Preached by Michael Cheuk
November 8, 2009
Luke 14:25-33
Today, I am continuing my sermon series on “The Good Life – At Least According to Walmart.” In this series, we will examine the check-out line at Walmart—or really any grocery store—to observe and reflect on what the check-out line is trying to teach and sell as the good life.[1] The past several Sundays, I addressed the issue of health, beauty and sex, wealth and celebrity. Today, I want to talk about convenience, which is a very important value in contemporary America. If we look at the magazine racks at the check-out line, we see headlines such as “Jump Start Your Weight Loss” and “Speed through Your To-Do List.” Most of the magazines themselves are convenient in that they are easily accessible, offer quick tips, and give instant access to “life-transforming” information. In addition to magazines, the checkout line also stacks all kinds of candy and soft drinks, all within easy reach—especially for children. The sheer volume of choices encourages impulse spending and the instant gratification of our desires. Seeing our checkout line, a visitor from Mars might assume that Snickers bars are a major food group. Also, the sheer ubiquity of breath mints at the checkout line might also lead a Martian to think that bad breath runs rampant among humans!
We as a society value convenience. We have drive-through restaurants, banks, pharmacies and even wedding chapels. We own cell phones to contact anyone, anywhere. We use computers that allow us to shop, to do our banking, our shopping and to communicate with others online. We have all these time-saving devices like dishwashers, washers and dryers, and microwave ovens. In a world of movies-on-demand, five-minute meals, and even instant Starbucks coffee, we are trained to expect instant gratification. A good life by this definition is having things quick and easy, when and how we want it, with a minimum of work, fuss and cost.
Our expectation of convenience sometimes spills over to our Christian faith. When that happens, it is easy to drift into an attitude that church is something we do when it is convenient for us, when it is quick and easy, requiring a minimum of work, fuss, and cost. We pray and study the Bible and serve others when it suits our schedules, or when there isn’t anything else demanding our time and attention. I must confess, pastors and church leaders often cater to this mindset out of our own anxiety of not wanting to upset or demand too much from members. We set up our programs and ministries to be convenient so that they end up as products that we hope our members will consume and be satisfied with so that they don’t defect to other churches.
Theologically, churches sometimes communicate unwittingly that if you just walk down the aisle and say the sinner’s prayer, God will save you and you’ll automatically live the good life. Now, don’t get me wrong, God is able to save people when they come to God confessing their sins and putting their trust in Jesus Christ. Because of what Jesus Christ has done for us on our behalf, God is able to forgive our sins and justify or put right our relationship with him. God’s salvation is a free gift of grace that does not cost us a dime. But that’s just the beginning of the Christian life. Once we are declared to be in a right relationship to God, God’s Holy Spirit begins the work of transforming our lives to conform us more fully into God’s image. And we are called to cooperate and participate with the Holy Spirit in our sanctification, which is the discipline of becoming more holy and more Christ-like in our everyday life.
Perhaps in our market economy, convenience has its place, but when it comes to our spiritual life, convenience is vastly overrated. Perhaps our first clue comes when we reflect on that fact that in a world tailored for our convenience, it would seem that we should now have all the time in the world to enjoy life and be spiritually fulfilled. But we find ourselves living life at an ever more hectic and frenetic pace. In the midst of being constantly connected with people through cell phones, texting and Facebook, we still find ourselves lonely and craving deeper relationships with people. In a world where we are surrounded by more choices than we know what to do with regarding things we can consume, we find ourselves still empty and hungry for something that really satisfies, regardless of how many Snickers bars we’ve eaten. Nevertheless, pastors and churches fall into the convenience trap because we want to increase our market share of members and we want large crowds in our sanctuaries.
That’s why today’s Gospel lesson is such a challenge. Large crowds were following Jesus presumably because he conveniently fed the masses and healed the sick. But now, Jesus turned to the crowd and told them some hard sayings about what it takes to be his disciple. Jesus 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. Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. In these sayings, Jesus almost goes out of his way to weed out the crowd, to winnow the masses down to those who were serious about following Him.
Following Jesus means that Jesus becomes our Lord who has priority in every area of life. Following Jesus—discipleship—can cost us our family, our possessions and even our life. Jesus’ own life reflected the truth of his sayings. As we read the Gospels, we find that Jesus’ obedience to God’s mission strained his relationship to his family. In Mark 3:21, Jesus’ family thought that Jesus was out of his mind, and was ready to seize him and take him back home. Jesus also gave up everything that he had in order to preach the Gospel. Jesus said in Matthew 8:20, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” And of course, Jesus carried his cross and gave up his life in fulfillment of what he said in Mark 10:45, “For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” None of these things were convenient for Jesus, but they were necessary for our salvation. What Jesus tells us today is not convenient for us, but it is necessary for our sanctification. Jesus Himself is the inconvenient Truth.
What Jesus is trying to teach us is that in the Good Life as God intends for us to have, there are no quick and easy steps. In many respects, it is one of patience and waiting. In the coming season of Advent, we once again wait for Christ’s coming even as we are confronted with the fact that we are sinful and in need of salvation. In our daily Christian life, we must wait upon the Lord in prayer, for Christ’s return, for God’s redemption of our bodies, and for a new heaven and a new earth. We are told that patience is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22). Our salvation was not achieved by an act of convenience and cheap grace; it was a costly endeavor requiring the shed blood of the Son of God. We are not saved for a convenient and cost-free life of consumption.
Instead, we are saved to worship God, to grow together in Christian maturity and to serve others in Christ’s name. The practices of worship, prayer, Bible study, meeting in small groups, leading and serving in ministries are the disciplines God uses to help us live the good life He intended and to free us from the god of convenience that reigns supreme in the market place. And like so many other practices, it may seem inconvenient at first, but the more we practice doing it well, the more joy and fulfillment we will get when we find ourselves becoming more like Christ.
The good news this morning is that Jesus provides us His presence and His power in our practice of discipleship. This morning, Jesus offers Himself to us at the Lord’s Supper. The bread and the cup remind us of the high cost Jesus paid for our salvation. We continue to eat and drink as a practice of on-going sanctification and as a patient waiting for His return when Christ will host a heavenly feast. What these elements symbolize at the Lord’s Table was not cheap and easy for Jesus to provide, and neither is it cheap and easy for us to partake if we are to receive it rightly. But if we receive it as a way to receive Christ as our Lord, then it will become food and drink that truly satisfies. Amen.
[1] This sermon series is based on the “The Gospel According to Safeway: The Checkout Line and the Good Life” in Everyday Theology: How to Read Cultural Texts and Interpret Trends, ed. by Kevin Vanhoozer.
