SERMON, PROPER 8C, LUKE 9:51-62

**Delivered by my Sr. Warden
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Choices. Discipleship. Commitment. those were all themes in last week's gospel. Choose: Who do you say that I am? Discipleship: Pick up your cross daily and follow me. Commitment: Those who lose their life for my sake will save it. Today's gospel adds "Turning" to that list.

At the beginning of this gospel passage, we get either a pre-ordained foretaste of what is coming (the Passion), or a post-resurrection time locator ("When the days drew near . . .") Regardless of how you view it, Luke is letting us know that the Passion is imminent. The days of the Passion are drawing near. This is the beginning of the end. It's important to remember that Luke is writing post-resurrection with an eye to the fulfillment of prophecy; hence the statement that the Passion is nearing and of Jesus setting his face to Jerusalem. He is turning from his ministry in the surrounding territory and moving resolutely towards Jerusalem.

When Jesus turns towards Jerusalem, he goes through Samaria. This move through Samaria foreshadows his own words of an all-inclusive, world-wide evangelistic mission. "You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

The move through Samaria, however, isn't smooth. Just as Jesus is rejected in his hometown of Nazareth, and just as he will be rejected in Jerusalem, he is rejected by the Samaritan villagers. Luke lets us know that Jesus has turned from being seen as just another miracle worker or prophet, to being something else. He is now the suffering servant of Isaiah; the one who was wounded for our transgressions. Using that motif, are the Samaritans any different from most of us? Are we willing to turn from the life we know and follow Jesus to death?

That attitude of the Samaritans, not wanting to give up what we have or of being afraid to follow Jesus through death into life, is fairly common. It also can be upsetting to those people who see themselves as committed disciples. It certainly was to James and John. They wanted to call down fire from heaven and obliterate the town. But this is not what we are called to do. It is not our job to judge and condemn those who choose not to follow Jesus; but it is our job to invite and inform. If the invitation is rejected, we move on.

All we can do is keep inviting and informing people. Invite because we are his witnesses to the ends of the earth. Inform because discipleship is hard. Turning from what you know to a new life isn't easy, and it takes some serious commitment. It also takes instruction, and as disciples we are there to help instruct people. The cost of discipleship is high. As Jesus moves towards Jerusalem, the cost gets even higher.

We saw the high cost of discipleship in the Old Testament reading. Elisha, after being chosen as Elijah's disciple, slaughtered his entire team of oxen and cooked them over the fire made from all his equipment. Elisha burned everything he had. He removed all ties to his home. THAT is the high cost of discipleship. Are you willing to eliminate all you have to follow a man of God?

The high cost of discipleship becomes even higher when it involves Jesus. We are asked to pick up our cross daily. We are asked to live sacrificially daily. We are asked to die to our selfish desires on a daily basis. Are you willing to give up your home and rely on the hospitality of others? Are you willing to put the kingdom of God ahead of your family? That is what we are asked to do.

That is what we are asked to do because Jesus did it first; he gave us the example of how to live. Jesus left his earthly family to proclaim the kingdom of God. Families are an interesting institution. They can be our biggest supporters or our biggest detractors. Sometimes the family becomes the most important thing in our lives. We are asked, or we ask, to do things for the good of the family; that may mean putting aside our own goals and desires. Maybe you've heard something like that in your own family. Maybe someone has told you to "come back, be reasonable." But if we are to be disciples, then we need to be unreasonable. We need to distance ourselves from a family that tries to hold us down, or take our best from us. God asks us for our best. That means putting God before our family, distancing ourselves in such a way that we move from worshiping the family to worshiping God.

Jesus also moved through this world relying on the hospitality of others. He didn't have a permanent home, but allowed others to invite him into their homes and offer shelter. He didn't really have a paying occupation, so he also relied on others to provide food. This probably made for a hard life, but it is also how Jesus still lives today. He still relies on our hospitality to invite him into our lives and into our homes. He still relies on us to offer the bread of life to others who need it.

Can we do this? Can we become true disciples who put Jesus above all else? If we want to attempt living this life of discipleship, then we need to turn from our silence and proclaim Jesus as the Son of God. If we want to attempt living this life of discipleship, then we need to turn from our desire to save our life and be willing to lose it for Jesus' sake. If we want to attempt living this life of discipleship, then we need to pick up our crosses on a daily basis. To paraphrase Paul, we need to crucify our selfish desires so that we might have life with the Spirit.

In short, we need to remember our baptismal covenant, turn to Jesus and give him the best we have to offer; and in all honesty, that is an incredibly hard thing to do. Nobody said this would be easy, least of all Jesus. It's a choice we all need to make. There's a level of discipleship we all need to attain. There's a level of commitment we all need to live up to. The question is, are you willing to follow through?