Wis 9:13-18b / Phmn 1:9-10, 12-17 / Lk 14:25-33
Recently the famous topic of the 4 Cs came up in the news again.
I m sure we know what the 4 Cs commonly stands for – cash, car, condo and credit card.
Along with that are other additions like country club membership, casino membership, etc.
There are spoofs of it like coffin, columbarium, whatever.
At a recent Pre-University seminar, the 4 Cs were given another version: confidence, compassion, the ability to compartmentalize and to be in good company.
Well, I also want to join in the bandwagon, but I want to change the letter. So instead of the letter C, I want to use another letter.
I was thinking of the letter G. Because it can stand for God, for good, for glory, for grace.
But then if I were to ask what does the 3 Gs stand for, or what the 4 Gs stand for, some might think I am talking about 3G network or the 4G super broadband which came out last week.
And then some will start thinking about the computer fair that is going on now, today’s the last day, need to get a new laptop, and then G will stand for “Gone! I have lost you!”
So G is not very good. Got to find another letter. Maybe the letter F.
F can stand for Father, for faithfulness, for forgiveness.
But then again, if I were to say what does F stand for, some might hear it wrong and think I was saying : What the what?!
So again, it doesn’t sound very nice.
Sigh, so better not use the letter F. So what other letter to use?
Well, I was asking myself : Why do people come to Church? Why do people want to believe in God?
So I came up with this letter “P”, P for papa, which means father, and God is our Father. So with the letter P I have covered the letters F and G. ;-P
So what does the letter P stands for?
To answer that question, then we have to ask ourselves why do we believe in God? What kind of God do we believe in?
Well, at the level of basic religious needs, we want to believe in God who can protect us, who can provide for us, and who will also pamper us.
So there it is: we want God to protect us, provide for us and to pamper us.
I am not making up all this. God Himself said it in the Bible.
God said it to Moses and the Israelites when they panicked upon seeing the sword-wielding Egyptians charging at them to cut their throats.
God said: The Lord will do the fighting for you; you only have to keep still. (Ex 14:14) So you see, God will protect us and He will fight our battles for us.
And God will also provide for us. Jesus said that the Heavenly Father will give good things to those who ask Him.
So ask and we will receive, because God will provide.
That is what Jesus said.
So finally how will God pamper us? Well, God loves us with a tender everlasting love, and He will forgive us over and over again, 70x7 times.
If that is not pampering, then it is like God is spoiling us.
So there we have it: God is our Papa, He protects us, He provides for us, and He even pampers us.
Sounds too good to be true right? But it is true, otherwise why would we want to believe in God?
Yes, God will certainly protect us, provide for us, and even pamper us.
But I also have to say that there is another P involved here, and it stands for “price”.
There is a price to pay, on our part. So what is this price?
That price is stated by Jesus in the gospel.
To the great crowds that were following Him, He said: If anyone comes to Me without hating father, mother, brother, sister, and his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
The word “hate” here actually means to prefer less, or to give a lesser priority. It does not mean hate, as how we usually understand it.
Because in the Jewish language, there is no word to mean “prefer less” or “give a lesser priority”, so the word hate is used.
So what Jesus is saying is that either He is above all, or He is not at all. There is no in-between.
That sounds like tough and rough language from Jesus isn’t it?
But that is the price to pay if we want to be true disciples of Jesus.
So has anyone paid that price before? Well, plenty actually.
One such person was St. Thomas More, who was the Chancellor when King Henry VIII was the king of England.
But when St. Thomas More refused to acknowledge King Henry’s second marriage and to cut ties with the Pope, he was thrown into prison.
The king sent close friends and even his family members to persuade him, because his vote was critical for the king’s standing.
But St. Thomas More stood firm and he was later charged with treason and sentenced to death.
His last words before he was beheaded were this: I am the king’s good subject, but first and foremost I am God’s servant.
The price was his head and his life. But his reward is eternal life.
The world as we know is practical, pragmatic, profitable and very pleasing to us.
Yes, the practical, pragmatic, profitable and pleasing world has been our father, mother, brother and sister.
But the nagging question is: So what if we gain the whole world and all that if offers? So what?
So Jesus puts the price tag before us.
Do we dare to let Jesus be above all?
We want God to protect us, to provide for us, to pamper us.
But as the song goes, we also say: Papa don’t preach.
Because we don’t want to hear the tough stuff and what price to pay for true discipleship.
But Jesus said in no uncertain terms that anyone who does not carry his cross cannot be His disciple.
The cross is painful indeed. But the cross also points us towards true discipleship and eternal life.