Reflections for Youth - Banjos, Practice, and Transformation

I got a banjo for Christmas about two years ago. I don't know how to play it. I have been meaning to learn. I got a book - I've watched You Tube videos. I've even looked into taking lessons but have never signed up. Let's just say that I have "dabbled" with it - I've picked it up, learned how to tune it, taught myself the strings, and I horrifyingly trie to pluck out some easy songs. But I really don't know how to play it at all.

We all know why, right? Because I haven't taken the time to do it. I pick it up and then I put it down.  Before I got it I never even considered how much time it would take to learn or how hard it would be.  I love the idea of being able to play the banjo, but I never really thought about how much time I would have to devote to learning and practicing so I could play it well.

I am thinking about that dang banjo this because this week the Gospel lesson from Luke tells of Jesus reminding the disciples and the crowd gathered around him about what it takes to follow him - the cost of discipleship. 

Read Luke 14: 25-33 (NRSV) 

Here's  a version of the passage from The Message Bible- which is a little easier to digest: 

Luke 14:25-33Figure the Cost25-27 One day when large groups of people were walking along with him, Jesus turned and told them, “Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters—yes, even one’s own self!—can’t be my disciple. Anyone who won’t shoulder his own cross and follow behind me can’t be my disciple.28-30 “Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesn’t first sit down and figure the cost so you’ll know if you can complete it? If you only get the foundation laid and then run out of money, you’re going to look pretty foolish. Everyone passing by will poke fun at you: ‘He started something he couldn’t finish.’31-32 “Or can you imagine a king going into battle against another king without first deciding whether it is possible with his ten thousand troops to face the twenty thousand troops of the other? And if he decides he can’t, won’t he send an emissary and work out a truce?33 “Simply put, if you’re not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can’t be my disciple.

So, maybe that last verse seems a little harsh to us in today's world.  Jesus is saying if you are not willing to give up everything then - See ya later alligator.  

But I get it. Jesus - at this point in his ministry - is somewhat of a celebrity. He's got the disciples that follow him everywhere and also this crowd of people who follow him. I am guessing that some of these folks followed Jesus when he was nearby, when they could, or when they didn't have anything else to do.  

I think that Jesus looked around at all the people and wondered if they really understood what it meant to follow God.  So he tells them. And he tells them two parables.  Just to make sure they get his point.  This is serious business for Jesus. He's going to die for it. So perhaps that's why his language here seems so extreme and uncompromising. 

God is calling us to love, to be part of God's family, and to be disciples. Jesus in this passage is saying that it takes a lot of time and practice for us to be disciples. Jesus is teaching us that we need to take the time to learn about what he taught. And when we learn about God’s love and forgiveness we will be able to share it with others - just like Jesus did.

I am never going to learn the banjo unless I dedicate the time to learn about it and how to play it. And I am never going to be able to teach someone else how to play it well if I just keep picking it up, playing the one song I know, and putting it back in the case again. 

Jesus is calling us to follow him - to put in the time to learn about his life and what he taught. To practice prayer and not just dabble in forming a relationship with God who loves us no matter what. 

Does that mean that we have to always get it right? I doubt it. I think it means that Jesus is reminding us that this is serious business and God prefers that we dive all the way in and not just dip our toes in the pool.  

I am reminded with this scripture that being a disciple, a follower of Jesus, is also about transformation.  Our Sunday school materials for this week includes this quote: 

" At the heart of discipleship is transformation. The cost of discipleship is not just becoming accumulators of new information about life and living it fully, or changing our behavior in regards to Jesus' teaching. The cost is engaging in a profoundly radical shift toward the ethics of Jesus with every fiber of our beings. There is no driftwood in discipleship, as we are called to live lives of complete devotion to God. Jesus remind us in today's  passage that following him means that we cannot be shallow or uncommitted believers - the adjectives simply do not fit the noun." ( From "Theological Perspective" by Emille M. Townes.)

We have to participate. We have to practice. And we have to let the Love of God guide us in how we live our lives.  Here are some questions for this week:

• How does it feel when you don't finish something that you start?
• Why is important to Jesus that his followers understand what it means to "carry the cross?"
• What do you think it means to "live lives of complete devotion to God"? What would that look like in your own life?