Counting the Cost of Discipleship: A Meditation on Luke 14

And there went great multitudes with him:

and he turned, and said unto them,

If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother,

and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters,

yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

And whosoever doth not bear his cross,

and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

For which of you, intending to build a tower,

sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost,

whether he have sufficient to finish it?

Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation,

and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,

Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.

Or what king, going to make war against another king,

Sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten

thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?

Or else, while the other is yet a great way off,

he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.

So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh

 not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

This idea of considering the cost of being a disciple of Jesus was pretty visceral in the first century.  In roughly 33 A.D. Jesus Himself was scourged and crucified by the Roman governor at the instigation of his own Jewish authorities, abandoned to die by His people whom He came to save.  Following in Jesus’ example and prediction, all but one of His 12 Disciples died martyr’s deaths, as their message of peace, love, and reconciliation with God was met by hostility, scorn, and violence.  Even St. John, who the ancient histories say they tried to kill by boiling him alive in oil, and when he wouldn’t perish at their unjust hands, was exiled to Patmos so that he might be worked to death there (the place where he received the Revelation recorded at the end of the New Testament, after which he was liberated and lived out his life as bishop of Ephesus.)  Time would fail to recount the many martyrs of the first and second centuries of the Christian Church (even those recorded, while still many more are known only to God,) who for the sake of their discipleship with Christ, bore the irrational hatred, persecution, and bloodlust of pagans, politicians, atheists, and hedonists.  To become a Christian in the early centuries of the Church was to invite upon oneself a life of torment and ridicule, as the forces of darkness in every echelon of society sought to stomp out the light of Christ’s redemptive message of His love, mercy, and forgiveness for mankind.  Christ’s peaceful and loving call to all mankind that they turn from their evil ways of malice and death and receive His free gift of life and grace brought Him to death on a cross, and those who bore His saving Word often met a similar fate.

Such a context helped drive home the message Jesus presented in our Gospel lesson for this Sunday.  Jesus’ love for His people was not calling them to hatred of their families, friends, and countrymen.  On the contrary, His message of love for all people exceeded even the high demands God gave His people through Moses at Mt. Sinai 1500 years earlier, as Jesus called everyone to love their neighbors as themselves.  But this love of neighbor, as highly as Jesus lifted it in His teaching, was secondary to the love He called all people to have of their Creator and Redeemer God—that they love Him first and foremost, with all their heart, all their soul, all their strength, and all their mind.  While the divine love Jesus called for people to share with each other exceeded all earthly and selfish love, it was always secondary, a reflection of the primary source of divine love which emanated from God Himself.  Thus Jesus teaches in our reading for this Sunday, that anyone who would elevate their affection for their neighbors—regardless of who they may be, or of whatever offices they may hold—over their love for God, actually denies the font of love itself, and cannot be a disciple of Jesus.  To the first century Christian, this meant that the love of God which moved them to become disciples of Jesus by grace through faith in His Eternal Gospel of salvation, would cling to Jesus and His Gospel even if their neighbors rejected it, persecuted it, and slandered both it and them.  For these Christians, this love of God in Jesus Christ moved them to suffer torture and death at the hands of demonically inspired men, rather than repudiate the salvation of Jesus’ Gospel.  Their martyrdom was a witness not only to their saving fidelity to Christ who would keep them forever and raise them up on the Last Day, but a loving witness even to those who were shedding their blood—a witness that even the dark and demonically inspired murderers of saints can be redeemed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

This is the cost of discipleship.  While recent centuries have made it easier to remain Christian in Western democracies, that ease is beginning to turn into the ridicule, scorn, and legal persecution known all too well to ancient Christianity, and under which many of our Christian brothers and sisters have painfully labored in the East.  The bloody rise of Secular Atheist regimes in the 20^th century spilled the blood of hundreds of millions, and their vestiges continue to do so in China and North Korea, while their political activists continue to fan their flames in Europe and North America.  The gruesome resurgence of militant Islam has been murdering whole populations since the 7^th century A.D., and in only the last decade has publicly butchered hundreds of thousands in their genocidal quest to establish a hellish world Caliphate.  Caught today between rising tides of pagans who worship demons and unleash their oppressions upon communities great and small; of secular atheism which drives toward tyrannical and godless totalitarianism; of hedonists who prize pleasure above all things, even the lives of those whom they consume for their passions; of materialists who discount the dignity of humanity both in themselves and in others, inexorably treating people as valueless animals; to militant Islam which seeks to submit the whole world to the horrors of Sharia Law; of apostate churches which have abandoned the Word of God so as to make alliances all those persecutors above; here the Christian must once again count the true cost of discipleship.

