"Take myself and I will be, ever, only, all for thee." The concluding words of our hymn sum up where this sermon is going, that is, towards deep and abiding commitment to new life in Christ Jesus. Hold that thought, as we double back now for a moment and revisit those shockingly drastic words from Luke's gospel.

In the passage assigned for this day, we heard Jesus tell the large crowds following him that to be his disciples they must hate the members of their families, carry the cross, count the cost, and give up all their possessions. Were you listening? What in the world is going on here? This is not the nice, mild Jesus of Sunday school. This is not the church-growth Jesus of instant popularity and feel-good religion. This is a strong and demanding Jesus who challenges the crowd to put it all on the line. Makes you wonder how many signed up that day, and how many turned away and went back home.

Now, as today's preacher, I knew I was in trouble when I looked and saw that this was the Gospel reading for Homecoming Sunday. This is the day we're all supposed to feel great about getting back to church after summer vacations and trips and time on the beach and in the mountains. This is the day we want to celebrate how wonderful it is to be part of this church family. This is the day the balloons are up, the sign-up sheets are out, the windows are washed, and the doors are open. This is the first Sunday after the launch of our fabulous new denominational advertising campaign and we're proclaiming to the world: come to a United Methodist Church. Open hearts, open minds, open doors. Y'all come!

And what do I get to tell you that Jesus said when large crowds began traveling with him? Hate your family members, give up all your possessions, carry the cross, and carefully count the cost. No joke. But the more I thought about it and the more I prayed about it, the more the Holy Spirit helped me see that there IS a message here that we need to take seriously as we begin a new year of church life together.

So, let's see where we are for week four in this series, Called to New Life. This week Jesus' words call us to lives of intentionality and commitment. Intentionality and commitment. Good words for Homecoming Sunday.

I suppose some of the skeptics out there among you might be thinking right about now: "Yeah, sure. It's your job to put a good spin on this." You're right in a way. I can't exactly stand up here and tell you that Jesus didn't really mean it. That he was having a bad day. Got carried away by his own rhetoric. I just don't think that's the case.

I think that when he looked and saw those large crowds who wanted to jump on his bandwagon, he got a little nervous. Perhaps they'd thought it was easy. Perhaps they thought that all they had to do was show up.

These words are intended to remind his followers that more is required, much more. We could actually thank Jesus for truth in advertising here. We're getting the warning label here, warning us right up front that discipleship asks a lot of us, everything, in fact.

So, if we were to leave these verses out or skip on over them because they make us uncomfortable, put us on notice, we would miss the depth and the transforming power of true discipleship that comes with a price. We'd never really know for ourselves the NEW life that comes when we put on Christ. So, for a few moments now, let's see what might happen when we say: "Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, for Thee."

Hate your family members, carry the cross. Count the cost, give away all that you possess.

I need to say clearly that the gospel of love does not ask us literally to hate our family. This is hyperbole, dramatic, exaggerated language crafted to make the point that we are to put every-thing within the larger perspective of life in Christ, not making idols of even our closest relation-ships, or our lives risk getting out of alignment and we will run after perfection in all the wrong places.

This is a very helpful and life-giving passage to us, living as we do in a society which relentlessly puts in front of us what we must to do live "perfect" lives in "perfect families." First, you get or buy a perfect body. Then, the perfect wardrobe and the perfect car or SUV. Then, the perfect spouse. The perfect home. The perfect pet. All the perfect appliances, techno-gadgets and investment plan. The perfect schools for your kids, starting with nursery school and then, later, the perfect care arrangement for your parents. And finally, to ensure everlasting perfection, the perfect pre-need arrangements for your funeral and final resting place.

