“You cannot”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Tuesday, November 8, 2022
Luke 14:25-35 (Forward, p. 10) CEV p. 1081
We humans, especially when needing a job to be done or a ‘slot’ to be filled, are rather liable to sugar-coat it a bit, to downplay just how long or difficult or tedious or demanding the task or job will be. Jesus does none of that and right outright, right up front, tells prospective disciples what they are in for. For convenience sake, I am calling them the ‘cannot’s’, ‘you cannot be my disciple unless (or until) …’
a) You cannot be my disciple until (or unless) you put me first, first before everything else in life, your parents, your siblings, your family, even life itself. You have to love me more than any of these.
b) You cannot be my disciple until (unless) you are willing to die to self if that is what it takes to follow me and obey me.
c) You cannot be my disciple until (unless) you count the cost, decide whether you can give what it takes, and determine whether you can stick it out for the long haul.
d) You cannot be my disciple unless you remain true to who you are in Christ, that is, to be salt, a seasoning and preservative influence in our bland and decaying world.
All of this seems entirely terrifying, entirely stupefying, entirely beyond our reach or our capacity. Surely none of us can be expected to fulfil these requirements, to live up to these demands! And yes, that is altogether true: we cannot. Just as we are called to belong to Christ only by and through His grace, we cannot live up to His requirements except by grace either.
But, His grace is sufficient, and even in our weaknesses and lack of ability and resolve, we can still do it. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Forward notes: “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” (verses 26-27).
“I recently encountered my son’s former first-grade teacher. I hadn’t seen her in several years, but my son has never forgotten her. In the hearts and minds of her students, she has attained the status of a saint. On this occasion however, we didn’t talk about teaching but parenting. She told me that in all the difficulties of watching children grow into young adults, she had learned a valuable lesson: ‘We must be okay when they’re not okay.’
“In today’s passage, Christ challenges the order of our priorities. Do we truly live for him or for those around us? Do we prioritize his desires for our lives, or are we living to please and protect others first? It can be painful to watch the missteps of those we love, but ultimately, when we place Christ’s expectations at the center of our choices, we choose the best for those around us.”
Moving Forward: “How can we truly make Christ’s desires our own?”