Readings:
- Wisdom 9:13-18b
Psalm 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14, 17 Resp: “In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.” - Philemon 9-10, 12-17
- Luke 14:25-33
Reflections on the Gospel Reading
In today’s gospel reading Luke continues to relate Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem. Now great crowds of people surround Jesus. Luke uses this setting to reflect on what separates a curious onlooker from a true disciple. Like Gideon (Judges, Chapter 7) Jesus seems determined to put off the crowds and go with just a few unlikely people.
Luke takes two sayings of Jesus that were in circulation before he wrote his Gospel and adds a saying from his own source. Each of the sayings start with: “If anyone . . .” or “Whoever . . .” All three end with: “cannot be my disciple.” Luke emphasizes the message with two stories that show the importance of taking consequences into account before taking action. The result is an arresting meditation on the cost of discipleship.
As Luke sees it in this passage, disciples of Jesus must be willing to do three things, if necessary:
- break off all family ties;
- embrace a life of radical self-denial; and
- say good-bye to all their possessions.
The First Saying (From Q; see Matthew 10.37.)
The word “hate” offends our twenty-first century American sensibilities. However, it reflects the stark contrasts of first century Semitic usage and probably reflects what Jesus actually said in Aramaic. Matthew tones it down to: “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, etc.” (Matthew 10.37 NRSV) However the word is translated, the meaning is clear. The first condition of discipleship “calls for a willingness to put parents, family, relatives, even one’s own life, in subordination to discipleship.” (Fitzmyer 1985, 1062)
By Luke’s time it was evident that, in many cases, baptism involved a break from previous family ties and a commitment to the followers of Jesus as one’s new family. In the ancient world family was everything. By breaking with one’s family a person became a social outcast and risked one’s own physical survival. In those days it was unthinkable that anyone would leave one family without joining another. So, Jesus’ saying about hating one’s father and mother, etc. involved the correlative of commitment to the emerging Jesus community.
The Second Saying (Also from Q; see Matthew 10.38.)
The second condition is to carry one’s own cross and come after Jesus – another stark image, this time of self-denial. As the second of three sayings that form an inclusion, this saying clarifies both what it means to hate one’s own life (first saying) and to renounce one’s own possessions (third saying). (See Cousar et al. 1994, 504-505.) Those who commit themselves to being a disciple of Jesus must take into account the real possibility that they might have to undergo the same kind of suffering that Jesus underwent.
Two Parables (from Luke’s special source)
Between the second and third condition for discipleship Luke inserts two parables from his special source. The parables of a man preparing to build a tower and of a king getting ready for war are not quite to the point. These wisdom sayings stress the importance of knowing what one is getting into and the consequences of failure (ridicule or unconditional surrender) rather than the conditions for discipleship. “The twin parables speak not so much of renunciation of all that one has as they do about being prudent: Consider what it means to be a disciple before committing yourself to it.” (Hultgren 2000, 143) Curiously, their placement here both interrupts and reinforces Luke’s emphasis on the cost of discipleship.
The Third Saying (also from Luke’s special source)
The final condition relates to worldly possessions. The action required is translated in different ways. The lectionary (New American Bible) uses “renounce;” the New Revised Standard Edition has “give up;” and Luke Timothy Johnson translates it “relinquish.”
A more descriptive translation of the Greek text might be “say good-bye to.” (Fitzmyer 1985, 1059) This is the way the Greek word is translated in the Gospel for the Thirteenth Sunday of the Year (C): “And another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home.” (Luke 9.61)
Whatever the translation, the injunction applies to all that one has – relationships, possessions, and life itself. (Malina & Rohrbaugh 2003, 287) Failure to do so means one “cannot be my disciple.”
Mitigation of the Teaching
Throughout his Gospel Luke mitigates this teaching somewhat. He presents John the Baptist as counseling people to share their possessions, not give them up entirely (Luke 3.11), and he refers favorably to the Galilean women who provided for Jesus and the Twelve out of their “resources.” (Luke 8.3) Presumably, they had not given everything away.
