I wonder
what sort of television advertisement for being a disciple of Jesus one might
construct based upon this passage.
Jesus, with
all the subtlety of a sledgehammer, says that whoever comes to him and does not
hate father and mother, wife and children, brother and sister, and even
oneself, cannot be his disciple. It shocks us. Of course, if we ponder a bit,
we realize that he is driving home the point that discipleship involves
complete and total commitment to following him. He is calling his followers to
make him their ultimate priority. Barth[1] will want us to
consider that we must not press these words beyond their proper sense. We
should not give words that had a specific direction in this moment a universal
significance. Yet, we must also be willing to see the distinctive and concrete
ethical direction is present. He wants to stress that “hate” does not mean
emotion aversion, hostility, contempt, or repugnance. We should not take it
psychologically. Such a statement is not a universal rule for all human conduct.
Yet, within these limits, we must not tone down the saying. The divine command
can in fact acquire the character of a commitment that literally says what is
said here. Some situations demand this sense and direction.
Continuing
his subtle message, he says that if you do not carry the cross and follow him,
you cannot be his disciple. To carry the cross suggests willingness to
sacrifice everything for him. Pannenberg[2] says that in the
sayings about the discipleship of the cross, Jesus required his disciples to
bear his cross, but only insofar as they were to bear their own. That is, their
cross meant the consequences of the special calling and sending they received
from God. Sharing the cross an death of Jesus thus means subjecting all else to
the specific divine calling that each of us receives just as Jesus himself
subjected all else to his own sending by the Father and for the sake of it was
willing to go even to death.
Continuing even further with his
subtle message, he says that if you want to be a disciple, you must be willing
to give up all your possessions. He tells a couple of stories that suggest that
you had better be willing to count the cost. The man who builds the tower and
the king who goes to war will count everything that does not advance those
objectives as worthless and meaningless. Great gain comes only with great
sacrifices. Pannenberg[3] says that in these
parables, Jesus is explaining an aspect of the message of the imminence of the
kingdom against critics, in this case, the right answer to its summons.
Let us be clear. The willingness to
give up family ties, face radical self-denial, and abandon possessions
constitutes what Jesus calls the "cost" of being his disciple.
Such words
challenge us to consider how we can be responsible members of society and still
live responsibly before God.
Some
preachers like to preach such a message of costly discipleship far too much.
Some
preachers, like me, find it very difficult.
Such verses
remind me that discipleship is hard work. We need to admit the perils of
following Jesus.
"Some
churches, preachers and TV programs present the gospel as though they were
selling a used car," writes R. Alan Culpepper of Mercer University. No money down! Attractive terms! Low, low monthly payments! "They make it sound as easy as possible,
as though no real commitment were required.
Jesus' call was far different. He
was not looking for superficial commitment or a crowd of tagalongs. Instead, he required his followers to be
totally committed if they were going to follow at all."[4]
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