The Cost of Discipleship
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Kansas City 30 June 2019 2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14 Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20 Galatians 5:1,13-25 Luke 9:51-62 I don’t know how it is with my esteemed colleagues who stand in this pulpit, but sermon preparation at my house goes something like this. Linda will ask me, “Is your sermon finished.” No matter how I respond, either yes or no, she will then ask, “Are you going to [blank] people off?” No matter what the topic is, I generally respond with, “Probably.” “Why,” she asks. “Because it’s my job,” I respond. After 25 years of ordained ministry, Linda doesn’t get that part of the role of a deacon in the Church. That role is found in the bishop’s charge to the diaconal ordinand on page 543 of the prayer book. The concluding sentence of this charge is paramount, “At all times, your life and teaching are to show Christ’s people that in serving the helpless they are serving Christ himself.” [1] There’s an old axiom that abbreviates this charge by s