“What are You Willing to do to Follow Jesus?” by The Rev. Kaji Douša
In the Gospel of Luke, chapter 14, verses 25 to 27, if you might turn with me to that scripture, you hear Jesus offering a very difficult challenge to these crowds that had gathered around him. And I think he might have seen that this was an opportunity to help to challenge so many things about the places we come from that God intends to transform in God’s kindom. So he says “whoever isn’t willing to hate father or mother or sister or brother or husband or wife, pick up your cross and follow me.” Well, then doesn’t have any part of this [discipleship]. What could he mean by that? I don’t believe that Jesus hates family structures, but I think that Jesus does hate the components of family structures that harm his people, that harm God’s people. And so, I wonder if there’s something in this word for us to listen to today, to look at the places we come from in our family life or in any institutional structure where we are being taught or treated with behaviors and traditions that harm us and would seek to block our experience of God’s love and victory over our lives. I believe that’s where Jesus wants us all to go. That’s the challenge and the cost of discipleship. So are you willing to take that on, and to challenge and to take on the cost of saying no to the places in your life that cause harm to you or others? If so, let’s go take up our cross and follow Jesus. Amen.
Pastor Kaji’s sermon on this subject is available here: https://parkavenuechristian.com/what-can-you-afford-by-the-rev-kaji-dousa/