In ourselves, there is no power to stand against such great terrors and persecutions.  To rely on our own strength to be disciples of Jesus is to fall into the trap of thinking we can work hard enough to merit Jesus’ salvation, which Jesus and the Apostles assure us we cannot do.  What we can do, however, is receive the Word of Christ as it calls us to Him.  That Word will work in us a saving and living faith by the power of His Holy Spirit, which will receive His grace of forgiveness, eternal life, and salvation, turning us from the paths of wickedness and death.  Raised up by this Word and Spirit of Christ, He makes of us disciples which can love Him beyond all things, and yet love all things as He loves them, sacrificing Himself for the sake of the whole world.  And when in our sinful weakness we fail to love as He calls us to love, His Word and Spirit call us again to faith and repentance, that we might once again be raised up to new and eternal life as restored and forgiven His disciples.

As the Word and Spirit of Christ come to you this day, they call you to count the cost of being a disciple of Jesus.  There is nothing in this passing world which compares with the salvation and life He offers to you through His own life, death, and resurrection which pays for your sins of infidelity to your Creator and His Word.  Rather He invites you by grace to receive His free gift of love and salvation, which He extends not only to you, but your family, your community, your nation, and your world.  There in the love of Christ you will find true love for your spouse, your children, your parents, your siblings, your friends, and all your neighbors.  There in the Gospel of Jesus Christ you will find a life that cannot be quenched by the powers of darkness, and cannot be cowed by the ferocity of hell’s most vociferous malefactors.  There in the love of Christ you will find the heroic faith of the martyrs, which will raise you up to shine the saving light of Christ and His Word into a dark and dying world.  Hear the Word of Christ call to you today, that you may arise by grace through faith in Him forever.  Amen.

Whoever Exalts Himself will be Abased: A Meditation on Luke 14

And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden,

when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them,

When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding,

sit not down in the highest room;

lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him;

And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee,

Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the

lowest room.  But when thou art bidden, go and sit

down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee

cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher:

then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at

meat with thee. For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased;

and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

There are few things more common to the human condition than pride, and it doesn’t take much introspection to find it in one’s self.  Not far beneath our exercises in fashion, accessories, or personal image creation is the pride which wants to be valued and celebrated by others.  Who doesn’t choose their clothing with the specific intent of looking better, or projecting a specific image?  Some present themselves as powerful, others wealthy, others intelligent, others seductive, others cool… and many blend these approaches depending on the outing or event they are heading into.  If I dress for work, I try to present myself a certain way that is far different than I might if I am heading out for a motorcycle ride with friends, or drinking beer at the local pub, or going out on a date with my lovely wife, or visiting my children’s schools, or attending Sunday morning church services.  From the way I trim by beard to the kind of boots I wear, almost everything I do reflects my own pride in who I am, and how I want others to view me.  I hide from others the weakness and faults I don’t want them to see, and show them only the best I can manufacture or spin to my benefit.

Of course, our pride goes far deeper than just our appearances—it also extends into how we act among other people.  Even subconsciously, most people act differently when they are mixing with people of different social or economic standing, cultural or racial background, academic or philosophic persuasions, and those differences in the way we present ourselves also reflect something about our pride.  From social justice warriors storming the campuses on which they study, to the folks gathered in the church fellowship hall around the latest pot luck feast, people tend to order themselves and present themselves according to the pride they have in who they are.  Our pride infects all our thinking and doing in every sphere of our lives, and the more we meditate on our thoughts, words, and deeds—things done and left undone—the deeper we find the effect.  This shouldn’t surprise us, since pride was at the root of our first parents’ fall into sin, when the human race succumbed to the devil’s suggestion that though we be creatures, we should presume to be like God our Maker.  Ever since, no one has been able to escape our fallen nature, and the pride which twists it into demonic, self-absorbed contortions.

Jesus often warned those around Him about the dangers of pride, and no less in the Gospel reading this week from Luke 14.  The parable He offers describes a scene where a benefactor calls a banquet, and the seating is assigned based upon the honor given by the host.  Any guest who presumes to honor himself by taking a higher seat is humiliated by the host who sends the prideful guest to the lowest seat in the disdainful presence of all their peers, while the humble are elevated by the host to the place he has given for them to the aplomb of those same peers.  As in many passages of Scripture, Jesus warns once again through this story that God will knock down the people who present themselves high and mighty, even as He lifts up and honors those who are humble or humiliated by others.  He reminds everyone who will listen that human presumptions to pride and honor are meaningless before God, who alone is worthy of honor and worship, and who alone gives His gifts of honor and grace to whomever He will. God alone is the measure of what has enduring value and honor, and God alone gives that blessing of value and honor to His creatures according to His divine will in creating them.