When Jesus sends out missionaries he instructs them to depend upon the hospitality of those who receive them. (Luke 10.1-12) Presumably, these hosts used their possessions such as homes, food, and money to extend this hospitality. In the Acts of the Apostles Luke mentions Tabitha’s good works and alms, (Acts 9.36) and introduces Cornelius as “a devout man” who “gave alms generously.” (Acts 10.2)
However, the radical strain is never far from Luke’s understanding of the gospel message. He presents Jesus as saying: “Lend and expect nothing in return [by way of interest].” (Luke 6.35) “Sell your possessions and give alms.” (Luke 12.33) “You cannot serve God and wealth.” (Luke 16.13) Today’s gospel reading reflects that radical strain. “Those of you who do not say good-bye to everything that belongs to them cannot be my disciples.” (Funk, Hoover, et al. 1993, 354)
Application
Luke’s framing of the cost of discipleship would give pause to any reasonable adult thinking of becoming a Christian in the early years of the Jesus movement. However, today most of us don’t face that choice. We were baptized as children and born into wealth that could not have been imagined when Jesus was speaking or Luke was writing. For most of us being a Christian is not a cause of family conflict, and the likelihood of suffering for the faith seems quite remote.
But, what about our possessions? In today’s world, what does it mean to say good-bye to all our possessions? There is no easy answer to that question, but if today’s gospel reading is not disturbing, we have totally missed the point. Any possession that we cannot say good-bye to ends up possessing us.
Explanatory Notes:
Inclusion: Commonly called a “sandwich,” inclusion is a rhetorical term referring to a passage containing an uneven number of elements, usually only three. The central element (or “meat”) interprets the meaning of the preceding and following elements (or “slices of bread”). Thus, in Matthew’s version of the Lord’s Prayer “Your kingdom come.” interprets the meaning of both “Hallowed be your name.” and “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Q: “Q” (from the German “Quelle” or “source”) stands for a lost written document made up almost entirely of sayings of Jesus which scholars have reconstructed from an analysis of passages in the Gospel of Matthew and Luke which are very similar to each other but generally not found in the Gospel of Mark. Examples would be the Sermon on the Mount or the Lord’s Prayer. These scholars hold that Matthew and Luke were written independently. However, each of the authors had access to written copies of Mark and Q.
In preparing these reflections, in addition to the biblical texts, I consulted the following works:
Cousar et al. 1994 – Charles B. Cousar, Beverly R. Gaventa, J. Clinton McCann, Jr., James D. Newsome, Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV, Year C. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994), pp. 504-506.
Fitzmyer 1981 – Joseph A. Fitzmyer, The Gospel According to Luke I-IX : Introduction, Translation, and Notes. Anchor Bible Volume 28. (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1981), pp. 247-251.
Fitzmyer 1985 – Joseph A. Fitzmyer, The Gospel According to Luke X-XXIV : Introduction, Translation, and Notes. Anchor Bible Volume 28A. (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1985), pp. 1059-1066.
Fuller 1984 – Reginald H. Fuller, Preaching the Lectionary. The Word of God for the Church Today (Collegeville [MN]: Liturgical Press, 1984), pp. 502-504.
Funk, Hoover & Jesus Seminar 1993 – Robert W. Funk, Roy W. Hoover, and the Jesus Seminar, The Five Gospels: The Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1993), pp. 353-354.
Hultgren 2000 – Arland J. Hultgren, The Parables of Jesus: A Commentary (Grand Rapids [MI]: Eerdmans, 2000), pp. 137-145.
Johnson 1991 – Luke Timothy Johnson, The Gospel of Luke , Sacra Pagina Series Volume 3, A Michael Glazier Book (Collegeville [MN]: Liturgical Press, 1991), pp. 228-233.
LaVerdiere 1990 – Eugene, LaVerdiere, S.S.S., Luke. New Testament Message, Volume 5. A Michael Glazier Book (Collegeville [MN]: Liturgical Press, 1990), pp. 196-197.
Malina & Rohrbaugh 2003 – Bruce J. Malina and Richard L. Rohrbaugh, Social-Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels, Second Edition (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2003), p. 287.
NRSV = NRSV 1994 – New Revised Standard Version – Bruce M. Metzger and Roland E. Murphy, Editors, The New Oxford Annotated Bible containing the Old and New Testaments. New Revised Standard Version. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994)
Pilch 1997 – John J. Pilch, The Cultural World of Jesus, Sunday by Sunday, Cycle C. A Liturgical Press Book (Collegeville [MN]: Liturgical Press, 1997), pp. 133-135.