We might as well begin with the part of this story that catches everybody’s attention—Jesus’ use of the word “hate.”  First of all, to coin a popular phrase today, the word is what it is.  I can’t tell you the word is really something else, that the NIV gives a bad translation.  It is the word “hate.”  Now, that is not all there is to be said about Jesus’ use of the word, but it is as strong a word as he could use to express it.  It is the same word that is used in the Old Testament to express things that God hates—the worship of false gods, for example.  Also, it is the word used by the prophets in the interesting image of the kind of worship of God that God “hates.”  That is, worship that is not lived out in the rest of the worshiper’s week by failure to care for others.  That very interesting line, for example, from the prophet, Amos.  The Lord says, “I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies…Away with the noise of your songs…But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5:21, 23a, 24)

The word Jesus uses in this story is also the same word used throughout the New Testament to speak of the world’s hatred for the community of God.  Jesus says “People will hate you because of me,” (Matthew 10:22a), and later in the upper room, “If the world hates you, keep in mind it hated me first…that is why the world hates you.”  (John 15:18, 19b)  Same word.  Jesus uses it here in a description of faithful discipleship and also uses it in a passage from John describing faithful discipleship.  “Those who love their life will lose it, while those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” (John 12:25)  Same word.

So, I can’t soften the blow by telling you the word isn’t really the word “hate.”  It is what it is.

However, we would be mistaken if we took Jesus’ words to mean we must literally “hate” our family—husband or wife, children, brothers and sisters—or we cannot be Jesus’ disciple.  Jesus uses the word, first of all, to grab the attention of the crowd that is following him—and our attention as well.  It is an example of Semitic hyperbole—saying something so outlandish that we can’t help but get the point.  An example of that is when Jesus speaks of adulterous sin in our lives and says, “If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away...if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.” (Matthew 5:29a, 30a)  Does Jesus want us, literally, to gouge out our eyes or cut off our hands?  No.  Does Jesus want us to take sin seriously?  Yes. He is using the same sense of hyperbole here.

He also uses the word as an attention grabber within the particular context of its use.  Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem and the events to come of his arrest, crucifixion and resurrection—following that moment written about in Luke and to which I referred in my devotional for Ash Wednesday—“Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:51b)  Continuing to minister and teach on the journey to Jerusalem, Jesus begins attracting bigger and bigger crowds.  More and more people want on the Jesus bandwagon and, knowing our “fair-weather” hearts, Jesus wants us to be clear about the cost of being his disciple.  It could cost us everything—costing even our families, or our very lives.  That is a very relevant point to disciples in places of oppression where they face persecution.  I recently read the story of a baptism service in East Malaysia where one young woman, faced with her father’s threat to expel her from the family if she became a Christian, came to the service anyway to be baptized into Christian faith.  In the corner of the room where she was baptized stood her luggage containing her few possessions.  Countless stories exist where people faced great persecution, the risk of losing family or their lives, if they became a disciple of Jesus Christ.  And, while we may not face persecution at that level, Jesus’ words, nonetheless, are relevant for us today because being a disciple of Jesus Christ—not just a bandwagon jumper on and off, but a real disciple of Jesus Christ—will cost us.  It probably will not cost our lives, but it certainly will cost our lifestyles.  Constantly, disciples of Jesus Christ will be challenged in how they live their lives.  Do they live for others, seeking to serve others first, over against their own needs and wants?  Disciples of Jesus Christ will constantly be challenged as to how they made their gains in life.  Did they earn them honestly and with integrity?  It will cost us something to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and Jesus wants us to be clear about it.  That’s why he uses this harsh word.  Jesus is not calling us to “hate” our families.  But, he wants us to be clear about the cost of truly following him.

