Outcomes
Lk. 14:25-33[1]
I think most of us embrace the Christian faith with some
kind of notion of what we’re going to get out of it. Whether it’s an eternity of bliss in
“heaven,” or whether it’s a better, happier, more fulfilled life here and now,
we all have some expectation of what we’re going to get out of it. Unfortunately when we make these assumptions,
we forget that the one we follow as Lord met a completely different outcome, at
least in this life. We follow a Savior
who was ultimately crucified. And Jesus
warned those who would follow him that they would experience a similar fate if
they did so. But we have so domesticated
the Christian faith that we have turned it into just another way of getting
what we want out of life.
In our Gospel lesson for today, Jesus warned all those who
would follow him that they must be willing to “carry the cross.” Anyone not willing to do so “cannot be my
disciple” (Lk. 13:27). This is something
that all of the Gospels make clear. But
what they don’t spell out quite so well is exactly what that means for us in
terms of specifics. In our Gospel lesson
for today, Jesus says that it means things like “hating” your family, and even
life itself (Lk. 13:26). It means
“giving up all your possessions” (Lk. 13:33).[2] I would say these aren’t the outcomes most of
us envisioned when we began our journey of faith.
To reinforce the importance of this, Jesus tells two short
parables about what it means to “count the cost” of following him. One has to do with building a tower. Jesus says that nobody builds a tower without
making sure it’s possible to finish construction. But the example is one that is
ridiculous--one who can only finish the foundation, and then runs out of
resources. Nobody would do such a
foolish thing. And even if someone could
only complete two-thirds of the building, if they ran out of money, they would
surely borrow to finish the project. It
seems that Jesus is exaggerating on purpose.
But why?
The same thing is true with the other parable. A king going out to war ought to have good
sense enough to know whether he can defeat his opponent with a force half the
size. But in real life, Kings borrowed
heavily to hire more troops if their own armies were lacking. And they repaid the debts by imposing heavy
taxes on conquered nations once they had defeated them. So once again, it would seem that Jesus is
exaggerating on purpose. The question is
why he would do that. The fact of the
matter is, Jesus often spoke ironically in order to make people think through
things a little more deeply.[3]
I think one of the lessons Jesus may have been trying to
teach is that you can never really know the outcomes of what you start. Even if someone invested all their resources
in building a magnificent tower, they could never know what might happen to
that tower. It could be destroyed the
very next year by a fire, or by a massive storm. The same thing holds true for a King going to
war. He cannot know whether the
conquered people will mount a rebellion against him. Or, as often happened in the ancient world,
whether he has stretched his armies too thin, and has left himself vulnerable
to attack from a new contender. The
reality is, even if the builder or the King do a perfect job of preparing to
pay the cost of success in their respective ventures, they cannot know what the
ultimate outcomes will be.
I began my Christian journey almost forty years ago. I can say that my expectations now are vastly
different from what they were then. I
made it my goal to try my best to do the right thing. I tried at every fork in the road to discern
what God was leading me to do. I tried
to serve God and others to the best of my ability. And up to about fifteen years ago, I believed
that all that would mean that I would spend my life teaching the Bible to
Seminary students. I counted the cost on
many occasions, and made the sacrifices that were necessary to follow the path
that I believed God wanted me to follow.
But I must say that I could never have anticipated the twists and turns
my life would take. And, the truth of
the matter is that some of them were hard and painful. But at the same time, some of them have
brought me to joys that I would never have expected. You can never really know the outcome of your
choices, particularly the choice to follow Jesus in discipleship.[4] For my part, in the words of Maya Angelou, I
wouldn’t take nothin’ for my journey now.
When it comes to the choices we make in life, there are
some things that are right for us to choose regardless of the outcome.[5] I think that’s also a part of what Jesus may
have been trying to teach us. I don’t
believe Jesus literally expected us to “hate” our families. But our choices must reflect the utmost
importance of following Christ.[6] And so we choose to love and serve those
around us because it is the right thing to do.
We choose to make sacrifices for the sake of God’s kingdom because it’s
the right thing to do. We choose to
follow Jesus because it is the right thing to do--regardless of the outcomes.[7] If we
didn’t act or make a decision or choose to take a risk without knowing fully
the outcome of our choices, we’d never do anything in life that’s worth
doing. I think Jesus wanted us to follow
him with that in mind, knowing that we can never know where the path will lead
us, understanding that we can count the cost, but we cannot fully know the
outcome of our faith this side of eternity.
[1] ©
2013 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by
Rev. Dr. Alan Brehm on 9/8/2013 at First Presbyterian Church of Dickinson, TX.
[2]
Stanley Hauerwas, “Hating Mothers as the Way to Peace,” Journal for Preachers 11 (Pentecost 1988): 19, says that the point
of these sayings is that “if Jesus is the Messiah, it is surely absurd to think
we can follow Jesus while clinging to the attachments of the old age. Rather,
to be his disciple means that all our past, all our loves ... are now put in a
new context.”
[3]
Cf. J. Duncan M. Derrett, "NISI DOMINUS AEDIFICAVERIT DOMUM : Towers And
Wars (Lk XIV 28-32),” Novum Testamentum
19 (Oct 1977): 249, where he observes, “The suggestion, that one must commence
only when one has absolutely within one's power the means to complete, does not
fit with real life at any period of history; and to illustrate minute
calculation as these parables do and then to use the illustrations in this way
is really ridiculous. Perhaps there is an element of irony in the stories which
the centuries have left buried ?”
[4]
Cf. R. Alan Culpepper, “The Gospel of
Luke,” New Interpreters Bible IX:293:
“no one can know whether he or she will be able to fulfill a commitment to discipleship. Jesus was not asking for a guarantee of
complete fidelity in advance, however.
If he had, no one would qualify to be a disciple.”
[5] Cf. Jürgen Moltmann, The Way of Jesus Christ, 204,
where he expresses the value of the decision to follow Jesus in discipleship:
“Anyone who participates in ‘Christ’s sufferings’” becomes a witness “to the
coming truth against the ruling lie, to coming justice and righteousness
against the prevailing injustice, and to coming life against the tyranny of
death.”
[6] Cf.
Carson Brisson, “Luke 14:25-27,” Interpretation 61 (July 2007): 331, where he says that the call to “hate”
one’s own family reflects “the radical nature of the subordination of all other
values and relationships a disciple must practice if she or he would respond
faithfully to God's dawning reign. What is required is allegiance to Jesus
above all other concerns or commitments.” Cf. similarly Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics 3.4:262 and Joseph A.
Fitzmyer, Luke X-XXIV, 1062. See further Fred Craddock, Luke, 181, “In sum, his word is, Think
about what your are doing and decide if you are willing to stay with me all the
way.” Cf. also Darrell Bock, Luke
9:51–24:53, 1284–85, where he reminds us that in a First-Century Jewish
context Christians may have literally been alienated from family and friends by
their choice to follow Jesus.
[7]
Cf. Brisson, “Luke 14:25-27,” 332, where he says, “The call really is to cross
bearing. This call truly is impossible for men and women, but possible with
God. Some hear the call, but remain committed to hearth or home or to a myriad
of other good but penultimate claims. They are convinced that in those things
their true life resides. Others hear the call and cast their lot with Jesus
above any and all other claims, whatever shape that takes. To them it is
revealed, and it can be revealed in no other way than by taking up ‘the cross’
and following Jesus, that this invitation is actually to receive their very
lives back as more than they could ever have otherwise imagined they could be.”
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