Risking Everything for Love

There is no compromise with Jesus. He says hard things, demands hard things, asks that folks risk hard things, and most of the time, almost every time, folks walk away.

This sermon was preached by Charlotte Elia at Blackstone Presbyterian Church in Blackstone, Virginia on Sunday, September 4, 2022. You can listen to the audio of this sermon here or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Now large crowds were traveling with Jesus; and he turned and said to them, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions. (Luke 14:25-33)

Well, Jesus is at it again. He’s audacious and blunt, and he’s his own worst PR for this faith. I mean, large crowds are following him. They’re interested in him, in his teachings, in the stories about him and the stories he’s telling. There is something alluring about this strange man who says even stranger things. Some folks are surely just gawking, just looking for a little entertainment, maybe a story to take home to share. They’re curious. They want to see for themselves what all of the excitement is about, and they’re up for maybe getting into a little excitement themselves. Others are likely hoping that the healings they’ve heard about are real. Perhaps they carry that hope in a miracle for themselves or for a loved one. Or maybe they just want to see a sign that the world could change, that God is still acting in human history, that the same God who heals the blind through Jesus might be near enough, present enough to finally do something, anything, about Roman occupation or the oppressive taxes or the bad fishing season or whatever is preventing the crops from flourishing or that leak in the roof that seems to defy all repairs. And still others likely don’t even know why they’re there. Something has compelled them to follow this man, to walk with him awhile. It seems like he has something they need, something they’re lacking even if they can’t quite name it. Maybe it’s a larger sense of purpose or a deeper meaning to life or a connection to something beyond themselves or answers to questions they haven’t yet dared to ask. Whatever it is, they’re longing for something, and it seems like Jesus just might have it or might even be it.