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The phrase, “Taking Stock”
has been very much in my mind over these past few weeks. I have been “Taking
Stock” of my sense of call from God for the next chapter of my life and
ministry. As a family we have been “Taking Stock” of what we will miss, of
what are losing in this transition, as well as all the new things we will be
discovering. In conversations with some of you and others who know us, there
have been elements of “Taking Stock” as people have expressed their thoughts
and prayers, and shared their reflections and good wishes. Fortunately, or
unfortunately, depending on how you look at things, both Janice and Jennifer
like to watch HGTV, “Homes and Gardens” Television; Jim and I don’t even
know that channel number! The result is that we have two resident experts in
“Taking Stock” of our home, our furnishings, our belongings, as we get ready
to see the house listed for sale.
“Taking Stock” has its
place. But if we only made
safe choices, decisions that seemed to be
beneficial to us by some human measure, we would be denying God the space
and the need to sometimes move us on, even when some things might not be
absolutely perfect or clear or obvious. Viewed from a purely human point of
view, I am not sure the Simpson family would ever have decided to follow
God’s call to come to the USA! Similarly looked at from a solely,
self-centered point of view, our move to Clinton, SC, is not necessarily the
most obvious next step …. But for those of us who trust in Jesus Christ, we
have to be open to taking stock by paying close attention to what it is God
is asking us to do and be. Such faith-guided taking stock is required of all
of us coming or going or staying put, and it asks of all of us a good,
encouraging, supportive attitude, free from malice or enmity.
This time of transition is
also a time for Northminster to take stock; to identify and celebrate all
that is good and positive in its shared life, to not be afraid to keep
working on weaknesses, to highlight our vision of where God leads, to
harness the many significant strengths in this community of faith for the
future well-being and development of the congregation and its ministry.
In all of this taking stock, we can each and all be guided by the words and call of Jesus that we
hear in
today's reading in Luke. Jesus urges any who want to follow Him to
be, “Taking Stock”, to "Count the cost before they commit!" These words do
not indicate that Jesus does not want people to be disciples and followers.
Instead, Jesus’ concern is that they, and we, know clearly what it is we are
into, and so be able to face that challenge of faith openly and fully.
Jesus offers these words to
the "large crowds" of people who have started to be attracted to Him. More
and more people are catching onto the buzz that surrounds Jesus.
They want
to hear what Jesus has to say, they want to see Jesus perform signs and
miracles. For His part, Jesus knows that He is on the way, not to some
luxury resort, not to some beautiful beach house, not to some peaceful
Retreat Center, but to Jerusalem. A Holy City – yes, but He already knows
what will happen there…
He will be ill-treated and condemned and put to
death.
"Don’t commit until you
count!" is Jesus’ message, a message that demands our attention not as a set
of imperatives, not as Law, but as the gift of space and time to realize
what our discipleship means. Jesus is saying, “As my disciples, this is what
you’re signing on for—and that’s a fact! So consider this, consider this
well!"
Today I encourage you to
hear these words of Jesus being spoken and shared in an open, non-judgmental
voice pattern. I wish for you to hear Jesus’ words not as strident but soft,
not as short staccato bursts but as phrases sustained and measured, not
with overwhelming, “in a New York minute” insistent urgency but allowing,
leaving, indeed creating space for discernment and reflection.
One day when large groups of people were walking along with him, Jesus
turned and told them, Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of
father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters - yes, even one's own
self! - can't be my disciple.
Anyone who won't shoulder
his own cross and follow behind me can't be my disciple.
Is there anyone here who,
planning to build a new house, doesn't first sit down and figure the cost so
you'll know if you can complete it? If you only get the foundation laid and
then run out of money, you're going to look pretty foolish. Everyone passing
by will poke fun at you: 'He started something he couldn't finish.'
Or can you imagine a king
going into battle against another king without first deciding whether it is
possible with his ten thousand troops to face the twenty thousand troops of
the other? And if he decides he can't, won't he send an emissary and work
out a truce?
Simply put, if you're not
willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it
good-bye, you can't be my disciple.
We live in the midst of a
time of partisan rhetoric; protracted and shrill, ideological, black and
white, red or blue. Much of the oratory we hear is simplistic and
judgmental, full of appeals for courage, determination and perseverance in
the face of the latest threat or in reaction to all that is wrong with what
the other side have to say; as if there were or are ever only two sides to
any question. Those who have imposed this pattern on us have created a
society hungry for simple, easy answers, freeing people from any need to
dwell with, to wrestle with the question.
