Jesu Juva
“Keep the End in Mind to Live Now Wisely”
Text: Luke 14:25-35; Philemon 1-21; Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
A couple weeks ago we heard some difficult words from Jesus, about casting fire on the earth and dividing families (August 17, Pentecost 10), and I thought, and preached, that if that were the first Sunday you ever came to church in your life and you heard words like that, that might be the last Sunday you ever came to church! I mean, really, who needs a Jesus like that, right? I have enough problems to deal with. I don’t need Jesus piling on and adding more. Maybe you remember that sermon. If not, it was August 17 - you can go to our website and give it a listen.
Well, Jesus is at it again today! More hard words. About hating your family and hating your own life. About bearing your own cross and renouncing all you have. And if you don’t or won’t do these things, here’s the punchline: you cannot be my disciple.
Now, honestly, that’s a little confusing, isn’t it? Because the Fourth Commandment tells me to Honor my father and my mother, which means that I should not only honor them, but serve and obey them, love and cherish them. And then there was an episode with the Pharisees (maybe you remember) . . . the Pharisees had this practice where they would state that all their worldly possessions were Corban, or dedicated to God, and so they could no longer use them to help and support their parents - and Jesus criticized them for it (Mark 7:9-13)! But that seems to be what Jesus telling us to do here. So which is it? And then . . . renounce all I have? All I have is a gift from God. Should I really consider it bad? Something to get rid of?
But this is more than just confusing . . . because I don’t hate my family. I love them. And I don’t always bear my own cross - which means to lay down my life for others. And I haven’t renounced all I have. Which means . . . I guess . . . I’m out. I cannot be a disciple. And I’m guessing, you too.
But before we all leave and lock the doors, what happened right before Jesus said these words can help us understand them. For Jesus told a story about a man giving a banquet, but those who were invited made excuses - their animals, their property, their family needed them. So they couldn’t come now. Another time, maybe. Maybe later.
But you all know what often happens when we say that: I’ll do it later. I’ll do my chores later. I’ll exercise later. I’ll make that difficult call, have that uncomfortable discussion, later. I’ll help you later. Later never comes. We get busy. Other things distract us. We forget. Or we hope the delay will make the other person forget and we’ll be off the hook! And sometimes that happens and sometimes there is time later. But when it comes to Jesus and eternal life, there may not be more time. There may not be later. Jesus might come again in glory and those who said later will miss out. Or those who think later may in the meantime drift away from Jesus and His gifts, and a branch that isn’t connected to the vine, a faith that doesn’t receive food and drink from Jesus, can die. And Jesus doesn’t want that! He wants everyone to be saved, and follow Him to eternal life.
That’s why Jesus came and died on the cross for you. That’s why He baptized you. That’s why He established His Church and gave pastors to preach and absolve. That’s why He gives you His Body and Blood here. That’s why this banquet, this feast, of Word and Sacrament, of gifts freely given, of life and salvation. It’s all here, from Jesus, for you.
But there are things that get in the way, aren’t there? In the story Jesus told, it was animals, property, and family. What are they for you? Maybe it’s one of those things for you, too. Or maybe for you it’s work, or school, or sports that take up your time and keep getting in the way. Maybe it’s pride keeping you from repenting, or a pleasure or desire that’s keeping you in its grip. Maybe it’s discontent with how your life is going, so you don’t want to follow Jesus more, but less! Maybe it’s fear, or weariness, or a hundred other things.
So with His words today, Jesus is saying: Don’t let anything get in your way. Don’t let anything or anyone get between you and Jesus, to keep you from following Jesus, or keep you from receiving His gifts here. Because the most important thing is not what you have now - though all we have now are good gifts from God. The most important thing is your eternal life. That you live with Jesus forever. Keep that first, and everything else will fall into place (Matthew 6:33). Keep the end in mind, to live now wisely.
And Jesus gives two examples of that. (1.) Of a man building a tower, (2.) and of a king going to war. Before you begin doing those things . . . if it’s a building, you make sure you have the money to finish it; and if it’s going to war, you make sure you have enough troops to win. But you keep the end in mind, to live now wisely.
Now don’t misunderstand this! (And this is important!) What Jesus said today is NOT about what you have to do to be a disciple of Jesus or to get into heaven! As if you could do either of those things! Jesus chose His disciples, and Jesus chose you. He baptized you and absolves you and feeds you. He died for you and atoned for your sins and He has gone to prepare a place for you in His kingdom (John 14:3). That’s all HIM. This, what Jesus says today, is rather about what might get in the way of that. It’s NOT: here’s what you have to do to get into heaven, it’s: if you’re going to start something, consider first where it might lead you. If you’re going to start a new activity, a new friendship, a new sport, a new job, a new place to live, a new way of life, consider first if it’s going to get in the way of you following Jesus. Of you going to or having a church.
