Pentecost 15 (C) -2010

Commitment

Introduction

Today we will talk about commitment. We will talk about choice. We will talk about priorities. The passages from the Bible we have read this summer are not to be taken lightly. They are passages which define discipleship as costly; which speak of sacrifice; and ultimately call us to make choices that will affect our lives.

Of course, none of these words I am bandying about are very popular. We have become a nation of individuals and self made people. Even religious people say they do not need church – they find God on their own walking in nature.

What has come to matter most in society is how we feel; we are encouraged to choose things that make us feel better. Everyone is selling the quick fix. Happiness means getting what you want.

There is no sense that we are seeking to live first and foremost the way God wants us to; instead, we are living for ourselves.

Stuff

Let me ask you a question.... a serious one: Who are we without our stuff? Here in Canada we are citizens of consumption, mavens of materiality. We are consumers more often than we are voters. And Canadians are brand-identified. Our patterns of consumption define us, and project who we are. Some of us like to project success, and others of us like to project social responsibility with what we have purchased. We are PCs or Macs; Blackberries, Palms or iPhones; Nike or New Balance; fair trade or free trade. We are Toyota, Volkswagen or Ford car owners; we are supporting breast cancer research as we buy pink or AIDS research as we buy red. We know how cool we are based on whether we choose Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Explorer to surf the web. We stick to one preferred airline, West Jet or Air Canada – and we are either Rogers or Bell fans.

I'm not saying I am any different. I have my brand identification down to a science. I know which type of cereal I prefer, and I can justify my choice of big box stores. I know why I use the mobile phone service provider I do. I even know which fast food chain I would rather eat at. I buy as well as the next person.

Hurricanes and Global Warming warnings – economic downturns and the like have put this into sharp distinction for many of us – what happens if we lose everything? Who are we then?

... You know, we often use the words: “children of God” we even tell stories about our relationship to God – but what does it really mean? What if we strip away everything that defines us... what if we lose everything? Does that change anything about who we are in relation to God... the one who poetically is described as the potter who shaped us?

And what do you make of all the talk in the Bible of giving things up for the sake of God? Or for our own sake? What would you be willing to sacrifice? What matters to you MORE than God?

We all have things we would not give up... I invite you to take just a moment and think about them – then join me in our prayer of confession...

Slave for God

There is a story in the Old Testament – it is part of the Sabbath laws and Jubilee year passages, which talks about piercing your ears.

What it says is that you can only keep a slave so long – until the Jubilee year, when everything must be given back or set free. However, if your slave has come to love you so much that he or she would rather stay and work for you as part of your family – there is a ritual... you go to the door jam of your house, you have the slave stand there, and you pierce their ear, with an awl, into the frame; mingling the blood with your house.

Someone with a pierced ear is thus part of the household, a servant because of love as opposed to slavery....

They are there because of the relationship rather than the economic reality.

I read posts on twitter and facebook from people who can’t wait for five o clock. I have talked to people who work just so they can pay the bills. I understand that many people have to do that – and I understand the sentiment of looking forward to time off or the weekend – but I do not understand the attitude which would force you to publicly say you hate your job.

I am a big believer in the idea that we make our own reality – that our attitudes change everything....

Let me tell you what is really going on in the strange passage we just had read where Paul writes to Philemon about Onesimus:

Onesimus is a slave; a bad slave. He hated Philemon and he ran away... eventually he ended up with Paul in Prison; whether by design or because he was arrested I don’t know. Now, somehow, Onesimus, in hanging out with Paul, has become a Christian, and changed his mind about a great many things.

Paul writes to Philemon asking him to take Onesimus back; asking him to forgive him; asking him to accept him as a part of the household... I have to believe that it is the attitude that has changed here on the part of Onesimus – and because of that change Paul suggests that the owner concentrate more on the ideals of Love. If Philemon does this, he will see that Onesimus has much to offer.

But think of the other side – Onesimus is asked, because of his new found faith, to accept slavery... he is asked because of the values of God, to give up everything...

I would suggest to you that Paul is showing a concrete example of how god shapes our lives – just like a potter... if we allow ourselves to be shaped...

As we move into our offering, may we remember that there is reason to be thankful for what we have, but there is also reason to be generous in sharing our good fortune. May these gifts reflect the gifts of God to us. Our offering will now be received.

Leaving it all Behind

The Gospel of Luke passage we heard gives a series of renunciations. "'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." The first two are renunciations of family and of life. The third is a renunciation of possessions: "So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions."

Luke is always having Jesus talk about giving things up; about stepping away from things; and most fo the time we can see it. Stop trying to get rich if you want to follow God; ok. But walk away from your family? Give up everyone who loves you? This is a little harsh is it not?

Of course Jesus is talking in a different time and space. First off we have to remember that in the ancient world family is status... Jesus ben Joseph was Jesus’ full name – Jesus son of Joseph... of the tribe of David... family was everything...

And what would it have been like to be an orphan in this world? How could you even imagine getting through life without a family? It is, again, a question of what you are willing to give up for God

So what are your priorities? This is always Jesus question.

In the passages leading up to this one, Jesus has been speaking to potential disciples hanging out at the home of a prominent Pharisee. Those listening are described by Eugene Boring and Fred Craddock as "interested inquirers and admirers." These were not committed disciples; these were the seekers of the day.

Here Jesus is speaking to people who are considering commitment, and it sounds like he wants them to have a sense of the import of such a decision. This text is hyperbolic, but it gets the point across. Discipleship comes first, before family, before life, and before your stuff.

A decision to follow Jesus requires thinking all the way through the possible consequences of discipleship. Jesus wants us to do a cost-benefit analysis and a risk assessment. And the Gospel of Luke makes this message sticky by giving examples of what could happen when people don't plan ahead, and by using the language of hate. This dramatic language makes a point: that discipleship is beyond most experiences. It isn't convenient. It might cost us everything. After all, if loyalty to Jesus comes first, then everything, even the fundamental social structures of family and things, comes second.

Conclusion

Our Bible readings have essentially said - "Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple." Seriously, Jesus?

Yes, seriously. Because following Jesus is serious business.

I like a challenge as much as anyone, but I'm not ready to answer this challenge with a definitive yes. What about a definitive maybe? How about a definitive I'll think about it? Perhaps the life of Christian discipleship is a work in progress. We may still be pondering these words of Jesus as we decide, each day, whether we will be disciples.

The question is how are you going to define yourself... and discovering what you were created to be...

It is a challenge. But God knows we have it in us.