Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?

Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it - lest, after he has laid the 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 make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

- Luke 14:25-35

In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught about alms-giving, compassion for those who cannot pay us back. This can take many forms. Jesus gave the illustration of a supper, to which He encouraged us to invite those who cannot reciprocate, for great will be our reward from God for our care of the "littlest ones." A "hidden" beatitude found only in Luke was in this passage: "Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!" Jesus then went on to tell a parable of a great feast - from which the invited guests were excluded as they gave too many excuses, and it was the poor and marginalized, and the outsiders, who were only allowed as guests.

Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple." A note in my study bible reads: "God has commanded man to love and honor, to to hate his father and mother. The word 'hate' here represents a Semitic expression used in reference to ultimate commitments (see 16:13; Matt. 6:24). A follower of Christ works for loving relationships toward all, but his commitment to God carries absolute priority even over family ties." Jesus has just finished a parable about those who were "too busy" to attend a feast as invited guests, so they were replaced with others who had not been invited. Another reading in today's Lectionary is from Revelation 19, and it is about the great marriage feast of the Lamb, Christ Pantokrator ("All-Powerful" or "Almighty"). The idea of a wedding in this context is that one leaves our family of birth and marries into a new family, with new loyalties. Thus, the wedding feast, as figured in yesterday's reading bears meanings for us in this context. We leave the past to marry with the new, with the future. Jesus asks this depth of commitment, from our old lives (in every respect) to the new - to loyalty to this new life as a part of His kingdom, His life that He offers to us. This is the wedding feast, the banquet to which we are asked. The bride is Israel; that is, the whole of the People of God, those who choose this commitment of love.

"For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it - lest, after he has laid the 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 make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple." A note reads, "Jesus gives several examples of what it means to carry one's cross, the cost of discipleship. To be a disciple means to count the cost, and pay it." What is it that prompts us to make this commitment, this bond of love to Christ? Are we willing to forgo all the things we may have to leave behind in this new life? Can we count the cost, no matter what that is? Like a marriage, a bond of love and commitment to the Bridegroom asks of us all of our loyalty, all of our hearts, everything to which we cling. Discipleship - like the building of a great building - is a long (lifelong) process; much may be asked of us as we make choices in our loyalties along the way. This, Jesus suggests, we should consider before we make the commitment of faith.

"Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out." A note reads, "To recover lost flavor, the true quality of discipleship, is not easy. Without it, a disciple becomes as useless as salt without seasoning power." In Matthew's Sermon on the Mount, Jesus also teaches about the "salt of the earth" - He compares this flavor and seasoning with light. Part of the discipleship is shining that light of a follower who is blessed in Christ and carries His light within, and along with that is the price we are willing to pay, whatever that is, including ridicule or exclusion, perhaps persecution of some form or another. See Salt and Light. For Jesus in this passage from Luke, clearly, to have this seasoning, this capability of commitment through all and in all, is the one true thing of value, that which He is looking for in us.

"He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" Do we have the spiritual eyes and ears to make this commitment? Are we ready to develop that spiritual perception in relationship to the Lamb, to take up the Cross He also asks us to carry? I find, personally, that this discipleship takes on many patterns in my life and many meanings. It truly has consisted - for me - of many separations from that which I loved. It has asked me to stand up for things for which I've been ridiculed and excluded. But it has also created family for me, and many, many blessings too numerous to count. How will you find yourself in this "new family" at the wedding feast? Can you count the cost? The spiritual eyes and ears Jesus speaks of are often said to be in the heart. The heart is that same place of love and commitment, as God is also love, and Christ speaks of this kingdom as that which is ruled ultimately by love and compassion. Can you make that commitment? I find that love is a kind of communication, a language of its own. Can you hear it? Can you make that commitment, and be the salt of the earth that He asks You to be as part of His family, His Bride? Significantly, in today's reading, Jesus is speaking to the multitudes. Like the parable from yesterday's reading, He calls us all to be a part of this feast. Do you have ears to hear? Can you be that strong tower that withstands all for this commitment?