Deuteronomy 30:15-20

“See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and you do not hear but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall certainly perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him, for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”

Luke 14:25-33

 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.

“Carry the Cross and Follow Me”

Our reading from Luke is about discipleship. The main point here in this reading is that the decision to follow Jesus as a disciple gives a person strength of purpose. Discipleship gives a person direction and purpose in life.

This is a difficult text. It’s difficult because Jesus says some things that are hard to understand. Hate your father and mother, hate your family, hate life itself, otherwise you cannot be his disciple? What does that mean? What is he talking about? So this is what I want to explore with you this morning.

This is a text about commitment. It’s a text about allegiance. Whose team are you on? What family do you belong to? Who influences you? Who do you pay attention to? How are your decisions made?

Carry the Cross

In verse 27, Jesus says, “Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” This is the core teaching, the central message of the text.

The Travel Narrative

This summer, we have been following Jesus as he walks toward Jerusalem in this long section of Luke’s Gospel called the “travel narrative,” chapters 9 to 19. Here, in chapter 14, we read about Jesus’ table fellowship, that is, Chapter 14 begins with the meal at the Pharisee’s house. At this meal, Jesus tells the parable of the “Great Dinner.” In the story, a generous host prepares a great dinner, and he sends out invitations to many people. But the people invited decline the invitation. They all have excuses. They are too busy, they have too many things to do, and so, they cannot attend the dinner.

Hate Father and Mother

The Great Dinner story sets up the second half of Chapter 14, which is our reading for today. There is a change of scenery. We are not at the dinner table anymore. Jesus now is traveling with a large crowd. He turns to the crowd and says, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. So this is a continuation of the Great Dinner theme.

Too many distractions, too many other things to do, too many attachments, too many allegiances, too many conflicts of interest, too busy, too much going on, this is not the way of a disciple. This is the way of a person who just walks around in circles. But discipleship creates clarity of purpose. Discipleship puts all our other relationships in order. Being a follower of Jesus becomes the priority, and this helps us to make decisions, to simplify our life, to let go of distractions. A person finds a way forward out of confusion because he or she follows this path of discipleship.

Figurative Language

It’s not that a disciple literally is supposed to “hate your mother and father.” This is figurative speech. Again, it’s very important to recognize figurative language. In the overall context of Jesus’ teachings, we can’t take this literally.

Jesus’ overarching message is one of love and forgiveness. So we can be sure that he is not talking about literally hating mother and father. He is not talking about hatred. He is talking about becoming a new person, taking up the cross and following him as a disciple.

The desire to follow Christ as a disciple must be greater than any ordinary attachment, greater than attachment to family. He is showing us how radical discipleship. Following Jesus as a disciple means radical allegiance, extraordinary commitment. Wanting to follow him as a disciple more than these other relationships. And not everyone can do that. Not everyone wants to do it.

Self-emptying

And more than commitment, the text has a deeper meaning. What does it mean to be a disciple? It means self-emptying. Becoming a new person in Christ means letting go of the old self. Becoming empty of the old self. And there is an important word I would like for us to consider here. The word is “kenosis.” Kenosis means “self-emptying.”

Kenosis is the opposite of the worldly way.

Typically, in the way of the world, the normal, everyday human world, most people want to build themselves up. To gain more and more power. To become more and more important in society. But kenosis is the opposite of this. The best example of kenosis comes from Philippians chapter 2.

In Philippians chapter two, Paul writes, “Let this same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death–even death on a cross.” (Phil 2:5-8)

For Christians who want to be disciples, this is a key verse. (By the way, not all Christians, that is, not all people who profess Christianity in name actually want to be disciples. That is something to think about.)

This word, “kenosis” is from the Greek word that Paul uses in writing his letter to the Philippians. ἑαυτὸν ἐκένωσεν [heauton ekenosen] “he emptied himself,” that is, he let go of his own desires, his own ambitions, his own will, his own ideas for what his life was supposed to look like. He became an empty vessel for God’s work. This is “Thy will be done.” Not my will, but Thy will be done. It’s the same thing. It’s the prayer we pray every Sunday. This is a self-emptying prayer. Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done.

Commitment to completing the task.

In the second part of the text, there are two stories about commitment. First, a building contractor will not take on a project unless he knows it can be completed. And second, a king will not wage a war unless he knows that he can win it, unless he is prepared and committed to finish it, to complete the task.

And that is the invitation for this morning. To be a disciple. To follow Jesus as a disciple. To take up the cross and follow him. In our reading this morning, Jesus makes it clear that this is not an easy path. It’s not for everyone. But if God is calling you to discipleship, then there is a commitment to be made, and a project to be completed. It involves becoming a new person, emptying the old self, letting go of old attachments, and becoming an empty vessel for God’s work.

Not everyone wants to do this. Christian discipleship is not a worldly path. It is a path set apart from the world. If this is what you desire, then may it be so for you, if that is what you so desire, if God is calling you to discipleship, then may you follow your heart and answer the call. Amen? Amen.