When I was younger, my dad decided that it was time for him to build a second home. He wanted a vacation place on a lake that we could go to on the weekends and relax. So, he and my mother would start talking about what they could afford. They examined their financial situation to see if they had enough money to buy some land and build a home. They looked over all their options and finally they decided that they could do it, but with some compromises. The main compromise was that we would hire people to build the house, put in the electrical and plumbing systems, but we would do all the sheetrock, floating and taping and painting. So, after the house was constructed, we spent every weekend for an entire summer measuring and cutting sheetrock, installing it into the walls, cutting out holes for the electrical receptacles and light fixtures, floating the seams and sanding it all down – and then painting everything. Eventually, we had a wonderful second home to go to during the summers and weekends, and the work was well worth it.

But, had my parents calculated differently, they might have decided that we couldn’t afford the home. They might have started to build a fully finished home, only to run out of money before the project was finished. For their vision to be realized, they had to consider all the possibilities they could think of, and then make an investment that they were confident they could handle. And in the case of this second home, that included a significant amount of sweat equity.

We all have to do that when we make decisions about our lives. We all have to ask ourselves if we have what it takes to accomplish what we want to accomplish. If you go to school, you have to do the math, and make sure you can pay for your education and that your education will lead you to the life you want. If you buy a home, you have to make sure you can afford to pay the mortgage and the insurance and the taxes. When you have a child or get married or move to a new job – you have to do the math. You have to consider the costs – financially, personally, emotionally, physically. And only after you have weighed the costs, and considered the consequences – only then do you decide to go forward or not. To build that dream home or wait a few more years. To go to school or go find a job. To have a child now or later.

In our reading today, Jesus is asking us to do that with our lives. To evaluate the costs of discipleship, and decide whether or not we are ready to take on the challenge. He uses quite harsh language – troubling language. It is language designed to give us pause, to wake us up to what Jesus is asking of us, and to really consider what discipleship will demand of us. Jesus is asking us to consider – if we can’t put him first, if we can’t follow God no matter what, if God isn’t the number one priority in our lives even at the cost of our family, our wealth, our very lives – than we shouldn’t bother. We should just go back to our small lives and live them out. We shouldn’t dare to follow Jesus even one more step down the road.

It is good to put these harsh words into context. Luke tells us that Jesus is now speaking to large crowds that had gathered around him. His audience is not his closest followers, but new people, who have gathered enthusiastically in response to Jesus’ growing popularity. Perhaps they wanted to see a miracle or two. Maybe they wanted Jesus to speak eloquently or heal their own wounds. Presumably they came eagerly, excitedly, expectantly. And Jesus wanted to clear up any misconception they may have had about who he was. Jesus wanted to make sure their eagerness to follow him was matched by a genuine awareness of what following him would mean, and a clear commitment to offer everything for the cause. If they were simply enthusiastic and excited to see a charismatic leader, they would not have what it takes to go the distance. And following Jesus is all about going the distance.

Jesus doesn’t want us to start out on this path of discipleship if we are unclear about what will be asked of us or unsure about what is the result. Jesus doesn’t want us to apply for the job without knowing the job description. And so, Jesus gives us all a job description for a disciple. There are three key points:

1. Redefine your understanding of family, so that even you most precious and primary relationships are secondary to your relationship with Jesus and God. That’s what I think he is getting at with his harsh language. Detach yourself from those you are most attached to now, because that attachment might hinder you, might give you pause. If you aren’t clear with yourself that God is your first priority, look at any relationship that might be in your way, and abandon it. One cost of discipleship is a radical fidelity to God first, before your self, before your family, before your nation, before your ethnic or racial identity – before any of the things that might interfere with your commitment to God.

2. Carry your cross and follow Jesus. Begin now to learn what Jesus teaches and to conform your life around his example and teaching. He is our great rabbi, and to take up our cross and follow him means that we take our discipleship seriously, and we invest ourselves in our ongoing understanding of who Jesus is and what Jesus is asking of us in our time and place. From one perspective, the destiny of a disciple is never glory, always humility, never royalty, always servant, never elevated, always lowered, never powerful, always weak. And yet, from the perspective of the cross of Christ, our sacrifices are accounted to us as gain, and we understand that we offer ourselves in response to the offering that Jesus has made for us. Christ shows us the way, which is his cross, and disciples follow.

3. Give up all your possessions. Were you with me up until that point? Did you follow me along until there? A lot of people will ascent to hating their family, or taking up their cross – but give up all my possessions? That’s too much to ask. And yet, on fewer matters does Jesus speak more clearly nor more frequently. Our material means must bend to our discipleship goals. If we wish to follow Jesus, we must take what we have and commit it to the cause of making us disciples of Christ. Anything less than that will hinder us, will confuse us, will distract us from the clear path to the cross of Christ.