Trusting in what we call
the “sound bite” is risky and downright dangerous. “Sound bite” an apt name, because no sound bite is ever fully satisfying
and they always leave teeth
marks somewhere!
This is why my plea today
is that we hear Jesus’ words in a new and different way. I want to suggest
that we step into these words of Jesus and hear their message of “Taking
Stock”, and "Estimating the cost" as an invitation to discernment rather
than as imperatives for action. Our best and fullest response to what Jesus
says is NOT about getting us “pumped up” as Jesus plays the role of a
religious Richard Simmons! No, our best and fullest response requires that
we pay attention to Jesus; that we pay close attention to Jesus;
that we
live with and live into Jesus’ entire life and mission.
Luke gives us a clue, a
hint, that this can be our way into these statements of Jesus when He notes
that Jesus turns to the large crowds who are following him to offer these
words. By stopping, by turning around even for these few moments Jesus stops
the forward momentum of His own journey toward Jerusalem, and implores the
crowd to “count the cost”, to know for sure what will be asked of them, and
of any and all, who follow Jesus.
In effect Jesus says to the
large crowds following Him, “Take a look!” “Take a look at the people beside
you and around you, your mothers, and fathers, and brothers, and sisters”,
“take a look” at what you cannot keep if you chose to keep going along with
me –
to Jerusalem. Take Stock, Count the cost, be sure you know what it asks
of you to be a disciple.
Jesus asks us to be
discerning, to be willing to live our lives in such a way that we are
constantly engaged with Jesus as we make choices, as we get things right and
even as we get things wrong.
Jesus invites us into
dialogue and partnership. This is not an excuse for lazy or sinful living,
but a way of being and becoming in which we can embrace all that is good and
seek to reject all that hurts or harms the lives of others, the fabric of
creation, the image of God in friend and stranger.
We know, despite many years
of trying, that none of us can completely embody the demands of the gospel.
None of us has this faith fully figured out.
None of us has yet been able
naturally and fully to over our entire heart and mind and soul and body to
our Lord. None of us have yet counted the full cost of discipleship.
But God
has. And through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, God has not
only counted the cost,
but paid it in full.
Taking stock involves
identifying what really matters to us about faith and life, and then getting
about living and expressing what we discern to be key and central and
crucial. This week we will reach the sixth anniversary of 9/11. In an article
in the Wall Street Journal on last year’s anniversary, Peggy Noonan, writing
about the transcripts of telephone calls made by those who became caught up
as victims in the midst of the terror attacks, wrote this: “[When] time was
short. People said what counted, what mattered. It has been noted that there
is no record of anyone calling to say, “I never liked you,” or, “You hurt my
feelings.” Amazingly - or not -
there is no record of anyone damning the
terrorists or saying, “I hate them.” No one said anything unneeded,
extraneous or small. Crisis is a great editor. When you read the transcripts
that have been released over the years it’s all so clear. Flight 93 flight
attendant Ceecee Lyles said, “Please tell my children that I love them very
much. I’m sorry, baby.””
These transcripts and tapes
are enduring testimonies to the triumph of love, grace and mercy in the face
of hurry, horror, and hatred. They are marvelous examples of people taking
stock, of what really matters, when it really matters.
My friends, I hope you will
pay attention to the words of Jesus that we have considered today. But
please, please don’t even be tempted to feel guilty as you receive them. Our
Lord offers us these hard words today for what they are:
an invitation, a
possibility, an opportunity for abundant living. Within this church, here in
your community of faith, there is a place for each of us, no matter where we
are on our unfolding journey of discipleship, toward Jerusalem.
And please do your best to
be here next week, because we will be paying attention to
Luke 15. I can
promise you that these hard words will have given way to one more experience
of the unrelenting, unwavering, undaunted, unimagined, unforgettable,
undeserved, unbelievable grace of God, who meets us and claims us in Jesus
Christ our Lord.
Live into the truth that
God loves you unconditionally, always, even as you are.
Accept the promise that God carries us when we cannot carry
any more crosses. Trust in God, who will
nurture you when spouses, or children, or parents leave you feeling drained.
Believe that God will
always keep seeking and finding and forgiving you, even if you get buried in
the obsessions and possessions of anxious living.
Take Stock and know that it is this God who calls you together and calls you
forward in the living and sharing of the grace that God has for all
in Jesus Christ our crucified and Risen Savior! Amen. |
