3
Toss Your Cap
Over the Wall
Luke 14:25-33
A
Sermon
by
The Rev. David R. Anderson
September 5, 2010
Saint Luke’s Parish
Darien, Connecticut
Today we’re confronted with these hair-curling words of Jesus. To be a follower of Jesus, we’re to “hate” father and mother, sister and brother, and even life itself. And then those well-known words. “Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Then Jesus adds these little vignettes—both about “counting the cost.”
“Which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it?” Otherwise, if he doesn’t, he’ll be the butt of jokes at the local pub. Then there’s the king going to war with 10,000 troops, and coming up against an army of 20,000. If he’s smart, Jesus says, he’ll count the cost.
Well, yes, that’s all true, except . . . . I’ve never built a tower, but I’ve built a house and few kitchens and a church. You know as well as I do, you can count the cost, but something always comes up that you couldn’t have anticipated. And the sad truth we keep learning the war is—no matter how we count the cost, the unintended consequences and costs always pile up.
As I considered Jesus’ words I started to think, you can count the cost of some things in life, but most of the important things, you can’t, really.
Can you really “count the cost” before you get married? You can’t, and that’s why you vow “for better, for worse.” Because 20 or 30 years down the road something’s going to cost you more than you ever imagined, something’s going to demand a love you didn’t know you had to give, and you’ll pay it for love. But when you said, “I do” you had no idea it would cost so much, and yet be such a rich blessing.
Can you really “count the cost” before you conceive a child? I don’t mean just “Do we have a home, a crib, a car, enough money to feed another mouth?” I mean the relational, the emotional, the spiritual costs. Anyone who conceives a child will have bliss and heartache, that’s if you’re lucky and blessed. That’s what a child costs you—and it’s one of the deepest joys of living. But you don’t know that when you bring this little pink bundle home from the hospital.
I think of those beautiful parents who bring home a special needs child. And they love this child so much, and they’re thinking, “Oh, God, how can we ever be strong enough, and how can we find the faith to give this child everything she’ll need from us?” You can’t count that cost. You just give yourself in love, and you “afford” it for love.
Can you “count the cost” before you take a new job? You apply for the job because it would be incredible to do that work, and then they hire you and you’re elated but you think, “Oh Lord, I’m not really up for this. And I don’t have the experience or the knowledge, and I could be a fabulous failure!” But does that stop you? No, you take the job anyway because you’re going to find a way to do it. Somehow you’ll become the person you need to be. Don’t ask me how—not right now. I’m just going to do it!
That’s what I think it’s really like when we make big commitments for love. Jesus is asking for the biggest commitment. It’s a personal commitment, from you—personally—to the person of Christ. Jesus doesn’t want our obedience, he wants our love. All lovers ask for everything. And when we give our hearts in love, we can’t always count the cost, but we can toss our caps over the wall. Do you know that saying, “toss your cap over the wall”?
The Irish writer, Frank O’Connor told the story in one of his books, how, as a boy, he and his friends would be walking over the countryside, and when they came to a wall that seemed too high, and they weren’t at all sure they could climb it, O’Connor says, “We took off our caps and tossed them over the wall, and then we had no choice but to follow them.”
You ever done that? You want something or someone with all your heart, and you’re not sure you can get there, so you toss your cap over the wall. Then you have to go; you have to get there. It’s deliberately passing the point of no return.
In 1963, the day before he was assassinated, John F. Kennedy gave a speech in San Antonio promising again that within the decade America would put a man on the moon. He said, “This nation has tossed its cap over the wall of space, and we have no choice but to follow it.” When he stood before the world and made that promise, nobody had started working on a space program; he didn’t know the practicalities of a moon shot—and thank God, eh? If he had, he’d never have made that promise! But he tossed his cap over the moon.
I think that’s what Jesus means this morning. Toss your cap over heaven. Do something that commits your heart, your will. Otherwise our “love for God” is just a religious pleasantry.
Do you want to be a follower of Jesus? Do you want to live your life for something larger than anything this world has to offer? Jesus says that’s a huge commitment. Think about it before you commit, because it will cost you everything you have to give. Your life won’t be your own anymore.
You’ll have to toss your time over the wall—just commit to doing something for God even if you don’t know you can. Just toss that over the wall and pray, “Now I’ve gone out on a limb here, God, and you’re going to have to give me the time I need to serve you.”
You’ll have to toss your money over the wall—just commit to giving back first, and not when you’ve satisfied all your desires. That’s what Jesus meant: “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Note the sequence: When you toss your wallet over the wall, your heart always follows!
You’ll have to toss your heart over the wall—follow your heart-longing. Many of us have repressed our heart-longing for so long, we may need to just spend some time on a quiet walk to touch that place again, to know the longing of our heart. But then make a commitment that makes you follow through, even if you don’t know how you’re going to do it.
Toss your cap over the wall of heaven, and then the mystery is—yes, you have to climb, but somehow the grace of God pulls you over that wall and invites you to live there.