That’s your job description. I didn’t make it up. Jesus gave it to us. And though I don’t want to intimidate you, it is fair for me to say that if you don’t feel comfortable with any of that, if any of that is too much for you to bear or to do, then you need to go elsewhere for your religion. You need to find your faith in something else. Because this is what Jesus asks of us before we even take that first step. This is the cost of the house that Jesus wants to build out of your life. This is what it takes. And if you don’t have it in you to go the distance, to follow as far as Jesus requires, to order your life around the teachings of Christ no matter the cost, if you can’t do that, then don’t bother even starting. Because you will run out of steam. You will start the journey but you’ll never finish. You will be an empty shell of a house, without walls or paint.

Now, don’t think that I have forgotten about God’s grace. Discipleship is a process, and all of us are in various stages. We are all learning, we are all growing, we all do what we can. And I do think God forgives us. I do believe that God is gracious towards us in all things. I don’t want to discourage anyone from following Jesus. But I do want you to follow Jesus. Not some sanitized, cheery version of Jesus, but the real deal. And Jesus calls us to a joyful life, a forgiven life, a transformed life – but also to a life of deepening commitment. Wherever you may be in your faith, do something this fall to move yourself closer to Jesus and to God. Take up a cross. Offer yourself. Give some of what you have away. The door has been opened wide for us, but we still have to step through the threshold.

I learned a lot about my father during those weekends working on our lake house. For one thing, I had never heard my father curse so much as those weekends, usually after his hammer mistook his thumb for a nail – a fairly frequent occurrence. But I also learned that everything has a cost. I wanted the second home, but I didn’t really know what it was going to require of me. I had little understanding of my father’s finances, but I quickly understood the hot sweaty days cutting the sheetrock, sanding in the dark corner of a closet, sleeping on cots in Texas summer heat without air conditioning or showers. After a day or two I missed the showers more.

I have many memories of our times at the lake house – the swimming and water skiing. And I spent many weekends and summers playfully growing up there. But my most vivid memories are of the days we spent doing our small part to build the place. The cost was not lost on me. And I knew that I had done only a small part. I gained a new appreciation for the work and foresight of my father, for the cost of hard work, for the results of effort, commitment, and careful calculation. It was worth it.

I can’t tell you where you discipleship will take you. But I can tell you that if you calculate the costs, and build yourself up, and make the effort, and pay the bill, it will be worth it. God is making of us the presence of Christ for the sake of the people of Hartford. Such a transformation comes at great cost to us all – it will cost us our wealth, our relationships as we have known them, our plans and intentions as we’ve envisioned them. But it will be worth it. Carry your cross, and follow Jesus. Amen.

I went to a concert not to long ago of one of my favorite performers and I was pretty excited about it because I had never seen him perform before and he is getting kinda old, so I was worried I might never get to see him. So he was coming to town, so I got tickets and I went to the show. We had pretty good seats too, so I was happy when I got to the theater and saw how close we were to the stage. In the row in front of us, a couple of guys were sitting and chatting and having a good time. But before the show began, someone came up to them, flashed them their tickets, and they had to leave. They were sitting in seats that they hadn’t bought. So, off they went.

I have been in that situation before. I once went to a concert were my back was literally against the back wall of the concert hall. The performers looked like tiny specs way off in the distance. So, my buddy and I snuck down to the lower levels and found ourselves some nice empty seats and enjoyed the rest of the show. No one ever claimed the seats, so we got away with it. But, to be honest, I was kinda nervous the whole time, wondering if someone was going to make us move.

We don’t sell tickets to church, but we used to. Did you know that? There was a time in our history when people would pay to sit where you sit now. Amazing, isn’t it? Now, to be fair, I don’t know if this particular church charged pew fees, but many did. And the good seats were reserved for those who paid a pretty penny. And the back rows and the balconies were left for those poor people who couldn’t pay at all. Now, we have reformed our ways and we give the seats away. I often tell people on any given Sunday that there are many good seats available for free.

Even today, where we sit says something about who we are. I get to sit up here. I have a great seat – almost a throne really – and I get to sit up here in front of all of you. That’s my seat. Nice, huh? And some of you sit in the same pews every single Sunday with a passion that I would describe as religious! You might not pray very much or read the Bible but by God you know where you sit! Some of you have even customized your seating location with cushions. Even in hear, where we sit says something about who we are.

In Jesus’ day, the issue was a little more dramatic. Prestige was a form of currency. If you were a person of import, it was what you were due. It was your right. Humility was not the virtue we think it is today. Humility was just humiliation. And to accept a place lower than one’s stature demanded was just plan foolish and insulting. So what Jesus is talking about today is really a radical new sense of importance – a new way of understanding one’s worth. The people of Jesus’ day would have had a hard time understanding that someone could feel good about humiliating themselves, that someone could be so careless with regard to other’s opinions of them.

I have to admit a guilty pleasure. I’ve been watching the Real Housewives of Washington D.C. It is one of the many “Real Housewives” shows that or on the air these days, that depict the supposedly real lives of social climbers and wealthy people who navigate a strange world of privilege and power. I first got hooked on the New Jersey version. But the D.C. one is amazing. These housewives are right out of the Bible. They are real Pharisees. They worry mightily about who they sit next to at dinner parties. They perceive social slights as major insults. They are horribly concerned about how others see them. In one episode I saw, one housewife confronts another housewife because she was talking to someone else about her concern that the first housewife might be dangerously and unhealthily thin – which by the way, she most certainly is – and the fireworks that ensued were just wonderful! It is fascinating for me to watch because I can’t imagine living that way….