Furthermore, in dealing with this difficult passage, as always in reading the Bible, the words of a particular passage must be viewed in its context—excited crowds jumping on the Jesus bandwagon without counting the cost—and the passage must be viewed in the larger picture of Scripture.  The Old Testament commanded the people of God to “honor their father and mother,” the first commandment, by the way, that comes with a blessing.  In Leviticus and elsewhere, the people of God are commanded to “not hate their neighbor.” (Leviticus 19:17)  And Jesus, of course, repeatedly sets the bar higher and higher for how we should love, not hate.  The common teaching in Jesus’ time was to love neighbor and hate enemies.  But Jesus set a higher standard.  Love, not only your neighbor, but “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44 and elsewhere).  Clearly, viewed within the panorama of Jesus’ overall teaching and the teaching of Scripture, Jesus is not calling us to love our enemies while hating our families.  But, he does want to get our attention as we consider the cost of following him.  Following Christ will come at a cost.  It may not cost us our lives.  It will cost some aspects of an imagined lifestyle—gaining the upper hand in a shady business deal; pouring all your resources into a personal portfolio.  Following Christ may, in fact, affect family relationships.  But, Jesus is not giving us permission to estrange ourselves from difficult family members.  Rather, the complete teaching of Jesus calls us to do everything possible to love even the most difficult of family members.  The East Malaysian girl might be estranged from her father because of her decision for Christ, but it is due to the father’s actions, not hers.  She remains obligated to do everything possible to maintain a relationship of love.  In Matthew’s parallel account of this parable from Luke, instead of using the word “hate,” Matthew uses the phrase “Anyone who loves father and mother more than me.”  That is certainly the sense of what is quoted in Luke.  However, remember the context of Luke—crowds growing with the excitement of Jesus’ ministry, a carnival-like atmosphere—and Jesus aware of what waits ahead in Jerusalem.  “Love father and mother more than me” would only gain the crowd’s unconscious nod of agreement.  The hyperbole of “hate” gets their attention—and ours.

Jesus warns his disciples—his disciples then and his disciples now—against what Dietrich Boenhoffer calls “cheap grace.”  Cheap grace is a watered down gospel in which we hedge our bets on eternity by professing faith in Christ as Savior without living out his rule as Lord over our lives.  It is faith professed but not lived out.  Cheap grace is a gospel that has lost its “saltiness.”  Literally, the word used there means “usefulness.”  Cheap grace is useless faith that has lost its saltiness.  Salt serves two functions.  We are familiar with one function, salt as a flavoring for life.  We are less familiar in today’s world with the second function for salt, as a preservative.  Before refrigeration, meat was packed in salt to keep the meat from spoiling.  Cheap grace robs the gospel of its usefulness.  The full gospel of Jesus Christ—professing faith in Jesus and living it out—brings flavor and preservation to life.  But, it comes at a cost—the cost of those things the world thinks bring flavor and preservation to life, but are contrary to Christ’s commands.

I am reminded in this of the example of Evelyn Smith, a Presbyterian woman who lives in California.  In 1986 at the time of her husband’s death, Mrs. Smith inherited a duplex from which she drew her primary source of income by renting it.  One standard she set, guided by her faith in Christ, was that she would not rent to unmarried couples.  Apparently, word spread about her policy because one day a couple, claiming to be married, sought to rent one part of the duplex.  They paid a deposit and left.  Later, however, the woman called and said she thought Mrs. Smith didn’t believe them and asked if Mrs. Smith wanted to see their marriage license.  Mrs. Smith said, “No, I expect you to tell me the truth.”  Then, the man called, admitted they weren’t married at which time Mrs. Smith returned their deposit and voided the rental agreement.  Turns out she was set up.  The couple were “spies” for the Housing Commission and the Commission took Mrs. Smith to court.  The court decided against Mrs. Smith.  Part of the irony here is that the state of California had their own restrictions against renting to unmarried couples.  Housing for couples on California college campuses was restricted to married couples.  At least that was the case in the late 80’s, the time of Evelyn Smith’s court case.  It’s probably changed now.  Nonetheless, that was the situation at the time of the ruling against Evelyn Smith.  In order to continue to rent the property, Mrs. Smith was ordered by the court to pay the couple $474 plus 10% interest.  But, it didn’t stop there.  The court also ordered Mrs. Smith to post notice on her rental property admitting to her offense and promising to never do it again.  Now, if you were Mrs. Smith, what would you do?  Would you compromise your principles—one more bit of “saltiness” being lost in the world?  Or, would you stand firm?  Mrs. Smith chose to leave her duplex empty, saying that to do otherwise would make her a “wimp Christian.”  Evelyn Smith is one of my heroes.

Following Jesus Christ—not as a camp follower on the fringes, but as a disciple—will cost something.  That was certainly true for the original twelve—a cursory reading of their eventual fate reveals that: Peter was crucified during the persecution of Nero, James was beheaded by Herod, Matthew was slain by the sword in Abyssinia…and so on.  It is certainly true for disciples in societies of persecution like East Malaysia and elsewhere.  It’s true for Evelyn Smith.  And it is true for us.  Oh, it might not cost us our lives.  But, it certainly must cost us lifestyles that run contrary to the teachings of Jesus, the “saltless,” “useless” lifestyles of “cheap grace” where there is forgiveness without repentance, baptism without discipline, communion without confession.  So, before jumping on the Jesus bandwagon, consider the cost.  But, consider also that the full gospel of Jesus Christ—Jesus as Savior and Lord—is where the flavor and preservative of life is to be found.

Before receiving communion, let us take a moment of silent reflection to consider the cost…and our commitment to following Jesus.