2022 09 04 Sermon

Being “All-In”

Pentecost 13 C

Rev. Karl-John N. Stone

Luke 14:25-33; Deuteronomy 30:15-20

We drove through the mountain pass in Colorado, one high and rocky mountain after another all around us. We came down into a valley and crossed a small bridge with a creek flowing beneath it. The road sign said “Arkansas River”. One of the Scout leaders turned to me and said, “that’s where we’re going rafting.” It didn’t look like much.

We kept driving, the high plains getting wider and the surrounding mountains getting taller. We pulled into the rafting outpost and checked in. They gave us flotation jackets, paddles, and helmets. This was getting more serious. We stepped into the bus that would drive us to the spot on the river where we would put in. As we rode the bus, the chief guide introduced himself: “Hi, my name in Catfish,” he said. “How many of you have never done this before?” Most of us raised our hands. “OK,” he said, “this is a bus, it’s like a big car…” After we laughed he got down to business. He handed me a clipboard and told me to check off each item as he mentioned it. It was a long list—things like: what to do if you fall into the river, how to keep yourself in the boat, how to not get sucked underwater, how to get rescued, how to pull someone back into the boat, what to do if your raft gets stuck.

Finally we got to the river and carried our rafts down the steep bank to the shore. Catfish had described to us all the potential difficulties we might face, as well as the actions that might be required of us in order to successfully complete our rafting adventure. At each stage of the journey up until that moment, we had the option to turn back; to say, “no, this is too much, I can’t commit myself to this.” Catfish and the other guides didn’t want us to turn back, of course. They loved rafting, and not only made their living from it but also enjoyed introducing it to others. But before they could take us on the river, they had to ask us to count the cost; to consider the difficulties (as well as considering the benefits); and they needed each of us to reach a conclusion: this trip would be possible and worthwhile. If any of us couldn’t come to that conclusion, then we should probably stay on dry land. Because once we actually got into the raft, we had to be “all in” and be fully committed.

There was a similar dynamic at play in the gospel reading we heard today from Luke 14. Large crowds were traveling around with Jesus. They loved the healings, the hospitality, the hope that he offered. They wanted to learn more. They wanted to follow him and experience life according to his way. Yet Jesus was at the point in his ministry where he was getting ready to go to Jerusalem—to go to the cross. The hardest part was still coming. If the crowds were going to keep following him, he needed to be honest about the difficulties ahead. He needed them to count the cost, to consider the potential challenges (and benefits) that lay ahead, and to each reach their own conclusions about whether the road of discipleship ahead of them would be possible and worthwhile. And so we hear some very harsh language that Jesus speaks to the crowds: “Whoever does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple… None of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.” You’ve got to count the cost. You’ve got to commit to being “all in”.

I think, with some of the examples Jesus is speaking about, that he is exaggerating to make a point. He doesn’t want us to hate anybody, especially not our own families. Jesus didn’t hate anybody, and he loved life. When you look at the gospel story in its entirety, Jesus’ biggest message, and his way of life, was all about love. Our love for one another. Our love for Jesus. And most of all, God’s love for us and for the whole world.

Yet fulfilling Jesus’ way of love—actually putting it into practice in our lives; among our family, friends, and neighbors; in our communities, workplaces, schools; in society at large—can be very challenging. It can feel like getting into a raft on an unknown stretch of whitewater river. Once you get in, you’ve got to be “all in”, and be committed to stick with it, and keep learning and moving ahead in faith, even when you know there will be difficulties ahead.

Back on the Arkansas River, once we got floating through all of those rapids, we went through our share of difficulties. Each of us got completely soaked many times over. Once, our raft got folded in half from the swirling waves at the end of a really big rapid. In another spot we were warned that if you fell in, the river would suck you down into an 83-foot-deep sinkhole and spit you out 30 yards downstream. (We all managed to stay in the raft for that one.) But with each rapid, we gained a little more experience and ability, and we listened for the instructions from our guide, Paxton, who we gained complete confidence in. In return, Paxton trusted us enough to ask if we wanted the easier or the harder routes for each rapid. (Our boys always chose the harder route.) We couldn’t have done it without our guide, but by following his lead and listening for his instructions, a river that would have been impossible for us to navigate on our own became something manageable and worthwhile, because we went “all-in” on it together.

In a similar way, we have a guide who will help us navigate the way of discipleship. That guide is Jesus Christ. He asks us to count the cost of what it means to follow him, and live according to his way of love—and he asks us to follow him with confidence, because he has already paid the cost and gone “all-in” for us. He went to the cross on our behalf to defeat the power of sin and death; and he rose again from the grave to fulfill God’s promise that Christ’s way of love is the way to abundant and worthwhile life.

Even when that way becomes difficult, and we go through one challenge after another, Jesus is our expert guide who will lead us to new life and salvation. Even when following him feels difficult, it is not impossible because Jesus himself is right by our side, and he trusts us to commit ourselves and be “all-in” for listening for his voice, bit by bit gaining experience and ability as his followers, and doing it together. Amen.