15th Sunday after Pentecost
Proper 18
Lectionary 23
September 9
Luke 14:25-33
"The Rabbit"
"Now great multitudes accompanied him; and he turned and said to them, "If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ’This man began to build, and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an embassy and asks terms of peace. So therefore, whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple." Luke 14:25-33, RSV.
Grace and Peace to you fro our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ. Amen
One day, a young disciple of Christ desirous of wanting to become all that God had for him visited the home of an elderly Christian. He had heard that this old man had never lost his first love for Christ in all the years he had known Him.
The old Christian was sitting on the porch with his dog stretched out before him taking in a beautiful sunset. The young man posed this question:
"Why is it, brother, that most Christians zealously chase after God during the first year or two after their conversion, but then fall into a complacent ritual of church twice a week and end up not looking any different than their neighbors who aren’t even Christians?
I have heard you are not like that. I’ve been told that you have fervently sought after God throughout your years as a Christian. People see something in you that they don’t see in most people who became Christians. What makes you different?"
The old man smiled and replied, "Let me tell you a story: One day I was sitting here quietly in the sun with my dog. Suddenly a large white rabbit ran across in front of us. Well, my dog jumped up, and took off after that big rabbit. He chased the rabbit over the hills with a passion.
Soon, other dogs joined him, attracted by his barking. What a sight it was, as the pack of dogs ran barking across the creeks, up stony embankments and through thickets and thorns!
Gradually, however, one by one, the other dogs dropped out of the pursuit, discouraged by the course and frustrated by the chase. Only my dog continued to hotly pursue the white rabbit."
"In that story, young man, is the answer to your question."
The young man sat in confused silence. Finally, he said, "Brother, I don’t understand. What is the connection between the rabbit chase and the quest for God?"
"You fail to understand," answered the well-seasoned old man, "because you failed to ask the obvious question.
Why didn’t the other dogs continue on the chase?
And the answer to that question is that they had not Seen the rabbit.
Unless you see the prey, the chase is just too difficult. You will lack the passion and determination necessary to keep up the chase." (1)
Have you seen the Lord? Are you willing to count the cost to follow the Lord by keeping your eye on the prize. Not the prize of heaven, but the prize of the one who will get you there Jesus Christ.
Jesus is talking about counting the cost to be his disciple.
Jesus is saying that it is not easy to be a disciple of his.
In our gospel lesson, Jesus is trying to tell us the price we must pay to be his disciple. He says, "If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple".
That is a harsh statement. Does Jesus really mean we should hate our families, we should hate ourselves?
Jesus is trying to drive home a point that to follow Him, to be a disciple of His one must put everything else second in life.
Jesus is saying we need to put at arms length, to put in second place everything in our lives except him. He comes first. He comes first before family, he comes first before our relatives, he comes first before our own lives. As we let the impact of that statement filter into our hearts, we see that Jesus is calling us to a radical kind of life. A life that is lived which sets those who believe in Him apart from the rest of society.
Then in the last part of this text, Jesus, is asking, are you willing to pay that kind price o follow me? In a sense the two parables, or illustrations Jesus uses is asking us if we are willing to pay that, kind of cost to be his follower? Are we willing to turn the love we have for him into an action that will separate us, or set, us apart from, our families and even from those values and ideals we hold, dear in our own life?
Jesus is saying, if you want to be my disciple, if you want to follow me, here is what you are called to do. Place me first above everything else in your life and then before you say you are willing to do that, you had better count the cost, see if you are willing to make such a sacrifice for me, see if you are really willing to pay that kind of price? You need to see if you can really keep your eye on the prize?
Can you keep your eye on the rabbit. on Jesus Christ? Are you will to count the cost as Jesus says in our gospel lesson, So therefore, whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
As Bonhoeffer says in his book Cost of Discipleship, on p.47
"We have cheapen grace and cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our church. We are fighting for costly grace. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession.
Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate. Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must know. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life.
