"Bargain Shopping"
9-9-07
I love finding a good bargain… 2 packs of Coca Cola for the price of one, a perfectly good piece of discounted furniture that has a scratch, a third pair of socks free, $1.00 movie nights, 10% off with a Triple A card, Goodwill clothing that fits like a charm, Target special,…you name it. I like bargains.
Maybe I love the challenge of taking something used and fixing it up. Maybe I’m too cheap to spring for the new stuff. Maybe I just like to buy things and money spent on a bargain goes much, much further. I guess I like the thrill of not knowing exactly what I’m getting.
I booked a trip to Europe once because it was a bargain. I had saved my money all year long. I had a job that paid me about $25 a week. I scrimped and I saved and I read about a trip through an Educational company. I booked myself a ticket…10 countries in 18 days. I was going to see the world! Wahoo! I packed a small stewardess size suitcase, got a lovely passport, laid awake all night the day after classes were over, and at 4 am, hopped on a Shuttle from Pocatello, Idaho to the Salt Lake City airport, to board a plane to Amsterdam.
I got what I paid for and oh so much more. I loved my glances of Austria and Italy. I think we jogged through Switzerland, I waved as we flew past Germany, and stopped for a breather in France. I did enjoy the brief ferry ride from France to England. I took amazing pictures, filled my mind with fantastic historical facts, took in the beauty of the cities around me, and then I blinked and it was over.
But here was the real bargain… I, being a 19 year-old college student, got to travel on a bus with a bunch of middle-aged folk from Oklahoma and Nebraska. I had the privilege of sitting beside the gentleman who asked for ketchup at every meal, the woman who liked German beer a little too much, and the woman who was angry the whole time because "the stupid people wouldn’t even try to speak English to her." I met a nice man who fell asleep on my shoulder every time we boarded a bus, and a woman who talked about nothing but the really sexy tour guide who was not even half her age. Ahh, what a bargain it was. For as much beauty as I experienced, I was ready to come home. You know, reflecting back on my European adventure, I realized that bargains can be risky. There are unknowns, and as I was reminded this week, there is a difference between inexpensive and cheap. But the allure of savings is just too strong.
We are a culture who loves a good deal. Why buy something at Nordstrom’s when you can find it cheaper at Walmart? Gas at the Arco works just as good as gas at the Chevron. Some of us will buy 100 rolls of toilet paper and a gallon of peanut butter at Costco, if we think it will save us money. We like incentives, savings, flexibility, comfort zones, a really good bargain. We like looking at the sale price and saying, "Wow! .50 cents cheaper than last week! I’ll take two."
As we look at our Gospel passage this morning, Jesus recognizes that there are some bargain shoppers in the crowd around him. He wants to make sure that those enthusiastic followers understand what discipleship is all about. Jesus is on the road heading to Jerusalem, and large crowds are traveling with him. He is not overly enamored by the size of the crowd. He rightly suspects that most of them are along for the ride, that they are looking for a good deal, a new faith with new perks that they are even more unsuspecting than the disciples about what lies ahead. Jesus wants to make sure that the eager crowd of seekers and new converts, the eager crowd full of young folk and old, in good health and poor, has figured the cost of being a servant of God. Jesus wants to make sure that these folks know that they are not merely a part of a joyful parade, but rather a march that will soon turn into a funeral procession. So, Jesus turns to the crowd and makes it clear just what is expected of those who truly wish to follow.
Now, without any historical context, Jesus’ first words seem harsh and totally out of character. He says, "Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciples." Well, Jesus, hate my family? You just lost me there. How can Jesus who has preached radical love and inclusion suddenly call for his followers to hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters? To understand his intent, we must set aside the emotions of anger and hostility we associate with the word hate. In the context of this passage, the word hate is a Jewish expression of exaggeration used to mean "turn away from," or "separate from". Jesus is saying that not only is the call to discipleship the highest calling, it reorders and redefines every other relationship we are a part of. "Count the cost," Jesus says. It’s not looking like as good a deal as we might first think.
Jesus says count the cost, pick up your cross and follow me. Cross is a word that has been greatly cheapened in our day. We talk about our aches and pains, our whiney children or grandchildren, a demanding boss as our "cross to bear". Yet faithfulness means more than that, and discipleship sometimes comes at a greater cost than we expect. Following Christ means we must lay aside are bargain oriented minds, discipleship is not a faddish, sporadic, or voluntary activity. Discipleship is a long-term, often costly endeavor.
How often we enter into commitments and communities with the question "what’s in this for me?" Jesus says, "My friends, before you enthusiastically journey to Jerusalem with me, I need you to count the cost. Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesn’t first sit down and figure the cost so you’ll know if you can complete it?" Looking for immediate satisfaction will get us into trouble in the long run. He continues, "Can you imagine a king going into battle against another king without first deciding whether it is possible with his ten thousand troops to face the twenty thousand troops of the other?" And if he decides he can’t, that king will certainly seek a truce. Simply put, "If you’re not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and put them second to me, give up the power of bargains and possessions in your life and commit to the cost of following me, than you are unable to be one of my disciples."
We have a challenging word this morning. Bargains are great in some areas of our lives, but we can’t bargain when it comes to discipleship. Discipleship requires our all, our lives, and it is at times very costly. You see, bargains can be risky, but you don’t really lose a whole lot in the end. Giving our all can be risky as well, and it costs everything, it doesn’t always provide immediate satisfaction, but it helps to bring about the Kingdom of God. Giving our all, will fill us fuller than any extra pack of Coke, warm us better than our discount socks, help us grow faster than our half-gallon jug of vitamins. Giving our all, puts into perspective those first disciples who left their families behind, who stood bewildered as the man they followed hung broken on a cross, and puts into perspective the incredible gift of new live, new covenant, new justice, new hope, new grace, that was realized in Jesus’ resurrection.
Although we must all make our own decision about whether or not we are willing to pay the price to follow; it may cost us different things. For some it may cost the reordering of relationships, for others the price may be giving up possessions. For still others, the investment may be in the form of time or energy. Discipleship is costly, and we are being asked if we truly realize the cost of claiming ourselves as Christians before our living God.
Jesus says, "Count the cost." Count the cost, plan ahead, no room for .50 cent bargains here. Invest all you have and I promise it will be worth every penny." Thanks be to God. Amen.
Blessings,
Melissa