For example, I know many people who’ve moved to new places and bought beautiful new homes, only to find out there’s no good church near them to attend to be fed by Jesus and His Word and Sacrament. They try to go to a church. Drive a long way. But when it’s hard to get the kids ready on time, when the weather turns, when gas prices go up, when you drive all week for work and the last thing you want to do is drive more on Sunday . . . attendance begins to slip, drifting begins to happen . . . Turns out what seemed like a good decision at the time . . .
Because once you start down that road, once you make those commitments, it’s hard to stop.
We heard another example of this today, but with (I think) a better ending: the story of Onesimus and Philemon. Onesimus was a slave who had run away from his master Philemon. But he bumped into the apostle Paul, became a Christian, and Paul told him: you have to go back. It seemed like a good idea at the time, to run away, but now you realize there’s more to life than just here and now, whether you get to be on your own or not. To continue to be a run away slave and expect Jesus to bless you in such a life isn’t going to work out. It’s going to get in the way. This is a cross you might have to bear, Onesimus. You have to go back. I’ll write a letter for you. I’ll ask Philemon to forgive you and receive you back as a brother, as a Christian. But you gotta go back.
Maybe there are some things in your life that you have to walk back. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now . . . And that’s hard. But at such times, it’s good for us to remember these words of Jesus (which, actually, we heard in the Epistle last week, and we just sang a version of): I will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). If you’ve wandered off, Jesus will not leave you or forsake you, but search for you and welcome you back. If you’ve sinned - even in a BIG way - Jesus will not leave you or forsake you, but rejoice in each and every sinner who repents. If you’ve really screwed things up, like Onesimus - Jesus will not leave you or forsake you, but be with you through it. This is the promise He made you in your Baptism. That’s you’re His child and He’s not going to stop loving you and wanting the best for you. The world might turn it’s back on you, but Jesus never will.
And of that you can be sure because Jesus did count the cost of building His Church and He did know what it would take for His one person to do battle against satan and the hoards of hell - He knew it would cost Him His life on the cross in a brutal and gory death. He knew. It wasn’t a surprise. He knew, and He came and did it. FOR YOU. To set you free from your slavery to sin and death and make you more than a disciple - to make you His child, His son, an heir of His kingdom. He kept the end in mind, to do and live wisely.
So the Scriptures say of Jesus, Who for the joy that was set before him [the end that He saw] endured the cross [now], despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2). And is seated at the right hand of the the throne of God that you be there with Him. He was there. He didn’t have to leave and go back. Unless it was FOR YOU. To take you there, to be with Him, in Paradise.
Keep the end in mind, to live now wisely.
And when we gather here, the Lord’s Supper helps us do that, because in this Supper we not only receive the forgiveness we need for the wrong roads we go down and the mistakes and bad decisions we’ve made, but it directs our hearts and minds and eyes to the end. Lift up your hearts! We lift them up to the Lord. We’re not looking at the here and now, but to the end. With angels and archangels and all the company of heaven. A foretaste of the feast to come . . . And we know: That’s where I want to be. That’s where I want to go. That’s the life that will not end. That’s what’s important. And this food, this Body and Blood of Jesus, feeds me in this life, not just for this life, but for that life. That either when I die or Jesus comes again in glory - whichever comes first! - I will be ready. This is where I need to be, for that is where I want to be.
Keep the end in mind, to live now wisely.
Good advice, whether you’re a first-timer or a long-timer, young or old.
Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
For Moses and the people of Israel, that land was the Promised Land. For us, it is eternal life. Hold fast to Jesus. He is your life. When you have difficult decisions to make, choose the way of life, the way of Jesus. And know that you will have crosses to bear on the way. But Jesus made the cross and death serve for life, and He will do the same for you and the crosses you must bear. If you can’t see that right now, if it doesn’t seem so right now, then believe His words and promises, and believe the empty tomb. And the empty tomb means you’re out! Not out of being a disciple! But out of the tomb, out of death, out of sin. And that means you’re in - into life eternal. Because Jesus didn’t let anything get in His way when it came to saving you. He kept the end in mind. He kept you in mind. And He still is. And He always will.
In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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