Luke 14:25 Now large crowds were traveling
with him; and he turned and said to them, 26 "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. 27 Whoever does not carry the cross and follow
me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower,
does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to
complete it? 29
Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all
who see it will begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, 'This fellow began to build and was
not able to finish.' 31 Or what king, going out to wage war against
another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten
thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he
cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks
for the terms of peace. 33 So therefore, none of you can become my
disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.
This
passage of scripture is about followers of Jesus being qualitatively different
from the prevailing society. Luke writes his Gospel at a time when Christians were
arguing about their importance and status in following Jesus. Some students of
the Apostles claimed superiority over others because of their association with
a particular disciple;[1]
there were Jewish Christians who thought themselves greater than Gentile
Christians;[2]
and there were wealthy Christians who struggled to associate with poorer
Christians.[3]
He reminds those who read this that one who follows Jesus must not mirror the
social divisions of our society. Instead, followers of Jesus are to soberly
count the cost of relinquishing the status conferred by family and possessions
and instead embrace the disgrace associated with a cross.
When
this concept is transferred into our own history we discover that Jesus is not asking
us to abandon family and possessions. What he is saying is that his way of life
asks for a different set of life-values. We who follow Jesus do not sacrifice
our time and energy in pursuit of material wealth, or social status, or family
approval. Instead, the central value that drives our lives is “carrying the
cross”. We who walk in the footsteps of Jesus deliberately embrace service
instead of status.
For Prayer:
Make me a servant Lord,
make me like you
For you are a servant, make me one, too.
Make me a servant, do what you must do
To make me a servant, make me like you.
For you are a servant, make me one, too.
Make me a servant, do what you must do
To make me a servant, make me like you.
To love my brother, to
serve like you do.
I humble my spirit, I bow before yo.
And through my service, I'll be just like you.
So make me a servant, make me like you.
I humble my spirit, I bow before yo.
And through my service, I'll be just like you.
So make me a servant, make me like you.
Open my hands Lord and
teach me to share
Open my heart Lord and teach me to care,
For service to others is service to you.
Make me a servant, make me like you.
Open my heart Lord and teach me to care,
For service to others is service to you.
Make me a servant, make me like you.
Fourth Sunday after Trinity
35 The Cost of Servanthood
The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck,
A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other
Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 219.
This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.
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