Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 17) – August 30, 2026
“Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.’”
- Matthew 16:24-25–
Dietrich Bonhoeffer is well-known among many Lutherans.  He was a German-Lutheran pastor and theologian, who died at the hands of Nazis in Germany during World War II. Before his death, Bonhoeffer wrote his work “Cost of Discipleship.” He writes how Christians today have taken advantage of God’s grace, referring to it as “cheap grace.” He says, “Cheap grace means the justification of sin without the justification of the sinner. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”
God’s grace came at an expensive price: the life his only son Jesus Christ. So often we lose sight of the great cost our God paid on our behalf. So often we want to water down God’s grace, making it more palatable. Discipleship, following Jesus, is not easy. It is a life of sacrifice, and Jesus doesn’t try to pretend that it’s going to be easy for us. His words are plain and simple: deny yourself and take up your cross and follow me.  
We are tempted to tell ourselves that it’s ok to miss worship because God will understand; he will forgive us. We want to sweep our sin under the rug and pretend it’s not there. What’s the harm, really? The harm is huge! When we treat God’s amazing gift of grace so frivolously, not only do we diminish the depth of God’s love for us, but we also avoid any form of repentance. Without repentance, there is no forgiveness of our sins. And so ultimately, we have put ourselves in a dangerous position.
God has called us to follow him in every way. We are called to act out of love and compassion for our neighbor. We are called to forgive one another as God forgives us through the sacrifice of Jesus. We are called to make sacrifices in order to make God a priority in our lives. In the moment it might seem difficult, but as Dietrich Bonhoeffer also says, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. It may be a death like that of the first disciples who had to leave home and work to follow Him, but cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”
Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 17) – August 30, 2026
“Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.’”
- Matthew 16:24-25–
Dietrich Bonhoeffer is well-known among many Lutherans.  He was a German-Lutheran pastor and theologian, who died at the hands of Nazis in Germany during World War II. Before his death, Bonhoeffer wrote his work “Cost of Discipleship.” He writes how Christians today have taken advantage of God’s grace, referring to it as “cheap grace.” He says, “Cheap grace means the justification of sin without the justification of the sinner. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”
God’s grace came at an expensive price: the life his only son Jesus Christ. So often we lose sight of the great cost our God paid on our behalf. So often we want to water down God’s grace, making it more palatable. Discipleship, following Jesus, is not easy. It is a life of sacrifice, and Jesus doesn’t try to pretend that it’s going to be easy for us. His words are plain and simple: deny yourself and take up your cross and follow me.  
We are tempted to tell ourselves that it’s ok to miss worship because God will understand; he will forgive us. We want to sweep our sin under the rug and pretend it’s not there. What’s the harm, really? The harm is huge! When we treat God’s amazing gift of grace so frivolously, not only do we diminish the depth of God’s love for us, but we also avoid any form of repentance. Without repentance, there is no forgiveness of our sins. And so ultimately, we have put ourselves in a dangerous position.
God has called us to follow him in every way. We are called to act out of love and compassion for our neighbor. We are called to forgive one another as God forgives us through the sacrifice of Jesus. We are called to make sacrifices in order to make God a priority in our lives. In the moment it might seem difficult, but as Dietrich Bonhoeffer also says, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. It may be a death like that of the first disciples who had to leave home and work to follow Him, but cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”