"If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.  Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, `This man began to build, and was not able to finish.' Or what king, going to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an embassy and asks terms of peace. So therefore, whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. "Salt is good; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored?

“Whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”

In the name of the + Father and the + son and the + Holy Ghost, Amen

In a society that prizes materialism as greatly as we do today, is it no wonder that the Gospel of our Lord falls on so many deaf ears! After all we are a society that claims that the one who finishes life with the most toys is the winner.

I  guess we could soften the meaning a bit---attempting to be less demanding and therefore hope  that the masses will not find these words too strong to live by---but then again as we look at those churches that have done so---we see that most everybody---not just those trying to minimize their Christian responsibility---don’t attend either.

The warm and fuzzy way---the softer and kinder way---the gentle prodding way just does not seem to fit what Jesus had in mind when he answered the disciple when he said, “What shall I do to inherit the kingdom of God?”

Our Gospel today is, in my mind, the final portion of a trilogy that began three weeks ago. I say that, because the trilogy begins with a question: "Lord, will those who are saved be few?", and the question is answered in our last three Gospels.

If we recall, two weeks ago Jesus answered the disciple and told him to first, “strive to enter through the narrow door.” Last week we were told to be humble and not sit at the place of honor as an invited guest at a banquet and today we are told to “renounce all that you have.”

The question of “who will be saved” is in many ways identical to “what shall I do to inherit the kingdom” and to test my thoughts, one only needs to ask the question in light of our trilogy of gospels.

He asks: What shall I do to inherit the kingdom?  Jesus says---“strive to enter into the narrow door.”

He asks: what shall I do to inherit the kingdom? Jesus says---“do not sit in the place of honor.”

He asks: what shall I do to inherit the kingdom? Jesus says---“renounce all that you have.”

There you have it---three simple ways to live a life that is becoming of God’s grace!

As difficult as these may seem to be, there is a great history in the church that provides us with a blueprint to follow.

For most of the first 300 years of the church, persecution of the Christian way was common place. The apogee came with the Roman Emperor Diocletian; he was a devout follower of the conservative Olympian Gods. Under his persecution, and whilst executions were fairly common, his edicts of the restriction of Christian gatherings did much to keep Christian worship at bay. It wasn’t until his resignation that the persecutions began to wane, and by 312 AD, when Constantine defeated his enemy at the Milvian Bridge, and proclaimed an edict of tolerance towards Christians, that the persecutions of the Christian church finally came to an end.

We must understand though, that martyrdom was seen as the ultimate giving of one’s self for the life of the Gospel---the ultimate ‘renouncement’ of everything, including one’s life to follow Christ and when these martyrings came to an end as the persecutions ceased, many felt that they could not give enough to God. 

It wasn’t until a little later in the century that a man named Antony heard this Gospel one day: “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell all thou hast." When he did just that, a new approach to renouncing oneself for the Gospel came into being.

Like many that came after him, St Antony came from a wealthy family, and upon hearing the good news of the Gospel that day, sold everything he had---wandered out into the desert into his hermitage---and remained in isolation for the rest of his days.

Not long after his self imposed exile, St Antony was joined---much to his dismay---by others seeking to live a more austere life. And from this humble beginning---from St Antony and those who were willing to renounce all that they had---came the foundation of the monastic life of self denial, prayer and meditation.

I suppose by now you are wondering if I am going to suggest that we all pack up and retire to a monastery, placing a collection box at the back of the Parish to deposit car titles, home deeds and retirement accounts in. Well, for most of us that just won’t work.  

Though the monastic life is certainly for some the best way of following Jesus---it is not the only way. Each one of us must find our own way of authentically following Jesus that will mean different things for different people---different approaches---different sacrifices, and whatever our state in life, as Christians, the challenge of following Jesus is continually laid before us.

Even today, the decision to follow Jesus leaves us with a question when he says: “Whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” You see, the question won’t go away---it demands an answer---it is a question each of us has to work on and it is a question that we should all be prepared at some point in time to answer.

When we think of Christ’s edict, if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off and if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out, we see that our earthly material items can be a great hindrance to our discipleship. 

Sure we must provide for our families and a dependable car in South Florida is a necessity and we must have money for our children’s education and the ability to provide for them food and shelter and yes on occasion a toy or two.

Indeed all of these are true, but all of this does not mean that we cannot live simply! Because simplicity of life is one of the hallmarks of the Christian life and while it is necessary to have good transportation---it is a totally different thing to deprive one’s family in the pursuit of a Ferrari or shamelessly flaunt any other ostentatious possession. 

I know that many of you have struggled to rear your children and put them through college and many more will struggle to rear them and put them through in the future---and with today’s educational costs---the diversion of those costs into one’s self centeredness could buy a pretty nice Italian sports car---can’t it?. But why have we chosen not to do so?

Because, deep within us lies the Christian commitment to renounce our personal pleasures, forsaking our own wants and wishes for the life of our children; to give to them without question---to live for them so that they may find success, happiness and share in the love of God as adults.

And as we have done for our children, so must we do for the sake of the Gospel.

Just as Christ emptied himself out to mankind, we must also empty ourselves out for the sake of the Gospel.

It is not enough for us to say that we want to live a Christian life---we must live a Christian life.

It is not enough for us to strive to enter through the narrow door---we must enter through the narrow door.

It is not enough for us to be humble and unassuming and to renounce the evils of those material items that cause us to stumble---we must humbly renounce them.

Because in doing so, it is our only path to living a life full of the grace of God and laying of the foundation for our eternal life.

In doing so, we will be looked upon by the effete and egalitarian world---we will be mocked by those that say we are out of touch---we will be persecuted, just as our Christian ancestors were---but when we lay our heads down and reflect on our day’s activity---when we think of our giving up the frivolities of life---the folderol---of separating ourselves from the ‘disease of want’ in the world---we will find that peace that St Antony, the third century disciple found in the desert of Egypt!

And that peace---that peace which is a gift from God ---is something that the vast majority of the world can only long for!

In this we pray,

In the name of the + Father and the + Son and the + Holy Ghost, Amen

  
(The Rev'd Fr.) Leonard L. Sorvillo, A.CSSS