Open The Gospel – 7 September: Trinity 12, Luke 14.25–33

Reading: Luke 14.25–33

Large crowds were travelling with Jesus; and he turned and said to them, ²⁶‘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 disciple. ²⁷Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. ²⁸For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? ²⁹Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, ³⁰saying, “This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.” ³¹Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? ³²If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. ³³So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.’

Things to think about with the child at the centre:

Activities

Lots of lego, challenge everyone as a team to build the biggest tower possible, that will stand up on its own.

Response

This is a really challenging passage, and we might find it difficult to understand in our lives today. Does Jesus really want us to hate our families and give up all our possessions?

We might need to understand a little bit about the people who Luke is writing this account to, and the people Jesus was talking to to understand the context.

Choosing to follow Jesus when he was alive, and in the 50-100 years after his death was a dangerous choice – you could be disowned by your family, thrown out of your synagogue, and be arrested, threatened or even killed.
Jesus is warning people – there is a cost to following me, are you prepared to take it?

Maybe today, there doesn’t seem to be much cost in following Jesus. Perhaps its a bit too easy. But choosing Jesus does mean not choosing other things – perhaps that’s football or rugby on a Sunday morning to come to church. It might mean not using certain language, or having certain friends. It means being more generous than other people, letting others go first, play with the best toys, have the last cake. It means choosing to love people who might not love you.

Jesus’ message is that He needs to be no1 priority, even over family, friends and football.

Prayer

Think about the number 1:

sometimes when we write a “1” it looks like the letter “I” – think out times that you’ve been selfish and put yourself before other people. Pray for help in not acting like that in the future.
You might have heard the phrase “second class citizens” meaning people who aren’t as fortunate as others. Pray for those who are in poverty, hungry or in places where there is war, that God will fix those situations
The Bible tell us that we are “One Body” – Pray for our church, the churches in Stroud, and our community, that we will be united into one, helping each other to be the best we can.