Westminster Presbyterian Church, Sept 11, 2009
We live in a capitalist society. We know about buying and selling. Contrary to what MasterCard says: Priceless. Everything has its price. Right?
Back just before the second world War, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote what has become a classic book on Christian ethics and discipleship. He called his book: The cost of Discipleship. Maybe some of you have heard this term used in reference to being a disciple of Jesus?
So what do you think about this idea? Are you a disciple of Jesus? If so, how much did it cost? Did you get your discipleship at the discount store? Or, maybe you got the marked up verson at Nieman Marcus or Tiffany’s. Maybe discipleship cost you a few extra hours of sleep this morning so you could make it to church.
Maybe it cost you a few dollars when you came across a homeless person with his hand out. Is that what discipleship costs? Starting today and over the next several weeks, we are going to be looking at passages from Mark’s gospel that hit on this idea—the cost of discipleship, what it costs to be a follower of Jesus.
Jesus says this about discipleship in our passage from Mark: "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?
Life = death. Death = life. A strange formula Jesus has.