You see, even our family life can become an idol when we fixate on making it "perfect." But the quest for this sort of perfection is killing us. We're stressed out. We've gone beyond roadrage to parking lot rage. And the kids are feeling it, too. Just ask any family trying to juggle soccer, softball, swim team, basketball, youth group, homework, band, ballet, and family time. Even Harvard University is concerned now about a whole generation of stressed-out kids who are booking themselves solid with hobbies and activities designed to impress admissions officers. Harvard predicts a generation of young adults who will be survivors of a "bewildering life-long boot-camp, who will wind up lamenting that they missed their childhood entirely."

Carry my cross, Jesus says to us. Count the cost.

Those who study kids are telling us that maybe we should ease up. As one commentator notes, our kids are "stressed rather than blessed. Maybe we should give them a balanced life where they have the time to explore their creativity, connect with the family at meal times, worship with the family at church, play with their friends in the park. Maybe we should cut back on their schedules, unplug them, and have the courage to let them be bored."

Grown-ups, too. What's become the most common response to the seemingly benign inquiry: "Hi, how are you?" What do we say? "Busy." Right? "Oh, whew, I'm just so busy." And we need to feel that we're actually busier than the person asking us, or at least that our busy-ness is more important than theirs. "I'm busy, therefore, I am" has become the predominant philosophy of our day.

In the midst of all of this swirling around us, wondering sometimes if we're really living or just managing to keep our heads above water, Jesus offers words of life. He offers us a way to focus, to prioritize, and to commit. He says to put God and the new life he offers at the center of your life, and everything else will fall into place.

"Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee. Take my moments and my days. Let them flow in ceaseless praise. Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of Thy love. Take my feet and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee." Christ calls us to New Lives of intentionality and commitment.

At a concert I attended recently, the "star" thanked the audience for coming, for making the choice to come out and enjoy her music that night instead of sitting in front of the TV or surfing the net or whatever else might have beckoned. It was a gracious reminder that we do make choices about where we invest our time and our money, about what we prioritize and make important, and that the choices we make make a difference, in our lives, in the lives of others and in the community which we help create.

I want to leave you this morning with a suggested road map, or priority checklist to help you make the choice for New Life in Christ. It comes from a book I'm going to recommend that our whole Church Council read and spend some time with entitled: Power Surge: Six Marks of Discipleship for a Changing Church. It's written by the Senior Pastor of the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Burnsville, Minnesota. That congregation developed these marks of discipleship, as they call them, to help individuals and families find "real faith for real life." I offer them to you as ways into the clarity and commitment to which Christ calls us: 1. Daily prayer-learning how to pray, and then keeping prayer as the wellspring from which everything else flows. Prayer at the heart and center of life. 2. Weekly worship-gathering with the people of God to be nourished by Word and Sacrament, so that our lives are expressions of trust and praise of God who made us, who loves us, and invites us to love in the same manner. 3. Bible reading-studying and grounding our lives in the Word of Life. 4. Service within the congregation and beyond-involvement in God's self-giving love for the world. 5. Small group meetings-relationships for spiritual growth and accountability. 6. Giving time, talents and financial resources - giving of ourselves, in the same manner as Christ's self-giving for us.

Homecoming Sunday provides us with the opportunity to come home to God in Christ this day; to open up the deepest longings of our hearts and invite God in; to lay down the stresses and burdens of life lived out-of-focus, frazzled and exhausting, and find in Christ the living wellsprings of new lives of intentionality and commitment; to realign our priorities and always keep the main thing the main thing.

To help, we are offering new opportunities for Bible study and fellowship and spiritual growth. And if there's something you're feeling called to do or longing for and you want to find out how to get at it, let us know. Find one of these folks at the Coffee Hour today. Talk about how life in this congregation could better support you and your family in learning and growing and setting priorities and deepening your commitment to Christian discipleship.

May God bless us in our life together this year, that we may grow in faithfulness and love. And then, dear brothers and sisters, go forth for God. Go to the world in peace, love, strength and joy, serving God's people and serving Christ. Amen.

© Patricia E. Farris, 2001. Permission is given for brief quotation with attribution. All other rights reserved