September 7, 2025, Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
”A Life Appraised”
Psalm 1; Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Philemon 1-21; Luke 14:25-35
Divine Service III with Holy Communion
Hymns: #574 ”Before the Throne of God Above”; #597 “Water, Blood, and Spirit Crying”; #474 “Alleluia! Jesus Is Risen”
Dear Friends in Christ,
Grace, mercy, and peace to you, from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
According to what God’s own Word says, these lives of ours are of inestimable value, precious and holy to God. We’re “fearfully and wonderfully made,” the Psalm says. “I knew you before you were knit together in your mother’s womb,” God says. “Fear not, for I have redeemed you,” God says in Isaiah; “I have summoned you by name; you are Mine… you’re precious and honored in My sight, and I love you.” “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” “For God so loved the world – He so loved us all – that He gave us His only Son.” “I am the Good Shepherd,” Jesus says, “and the Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” What happened at the cross is the measure of your worth; that’s how much God loves you. Don’t ever underestimate your value.
And yet Jesus says, “Hate your own life and give it up for My sake.” Why would He say a thing like that? Not because He wants us to die, but because He wants us to live, and to live what He calls “the life that is truly life.” These earthly lives of ours are precious and dear, but our eternal lives are more precious still.
To appraise something it to estimate its true value, which really can only be done by holding it up against something else and having something to compare it to. What something is worth is what someone else is willing to pay for it. Have you ever watched “Let’s Make a Deal?” A contestant will win a smaller prize, and Wayne Brady (or Monte Hall if you prefer the older version) will ask them: “Will you trade your $200 for whatever’s in the big box?” Or, “Will you give up your new bedroom set for a shot at The Big Deal?” Now for us, spiritually speaking, the choice should be an easy one, because we already know what’s in God’s big box, because He’s told us so. We know which curtain the grand prize is behind, and we don’t have to guess. What on earth would you trade for forgiveness, life, and Heaven forever? There is no bigger deal to be had than that.
Our Gospel in Luke says that “large crowds were travelling with Jesus.” Why were they there? For what reason were they following Him? They were willing to follow Him, but how far? How many would still be willing to follow, once they found out following Him could come down to “lay down your life and die?” Jesus knew how many would still be there with Him at the end. So Jesus turns to the crowd around Him and says: "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be My disciple.” Oh, dear Lord, hate is such a strong word.
I looked up Greek word for hate, and it’s miseos, which does literally mean to hate, abhor, or detest something. We have to be careful with our words here, though. The sense of the word isn’t hate as in “I hate you”. God’s Word clearly calls us to love one another more than we love ourselves, with all our heart and soul and mind and strength. “Love one another as I have loved you” is truly the greatest and most important of Jesus’ commandments. What Jesus means by “hate” here is to love one thing more than you love another thing, as in, “I love you with all my heart, but I love Jesus more.”
This is the ultimate test of our priorities, and of the depth of our devotion to God, and of the measure of our commitment to what our Lord is asking of us. This is First Commandment stuff: is there anything you have that you wouldn’t hand over, if God said, “Give it to me?” So if something will keep me from following Christ, I have to hate it. And if something might keep me or someone I love out of Heaven, then I have to hate it even more. And if following Jesus and walking with Him should come to mean I can’t be with you anymore, that would break my heart if that’s the way it has to be – because I still love you, but I love Him more. And as far as my own life goes, I love living, and I want to hold on to my precious life as long as I can. But if the choice comes down to keeping my poor life here on this earth or having a life forever in God’s heaven - then, like the old hymn says, “Let us gladly die with Jesus.”
Jesus goes on to say here, “Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple.” You and I don’t have to carry the same cross Jesus did; that one was His alone. He might ask you to die for Him, but most likely not. (“Would you if He asked?” is a question to think about, though). What He’ll more likely to ask is that you live for Him. Your cross is whatever He might ask you to do for His sake. Maybe a piece of your time, maybe a piece of your heart. Maybe giving up something you’d like to do, because He’s asking you to do something else. Maybe a big life change (like packing up your wife and little ones and going to Seminary). But more likely it will be a smaller thing, like having that uncomfortable “Jesus talk” with someone you love, that you’ve been putting off. Maybe your cross to carry is something that will cost you time or money or inconvenience. (Most likely it will be). But the mark of a true disciple of Jesus is always obedience. If there’s a cross He’s calling you to carry, and you choose to say no, then Jesus’ words are clear enough: “Then you cannot be My disciple.”