While this warning should rightly deflate our self-assigned prideful assumptions about ourselves (particularly when we presume to elevate ourselves over each other, or over God and His Eternal Word,) there is also a Gospel blessing contained in it for those who will repent and believe.  Rather than relying on our own prideful assessments of our value which are destined only to bring us dishonor and infamy in the Day of Judgment, God gives to His people by His grace alone the dignity of His created image, His redemption through the blood of His Son, and the promise to be co-heirs with Jesus of His Eternal Kingdom.  This honor and blessing is given fully apart from what we deserve as fallen, twisted, prideful creatures, and can only be received rather than worked for.  As a gift of grace which we could never earn, it can only be clung to by faith—a faith which lets go of the empty promises of our pride, and instead embraces the forgiveness of our sins, life, and salvation in Jesus Christ alone.  For those who leave behind the filthy rags of their own merit and honor, and receive instead the free gift of grace in Jesus Christ by faith, there is no longer any room for pride, boasting, or presumption.  Among all those saved by grace through faith in Christ alone, there are only poor miserable sinners who humbly gather together around Jesus to receive His Word and His Means of Grace.  As Luther’s famous last words on his death bed remind every Christian who will hear Jesus’ Law and Gospel:  we are all beggars before the throne of God’s grace.

Where does Jesus’ Word meet you this day?  Regardless of what trappings of pride you have wrapped yourself in, Jesus calls you to exchange the worthless baubles of man’s self acclamation for the eternal blessings of His grace, mercy, and salvation.  There is no certificate, no wardrobe, no position, no wealth, no race, no politics, nor anything else promoted by the minds of prideful men which endure before the throne of God, and no appeal to the works or accolades of man which withstand the consuming fire of our just and righteous Judge.  Only the most holy Blood of Christ, shed upon His holy Cross, which washes the sinner clean with His Justification and Righteousness, can avail before the Judge of all the universe.  Only Jesus’ Gospel of grace, received by faith and lived out in humble, loving repentance, gives the honor and blessing of God’s favor, lifting the penitent, faithful, humble sinner to the place of redemption in His Eternal Kingdom.  Hear the Word of the Lord call to you this day, that you might lay down the false riches and honors of sinful men, and receive by His grace through faith the true riches and honors of His blessed fellowship forever.  Amen.

Strive to Enter by the Narrow Gate: A Meditation on Luke 13

And he went through the cities and villages,

teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.

Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved?

And he said unto them,

Strive to enter in at the strait gate:

for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.

When once the master of the house is risen up,

And hath shut the door, and ye begin to stand without,

and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us;

and he shall answer and say unto you,

I know you not whence ye are:

Then shall ye begin to say,

We have eaten and drunk in thy presence,

and thou hast taught in our streets.

But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are;

depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.

There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth,

when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets,

in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

And they shall come from the east, and from the west,

and from the north, and from the south,

and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.

And, behold, there are last which shall be first,

and there are first which shall be last.

Judgment is a difficult theme in the Scriptures for anyone to grapple with, but it is the subject which Jesus teaches on explicitly in this week’s Gospel text.  It forces the reader to wrestle with ideas of salvation and damnation, of time and eternity, and of one’s own place betwixt them.  In order to weigh such dire things, one must also begin to define the terms; what can “salvation” mean, and from what would a person be saved?  What is the peril which lies so close, that people would need to be saved from it?  How many means or preparation might be employed to accomplish this salvation, if it is actually worth accomplishing in the first place?  What kind of a return on investment is there, or is this salvation worth achieving if the alternative isn’t so bad?

There are many potential answers to these questions from a human point of view, but Jesus and His Scriptures have a very particular set of answers.  The human predicament is well documented from the beginning of the OT to the end of the NT:  mankind was made in the image of God, good and pure and holy, and in perfect fellowship with Him, sharing in His eternal life; by our own choice, mankind left that perfect fellowship of eternal life with our Creator, corrupting ourselves, and in our sin and evil have nothing left to inherit but death and eternal torment in hell.  As such, the gravity of our human situation could not be greater.  No matter how long or well we think our lives persist in this world, we stand on the precipice of eternity rightly condemned for the evil which courses through our veins, and corrupts our every thought, word, and deed.  Left unresolved, every man, woman, and child of every race and tribe from every corner of the globe shares only one eternal and unimaginable fate of being separated from the only true God and Author of all life.  This is the situation we find ourselves in, as our God has revealed it to us through His Prophets and Apostles recorded in Holy Scripture.

