Clearly, in today’s reading, Jesus is getting far too popular and needs to scare some people away. A problem many churches would be envious of.
I imagine most pastors today would frown upon the scare tactic Jesus uses.
Jesus asks whether we have counted the cost of discipleship and whether we are willing to pay the price? The price he mentions does not make fully sense. I had understood that disciples were asked to love not to hate. Of course the Greek verb miseo that is translated as hate – is for comparison. This word asks you to choose one value (in this case discipleship) over another value (in this case family). So compared to discipleship your family should be as nothing.
In Jesus’ time these words will have been even harsher than in our own. In my own life a lot of my discipleship is lived out in relationship with my family. The discipleship and the family then do not seem at odds as in Jesus’ saying. What puzzles me is that the family members of the beginning of the passage are hardly comparable with the possessions at the end of the passage. We had already understood that Luke was not keen on disciples having many possessions. However hard it is to give up my possessions I will find it a lot easier then hating my children.
4 September 2016
Luke 14: 25-33
This weekly blog on one of the lectionary readings is by Anne Claar Thomasson-Rosingh, Programme Leader for Lifelong Learning at Sarum College.
Leave a Reply