A disciple, by the way, is a learner or a student. A disciple is someone who sits at the feet of the Teacher and learns from Him, so they can become like the Teacher and learn to do the things the Teacher does. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me,” Jesus says. “But Pastor, I don’t know what God wants me to do…” All I can answer to that is, “Pray about it, open up His Word, and begin to read and find out.” The answer to “what does God want from me?” is in there and always has been, but only if you make it your purpose to open your Bible and read it. Then the more you learn, the more you’ll grow, and the stronger you’ll become. And the stronger you become, the more the Lord will ask of you, and the more of a cross He’ll ask you to carry. What Jesus is asking is, “Are you ready for that?”
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower,” Jesus says. “Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'” Suppose you want to build a tower - a Church, a ministry, a charity, or a business; or suppose you just want to build a good and God-pleasing life, and a life that bears fruit for Him? What are you willing to give, or give up, or sacrifice, or endure, or put up with, in order to get it done?
The Greek word for ‘cost’ here is dapane, which literally means “to consume.” If I’m going to jump in with both feet and do this thing, how much of me is it going to consume? How much of my life and time and energy and resources is it going to eat? Will it add up to a profit, or will I end up spending more than I gain? (“Cost/benefit analysis” is what the business people call this). Will “leaving all to follow Jesus” be worth what it will cost me? (And of course we know it will!) Yet Jesus says, “If you wish to follow Me to where I’m going, the road only goes through the cross.” There’s no easy way around.
Jesus says this Christian life we’re being called to live is like going to war. He says, “Suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?” Any good general ought to know this. It’s not good to be a General Custer, brave as the man might have been. “Are my 200 soldiers a match for 10,000 Sioux and Cheyenne warriors? Sure they are! Let’s go!” (Idiot!) Do we have our enemy outnumbered? Are we stronger than the devil and all the hordes he can muster against us? Are we stronger than sin and death and hell itself? On the face of the thing, the obvious answer is no. Here on earth, it’s wolves versus sheep, it’s lions versus lambs, it’s the devil prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.
But again, we already know what’s in the Big Box. We know who’s on our side, and who’s fighting for us, and who our Captain is. Our Lord Jesus, white stallion and sword and all, is worth ten million of whatever the devil has to put up against us. “Greater are those that are with us, than those that are with them.” One little shepherd boy David versus one overgrown, loudmouth giant - and Goliath never had a chance. One faithful Daniel versus a whole den full of lions, trusting the God who comes to shut their mouths. It comes down to a trust issue; is Jesus strong enough to save us, or isn’t He?
So should we have the courage to fight the good fight, or hide in our little corner, hoping the world doesn’t notice we’re here? Should we be willing to risk what all soldiers, even Christian soldiers, are asked to risk when they’re called to fight? We might have to leave our loved ones for a little while. We might be cold and hungry sometimes. We might be wounded, we might even have to die, for the sake of the cause we’re fighting for. But do you remember what Jesus said? Do you remember His promise? “Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die.” And He said those words just before He brought Lazarus out of his grave.
We can’t lose. Even if we die, we live, because Jesus lives. We should be fighting with courage, and building our towers with confidence, knowing God is with us, and living our lives in the light of the hope we have in a new life yet to come. We confess it every time we speak the words of our Creeds: “I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life + of the world to come.” “I believe in the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life + everlasting. Amen.”
“Salt is good,” Jesus says, “but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear." I don’t know what my life, such as it is, is going to amount to once it’s over. I’ll try to live it as best I can, and try with all my heart to be salty for God; that’s the best I can do. Maybe whatever I leave behind can be like mulch, the last of the season’s shells, husks, and clippings, thrown into a pile, that God in His mercy can turn into good, black, faithful soil when the season comes around again. And every farmer and gardener knows that even manure has its uses. I’d be content in the end just to be that, to be Christian fertilizer, if in the end it produces something good. Whatever God calls me to do, big or small, may God help me to do it in obedience and faith, and I pray I’ll leave something behind of value for the people that follow after me. In the end, when God appraises me, I pray He’ll see a life lived well and a job well done.
Don’t ever underestimate your personal worth or your value, or the worth and value of every single human soul. Our value as people is defined by the cross; there’s where we get our true appraisal, and where we see what we’re truly worth in God’s eyes. If the value of a thing is determined by what someone else is willing to pay for it, then we know that Jesus was willing to pray the price for our sin with His own precious body and blood; He loves us that much. So now we know what’s in the big box! We get the Big Deal! Your faith has saved you; go in peace! Tell somebody the Good News. In Jesus’ name; Amen.