13th Sunday After Pentecost,, 09/08/2019

Sermon on Luke 14:25-35, by Brad Everett

Sermon on Luke 14:25-35; Philemon 1-21

I’m not a fan of reality TV by any stretch, but an episode I ran across a few years ago stuck with me. The program was called Extreme Weight Loss. The premise was that someone struggling with serious weight issues contacted the show’s host, a professional fitness trainer, to help them drop pounds and the show tracked their progress over the course of a year.

In this particular episode, a man who was over 440 lbs. faced up to his weight issues when it became clear he wouldn’t be able to pass the fitness test for his job as a detective in a suburban police department and realizing the impact that would have on his life. At the end of the 365 days he weighed in at just under 200 lbs.—he lost more than half his weight over the year.

What struck me as I watched was that the change wasn’t just physical, but also mental and emotional. His whole life changed—just as he was told it would.

And the change wasn’t so much the result of him saying “no” to things like junk food and sitting on the couch for hours—it was the result of him saying “yes” to exercise and healthy eating.

Did he struggle and face temptations? Of course he did. But throughout, the focus was on his “yes”. He said “yes” to a new way of living, choices that actually enabled him to change rather than just saying “no” to his former habits and ways of living.

I think the reason he could do this was because his focus was on saying “yes” to a new life. All his decisions were passed by this standard, e.g. what to eat, activity, attitude, who to spend time with etc. which helped him accept and in cases endure all the changes and challenges that came his way. And while he was well prepared concerning what to expect, there was also a lot of unexpected change. It slowed him up, but he didn’t quit, because he knew his goal and was certain that everything he gave up was replaced by something else, something ultimately better, even if it wasn’t necessarily easier or comfortable.

In today’s gospel Jesus, now being followed by large crowds, makes a series of statements that seem intent on driving people away rather than gathering them in. But it has never been about numbers with our Lord, rather it’s about the truth of God. All he is doing is setting out for those travelling with him that day, and

those of us here today, the truth of what it means to be his disciple. Like the guy in the reality weight loss show who was cautioned about what it would mean for him to lose the weight, Jesus tells his followers what it will mean for them to follow him.

Simply put, everything is up for grabs. There is no area of life exempt from the impact of Jesus’ presence. Nothing or no one can come before Him. Which oddly enough is just an echo of the first commandment—to have no other gods, which Luther explained as “We should fear love and trust in God above all things” which includes as Jesus notes, two of the most important things to people i.e. family and life itself.

The language feels harsh, but all Jesus has done is strip the illusion and façade away from what it really means to follow him. Following Christ is not simply one choice we make among many, not merely one aspect of our lives alongside a host of others, an addition in one area that leaves everything else unaffected. It’s THE decision, it’s the focal point and fulcrum of our lives, around which everything else must move.

And while it may not initially seem like it, this is the good news of the gospel. There is no area or aspect of our life that the love and mercy of God in Jesus Christ can’t and won’t touch and transform. Sometimes the change that grace works in our lives is uncomfortable, but it is always for our ultimate good.

Saying “yes” to following Jesus and the new life he brings will mean saying “no” to some former ways we had of living. The grace of Christ at work in our lives, means we are not bound to make the same choices and decisions as we have in the past, but are freed to make different ones that will allow us and others to experience more fully the mercy and love of God in new and unexpected ways.

We see this in the Epistle lesson, Paul’s letter to Philemon. Philemon was a wealthy Christian and leader of the church in the city of Colossae and his slave Onesimus had run away, possibly after having stolen from his master. Onesimus ends up with Paul and while there comes to faith in Christ.

Paul is writing to Philemon, asking him to forgive Onesimus for his wrongs and take him back. According to Roman law Philemon was well within his rights to punish Onesimus however he saw fit, including physical punishment and even execution. According to custom, it would be expected that Onesimus would be punished in some fashion (to discourage other slaves from imitating his actions),

and certainly not restored to his previous place in the household. What Paul is asking of Philemon goes against what everyone else will expect him to do.

But Paul boldly makes his request (although he does note that he is within his rights in Christ to command Philemon) that Philemon respond to Onesimus in the same love he received from Christ and Paul, regardless of what the law and custom say he can or should do.

He reminds Philemon that the power of Jesus has changed him and Onesimus, and asks him to act in a way that is in keeping with this gracious transformation, no matter what others might think. Paul goes so far as to conclude by saying he is confident that Philemon will not only do as he has asked but will do even more. His confidence is less in Philemon’s good will, but in the transforming power of Jesus Christ that would allow master and slave to be reconciled as brothers in faith.

This same encompassing transformation is held out for each one of us as followers of Christ—to free us from the bonds of sin and death, that we might live in the light and life of Jesus.

It’s not so much about saying “no” to the faults and failings we know plague us, as it is a willingness to say “yes” to Jesus trusting that whatever particular change he desires is for our best—no matter how hard or difficult it might seem at this time. And it’s not about trying to anticipate the changes, or even up to us to try and figure out how it might all play out. Rather it’s about a desire to follow Christ, to simply do what he asks (rather than speculate and worry about what he might ask), to not try and see too far down the path but to do the next thing in front of us no matter how big or small, trusting he will give us what we need, when we need it, to do as he directs.

Ultimately, following Jesus means trusting his love and grace more than in the illusions of trying to control the future—knowing that this love will transform us as needed that we and those around us may better know and live in his love.

Pr. Brad Everett

E-Mail: everettsts@gmail.com

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