This was much better when I annotated it with my stories and illustrations. The text feels static and meaningless. God was speaking to me at the same time as delivering it.
This morning I would like to explore two ideas, which I cannot credit to myself, but which in fact comes from numerous discussions with others. After all we are all in the same boat, with very similar struggles to each other, if not exactly the same.
The first one is this: where do we stand when we are crowded around Jesus? What is our position in regards to the Son of the living God? As we have talked and discussed, we can see two possible questions to help us identify the answer. Are you a follower? Or are you a disciple?
When we take a step back and look at the conditions which Jesus demands of us in this passage, where do we really stand? He is literally posing the question of a lifetime to a large number of people who maybe following him because of the miracles they've seen, or stories they have heard of the miracles or because they've heard he's this great speaker at synagogue and want to try and catch a glimpse of this man for themselves. They are followers. A crowd of unidentified faces, with unidentified reasons and motives, from our point of view anyway. Is that you? Can you see yourself as a crowd member?
I know that being a member of a crowd has it's good points and it's bad points. Take Soul Survivor as an example. We were in a crowd of 8,500 people, all in a big marquee, all worshipping this one Almighty God. I loved it. God created us to be in companionship, in community, in a crowd. Another example is a football fans, or concert goers. There is something really special about watching football or any sport with other fans. We cheer each other on as much as we are cheering for the team, we can be swept up in a great moment. The bad points can make crowds become a force of unimaginable destruction. In a crowd we can remain anonymous and begin to blame the crowd for the bad things which are seemingly out of our control. Peaceful demonstrations and carnival atmospheres turning to violent riots, a crowd baying for an innocent man's blood. There are times when we are crowded together and we wish we hadn't been.
To be a part of a crowd does not cost us anything. The way a crowd behaves is known as “herd mentality” – it is something that allows the individual in the crowd to remain blameless and anonymous when a crowd behaves badly. In Jesus terms, this means that crowd members have sacrificed nothing in order to partake. So Jesus, being Jesus, challenges them. I think maybe at this point Jesus might be getting a little frustrated. He's just come from dinner at a Pharisee's house, and told all who were their to invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind to their house for dinner, and he's illustrated it with a story of a banquet. As if they didn't get it the first time. It's almost as if they have had their chance, their invite. So the challenge is laid down. There maybe mutterings in this crowd of who can call themselves a disciple, what are the things you need to do to be called a disciple.
Here Jesus is as plain as he can be, which only makes life more complicated! “if anyone comes to me and does not hate is father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters – yes, even his own life – he cannot be my disciple.” Hate is a strong word and I think it is here deliberately to show us how much it does cost to be a disciple. If we “strongly dislike” or “have a mild aversion to” then there is still a chance those things could creep into the top spot of our priority list. Hate is the strongest feeling. It'll help us to put God first, and not let anything else creep in. Be jealous for God. Do not stand for it when you and God are interrupted in your time together. After all God is a jealous God for you. The cost of becoming a disciple is great. We are to lose everything in order to gain everything. Though we may not actually hate our families, our relationship with God should look like we hate all else.
Jesus is calling us out of the crowd into discipleship with him. And there is a sense of it being one or the other. In the Revelation passage the church is called “lukewarm”. We cannot float as a crowd member forever, it just won't do. Jesus wants all of us, all of the time. And that should never been too much to ask. Sacrifice everything and follow Jesus. So I ask again, are you a follower or a disciple?
My second point might help us to make that decision. What is our focus? If we are a follower our focus might be too much on now, this very moment. Whilst it is important to live in the moment, we also should think that as very short-sighted of us. If we can't live beyond the moment we are in, how do we understand what God has done, is doing and will do?
So we need to shift the focus of our relationship with Jesus. In giving up everything for Jesus; we gain everything. We have to have an eternal focus. By being Jesus' disciple we are focusing on him, the cross and the eternal life. If we get caught up in the present, all we see is us making mistakes, living vicariously day-by-day and living life half-full or half-empty. If we live with the future goal in mind all the time, we begin to live life in all it's fullness, and an understanding of our inheritance of the kingdom of God.
As disciples we do know what is in our future. We have eternal life. I can't tell you what your sacrifices are, because for me they are individual. What can you sacrifice everyday in order to be a disciple of Jesus? What are we doing to prove ourselves to be the best disciples ever?
To be a disciple of Jesus is to be in the innermost circle, to know what's going on, to be given the meanings behind the parables and to be with Jesus at the best and worst of times. When you are there you are salty. The people who are disciples can be told by their saltiness. They bring flavour in a bland world. Our closeness to God and God drawing close to us helps us to be salt and light.
So what are we choosing? Follower? Disciple?
