and children,” “brothers and sisters,” all our “possessions,” and “life itself” can all stand in the way of following Jesus.  Jesus asks us to “hate” them all in order to be his disciples.  I did not think that Christians were supposed to “hate” anything, but here Jesus is demanding it of us!  Of course, Jesus is using exaggeration to make a point here, but it is for a very good reason.  It is true.

How many of us have said to ourselves, “I will work hard at this Jesus thing, I promise, but after…” and then you fill in the blank of the after.  “I will work hard at following Jesus and loving my neighbor after the children are not so little.”  “I will have more time for Jesus after my job lightens up a bit.”  “I will finally have time to give after I retire.”  “I will finally have the money to help out more after I start making a little bit more.”  “I will finally have the finances to help out after I get the car paid off or the mortgage paid down.”  These are all excuses that stand in the way.

How do I know all of these excuses so well?  It is not because you have come to the church and personally confessed them to me, though you are always welcome to come and confess.  I know them well because they have all crossed my own mind.

But, the excuses do not stop there because on the other side of life you start to say to yourself, “I wish that I would have done more of these Jesus things with the kids.”  “I wish that I had taken the time to focus on what is important to God rather than dumping all that time into a company that just threw me under the bus anyway.”  “I wish I had…” are the words that come out on the other side.

Do you know what is missing in all of this discussion?  The present.  The present is absent in all of this internal dialogue.  We are sheep wandering around, always looking ahead to find greener pastures but getting lost along the way, or turning in lost circles wishing that we had appreciated the pastures we were in. 

But, if we would just look around in the present we would see that our shepherd is standing right there next to us, carrying us when we need carrying, and guiding us along when we need guiding.  Jesus is sitting with us lost and confused sinners and tax collectors.  Sometimes, we need to lose what we are holding onto in order to see what we have.  Like that working man, sometimes what is so valuable to us needs to be dropped and shoved away so that we can clearly see the path that God has in store.

Following Jesus can be costly.  Being a disciple might mean giving up someone or something that you hold quite dear.  It might mean carrying a cross and taking a burden upon yourself for the sake of saving another, just like Jesus did for us.  And, it might mean that you find your life…your true life…once again.

I know of a family who suffered a lot of loss in one year.  Grandpa died.  The husband lost a job.  The kids lost a pet.  It was one of those snowball years of loss.  You know what I mean, where you suffer one loss and then more and more loss until the loss is just one huge, destructive snowball in everyone’s lives.  But, what helped this family were some neighbors who would simply drop off some food throughout the week and give a listening ear.  It was a simple gift, but it was a gift of love that was so powerful that the family devoted themselves to doing the same.  They made it a part of their family meal time to intentionally make extra food at dinner, and then package it up, and deliver it (as a family) to someone they knew was struggling. 

Did it break into their normal, nightly family routine?  Yes.  Did it mean that some sacrifices had to be made?  Yes.  Did it mean they were disciples, living in the here and now, teaching their children by doing, following Jesus, loving their neighbors, and doing the very things that Jesus did?  Yes.  They estimated the cost of being a disciple of Jesus Christ, and found that the cost of following Jesus was more than worth it.