Renounce All Possessions?

A Reflection on Discipleship and Stewardship

Everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.

Luke 14:33

Renounce All Possessions? Really?

Renounce all possessions. These are the words of Jesus, shortly after shocking the same would-be disciples with words about hating parents, children, and siblings (Luke 14:26). “Shocking” is the point of this and some subsequent messages. The crowds following him at this point in His ministry were not yet committed believers, but merely curious onlookers.

Over the years I have heard a number of homilies and discipleship talks that emphasized how the Apostles gave up everything to follow Jesus. Rather than being inspired I’ve always found that particular message to be intimidating and disheartening! Give up everything. Renounce. Hate. “This saying is hard. Who can accept it?” (John 6:60).

In the Proper Order

Let’s look at “renounce.” The Biblical Greek word used here is “apotassomai, ” apo meaning “from” and tasso meaning, “to place in order.” Jesus is saying we must relinquish ownership of our possessions and re-order them for the good of the Kingdom. Certainly, some possessions must be completely renounced and abandoned. In the same way, the Greek miseo really does mean “hate,” but in the sense of “loving less than” – again, putting those relationships in the proper order. As before, some relationships we must absolutely renounce (Can I get a witness?)

They Left Everything

In Luke chapter 5 we read that Jesus was teaching on the seashore by the small village of Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee, and crowds were pressing in. He spied two boats, their four fishermen cleaning their nets from a fruitless night’s work. They are two sets of brothers: Simon and Andrew, James and John. Jesus got into Simon’s boat and finished preaching from offshore, then instructed the owner to put out his nets for a catch (the nets he had just cleaned). As inspiring as this itinerant preacher must have been, the reaction of this professional fisherman is just a little bit unbelievable. After a mild protest, Simon puts out his net, which becomes full to tearing. “Do not be afraid. From now on you will be catching men,” Simon is told. “When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him” (Luke 5:10b-11, emphasis added).

What’s Really Going On Here?

So they just left their incredible catch to rot on the seashore? They abandoned their boats and equipment for a guy they only just met? Well no, they hadn’t just met him. In John’s Gospel we learn that Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist, whom he had followed into the wilderness beyond the Jordan River. The Baptizer pointed out Jesus (“Behold, the Lamb of God“) to Andrew and another disciple (possibly John the fisherman), who spend that day with Jesus. The following day Jesus is baptized (Voices from heaven and the Spirit visibly descending upon him!), is introduced to Andrew’s brother Simon whom Jesus renames Peter (“Rock”), and then is joined by Philip and Nathanael (aka Bartholomew, who blurted out, “You are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel!“) Jesus is subsequently tempted in the desert, and the group reunites in Galilee, where they attend a wedding with Jesus’ mother Mary (water into wine!) By the time “they left everything” by the Sea of Galilee, these men are convinced that this preacher might just be the long-awaited Messiah.

The House

In Matthew’s Gospel, the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) follows the call of the fishermen. The Mount of Beatitudes overlooks the Sea of Galilee and is a short walk from the seashore where the disciples were called. (Quick aside, our mother Ann visited the Holy Land in 2005. She told us the view from that hillside was the most beautiful she’d ever experienced.) Upon descending Jesus heals a leper and the local centurion’s servant, then enters Peter’s nearby house and heals his (Peter’s) mother-in-law. In Mark’s Gospel, after the call of the fishermen the narrative skips to the Sabbath, when Jesus taught in the Capernaum synagogue, cast out an unclean spirit, then entered the house to heal Peter’s mother-in-law (1:21-31). Jesus left early the next day to preach, teach, and heal in other towns. We are then told, “When Jesus returned to Capernaum after some days, it became known that he was at home.” (Mark 2:1). What home? Jesus grew up in Nazareth, not Capernaum. The latter, however, has become Jesus’ chosen base of operations and “the house” (Matt 13:1, 36) is Andrew and Peter’s house no longer. They have renounced ownership to Jesus and His mission.

The Boat

So what about those rotting fish and the abandoned boats? Well into the Galilean ministry we read the Apostles “took [Jesus] with them in the boat” (Mark 4:36). Wait a minute. What boat? Looking back at the call of the fishermen, in Luke’s Gospel we are told “James and John, the sons of Zebedee… were partners with Simon” (5:10a), then in Matthew’s Gospel we are told James and John “left their boat and their father and followed” Jesus (4:22). Thus we see their fish and their boats were not recklessly abandoned, but left in the hands of Zebedee. Thus “the boat” was Simon’s boat (or possibly James and John’s), but is now Jesus’ boat.

Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.

Matthew 8:20

Radical Discipleship/Responsible Stewardship

There is a story that the hands of Jesus were broken off of a statue at a Catholic church during World War II bombing runs over Dresden, Germany. The parishioners wanted to have it repaired but ultimately decided not to, as the missing hands were symbolic. Since his Ascension, Jesus has no earthly hands but our hands. Jesus doesn’t own a house. Jesus doesn’t own a boat. Jesus doesn’t have a bank account. It is true that for some, radical discipleship means renouncing everything and living as a priest, nun, or hermit in prayer and service, or abandoning comfort and going into remote mission fields. For most of us, however, radical discipleship means responsible stewardship of the gifts God has given us. Our house should be His house. Our money, possessions, and talents are to be used to love and serve God and others. Reflect honestly – How are you doing with that?

Eternal Consequences

Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.

Matthew 7:13-14

Jesus is speaking to you today. asking you the depth of your devotion. Are you on the broad road to Hell like the rest of the crowd (the many), or on the narrow path to Eternal Life with the few? Being a good person is not enough. Jesus is telling you to renounce your possessions, leave everything, invite Him into every aspect of your life, take up the cross He’s assigned you to bear, and follow Him.