Have you ever bought a new home or a new car? Was it an easy decision? You probably had to weigh a lot of different options. How much will my payment be? How much will insurance be – maintenance, utilities? You’ve already fell in love, now you have to determine if you can afford it. The longer you are here on this Earth, the more you realize that there are always unexpected expenses – a bad alternator, a leaky roof. The unforeseen circumstances that experience has taught you to anticipate are easy to forget about or overlook when making a purchasing decision, at least for me. I tend to gravitate towards the reasons I should proceed rather than walk or in some cases run away. If you’re not careful things might end in disaster. In a similar scenario, I coached a little league baseball team when I was in college. I thought “yeah, I can do this. I played baseball. I love baseball. How hard could it be?” I didn’t count on not being able to get the kids to do what I needed them to do. I failed to take into account strong parent involvement. The venture failed miserably, and I ended up turning the team over to one of the parents after the first game.
In today’s gospel reading, the disciples learn the cost of following Jesus. Jesus paints a picture of discipleship that is rather frightening – hating your parents, spouse, children, siblings and even life itself. Those are some pretty harsh demands. What about loving your neighbor? If this is how we should feel about our neighbors, what view should we hold of ourselves? Wouldn’t that mean we are supposed to hate ourselves as we hate our neighbors? Next, discipleship is compared to building a tower and adequately estimating the cost so that the project can be completed and embarrassment can be avoided. The story that follows story is about a king facing another king in war considering if he has the resources to triumph. If he doesn’t, he most likely chooses to negotiate peace rather than fight a war he cannot win.
Now most of us have probably never taken on the building of a tower or faced the prospects of waging war as the leader of a kingdom, but I suspect you can see the value in sound planning in either case. What good is a foundation, if you never get around to beginning the tower? What use is it to fight a war when you are heavily outnumbered and most likely will be destroyed? What kingdom will there be left to rule when the enemy has had their way? But Jesus doesn’t tell his disciples these stories to discourage them. I believe Jesus’ intent was quite the opposite. He wanted his disciples to succeed. In order to succeed, they needed to know what they were signing up for. The road following Jesus would be a difficult journey. If they were not prepared, they might give up after the first bump in the road. How would the gospel be shared if there were no one left to share it?
I have made a conscious decision to follow Jesus Christ. I very rarely know what that will require of me on a day to day basis. I believe when most people begin their Christian journey, they have no idea that there are associated costs. Not that we are deceived, but God’s love can be a little overwhelming. The problem occurs when that love never translates into action. Otherwise, that love is just a warm feeling. God is constantly calling us into action. His will for us is to share his love with the world. We can’t do that by simply basking in a warm feeling. Not to diminish the importance of feeling God’s love, but ultimately that love is for everyone. It isn’t ours alone to keep all for ourselves. And the way to share it is through our thoughts, words, and deeds. If we go at it alone, we will find that we simply do not have the resources. God is ready to meet our needs, and it is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that we will we equipped to meet the hefty demands of discipleship. Amen.
