Sunday Worship
Welcome to our Sunday Worhip in Leesfield Parish. Our Church services are at the usual times of 9.15 am at St Agnes' and 11.00 am at St Thomas'. If you're not able to be with us in person, you'll find the Gospel reading, a reflection and prayers below to help you worship at home.
Our first hymn this morning is "Awake, My Soul, and with the Sun"
Today's Gospel
Luke 14:25-33 The Cost of Being a Disciple
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."
Reflection
On first reading this passage, I think many of us may need to sit down and take a deep intake of breath. There are some serious demands in here; “hate your mother, father and family”, “give up all your possessions”! Wow, that’s pretty serious stuff!
Back in June, we looked at Luke 9 51-62, “The cost of following Jesus”. This had similar sentiments, where Jesus appeared to challenge those who put family commitments before the desire to follow him. It got us thinking about what level of priority are we prepared to put on our Christianity. In that passage Jesus used some extreme examples and hyperbole, to bring home his message and get his would be followers to look at what was really in their hearts.
Here too, in Luke 14, Jesus uses exaggeration to stimulate our feelings and beliefs. Arguably, Luke’s interpretation uses very strong language indeed, with references to hating our families and for many this is hard to accept or absorb. Some scholars believe that in this context, the word ’hate’, does not literally translate into how we would understand it, instead it means to ‘love to a lesser degree’. It might therefore, be helpful if we compare this with Matthew’s version, (Matthew (10:37): “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”
This seems to be more palatable for us, but the underlying message is still the same, if we are to truly become disciples of Jesus, we must be prepared to put Jesus above all other things. Yes, absolutely, Jesus wants us to be his disciples, but he also wants to make it absolutely clear that this is a significant commitment.
It’s not just about dipping in and out when it suits us, it’s not about doing the odd good thing when it’s convenient for us. It’s about putting our commitment and loyalty to Jesus above all other priorities. Jesus gave his life for us, and to be his disciples we need to think about what we are prepared to give up in return. How much we are prepared to give of ourselves and our lifestyle to show our allegiance, commitment and love to him?
What self-interests are we prepared to sacrifice to show Jesus, that we too, are prepared share the burden and carry the cross.
Our Prayers
Almighty and everlasting Father,
Through your unending love, You gave us your Son to save us.
He reminded us that we should love you above all other things.
Help us to examine our lives and see what is hindering us from following Jesus more closely
And give us the grace and restraint
to let go of what is holding us back from being true disciples.
Amen
