Sermon, Pente +16 (04 sept)

Well, we certainly get some strong messages this morning, don’t we?

The potter crushing down and destroying what he doesn’t like. The foundation left with unbuilt tower. The king doing whatever he can to avoid war. AND: Jesus inviting us to hate our loved ones.

Did anyone here, when hearing these words, think that I had read it wrong?

It’s shocking. And it’s intended to be.

I spent some time with my bible commentary – my big book with small type - because of this shocking theme of hatred and destruction. It didn’t seem right. And it turns out, that was time well spent. Because it helped me to better understand what was happening with Jesus at the time.

Jesus is using the word HATE as an exaggeration, a demonstration of strong feelings. He’s being followed by a lot of people – and these folks are caught up in the heyday of being Jesus followers. Isn’t this great! Every day’s a parade, we’re having fun, I can do this.

But that’s not what God wants – he doesn’t want people who are followers just because it’s the cool thing to do. He wants people who will follow no matter what.

God wants people who will Love Him more than anything else. More than possessions, more than earthly connections, even more than the entire earthly experience.

So imagine, then, that Jesus said “love, less than me” rather than “hate”.

Whoever comes to me and does not love father and mother less than me, love wife and children less than me, love brothers and sisters less than me, yes, and even love life itself less than me, cannot be my disciple.

That’s a bit different, now, isn’t it. Because Jesus doesn’t want people to follow who are just along for the good time. Jesus doesn’t want followers who are just being trendy. He doens’t want followers that are just doing what everyone else is doing.

No, Jesus wants followers who will love him with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength. He wants followers who are commited to spending their life with him, in his service. He wants followers who have a full understanding of what they’re getting into.

That’s why we get the warnings about the foundation with unbuilt tower. It’s a warning about faith – don’t start what you can’t finish – don’t leave your faith untended, half-constructed, where it doesn’t actually serve a purpose and in fact can be distracting from the rest of the world. In fact – imagine a half-built house. It becomes a talking point in the neighbourhood – an embarrassment – a point of scorn.

Jesus is suggesting that people choose to avoid that, when it comes to their faith. Unless you can commit to the whole package – 24/7 for the rest of your life – maybe you don’t want to start just yet.

And the king waging war  -well, there’s another message for us. Don’t try and take on more than you can handle. Jesus is suggesting that we know our limits, that we remain humble, that we actively engage in discernment and spiritual practices. And, part of that means knowing when we aren’t going to be popular, or ‘win’. So Jesus doesn’t want us to be humiliated or decimated, he wants us to be strong in his service. So don’t try to start a spiritual war that we can’t win – rather, seek out peace.

And, if that’s not something you would be willing to do, maybe don’t start in the first place.

It’s a strong message. Are you willing to carry your cross? Are you willing to give up your possessions? Or is that not something you’re yet prepared to do?

Because – Jesus doesn’t want wishy-washy followers. Not then, not now. He wants followers who will follow him, despite what the world says. Despite what difficulties arise. Despite what makes this life easier and more comfortable – if it distracts us away from God, if it becomes a bigger priority than intentionally following Jesus, then we need to reconsider.

So. We are invited to consider our priorities, our formation. We are invited to see ourselves as the potter’s clay. What a great image – made, moulded, cared for. And we’re invited to recognise that when things do seem to be in a state that we think is destructive, it’s not the end of the story – the lesson of the potter’s clay is that God will use what we have, and re-build. God will never take his hand off of us, even when we aren’t wanting to – or willing to – feel it.

And so we are moulded. Into the being that God wants for us to be – into the being that God always intended. The more we are crushed down, the more we need to rebuild – and it’s hard. But, the more opportunity for us to consider where those faults have come from, and how to avoid them again in future. It’s an invitation to recognise how God is calling us to be, from the depths of our core. And we’re invited then not to fight against that creation – thus needing to be crushed down – but instead to embrace how God is forming us. Like clay on a wheel – always being transformed and refined and perfected.

            And isn’t it wonderful, too, that we know that we can be reformed – and re-welcomed as a follower of God. No matter how many times we turn away, no matter how often our actions suggest that we are anything BUT followers of Jesus. We are welcomed back.

Like Onesimus, of whom Paul writes. Received, and received again. Without debt, without grief, just welcomed back. Invited to be obedient – in the true sense of obedience, which is about listening and hearing and proper effective communications. Obedient unto God, who is always inviting us into conversation, and welcoming us back into community.

So let us be like those in the Gospel – following God, not being possessed by the possessions of this life, because we have something to offer (not because we expect something to gain).

Let us be like the potter’s clay – sometimes messy, but continually held and intentionally moulded into the creation that God always intends for us.

Let us be like the psalmist – submitting our hearts to the wisdom of the God who created us from the beginning of time, celebrating how perfectly known we are by our God.

Let us be like Philemon’s community, welcoming and re-welcoming all who would come to us, whose witness is so strong that the saints will be confident in our obedience – our listening and praying and discerning – as we journey together as followers of God.

Let us live our lives as committed Christians – with our eyes open, with our hearts knowing, with all that we have and all that we are – for that is truly the only way to follow Jesus.