If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:26)
It is legitimate and biblical to soften this saying of Jesus by interpreting hatred as a lesser love as compared to the disciple's love for Jesus. It is also appropriate to point out that we must hate the world and its values embraced by our unbelieving relatives. However, I think Jesus does mean a bit more than that. It is clear that He does not call His followers to abandon family and not to love our relatives, since Jesus admonishes us to love even our enemy, much more our children and spouse. But He does call us to hate them in the following two ways.
First, hating your family means to be liberated from captivity to the clan, as Barth puts it. Especially in the communal culture of Jesus' day and in much of the world today, one needs to reject the family's expectations of her, the family's pursuit of wealth, status and so on, to follow Jesus. One should not be defined by his community any longer, but by his communion with Christ. Family, or one's desire to marry and have children, should not lead the disciple away from Christ. Bonhoeffer says, "Every man is called separately and must follow alone.”
Second, hating your family means to be able to genuinely love them. Only admitting that one's family is also one's enemy, you will be able to really love them with the kind of love that Christ loves sinners. When I preached this sermon on Sunday, I called my children enemies of God and my enemies. A bit harsh? Maybe. But unless I see them as rebels against God every time they sin, how can I really love them? Once I recognize them as such, I can be forgiving and compassionate, patient and persistent in bringing them up in the faith.
Barth says that "the coming of the kingdom of God means an end of the absolute of family no less than that of possession and fame". Jesus needs to become our primary relationship. When He was at the wedding at Cana, He knew that He would never get married. When He blessed the children who came to Him, He knew He would never have a child of His own. He was willing to reject His mother and brothers for us. He gave up His family in heaven to become your friend. This should be our motivation to follow Jesus alone.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Following Jesus, Part 6: The Narrow Door
Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Sir, open the door for us.' But he will answer, 'I don't know you or where you come from.' Then you will say, 'We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.' But he will reply, 'I don't know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!' (Luke 13:24-27)
Jesus says, there are two groups of people: some who want to enter through the narrow door into God's kingdom, but will not be able to, and some who strive to enter through the narrow door and will be accepted at the feast of the kingdom of God. The Didache (an early Christian document) says: “There are two ways, one of life and one of death; and between the two ways there is a great difference.” So, how do we know that we are on the way of life? How do we know we are true disciples? What are some indications that we are on the narrow way leading to the narrow door? There are at least three in the above passage from Luke.
First, to be on the narrow way is to struggle. Jesus says, make every effort (Greek: agonize, contend, strive) to enter through the narrow door. Following Jesus is hard and is supposed to be hard. It is a struggle to live according to His teachings, to rely on grace and not on one's accomplishments. We must live by faith in God's Son and not in success at work, rewarding relationships and entertainment. The One who died for me calls me to die with Him and be raised as a selfless servant of God and others. That's hard. The One who suffered for me calls me to embrace suffering as a way of loving Him and God's primary means of changing me into a better person. That's also hard. The One who limited Himself for me calls me to limit myself and be controled by His Spirit. That's really hard. If our Christian life is not a struggle, perhaps, our life is not so Christian.
Second, to be on the narrow way is to know Jesus. The reason why some people are not allowed through the narrow door is not because they have not been good enough but because Jesus does not recognize them. It is knowledge, not perfection, that is our passport into God's kingdom. Some will claim that they have been near Jesus, heard Him teach and ate and drank with Him, but they never actually met Him. Proximity to Jesus is not the same as knowledge. Does He know us? Do we know Him?
Third, to be on the narrow way is to imitate Jesus. He calls those He rejects evildoers. Not only Jesus has never met them, but even if He did He would not recognize them. They are so unlike Him whom they claim to follow. As we spend time with Jesus and follow His teachings we should look, act, think and feel like He does. Imitation of Christ is another indication that we are on the narrow way.
We walk the narrow way because Jesus walked before us. He is the only reason for our journey. He is the only hope that we can enter through the narrow door at the end of it. I will finish with a rather lengthy quotation from Bonhoeffer. He writes:
“The way is unutterably hard, and at every moment we are in danger of straying from it. If we regard this way as one we follow in obedience to an external command, if we are afraid of ourselves all the time, it is indeed an impossible way. But if we behold Jesus Christ going on before step by step, we shall not go astray. But if we worry about the dangers that beset us, if we gaze at the road instead of at him who goes before, we are already straying from the path. For he is himself the way, the narrow way and the strait gate. He, and he alone, is our journey’s end. When we know that we are able to proceed along the narrow way through the strait gate of the cross, and on to eternal life, and the very narrowness of the road will increase our certainty … The narrow way is bound to be right.”
