Monthly Archives: February 2025
The Cost of Discipleship is far less than you think (or has been told to you)
Thoughts carrying me to Jesus, and to the Cross…
“And when the people saw it, they all complained, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”But Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I now give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone of anything, I am paying back four times as much!” Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this household, because he too is a son of Abraham!For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”” (Luke 19:7–10, NET)
But hope in the resurrection allows us to take the proper measure of our brief time in this world, and this does not make us neglect our neighbor, it stirs up greater generosity. We have seen this in the lives of many mystics. The saint with a soul soaring upward into heaven does not forget the world; to the contrary, he or she is in the most radically free position to transform it. Chesterton said his first attractions to Christianity came when he realized that Christians were the only ones to preach the paradox that one must be “enough of a pagan to die for the world, and enough of a Christian to die to it.” Hope allows us to love the world radically, without practical calculation or cost analysis.
Back int eh 1980’s, there was a great focus on the the idea of the “Cost of Discipleship.”
Some of it came because of the great work by Bonhoeffer bearing that name, which many people would read and not finish! Or if they did, would struggle and give up applying it. Others would talk about it based on Jesus’ parables and stories–illustrations like the general going to war, or the warnings about following Jesus costing family, friends, and even require accepting martyrdom and persecution.
In some ways, the Kingdom of God was put forth as requiring such a sacrifice that you would be considered a “hero” of the faith, a saint because of inner fortitude and a willingness to pay any cost to be with Jesus, and it turns the Church into a rest haven for weary crusaders fighting against that “ole Satanic foe.”
Count the cost – the pastors and evangelists told us… and held up images of those who left everything to go on the mission field, or serve in the inner city, or give up the tech career to work in the church. They counted the cost, and accepted the cost, and paid for it with their blood, sweat, and relationships.
And often burnt out – for the cost analysis they did was inaccurate, and minimized the cost to one’s heart and soul. (that is another blogpost entirely!)
Simply put, if our focus is on the cost analysis, we won’t make it.
But those who encounter Christ, as Zacchaeus did, don’t calculate the cost of walking with God, he didn’t perform a cost analysis or look at his bank account when he determined where God was leading him. He did check his credit card balance before throwing a massive parry at his house, so people could meet Jesus, he did it. And as he restored and multiplied his victims wealth, there was no one at his should, laying out a payment plan.
There was no need for a cost analysis, because he could see the value God put on restoring him… and nothing could compare. Those who serve God for 40-5070 years will tell you the same thing – nothing can compare to what they have, indeed they rejoice in their hardships!
This is why Fagerberg’s saints are so generous, why we are free to love radically–even to the point of bloodshed and death. dying for the world that we had to die to.
Which brings up a last point… if we were dead in sin prior to being brought alive in Christ, what price could we have paid, and what cost is there now?
This isn’t cheap grace _He paid for it…and as we receive it – we realize that only our relationship with Him, and walking with Him as we love others with Him matters.
Fagerberg, D. W. (2019). Liturgical Mysticism (p. 96). Emmaus Academic.
The Glory that Empowers Trust: A Sermon on Jeremiah 17:5-8
The Glory that
Empowers Trust
Jeremiah 17:5-8
† In Jesus’s Name †
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ empower and strengthen your dependence on Jesus the Messiah!
Cursed are We?
The Old Testament passage this morning starts with such a encouraging word!
CURSED ARE Those who put their trust in mere humans!
My first reaction to this was to thank God for being, well, more cynical than most – and therefore I don’t trust anyone!
Part of that is growing up in a very cynical part of the country, part of that comes from working in the jails as a chaplain, and part of it comes from being a pastor, and part of it comes, to be honest, from looking in the mirror!
But while I say I don’t trust anyone… that isn’t true!
We trust people every day, from doctors and nurses to tax advisors and mechanics and family members and friends.
Some those things we trust to them are life-affecting decisions ranging from medical advice to whether our cars are safe. And if they are wrong, there is a heavy price to pay!
But this sermon isn’t titled “It pays to be cynical…” It’s about what happens when we trust in the Lord, and let Him care for us…rather than turning to human strength.
Dried out Shrubs
Jeremiah is pretty clear about the effect of relying on mankind for answers about life the universe and everything. Hear His words again,
(Those ) who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the LORD. 6 They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land.
On the fringe of salt flats, barren lands you find these shrubs or trees that look more like weeds. Because the water in the ground, if there is any, has too high of a salt content, the water they have access to is limited and it won’t sustain growth.
They have no hope of becoming like the tree in last week’s sermon, no chances of giving shade and respite, or having branches which would let birds rest and fruit for humans and animas to be nourished by.
The simply dry up and die, to be blown about by the wind, never having a home, never having a future.
Spiritually, that is exactly what happens when we give up on God, when we dismiss Him to trust in some human to provide for us what we need to sustain life and hope, to help us get through the challenges, to deal with guilt and shame.
That is the curse, the inability to deal with the broken relationships, here on earth and with God.
That is a curse to heavy to bear, a pain that echoes through an empty soul.
Replanted!
There is hope for those so “cursed”
“But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. 8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought!
The picture here for planted is God carefully removing us from the barren, salted soil, to be in a lush valley alongside the river bank, where the ground is full of the nutrients we need to grow.
