September 9, 2007; The 15th Sunday after Pentecost Readings: Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Philemon 1-20; Luke 14:25-33; Psalm 1.   The Rev. Dr. Hilary B. Smith To Be A Disciple

As Jesus journeyed to Jerusalem, aware of the demands of his call to serve, he turns to the crowds, not just the inner circle, but to all the people and he challenges them. He asks them if they are aware of the demands of being a disciple. Do they know how it may affect their personal relationships? Do they know how their lives may change? Have they thought about the cost associated with traveling with Jesus to Jerusalem?

It's only logical, Jesus tells them, to consider the cost of following him just as one considers the cost of a building project before starting to build. I've thought about building projects a lot in during my three-year term on the Standing Committee of the Diocese of Virginia. One of our duties is to approve, or not approve, the taking-on of debt by a parish church so that a building project may begin.

When we consider the cost of the project, we look at many aspects of the church's life. What have they done in the past? Why do they want to start something new? How does the project fit with the mission of the church-the direction their life seems to be taking now? Are they going to be able to fulfill the commitment? Now of course we know that the future may bring some surprises, but based on what we can know about the church and the project, we are able to discern if they have thought it through and are ready to take on the demands of the commitment.

When a person becomes a Christian or comes back to church, a similar process of discernment is a good idea. For an adult who desires to be baptized and to join the church for the first time, the discernment happens in community with a priest and often with other Christians who help mentor the one seeking to start a new life in Christ.

The Episcopal Church actually has what is called a "catechumenate" program based on the ancient church's practice of preparing adults during Lent for baptism on Easter. We learn from the catechumenate program that becoming a Christian is meant be a very intentional process of learning and reflection. While none of the churches I have served had an active catechumenate program at the time I was there, we did follow a similar method but it was not as explicit or as involved. When I think about the true demands of being a Christian such a program is a great idea.

Even before the bulk of the program begins, adults seeking to be baptized go through a pre-catechumenal period, during which time they are "guided to examine and test their motives, in order that they may freely commit themselves to pursue a disciplined exploration of the implications of Christian living (The Book of Occasional Services, Church Publishing Incorporated, New York, 1994, p. 115)." This process occurs before the catechumenate even begins. Do you hear the intentionality? It is clearly stated that one needs to be informed in order to make a free choice. After that initial consideration of whether one really wants to undertake the program, then they begin "a disciplined exploration of the implications of Christian living." It is only after this exploration of the implications that one is in the position to choose freely to become a Christian with all that such a commitment entails.

In our gospel reading today, Jesus is trying to inform his followers so that they can make a free choice-he is not going to minimize what a commitment to him entails. He uses extreme examples to make his point.

It takes a lot of time on the part of the catechumen (the adult preparing for baptism) and the sponsors to follow this program and truly assist God as the person is prepared intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually for baptism-prepared to be a Christian. This program reminds us that one of the first demands of Christian life is that we take time for it.

Why are you here today when you could be sleeping? Why are you taking the time to be part of a church? What makes you think it is a good idea to become active in ministry? One of the demands of discipleship is that we take time to grow as Christians-it is not always easy to come to church when there are so many other obligations in our lives. But no one said it would be easy-certainly not Jesus-only that it would be worth it in ways that one who sits on the sidelines cannot imagine.

For those who have been in the church for years or all of their lives, it is a good idea to spend some time thinking about God's call to you as if you were a new Christian. So often our ideas about church, and what is expected of us as church members, were formed long ago or even by others on our behalf. Take some time "to pursue a disciplined exploration of the implications of Christian living." What are those implications for you?

Our American church culture often does not do a good job of communicating the expectations of being a Christian or of articulating the fact that there is indeed a cost to discipleship. In the gospel, Jesus shocks his listeners with the idea of giving up their families and their possessions in order to follow him. Jesus is using extreme examples to make an important point. While the examples are extreme, and even more shocking at the time Jesus spoke them, the point is made that following Jesus means that everything else becomes secondary.

So why would anyone become a Christian? How can anyone meet the demands? The answer is that God makes it possible-God fills our hearts with grace that changes the way we view the world.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote the book on this topic entitled The Cost of Discipleship.

Bonhoeffer states that, "Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it cost a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life (The Cost of Discipleship, Macmillan Publishing Company, New York, 1963, p. 47)"

There is a cost to discipleship and there is a promise. Without the promise the cost would be too high-without knowing the promise, why would anyone begin this great building project of becoming a disciple? There are in fact many promises that God has made to us; these are the ones that first came to my mind. The promise is freedom. The promise is life that is not limited by circumstances. The promise is love beyond measure.

Consider why you are a Christian. Why do you come to church? What do you seek? What does God desire for you as a Christian and a member of a church? What are demands of your commitment? What are the promises of God that touch you most deeply?

There is grace in the fact that we do not have to determine the cost and the promises for us on our own. We come to understand the cost and the promises together here in Christian community with God's help. Amen.