In observance of the twentieth anniversary of my little deacon blog, today's reflection on the Sunday readings is pretty short. Like our recent readings warning us against putting our hope in worldly wealth, today's Gospel is equally stirring and provocative. Homiletically, we like to attenuate, that is, soft pedal these difficult readings. It seems to me that the easier a teaching of Jesus is to understand the harder it is to live by.
First, following Christ comes at a cost. For some, it's very expensive!
The second is a corollary: following Jesus isn't always easy-peasy. Obedience to God means being faithful to God, which, in turn, requires you to put Him before and above all other people and things, including, if necessary, the closest members of your family. For Christians, water is thicker than blood.
Jeremiah in the cistern
Jeremiah experienced what it means to put God above all things more than once. In today's first reading, the prophet's fidelity to God looked like infidelity to his people and his country. And so, he was thrown into a cistern, landing in the mud. His rescue was far from miraculous. My friends, there is a cost.
In his book The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote: "Jesus is the only significance. Beside Jesus nothing has any significance. He alone matters." Far from being sentimental gibberish, this is a radical statement.
It has been noted Jesus + nothing= everything. Do you believe it? Like all worthwhile spiritual teachers, Bonhoeffer is a witness, one of those who comprise the ever growing cloud of witnesses. He didn't just write about but paid the cost of following Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus Christ took on flesh to set a fire on the earth. To shake things up. To change things by changing people through the power of the Holy Spirit.
True peace, lasting peace, the peace that passes all understanding is realized by following Christ. Our reading from the marvelous Letter to the Hebrews provides us an insight on this very thing: "For the sake of the joy that lay before him, [Jesus] endured the cross, despising its shame." Joy is the overcoming of sorrow.
Therefore, turning to Hebrews again, "let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith."
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