K Karpen: "Going With Jesus" (Sermon for February 9, 2025)

"When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything behind and followed him." - Luke 5:11Friends,That is maybe the most frightening phrase in the Bible. Dietrich Bonhoeffer puts it like this in The Cost of Discipleship: "Costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus... It is costly because it compels a person to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow where he is going."In other words, taking seriously the invitation to follow Jesus - to do the things he did, and to share his challenging words of justice, mercy and compassion - can have an impact on my life both transformational and potentially quite risky. Jesus prefaces his invitation to the three fishermen with the ominous phrase, "Do not be afraid...." In these perilous times, we might think of that as an encouragement, but maybe also as a warning. This Jesus thing may come at a cost.Glad we will be in it together,K