Community Church Sermons

Year C

September 5, 2010

Pentecost 15

Everyone Wants to Go to Heaven, But…

Luke 14:25-33

Rev. Martin C. Singley, III

LISTEN IN!

I told my 8-year old grandson Ryan that he is my favorite grandson.

Ryan looked at me for a moment with a puzzled expression. “But Papa,” he said, “I’m your ONLY grandson!”

And that’s right! If I had another grandson, I’d be facing a major dilemma! I’d have to figure out which one I loved, and which one I hated.

Welcome to the whacky world of biblical language!

You probably stopped listening to the rest of today’s Gospel lesson as it was being read when you heard Jesus use the word “hate”, and not only use it, but call us to do it! That word seems so un-Jesus-like! And it startles us not only that Jesus would tell us to hate, but that we must hate our parents, our spouses, our children, our siblings, and even our own lives. What makes this instruction all the more outrageous is the fact that while Jesus tells us in other passages to love those who hate us, here he is telling us to hate those who love us – and who the Bible commands us in other places to love and honor and protect.

What in the world has gotten into Jesus?

One of my atheist friends used to love quoting this passage from Luke 14 to prove that Jesus, the Bible, God, the Church, Christians, religious people in general are just so much nonsense – full of contradictory statements and sources of all manner of evil, intolerance and violence. Many Christians I know are not unlike my atheist friend as they selectively pull quotes from the Koran and the scriptures of other religions to prove that they are dangerous or just plain wrong.

And some people of faith – like a young father in England a number of years ago – cite Luke 14 and other similar biblical passages to claim they were only being faithful to the Lord by killing their family.

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate their parents, their spouse, their children, their siblings – indeed their own lives – they cannot be my disciple.”

Although this is not the main point I want to make in this sermon, I do want to take a moment to caution you about reading the Bible literally. There ARE parts of the Bible, of course, that are intended to be taken literally. But there is also a lot of metaphor, poetry, allegory and hyperbole. And learning to recognize the nuances in biblical language is very important if you are to grow into a mature faith that will strengthen your life, honor God, and bless the world around you.

This passage is a great example of how people spoke in Jesus’ day – but whose meaning is lost on us in 21^st century America. In biblical times, language often connected and held in tension the word “love” and the word “hate”. There are numerous places in the Bible where this linkage is used. You may remember the story in Genesis where Jacob is married to two sisters – Rachel and Leah. Now if anyone here is thinking about marrying more than one person at the same time, I highly recommend against marrying two sisters!

The Bible tells us that Jacob loved Rachel, but hated Leah. Then God’s voice comes into the story, telling us what this means. God says, “Because Leah is loved less than Rachel, I will open her womb and give her a child.”

You see, in life, there are some things we favor more than others. The Bible often contrasts this disparity in terms of love and hate. The word “hate” in the Bible is often used to mean “love less.”

So Luke 14 is really talking about priorities. It is about putting God first in your life.

If you have God at the top of your priority list, you WILL love your parents, spouse, children, siblings, neighbor – and even yourself! But if other things – including our families – become our gods, then we will miss out on the richness of the life God created us to enjoy!

And this is what I really want to talk about today: Putting God first.

Jesus says it very plainly – discipleship means establishing God as the absolute top priority in your life – it means being willing to pay the price of being a follower of Jesus – it means being ready to give up what gets in the way of following Jesus – it means putting Christ first.

And this story offers us a view of why Jesus speaks so strongly about this need for setting priorities. The passage starts with these words: “Large crowds were traveling with Jesus…”

Notice that Luke uses the word “traveling”. Large crowds were TRAVELING with Jesus. But there’s a difference between TRAVELING with Jesus and FOLLOWING Jesus. I think Kenny Chesney hits on this difference in a song whose chorus goes like this:

Everybody wants go to heaven

Hallelujah let me hear you shout

Everybody wants go to heaven

But nobody wants go now

I think I speak for the crowd

Nobody wanna go now yeah

“Large CROWDS were TRAVELING with Jesus…”

But they weren’t ready to live out the demands of the kingdom of heaven.

They were TRAVELING with Jesus, but not FOLLOWING Jesus.

How about you? Are you a traveler? Or a follower?

And how do you move from merely being a traveler with Jesus to being a true follower?

Well, it all has to do with taking up the cross.

I love pointing out to people that the cross on top of this sanctuary building is a cross in every direction. Take some time when you leave today to simply notice that. And the theme of a cross in every direction has been picked up in the design of our new sanctuary. Everywhere you look, there is a cross. The cross is central to our faith and taking up the cross ourselves is our sacred duty.

Now taking up the cross has nothing to do with becoming a Presbyterian – or a Baptist – or a Catholic – or even a Christian. Bearing a cross is not about believing stuff. Bearing the cross is something you DO.

You take up the cross when someone has rejected you, hurt you, betrayed you, brought pain to you…but you choose to let go of your right to respond in kind, and instead take up the work of forgiveness. Do you remember how Jesus said, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do”?

The cross is about forgiveness and reconciliation. To take up the cross means to work at forgiving those who sin against you.

You take up the cross when you take someone else’s burdens upon yourself. Jesus bore our weaknesses and infirmities – Jesus carried our sin to the cross. To take up the cross means putting others first and helping them carry the burdens of life.

You take up the cross when you sacrifice your wealth and possessions to bring God’s love to others. Jesus had only one possession – his coat. And it was taken from him on the cross. Taking up the cross means you sacrificially give what you have to bless others.

And you take up the cross when you hate your family.

We’re back to THAT again!

I think the reason Jesus tells us we need to love him first – even putting him ahead of our parents, spouses, children, siblings and our own lives – is because these are the people we know the best and are most comfortable with. The people on this list represent those with whom we are most familiar.

But the Gospel is not about saving our little tribe. The Gospel is about saving the world. Jesus did not die for ME. Jesus did not die for US gathered here.

Jesus took up the cross for the entire world.

You take up the cross when you reach your hand out to welcome a stranger. You take up the cross when you bring food to a hungry person. You take up the cross when you visit a prisoner in jail. You take up the cross when you give a warm coat to a homeless person. You take up the cross when you let someone else sit in your seat in church! You take up the cross when you support an orphanage that cares for children suffering with AIDS. You take up the cross when you see your enemies as mothers, fathers, sons and daughters who just want to have a good life – just like you.

You take up the cross when the whole world becomes your family and you treat others as your own.

Great crowds were traveling with Jesus. You see, everyone wants to go to heaven, but not right now, and especially not if it means taking up the cross.

But there’s no other way.

And whenever we gather at this table, we remember that. We remember how Jesus took up the cross for us. Here is the reminder of his body, broken for us. Here is the reminder of his blood, poured out for us.

And at this table he speaks to us. “Give thanks for the all the goodness of God. Remember how God’s love has touched your life. And take up YOUR cross, and follow me.”