Jesus says, there are two groups of people: some who want to enter through the narrow door into God's kingdom, but will not be able to, and some who strive to enter through the narrow door and will be accepted at the feast of the kingdom of God. The Didache (an early Christian document) says: “There are two ways, one of life and one of death; and between the two ways there is a great difference.” So, how do we know that we are on the way of life? How do we know we are true disciples? What are some indications that we are on the narrow way leading to the narrow door? There are at least three in the above passage from Luke.
First, to be on the narrow way is to struggle. Jesus says, make every effort (Greek: agonize, contend, strive) to enter through the narrow door. Following Jesus is hard and is supposed to be hard. It is a struggle to live according to His teachings, to rely on grace and not on one's accomplishments. We must live by faith in God's Son and not in success at work, rewarding relationships and entertainment. The One who died for me calls me to die with Him and be raised as a selfless servant of God and others. That's hard. The One who suffered for me calls me to embrace suffering as a way of loving Him and God's primary means of changing me into a better person. That's also hard. The One who limited Himself for me calls me to limit myself and be controled by His Spirit. That's really hard. If our Christian life is not a struggle, perhaps, our life is not so Christian.
Second, to be on the narrow way is to know Jesus. The reason why some people are not allowed through the narrow door is not because they have not been good enough but because Jesus does not recognize them. It is knowledge, not perfection, that is our passport into God's kingdom. Some will claim that they have been near Jesus, heard Him teach and ate and drank with Him, but they never actually met Him. Proximity to Jesus is not the same as knowledge. Does He know us? Do we know Him?
Third, to be on the narrow way is to imitate Jesus. He calls those He rejects evildoers. Not only Jesus has never met them, but even if He did He would not recognize them. They are so unlike Him whom they claim to follow. As we spend time with Jesus and follow His teachings we should look, act, think and feel like He does. Imitation of Christ is another indication that we are on the narrow way.
We walk the narrow way because Jesus walked before us. He is the only reason for our journey. He is the only hope that we can enter through the narrow door at the end of it. I will finish with a rather lengthy quotation from Bonhoeffer. He writes:
“The way is unutterably hard, and at every moment we are in danger of straying from it. If we regard this way as one we follow in obedience to an external command, if we are afraid of ourselves all the time, it is indeed an impossible way. But if we behold Jesus Christ going on before step by step, we shall not go astray. But if we worry about the dangers that beset us, if we gaze at the road instead of at him who goes before, we are already straying from the path. For he is himself the way, the narrow way and the strait gate. He, and he alone, is our journey’s end. When we know that we are able to proceed along the narrow way through the strait gate of the cross, and on to eternal life, and the very narrowness of the road will increase our certainty … The narrow way is bound to be right.”
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Following Jesus, Part 5: The Joy of Discipleship
"However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." (Luke 10:20)
Jesus teaches His followers that their greatest and most enduring joy must be anchored in God's acceptance. We should not rejoice over our accomplishments as much as we should rejoice over His. It is the fact that we are accepted by God, in Jesus and because of what Jesus accomplished, that should make our lives meaningful. As followers of Jesus, we are in God's Fav Five, we are God's friends on His Facebook home page, we are loved and valued by God.
Anchoring our joy in God's acceptance delivers us from such heavy burdens as pride, insecurity and pretense. Assurance of His love and acceptance brings us such wonderful gifts as humility, confidence and authenticity. As we stop seeking validation through success and focus on the gospel of God's acceptance in Jesus, we will be empowered to accomplish even greater things. We will discover who we really are and pursue what we are really meant to do. We will do all that without the fear of rejection and failure, since our identity will be protected in Christ. G.K. Chesterton said that angels can fly because they can take themselves lightly. So can we accomplish greater things if we anchor our joy in God's acceptance in Jesus.
Jesus teaches His followers that their greatest and most enduring joy must be anchored in God's acceptance. We should not rejoice over our accomplishments as much as we should rejoice over His. It is the fact that we are accepted by God, in Jesus and because of what Jesus accomplished, that should make our lives meaningful. As followers of Jesus, we are in God's Fav Five, we are God's friends on His Facebook home page, we are loved and valued by God.
Anchoring our joy in God's acceptance delivers us from such heavy burdens as pride, insecurity and pretense. Assurance of His love and acceptance brings us such wonderful gifts as humility, confidence and authenticity. As we stop seeking validation through success and focus on the gospel of God's acceptance in Jesus, we will be empowered to accomplish even greater things. We will discover who we really are and pursue what we are really meant to do. We will do all that without the fear of rejection and failure, since our identity will be protected in Christ. G.K. Chesterton said that angels can fly because they can take themselves lightly. So can we accomplish greater things if we anchor our joy in God's acceptance in Jesus.
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