CAMINANDO WITH JESUS: A Bold Invitation
Pentecost 13, Proper 18 | September 8, 2019
By the Rev. Amanda K. Robertson
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Now large crowds were traveling with Jesus; 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.
– Luke 14:25-33
In this Gospel, Jesus tells two parables of sorts: one of a man building a tower and another of a king contemplating war.
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?…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? (Luke 14:28, 31)
Many interpretations suggest we also are meant to sit down and ask ourselves, “Do I have what it takes? Am I willing and able to pay the cost?” The cost, that is, of discipleship.
Biblical passages about the cost of discipleship can prompt anxiety in Christians. Am I faithful enough? Have I sacrificed or suffered enough? Is my commitment to Christ sufficient?
You must admit, all of these questions are rather self-centered. I wholeheartedly believe Jesus encourages introspection and self-examination, and yet he surely would not want us to succumb to spiritual navel-gazing or, worse, a sense that we must justify ourselves.
I believe Jesus wanted his followers then and now to take seriously the cost and the sacrifice of discipleship. And still, I have doubts that the cost to us is really the Gospel’s main point.
Five chapters earlier in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus sets his face toward Jerusalem. Jesus is walking toward Jerusalem, toward the persecution and death awaiting him there. Under this shadow, we can imagine Jesus experiencing some feelings of urgency and possible impatience with any undecided or lukewarm followers of his. That is often how the tenor of this text is explained: I need to know, are you with me or against me? Give me your undivided loyalty and commitment now, or you cannot be my disciple! However, this does not sound much like Christ, our compassionate and merciful Lord, who continually loves and attends to us in spite of our being uncertain or unreliable, or even betraying him. More importantly, such an interpretation misses the crucial connection to Jesus’ own sacrifice.
The pattern of Jesus’ life is vulnerability and risk, sacrifice and reckless mercy, all for the sake of love. Jesus is not asking his disciples—then or now—to prove themselves. They are not being asked to commit or else to go home. He is asking them instead to follow him, accompanying him in a Way of Love that is also the Way of the Cross. It is a journey for which we never can be fully prepared nor adequately resourced or wise.
So what if, instead of understanding the mini parables of this text to be moral lessons about our need to be prepared and willing to pay the cost, what if we viewed them instead like other parables in the Gospels? As stories about the kingdom of heaven. Might that invite us to consider their meaning differently?
Both images are left somewhat open-ended. Is the tower built? Does the king go to war? We might wonder if with these stories Jesus is actually pointing to the countercultural way in which he pursues his own ministry. Perhaps Jesus was saying—unlike what you would expect of an outnumbered king or a bankrupt builder—he will always persist. Despite the odds or the dangers of his doing so…even if his actions invite shame or ridicule.
I believe Jesus is telling us that—even without our total commitment, our sure loyalty or our full understanding of his mission—his work among us will always continue.
After all, the person willing to pay the true cost is Jesus. The important sacrifice is his, not ours.
I am not trying to deny the reality of costly discipleship, the risks and sacrifices that accompany our call to follow Jesus. But we miss the point if we do not understand our own sacrifices as participation in the very life of God, the cost of death and the promise of resurrection that we know in Christ.
The urgent instruction of this Gospel can then be understood as a bold invitation to follow Jesus toward Jerusalem. Whether or not we are fully prepared, whether or not we feel we have enough, or are enough, we join God in work that will never be abandoned until it is realized in its fullness.
The Rev. Amanda K. Robertson is associate rector of Church of the Holy Comforter, Charlotte.
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