“Counting the Cost”

PENTECOST 15C, Sep 4 & 5, 2010

One of the TV shows Pam and I watch with more regularity than the program probably deserves is a series called “House Hunters”. It’s a show that chronicles people looking at three different houses and deciding at the end of each program which one they are going to buy. One episode recently was of a young couple, both were 23 years old and they were married less than two years. They were buying their first house and the price range they were looking at was $240,000 - $260,000. Their monthly mortgage was going to be $2,300 a month for thirty years. What has astonished us so many times in watching this program is how young some of these home buyers are and the incredible amounts of money they have to spend on a place to live. We are forever asking each other, “Where do they get that kind of money?” “How can they afford that kind of an expense?” “Don’t they realize the kind of a financial commitment they’re making and all of the responsibilities they are taking on?” You really have to wonder if they’ve truly counted the cost.

Our gospel text for today opens with a similar kind of reaction about what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. Jesus has come to a decisive point in his ministry. His popularity has spread like wildfire. Many have started to follow him from place to place. At the same time the religious authorities have grown jealous of his success and have fully hatched a plot to get rid of him. Jesus knows this, of course, and he knows what this means for all who want to be his disciples. And so, he spells it out for them; he tells them that soon things are going to change. Following him is not going to be a picnic for his disciples – there is more to it than a big lunch on a Galilean hillside – it goes far beyond healing for themselves and their loved ones. No, the stakes are high and the cost is great for his disciples and if they’re going to be one of his followers they had better understand what they’re getting themselves into.

So, let’s bump this up to the 21st century. You are at one of those church membership classes and someone in the group asks what it means to be a member of the church; or, better yet, what it means to be a Christian. And the person in charge of the meeting says: “Whoever wants to be a Christian and does not hate father and mother, spouse and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even their very own life, cannot be a real Christian. It’s all or nothing when it comes to Jesus.” How many do you think would stick around for the rest of the class and how many will skip out at the next break? That’s the kind of predicament Jesus puts us in.

Now, I know that the word “hate” used here is a harsh word but you need to understand what Jesus is really saying. This is crunch time. The chips are down and time is running out. Soon, being with Jesus will be risky business and by using the word “hate” Jesus is drawing a line in the sand and asking what side we are on. You see, being a Christian is not at all like giving to some fund raising campaign where you can be a little bit involved as a “supporter” by giving a $25 gift, or if you want to step it up a notch, you can become a “friend” with a $50 gift, or if you really want to be committed, you can become a “patron” for a $100 gift. No, it doesn’t work that way; there are not levels of commitment when it comes to Jesus - you are either in or you’re out, being a Christian is all or nothing.

I know that sounds pretty extreme. We all know that this same kind of “all or nothing” call to commitment has led religious extremist to strap bombs to their bodies and blow them up in the middle of crowded plazas. Jesus isn’t saying we should hate our own life in a self-destructive way like that.

To the contrary, Jesus is asking us to sacrificially love others and to serve others in his name. But when our allegiance to any other person – father, mother, spouse, child – conflicts with our loyalty to Christ and our duty to be his hands and heart in the world, then we need to choose Christ. And when our attachment to possessions is stronger than our connection to Jesus and his mission of life for the world, then we need to be willing to give up our things for Jesus. And when we need to be carried by the appreciation and the admiration of others more than carrying out our call to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, then we need to pick up our cross and follow him.

The earliest Christian confession of faith, long before the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed, was simply, “Jesus is Lord.” In other words, “Jesus is in charge of my life. Whatever the price, whatever the cost, I’m ready to do what it takes to be with Jesus”

So, you see, to be a Christian means that somewhere, sometime, someplace in life we will reach a fork in the road and we have to make a decision; are we going to take the road that leads to Christ, or not? Is Jesus going to be first, or not?

A father reached such a fork in the road when he came to Jesus pleading to have a spirit cast out of his son; a spirit that was literally trying to kill him. He said to Jesus “If you can do something, have pity on us and help us.” And without hesitation Jesus replied, “If? What do you me ‘if’? There are no ifs when it comes to faith. Anything can happen when you believe.” To which the boy’s father cried out, “I believe, help thou my unbelief.”

May those same words find their way to your lips whenever and wherever the fork in the road finds you and calls on you to make the decision of faith.

I believe … help thou my unbelief. Amen.

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