Sermon Preached by (soon-to-be) Pastor Eric Hullstrom

Salem Lutheran Church on Sunday, June 27, 2004

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Text:  Luke 9: 51-62

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from Jesus Christ, the giver of peace and life eternal, Amen.

Cost, price, amount, value, worth, and return are all terms that dominate our market driven and reward seeking society.  Everything we do, buy, invest in, engage in, and enter into has a cost.  Every decision has a cost attached to it.  Every path in life we take has cost that needs attention.  We have to weigh the pros and cons to everything we do whether it is a conscience effort or whether we do it without really thinking.  We determine the cost to everything we do and then ask ourselves, “Is it worth it?”  I like to think that Jesus did the same thing, but for him there was never a question.  When Jesus asked “Is it worth it”, he said an emphatic “YES!” without even batting an eyelash.  What a reward that is for us.

Last weekend, Connie and I were running around Sioux Falls looking at various pieces of furniture.  We were and still are looking for a coffee table with end tables and an entertainment center.  Something we are not going to buy right now, but we still wanted to get an idea what is out there.  We went to five different furniture stores in Sioux Falls.  Prices varied along with quality, style, amenities, and aesthetics.  There are so many factors to consider that weighing the costs got a little overwhelming.  But we decided that we were willing to pay a little more and make sure that it was of good quality and that it looked nice with what we already have in the house.

Everything we do has a cost and Jesus knew that better than anyone.  In our Gospel text, Jesus is teaching us the cost attached to discipleship, because discipleship is not an easy thing.  But our first mission before we continue to far is to ask what discipleship is.  We cannot weigh the cost of something until we have all the information.

Well, allow me to help you out a little bit.  Here are a couple definitions of discipleship that I got from a class I took on discipleship written by a number of classmates.  Let’s see what you think:

Number one:  Discipleship is following Christ, proclaiming the life found through Christ’s love and forgiveness, and ministering to the needs of others.

Number two: Discipleship encompasses one’s entire life through love and service to God and the neighbor.  Discipleship is living through the hardships, struggles, the good and the bad, the ups and downs of life while loving and serving God and the neighbor.  Discipleship calls you into the world to love and service in Christ’s name.

And number three:  To be a disciple is to surrender my own agenda to the will of God, trusting fully in God’s call, living out that call daily as a witness to God’s love and saving grace, in all that I say and do.

What is the cost of discipleship here?  Is it worth it?  What are the rewards?

Well, in order to ask these questions we have to take another step further.  What does discipleship look like for today?  What are the practicalities of discipleship? 

Within the walls of this church building, it is easy to be a disciple.  To a certain extent we are expected to be “good” people.  There is no shame in praying in front of others.  People will not point and stare if you go out of your way to help someone.  And generally people are kind and loving to one another.  It is easy here, but out there it is a whole new ball game. 

If you and your family are sitting in the middle of a busy Pizza Ranch, do you hold hands and say or sing a table prayer or to you just say a silent prayer to yourself?  If you are driving along the road and see someone having car troubles, do you stop or do you just keep going so you won’t be late? 

Discipleship in today’s world is not easy because the cost is so high.  We sometimes have to go out of our way to be a disciple and that can be inconvenient.  Sometimes being a disciple means swallowing one’s own pride like when we admit we were wrong and apologize to someone.  Sometimes discipleship requires a huge sacrifice like giving up a favorite activity to service the church or some service organization.

There are costs to everything we do.  Is discipleship worth it?

The opening of the Gospel text for today has Jesus setting face toward Jerusalem.  Now, Jesus knew what he was getting himself into.  Jesus knew that he was going to be received like a king only to have the people turn against him a few days later when they shouted “Crucify Him!”  Jesus knew that he was going to be tried unfairly and beaten like a vicious, dangerous, despised criminal.  Jesus knew he was going to have a gigantic wooden cross, too heavy for him to carry strapped to his back to carry to his own death.  Jesus knew that he was going to have large metal spikes driven in his wrists and feet to that instrument of death and hoisted up to suffer.  Jesus knew that he was going to die.

But Jesus also knew that he was going to rise from the grave.

Do you think that Jesus considered the cost of discipleship and asked if it was worth it?  Sure he did.  But for Jesus there was never a question about what must done.  He had to head to Jerusalem to meet this certain fate.  A certain fate that would bring all of us life.

Discipleship has its costs.  The cost is not like what Jesus paid for us, but there are costs.  So what are they?  First Jesus says, “Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head”.  Disicpleship is not a glorious lifestyle.  The sacrifices that discipleship often puts people on the “outs” with the world. 

Next Jesus says that discipleship requires the whole person.  The person who worries about the details of life misses out the glorious activity of God.  Discipleship requires trust, and trust is a very difficult thing.

Lastly, Jesus says discipleship moving forward and not looking backward.  Paul says in our second lesson that through Christ we have been set free from slavery to the law.  If we have been set free, why keep looking back.  Imagine a farmer trying to plow and seed their field while looking behind them all the time.  How do you think that field is going to look?  It will be a mess.

In everything we do, we have to consider the costs.  Is it worth it?  Is discipleship worth it?  Sometimes it may seem like following Christ everyday is not worth it, but what about that one person who does not know Christ?

By the way, I have one more definition of discipleship for you.  I think you might recognize it:  “Through our faith in Jesus Christ, we will share peace with all God’s people”.  You were on to something when you wrote this.

The gift of life we have been given is way to valuable to keep to ourselves.  It is way to awesome to keep within these walls.  And it is way to expensive to cheapen through empty living.  Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and give glory to our Father in heaven.  Jesus paid a high price for your life.  Is it worth it?  You bet it is.

Amen!!!