Sidney UMC - Tenth Sunday after Pentecost - 08/14/22 - Sermon - “The Cost of Following Christ”

                                  Sunday 08/14/22 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title: “The Cost of Following Christ”                                            

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19                                       

New Testament Scripture: Hebrews 11:29-12:2

Gospel Lesson: Luke 12:49-56

          When we change friends, there is always a price to pay. The changes that we make can be minor or they can be major, but there is always a price to pay. Some of the guys in this church that have large pick-up trucks have jokingly made fun of my little Honda Fit that I drive. I have heard questions such as, “Pastor Paul, when your car grows up does it want to be Cadillac”? I got that little car because sometimes I drive a lot for ministry, and it gets good gas mileage. With the gas prices the way they are now, some of the guys are looking at my little Honda Fit very differently!

          So, the changes and the choices that we make have consequences. I think about this around some of my friends that meet in this church that are in recovery. They once were heavy drinkers and or drug addicts. The people that they were friends with and that they were associated they largely do not see or talk to anymore. It is not because they hate these people, it is because they have changed. Sometimes when we change, when we make a choice, it affects our friendships, our connections with others, and even our family relationships.

          If and when we decide to change or make a decision, it could mean that some people will no longer talk to us, treat us differently, or that we might be shut out of opportunities that we once had. Suppose you grew up in a family that was involved in crime or gang activity. Suppose one day you decided that you no longer wanted to live that lifestyle. You made a change, and as a result of that change, perhaps your family and you were no longer united. Maybe you had to distance yourself from your own family, because the change that you made was in direct conflict to what they believed and how they lived.

          These sorts of things happen all the time, and from the outside looking in, they can seem extreme. Sometimes they are, and sometimes the person just made a change.  I had a college professor that used to say, “No one has more friends than a drinker”. When I was kid, I used to watch the show “Cheers,” as all these folks in this show went to the same bar in Boston, as their friends were there. This is where they came to have a drink, and to see their friends. Yet, what if one of them made a change and decided to stop drinking? It would probably be hard for them to go to the bar, as all their friends drink at the bar. Maybe they could see them elsewhere, or maybe their friendship would fade, as there only connection was the bar and drinking. I do not think having a drink is unbiblical, but drinking the whole keg in one sitting might not be a good choice.

          The big point I am trying to make here my friends, is that when we change or make decisions there can be small or large costs for that. Think about your own lives for a moment, and think about the small and the large decisions or changes that you have made. How have these changes and or decisions changed your life. How did it change your friendships, your relationships, and maybe how you interacted with your own family? Sometimes groups of friends or families have a culture. If something in the group of friends or this culture changes, then a person is either accepted, kicked out, or they leave.

          I have heard stories of relationships ending, and I have heard people say, “We just became two different people”. The changes and the choices that we make have consequences, whether good or bad. One area that can be divisive is that of faith. Imagine that your friend group are not people of faith. Then you find Christ, become a Christian, attend church, and are committed to your faith. Could this put pressure on you and your group of friends? It sure could, or maybe not. When we change or make choices though, there are consequences, whether good or bad.

          Since I am a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ, there are consequences for me doing this. These consequences are both good and bad. Some people may preliminarily judge me and think of me a certain way before getting to know me, because I am a Christian. Some friends that I used to hang out with before I became a Christian might distance themselves from me, because I am Christian. I might also make many new friends, and get to serve countless people like never before, because I am a Christian.

          Whatever changes or choices that we make in this life, there are consequences. Making the decision to follow Jesus Christ as your Lord and your savior is no different. I have close friends and family members that are not people of faith. We love each other, but they do not understand my faith and why I believe what I believe. In the same way, my friends and family members that are atheists, I cannot understand this, as I love following Christ. The changes and the decisions that we make have consequences.

          To be a Christian though, is to be someone who is redeemed, forgiven, and made new in Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit. To be a Christian is to change, and is to on some level even make different choices. I think that it is an amazing change, and that having salvation in Christ is amazing, but some will never understand this. In these moments, I connect with our scripture for this morning from Psalm 80, as it says in 80:19 once again:

19 Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved     (Ps. 80:19, NRSV).

I pray and work towards a Sidney, a Tri-Town area, and a world that will know Christ and is transformed by Christ. Some will repent and follow Christ, and some will not. There will always be this divide then, even though I, and I am sure all of you, are committed to loving all people. Some might never understand the Christian faith, how we have been transformed, and why we share Christ with the world. This therefore, can create division. I do not want division, I want unity, but I want unity in Christ. Since I believe that Jesus and his gospel are hope for us and for the whole world, I preach, teach, love, serve, and work hard, so that others might know Christ to. Some are happy to hear this gospel, and some are not.

