The scriptures for our consideration this morning, particularly the verses from Deuteronomy and Luke, have an instructional or didactic tone to them around their shared focus – the path of faith or the spiritual journey.
In Deuteronomy, we encounter powerful verses issued at a critical time for the Israelites as they stand on the brink of entering the promised land. It is considered Moses’ farewell speech in which the Israelites receive the instruction that they have a choice to make. Faith is not imposed by a dominate deity who takes away their autonomy and agency. No. This undertaking is initiated by a decision – “make a choice” he insists. “Choose the path of life and goodness, or death and evil.” Then in Luke’s Gospel message, Jesus tells followers what is required, or the cost, to them of being a disciple. What they both emphasize is that this endeavor of faith, religious life, or spirituality, is one to be taken seriously and considered carefully.
Diana Butler Bass, a renowned church historian and theologian sheds some light on the historical context for those who followed Jesus. She writes in her blog, The Cottage:
“In many cases, and unlike contemporary practice, the process of becoming a Christian took several years, an extended time of teaching spiritual inquirers the way on which they were embarking. Christianity was considered a deliberate choice with serious consequences, a process of spiritual formation and discipline that took time, a way of life that had to be learned in community” . . .. She goes on to note that “in many quarters Christian communities are once again embracing the ancient insight that faith is a spiritual pathway, a life built on transformative practices of love rather than doctrinal belief.”
Butler Bass’s description that faith is a spiritual pathway, a life built on transformative practices of love is truly inspiring. If only those were the words Jesus used when he addressed his followers on his way to Jerusalem! There probably aren’t a lot of people who would argue with the sentiment that these are tough passages. Jesus asks us to renounce the three things we tend to love most: our families, our lives, and the things we own. I know that I found myself wondering, what was Jesus thinking? The tone is harsh, and the notion of hating family members goes against the cultural importance and structure of Hebrew families, as well as being contrary to so many other instances when Jesus demonstrated and invited people into a radical, rule-breaking path of love. I imagined a collective groan as preachers across the country opened their liturgical calendars and read this Gospel Lesson for the Sunday after Labor Day, which is otherwise known as the unofficial church holiday called ‘Rally Day’ or ‘Back Together Sunday’ which marks the start-up of the church program year.
Scholars note that the placement of these verses, as Jesus approaches Jerusalem and his impending death, may have influenced the intensity and shocking language. Some went as far to categorize the statements as hyperbole – suggesting they are dramatic overstatements meant to sting. And they may be just that. But I wonder if searching for a more palatable version of these admonishments might diminish that possibility that his attention getting language was just that – getting our attention about the serious nature of deciding to be a follower of his path. So, while these verses may not lend themselves to a cheerful Rally Day chant, I do believe they deserve our consideration, if for no other reason than that they show up here, and are alluded to in other sections of both Luke and Matthew. Clearly, he was making a point that needed to be made that the journey of discipleship is not to be taken without considering what is involved from the outset and how it will change your life. As listeners we are directed to discern the potential impact of our journeys of discipleship: what changes might we make to how we spend money, how we prioritize the voices that influence us, how we regard the needs of the vulnerable and suffering in our midst.
These passages stir up a lot of considerations for us to ponder as individuals and a community. Among the many, I would like to focus on two issues that I think are important as we consider our commitment to following a spiritual path. The first is that the process of examining our readiness for the path of discipleship is very personal and will look differently for each of us. These verses don’t serve as literal blueprints or playbooks that spell out what makes a good disciple. We do not find here the steps we must take like spiritual athletic competitors to achieve greatness. I remember as a young pastor approaching my mentor and head of staff and telling him I wanted to start a group with a curriculum that would provide support for people who were serious about being disciples. He wisely discerned that my request implied that the huge array of educational and mission opportunities that we offered weren’t really doing the work of creating serious disciples. Then he gently reminded me that everything we did was about helping people on the journey of discipleship and that it was rather dangerous to create a special group of people who did it better than others. That moment stayed with me across my ministry as I witnessed the variety of ways people answered to the call of discipleship, and different stages of life that open us up to responding to the path of loving with God’s love.
Joan Chittister, OSB describes this approach to discipleship well when she writes in her book Becoming Fully Human, “ If we live our spiritual lives only in fear of punishment or in hope of reward, rather than in the awareness of the One (who makes) all life is worthwhile, we can be religious people but we will never be holy people. Then life is simply a series of tests and trials and scores, not the moment-by-moment revelation of God who is present in everything that happens to us, in everything we do.”
Chittister uses the religious term, ‘sanctification’ to describe how the Spirit leads us on the path of drawing closer to loving God and discovering God in all of life and all people. So, the first emphasis I think helps us this morning is the humility of recognizing it is God’s work to take our open hearts and lead us on a path of deepening love and service. There is not one path, or a one size fits all model against which to be measured, nor any reason to compare ourselves to others.
The other focus I’d like to emphasize is that describing this path of following Jesus might use the terminology of cost and sacrifice, and employ the language of death, but it is in fact inviting us to live fully. By giving our lives in service to God and loving as God love, we find ourselves on the path of living fully. Marcus Borg in his book JESUS writes, “followers are called to die to the world of convention, but that death is not annihilation, rather it is entry to a new way of life… one centered in God.” Borg describes that is what we witness in Jesus’ life. He writes, “Jesus was radically centered in God. God was for him, as a Jewish mystic, an experiential reality. And this centering in God, in the One in whom he lived and moved and had his being, was the source of his wisdom, compassion, courage, and his challenge to the domination system. In him, mysticism, empowerment, and resistance came together.”
Friends, on this Sept. day, we may not engage here with Rally Day here at the monastery, but the beautiful tree who is already mostly red at the top of the parking lot, reminds us of the changing season. We are surrounded by the prairie and nature’s reminder that something beautiful comes from change.
Perhaps this is the perfect time to spend a while reflecting on our alignment with God and to follow the guidance given in to the Israelites in the closing verses of our Deuteronomy passage: to love God, to listen for God’s voice, and hold fast to God. The Hebrew word for that last verb is “to cling”. Clinging to God implies that we may need to discern what to put down that distracts us. We may want to pick up practices to put us in the place of least resistance to being transformed by centering our lives in God’s love.
Perhaps there is no more important process for a gathering of believers, like those of us here this morning and listening online, than to share the good news that discipleship is not primarily about achieving moral perfection or following rules, but rather about giving ourselves in love to others and inhabiting a life that is shaped by God’s presence.
How this path of discipleship unfolds will depend on how ready we are to choose life; to let God’s love have its way with our hearts. May God bless each of us as we seek to follow this demanding and life-giving path. And may we know the grace of God’s love for us as we rise and fall and rise again along the way.