It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God. Costly grace is the living word, the Word of God. Costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus, it comes as a word of forgiveness to the broken spirit and the contrite heart. Grace is costly because it compels a man to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow him; it is grace because Jesus says: "My yoke is easy and my burden is light."(3)
We have made the gift so cheap, we have watered it down so much that if has lost its meaning and its greatness for many people. We have watered down this grace to such an extent that I fear we have become universities meaning that everyone is going to heaven, everyone regardless of their belief or their actions.
But that is not the message of the bible, that is not the message of this text, Jesus says it costs something. There is a price to be paid. You must be willing to place Jesus and his will above all else in your life, that is the price, that is the cost.
Luther says: A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing, and suffers nothing, is worth nothing.
But we don’t say that loud and clear, we don’t tell people about that, we make this so cheap that for some people belief is Jesus becomes like the line in a church constitution:
"If I give my penny to the church and communion once a year that is all there is to it."
Some feel that they don’t need to be associated with the worshiping community, I don’t need to change my lifestyle, I can cheat my neighbor, I can gossip, I can hold grudges, I can be greedy and not share my wealth with the Lord. I can be disrespectful, I can abuse my body, because God’s grace is cheap, freely given.
Cheap grace does more harm than good. Sure we can say look at all the people who are on our church rolls, but when it come right down to it, if a church gets half of its member to worship the God they believe in, they feel really good. Maybe even 30% is great!
But Jesus isn’t asking for half or 30%, He wants His grace to motivate our lives all the time, every day 24 hours a day, each day that we live on this earth.
Jesus wants us to remember the cost He paid for our lives, so that we don’t cheapen this grace, but value it to the highest degree.
What does it take to follow Jesus? Know that it won’t be cheap, and you can’t get by with half or what’s needed, and that your lackluster, mediocre resolve won’t save you when the great battle of life have to be fought.1
A closing story by Max Lucado talks about hearing the music of faith and then dancing to it:
Let’s imagine that you want to learn to dance. Being the rational, cerebral person you are, you go to a bookstore and buy a book on dancing. You take the book home and get to work.
Finally, you think you’ve got it, and you invite your wife to come in and watch. You hold the book open and follow the instructions step by step. You even read the words aloud so she’ll know that you’ve done your homework. “Lean with your right shoulder,” and so you lean. “Now step with your right foot,” and so you step. “Turn slowly to the left,” and so you do.
You continue to read, then dance, read, then dance, until the dance is completed. You plop exhausted on the couch, look at your wife, and proclaim, “I executed it perfectly.”
“You executed it, all right,” she sighs. “You killed it.”
“What?”
“You forgot the most important part. Where is the music?”
Music?
You never thought about music. You remembered the book. You learned the rules. You laid out the pattern. But you forgot the music.
“Do it again,” she says, putting in a CD. “This time don’t worry about the steps; just follow the music.”
She extends her hand and the music begins. The next thing you know, you are dancing-and you don’t even have the book.
We Christians are prone to follow the book while ignoring the music. We master the doctrine, outline the chapters, memorize the dispensations, debate the rules, and stiffly step down the dance floor of life with no music in our hearts.
We measure each step, calibrate each turn, and flop into bed each night exhausted from another day of dancing by the book.
Dancing with no music is tough stuff.
“Let God have you, and let God love you-and don’t be surprised if your heart begins to hear music you’ve never heard and your feet learn to dance as never before.” (2)
Keep you eye on the rabbit, Jesus Christ and you will hear the music and dance like you have never danced before.
Amen
Written by Pastor Tim Zingale September 3, 2007
(1) Author unknown
(2) as seen in Max Lucado’s weekly email devotional. From “A Gentle Thunder: Hearing God Through the Storm,” © 1995, Max Lucado
from firstIMPRESSIONS
by Senior Pastor Timothy Satryan
(3) As Bonhoeffer says in his book Cost of Discipleship, on p.47
You may freely use this as is or in parts. Please somehow give credit if possible, thanks! Not for commercial use.