We hear in our reading for this morning from the Book of Hebrews what people in the Old Testament were able to accomplish and achieve through faith. The Apostle Paul also talks about people that have suffered for there faith. I am proud to live in a country that has religious liberty and freedom. I can declare Christ and his gospel until I am blue in the face. Other religions are welcome in a free country to do the same. To be a Christian though, might mean some persecution, some oppression, some judgement, mistreatment, etc.

          You have heard me say many times as I have invited us all to look around this church at our stained-glass windows and the plaques honoring those who have went before us. Those names on the windows, or on plaques on the walls. These folks that loved Christ, and love him still, and their faith that was so important to them, that they gave, sacrificed, and loved boldly. We stand in a line of heroes, and we stand on the shoulders of giants. We are part of a faith as Christians that is almost two-thousand years old, and encompasses one-third of the world’s population. Even so, to be a Christian, to make any change, to make any choice has consequences, both good and bad.

          For me, to be a Christian is to proclaim the great love of God in Jesus Christ. To tell all people that God loves them universally and that God’s love is never ending. This love is so great and so overwhelming that God’s only son Jesus Christ came to earth to love us, teach us, and die for us. To me this is beautiful, life giving, and I believe is the best chance the world has to be changed and restored.

          For this reason, I love the way that our Book of Hebrews lesson for this morning end in 12:1-2. It says once again:

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, ² looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne          of God (Heb. 12:1-2, NRSV).

          We have hope in a broken and a hurting world as Christians, because of Jesus Christ. Some people will never understand this, and some might treat us differently for our faith. We all pay a price for our decisions and the changes that we make.

          This leads me to our gospel lesson for this morning, which arguably one of the most controversial of all of Jesus’ teachings. When we read Luke 12:49-56, the Jesus who is speaking does not sound like the meek, mild, gentle, and loving Jesus that most of us think of when we think of Jesus. For in Luke 12:49-56, we hear about “The Cost of Following Christ”. There is nothing better than knowing Jesus, but we may pay a price for this.

          In looking at our gospel reading from the gospel of Luke, Jesus is pretty direct and pretty blunt. As a result, I think that many people over the centuries have misunderstood our scripture from the gospel of Luke for this morning. Well once again, what does our gospel of Luke 12:49-56 say for this morning? Starting in Luke 12:49 it says:

49 “I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already  kindled! 50 I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! 51 Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! (Lk. 12:49-51, NRSV).

          These are powerful words. In fact, I was the master of ceremonies for a large Christian and community event in Schenevus a couple of weeks ago, and someone I know asked me about this scripture from the gospel of Luke. They said, “Pastor Paul, I have never read this, and do not understand why Jesus would say such things”. Upon first glance, you could say, “Wow, that does look pretty harsh coming from Jesus”!

          What Jesus is saying here though is enough! Enough violence, enough anger, enough greed, enough evil. Just enough! Jesus is saying that he came to earth to radically transform us all. Jesus is arguably the most well-known historical figure in the history of the world. Jesus cites the reality of his mission, in being fully God and fully human. In his flesh, he feels the weight of his coming torture and his crucifixion, and yet he came to bring division. To know Christ is to know peace, but a fake peace, a fake nice, a fake love, and fake unity will never take the place of the love of Christ. Jesus is saying that he came to transform the world and all of us. He is saying that this why he came, and he is very serious about the mission to which he has been called.

Jesus goes on saying picking up in Luke 12:56:

52 From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two  and two against three; 53 they will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” 54 He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It is  going to rain’; and so it happens. 55 And when you see the south wind  blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat’; and it happens. 56 You   hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?                                                     (Lk. 12:52-56, NRSV).

          If you love Jesus my friends, we will pay a price. If tell people there is better way to live and love, we will pay a price. If we call people to live holy and righteous lives, we will pay a price. Why? Simple, some people want to live lives filled with selfishness, greed, anger, etc. The world in general does not want to change, does not want to live different. When we turn to Christ, we are forgiven, renewed, and set on a path towards holiness and righteousness. Some members of our family might not like that. Some of our friends, might not like that, and so on and so forth.

          Christ call us to holiness, to compassion, to faith, to love, to mercy, to hope, to charity, and to live holy and righteous lives. Some people do not want to hear this, because it means that if they accept Christ and repent of their sins, they will have to change. If we are honest, many of us love some of our sins. Some of us love things that we should not. The gospel is the best hope of this world. We can make this world better, until we go home to be with Christ, or until he comes back to perfect this world.

          Know my dear friends, that the God of the universe loves us all unconditionally, and without exception. God sent his son Jesus into the world to transform us and to die for all us. Being changed in Christ is the best thing I can think of, but some people do not get this and do not want this. This if why us having faith can have both good and bad consequences, and friend this is “The Cost of Following Christ”. Amen.