But then, I remember my throne. I remember that I have a seminary degree and I got ordained and by God that’s my throne over here. I remember how upset I was when the waiter at the restaurant took too long to bring me my food because I was a regular customer and he should treat me better. I remember the many ways, large and small, that I expect this world to treat me as if I am some sort of superstar. And I realize that I have much more in common with the Real Housewives of D.C. that I would like to admit.

Today, Jesus teaches us that in God’s kingdom, our place at the table is not our concern. God will lift us up. God will sit us down in seats that are better than we deserve. Humility is a virtue for us because we know what our true worth is – we see it in the cross of Jesus – and we don’t need a place of prestige to convince us of our value. Nor do we see the people sitting in places of power and conclude that they have more value than anyone else. For us, God’s table is a table where all are welcome – all are seated – all are in places of respect and dignity. When we throw dinner parties, the poor and the lame and the outcasts and the marginalized – they will all come in and sit right along side the usual crowd. That’s God’s table. It is not the table we might expect. But it is the table that God has deemed holy.

It flies in the face of this vision of God’s community to exclude anyone for any reason. It flies in the face of this vision of God’s community to deem some unworthy of sitting among us. It flies in the face of this vision of God’s community to assume that we who sit in here are someone holier, somehow better, somehow more than those who aren’t with us today. That kind of exclusionary thinking is rooted in a value system that is not of God. Quite simply, Jesus was sent into this world because God loves us all. Every last one of us. And that love is so great, and so powerful, and so consuming, that God’s hope for us is that we too might learn to love each other as God does.

Instead of excluding people from our club, Jesus invites us to humble ourselves, to let God seat us where God chooses, to let our place here be determined by the grace and love of God, the transforming power of the gospel. We are the people who see all as children of God, who value all as worthy of the life of Christ, who are willing to give up not only our place of prestige but our very lives for the sake of those around us.

When we experience God’s grace in our lives, we realize that we are like kids who snuck their way into seats they didn’t buy at a concert. We realize that God has placed us in a position that we could never earn or deserve. We realize that we are holy, sacred, worthy – simply because God chose to make us so. That is God’s grace in our lives – a realization of our true worth. And when we realize that, we respond with joy. Our deepest joy is to know that we are loved, that we are valued, that nothing will ever take us away from the love of God. We will be seated at God’s table. We will have a place. And whatever additional honor comes our way we will just be grateful for.

Christian community at it’s best is defined by that kind of joy – a deep, genuine gratitude for God’s love in our loves – an honest awareness of the unmerited value God chose to place on us. Joy – not a fleeting feeling of happiness – not a momentary relief from the stresses of life – but a rock solid conviction that our ultimate value is beyond measure, that we rest secure in God’s loving embrace, that our destiny is wrapped up in the fullness of God’s goodness and grace – that kind of joy is what makes Christian community different from a social club or a baseball team or a fraternity. And when we have that kind of joy, all we want to do is share it with the world.

That is why we sing. Do you go many other places where people sing? That is way we pray. That is way we read these old stories. That is why we gather together as friends. Because there is joy in our story. There is joy in our community. There is joy in our songs. And we want to express our gratitude. Let us be a joyful community. And may our joy spill out of this place and spill out of each one of us and splash down the streets and pool up in the hearts of all the people that we encounter. May they all know that here is a place for them. That here, all are welcome. That here, we judge people by the infinite and eternal value God places on them. That here, in this tough city, in this troubled city, in this sad city – here is a place of joy. Amen.

This year’s Consecration Sunday promises to be an exciting event. Featuring popular gospel selections by The Hot Cat Jazz Band, Connecticut’s hottest Swing and Dixieland jazz band, we are sure to have a great time…For Consecration Sunday, we ask you to prayerfully consider one question: what percentage of my income is God asking me to give to support our shared ministry in this church? As we faithfully respond to that question together, we will grow in our awareness of God working in our community and enrich our spiritual formation.

As is our custom, the worship service will be followed by a reception in Wesley Hall. You will hear more about Consecration Sunday during worship services closer to the date. Be sure to reserve your spot early so that we have a good sense of how many people will be in attendance.

“Tuesday Study Group,” a monthly women’s study sponsored by our United Methodist Women, resumes October 19th at 12:30pm. “Passion, Promise & Praise” by Donald Griggs, this year’s study, deals with the Book of Psalms. We will look at the Psalms as “Prayers and Poetry,” and study psalms that relate to “Sacred History,” “Trust,” “Lament,” and “Praise.” The cost of the study book and supplies is $17.00, payable at the first session.

Our time together, in the church parlor, begins with a “bring your own” lunch. We take turns as the hostess who sets up, cleans up and provides dessert. The actual study starts at 1:00pm, finishing by 2:30pm. Newcomers are always welcome! Please speak to Dianne Antos (who begins her 19th year as the facilitator) if you are interested in attending. Materials need to be ordered by September 29!