That is the relationship we have with God, where He cares for us, provides for us and puts in a place where we are hidden in Him.
That’ why we aren’t bothered by the heat or drought- for God draws us deep into His love, deep into this place where He knows our needs, and we can rely on His care.
This idea of being planted and/or replanted in a good place is important. To have the power to trust God includes the trust to know we are where we should be at, among the people we are called to be alongside – and that God provides the trust to dwell with Him there. But He is the one who plants us there, He is the one who removes from us the barrenness, the lack of love and mercy, the absolute dry bones, and gives us life!
And that is why Jeremiah can confidently state, “Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.
The more we see God at work here, the more comfort He gives us, the more we realize how He is working through each of our lives. We produce life – in the leaves and in the fruit because His life works its way through us.
That’s Jesus take on this, as those He takes root in produce 30,60 and 90 times their own life as it is invested in others.
This is the effect of trusting in Jesus, of knowing we die with Him and are raised with Him, AMEN!
From Glorious to Glorious Light: The Glory FOR All – a sermon on Luke 2:22-32
The Glory FOR ALL!
Luke 2:22-32
† In Jesus’s Name †
May the grace, mercy and peace of God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ be reflected through you, lighting up the lives of those captive in the darkness!
Intro – Uhmm –WHAT DID HE SAY?
This morning, I came across the words of a pastor/theologian that were so concerning, and so contrary to the very gospel reading this morning that I had to adapt, almost re-write the sermon to contain them.
He wrote,” If people don’t like the idea that we are supposed to perform acts of love more for some people than others, just wait until they find out that God loves some people more than others”(Fr. Mike Totleben on Twitter, 1/31)
I want you to think about that for a moment, what he is accusing God of, that God plays favorites, and therefore, we should as well.
He would later go on to determine who he thought God should love more, which was disappointing, because it wasn’t about helping the least of these, but rather helping the people who were just like us.
In view of Simeon’s words, in view of Jesus’s words about being there for the hungry, thirsty, stranger-(that is the word for an outsider, with different cultures, languages etc), the naked, sick and imprisoned at the judgment day, I am in shock at the pastor’s words. And what about Jesus’s and the Apostle Paul’s words about loving our enemies, and adversaries?
But it gets to the heart of today’s message – which is how we see Jesus and His kingdom. And how that imprints how we live, and think.
What Do We Want the Messiah to Be?
If it wasn’t for the presence of the Holy Spirit guiding Simeon, I think he would have been gravely disappointed that day in the Temple. All his life, and a very long one by the averages, he had been told he would see the arrival of the Messiah, the hope of Israel, the Savior of the nation. That morning, as he is walking with the Holy Spirit, he is told, “today’s the day!”
I imagine, that if he wasn’t filled with the Holy Spirit, he would be looking for a mighty warrior priest, surrounded by 10,000 holy warriors, all doing their best imitation of Chuck Norris!
But he looks around, and the Holy Spirit says, there! And he looks and again, “there!” and he’s shaking his head, for all that was there was a couple with a tiny infant…all exhausted from an 10 mile hike up hill, that morning
Uhm – “God—are you sure?”
Israel had expected a savior! One who would save them—not only from the Romans, but from the powers that be within their people. The Pharisees expected a Pharisee Messiah, the Sadducees, one of their own, the Herodians didn’t care where the Messiah came from, as long as he would work with the Romans, and the Zealots and Essenes had their visions of the Messiah, made in their own image as well.
I don’t think we are any better today. We expect Jesus to be like us… not in appearance, that would be disappointing, even horrifying in my case. But with our views, with our judgements, who loves only those we love, and hates all those who aren’t like us. And who would only help those people like us, that we approve of..
We might not say it that bluntly, but we do play those kinds of games –choosing our own favorites, and expecting God to only bless them, and therefore, we only have to help…them.
And let me be blunt, assuming we know who God loves and doesn’t love, and narrowing our ministry to only them… is sin.
And we need to change…
The Hope of Simeon
The great thing in this passage is that Simeon isn’t speaking as himself, full of the Holy Spirit, he is rejoicing in the fulfillment of the promise—that this baby would change everything…far more than anyone could ever dream… well unless he was a prophet!
30 I have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared for all people. 32 He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!” Luke 2:30-32 (NLT2)
All People, to the Nations – the myriad of ethnicities, the people of Israel—the equivalent to people like us…
All people – sharing in the light and the glory—
By the way, I need to note that Simeon’s words are simply Old Testament passages—in fact 5 times in Isaiah the idea of the Messiah being a light to the Gentiles is covered!
God’s glorious love, enveloping people like us, and people we don’t think are like us. People who are completely compatible to us, and those that tick us off and drive us crazy.
That is who Jesus came to save—not just the “favorites” but all people. We don’t get to pick and choose, for God so loved the world that He gave…
To us, for there is two things everyone in this world, and everyone in history can be defined by.
The first is that we are sinners, that we’ve rebelled and disobeyed God. We are pretty good at defining who some sinners are…but we all are sinners in need of deliverance.
The second is that Jesus came into this world to be our Savior. To save us all from the sin that ensnares us.. all.
So that He could be our light and our glory, and love.
Let’s pray for His peace to be given to all He loves. The peace that comes with being delivered, being saved, that comes from dwelling in Jesus. AMEN!