Having given us the knowledge of our situation and the dire criticality of our eternal fate, God also reveals to us the one and only way back into His fellowship of eternal life:  that to preserve His justice and truth, our sin and evil must be paid for; that no mere sinful man could satisfy the Law’s eternal justice for anyone other than himself; that only God could take upon Himself the penalty of eternal condemnation due to every human being who would ever exist, and having satisfied in Himself divine Justice, extend to mankind His divine Mercy.  This path to restoring our fellowship of eternal life with God was accomplished through Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of the Father, in the community of the Holy Spirit—Eternally One God in Three Persons, undivided and unconfused.  What the Son accomplished through His life, death, and resurrection (His Vicarious Atonement for the sins of the world, worked through the Cross He bore on our behalf) is nothing less than the salvation of all mankind.  He satisfied the Law’s curse of judgment for every person, and extends to every person the grace of forgiveness which is our restored life and salvation through faith in Him.  The Holy Spirit continues to bear witness to this Good News of grace and salvation through faith in Jesus’ work through His Cross, drawing people to Jesus through His Word.

In this context, we can begin to wrestle with what Jesus is teaching the people around Him about how many will in fact be saved.  Jesus knows our condition better than we know ourselves, and He knows that some people will simply refuse Him and His saving Word.  There will be people who appreciate His miracles, His wisdom, His model for life, His gentleness, and so forth, but who will not turn from their own evil and embrace His life changing—really, life giving—Word.  The faith which receives Jesus’ gift of grace and salvation is not merely an intellectual exercise or general appreciation of Jesus.  Rather, saving faith is a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit which brings about conversion in a hopelessly condemned sinner, raising such a one up by His power to turn from the ways of death and embrace the ways of life.  Saving faith believes, hopes, trusts, and relies upon the Word of Jesus as Savior and Lord, and such faith never exists apart from a life oriented toward Jesus’ Word in works of love and mercy.  The faith which receives salvation in Jesus is a miraculous resurrection of the individual into a new life which is marked by ever greater conformance of the sinner to the image of his Savior.

As in Jesus’ day when He taught the people around Him in Palestine, so too in our own day, there will be many who refuse Jesus’ grace because they really don’t believe His Word.  These may be people who are openly scandalous and evil, or superficially benevolent.  Regardless of the way such a person presents himself to the broader world, every sinner who refuses the salvation offered to him through Jesus chooses to plummet into the eternal fires of hell, because he chooses to stand in judgment before his holy God on basis of his own miserable life, rather than on the basis of Jesus’ satisfaction of the Law on his behalf.  To refuse Jesus is to refuse grace, and to refuse grace is to refuse life.

Once God has closed the window of opportunity for any sinner to repent, believe, and live by His grace through faith in Jesus Christ, there is no longer any appeal of the eternal sentence they have chosen.  Whether that time is closed by the moment of personal death, or by the imminent return of Jesus to judge both the living and the dead, no amount of self justification will avail before God.  Those who have rejected Jesus and His Word might want to be justified by the fact that Jesus walked and taught among them in their day, which is analogous to the way Jesus continues to walk and teach within the world today through His Holy Church.  The fact that we have been in the presence of Jesus and His Word, witnessed His miracles and lived among His saints does not save us from the just penalty of sin and death we all carry in ourselves—only His grace applied to us individually, received in individual living faith, can do that.  So to those who pound upon the locked door of His Kingdom still bound in their rebellious unbelief, God responds with the chilling affirmation of the verdict they have chosen for themselves:  depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.  I never knew you.

As frightening as the final judgment is, either for ourselves or the whole of humanity, we must remember that God never desires anyone to be lost.  He is the One who created us in His fellowship, and the One who came to restore that fellowship in Jesus.  He is the One who sends and preserves His Word by the power of His Holy Spirit, seeking to raise every wicked and evil sinner dead in their trespasses to a new and eternal life, forgiven and free.  He is the Father who loves the whole world so much, that He would send His only begotten Son, that whoever repents and believes in Him should never perish nor enter into judgment, but receive the full and free gift of eternal life.

Are there few who will be saved?  Jesus never gives us the number.  Rather, Jesus gives to every person exactly what they need to hear, that all people might strive and struggle to enter eternal life by the narrow and straight gate of Jesus Christ alone, who alone is the God of our creation, salvation, and preservation forever.  How will you receive His Word which calls you to faith and repentance, away from the fiery, gaping maw of eternal condemnation, and into the bliss of His eternal fellowship of life, joy, and peace?  Oh you, who stand on the precipice of eternity this day, hear the Word of God’s love and grace call to you this day in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that you might receive His gift of life by grace through faith in Him. Amen.His