S2E11 Be A Loser (Luke 14:27-34) PYNWJ5
Here’s a way to stream this episode on YouTube:
Too often, people join a religion because they think it will bring them social or material benefits, as if God were some sort of genie in a bottle. Though the way of Jesus may ultimately be the best investment one could make, it nevertheless involves letting go of a lot of things we tend to hoard. If we go halfway, refusing to trust in the nature of his new kingdom, we make fools of ourselves and distract people from Jesus’ core message.
Luke 14:27-34
27. “No one who doesn’t take up his or her cross and follow in my way is able to be my disciple. 28. After all, which of you, when wanting to construct a big building, wouldn’t first sit down and budget to see whether you have the funding needed to complete the project? 29. Otherwise, if you start with the foundation but aren’t able to finish the whole structure, people will pass by and laugh at your debacle. 30. They’d jeer: ‘This dude started to build this tower but wasn’t able to complete it!’ 31. Likewise, what ruler, when preparing for a war with an enemy force doesn’t first sit down with aides to determine whether their ten thousand soldiers will be able to square off against the twenty thousand invading troops? 32. If the ruler realizes he can’t win, he’ll send out ambassadors when the enemy is still far off and request a peace treaty. 33. Similarly, each of you who doesn’t release your grip on all your earthly possessions is not able to be my follower. 34. Look: everyone appreciates salt, but if even salt becomes bland, how can anyone bring its flavor back?”
Here’s one of Isaac Frazee’s poems (he’s mentioned in this episode, portrait below)
USURY OF LOVE
Turn not to the temple of thin hewart
Into a money-changer’s mart:
Nor seek the usury of love:
But lend, lend, lend!
Without a thought of love’s return.
When lo! its sacrifice shall earn
The greater gain, and thus shall prove
A blessed end.
Isaac Frazee, poet and artist who purchased a piece of land that had previously witnessed the gun battle of Moosa Canyon, part of which Jeff and Stacie are turning into a small farm and place for weekend retreats.
Isaac Frazee employed a Scottish immigrant to build a castle. He got this far before he ran out of money. The castle is now a home just behind Jeff and Stacie’s property.
Jeff is here at the property today. Taosurfer Ranch, a.k.a. Nameless Canyon Grove. Were you to face Jeff and kick a football, you might land it on the castle, which is just out of view behind the van.
The fortress around a wealthy coffee plantation owner’s home. He was wealthy but was in a prison of his own making, trying to preserve his wealth in a rather poor region.