Much of the religious art depicting St. Peter portrays him as bald except for one, small lock of hair hanging over his forehead.  There is an old German folktale that explains Peter’s baldness in terms that are both humorous and consistent with the depictions of Peter in the Gospels. 

In the folktale, Jesus and Peter were hungry at the end of a long day’s journey.  They came upon a farmhouse and Peter volunteered to ask the farmer’s family for some food.  The farmer’s wife produced three pancakes which Peter accepted gladly.  Before returning to Jesus, however, Peter hid one of the pancakes under his hat. 

When Peter returned to where Jesus was waiting, he announced, “Teacher, the farmer’s wife gave us two pancakes!”  Immediately the pancake under Peter’s hat began to burn his head.  Peter removed his hat quickly to find that his hair had fallen out.  Only the lock that protruded from underneath his hat remained. 

The entertainment value of the story derives from the pettiness often displayed by Peter in the Gospels.  One can almost imagine the look on Peter’s face when he was found bald and concealing a pancake under his hat.  The tragi-comical conclusion of the story wouldn’t make sense, however, in the absence of the background information about the long day’s journey and Peter’s dishonesty. 

Today’s Gospel reading is much like the end of the folktale minus the beginning and middle parts.  The Gospel reading for this Sunday is the conclusion of the story that began with Jesus’ attendance at a dinner party, his preaching to the dinner guests and host, and a parable about a man whose dinner guests failed to attend the dinner.  Last Sunday, we read about Jesus attending the dinner at a Pharisee’s house, but the parable of the graceless invitees is omitted from the Lectionary. 

Without the background information, Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel reading sound inhumane and unrealistic.  It’s difficult to imagine circumstances under which a faithful disciple would hate father, mother, wife, children, siblings, and her or his own life. (Lk 14:26)  In light of the background information omitted by the Lectionary, however, Jesus’ command makes sense.  The parable of the ingrates who agreed to attend a dinner party but refused at the last moment represented Jesus’ judgment about the religious leaders who sought to persecute him.   

God, working through Jesus, had invited those religious leaders to participate in the banquet of the Messiah, a metaphor for God’s kingdom.  The religious leaders talked about living faithful lives but did not back up their talk with faithful action.  Jesus said that entrance to God’s kingdom would be denied to those religious leaders but granted to “the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame” and even to foreigners. (Lk 14:21,23)  The saying about hating family members and one’s own life was a warning to those who, like the religious leaders, were so caught up in concern about possessions and relationships that they could not hear, or respond to, God’s Word. 

The warning about being solely focused on worldly affairs is worth our attention.  There are many things that can distract us from hearing God’s Word and acting on it.  The parable of the invitees who ghosted their dinner host provides some examples. 

In the parable missing from the Lectionary, one of the invited guests excused himself on the grounds that he had just purchased a farm. (Lk 14:18)  A second excused himself because he had just purchased oxen and the third’s excuse was that he had just gotten married. (Lk 14:19,20)  The excuses, in order, were work, possessions, and family obligations.  Does this sound familiar?  How often do people use work as an excuse to ignore family and God?  How often are possessions used as an excuse to ignore God’s command to care for the poor?  How often are family obligations used as excuses for failure to reach out to those in need? 

Those common excuses mentioned in the parable are still popular today, but they’re not the only popular excuses for failing to do good and choosing to do evil.   How many times have you heard or used the excuse, “That person doesn’t deserve my help because their problems are of their own making?”  How many times have you heard or used the excuse, “That person doesn’t deserve my forgiveness because they make me so angry?”  How many times have you heard or used the excuse, “Why should I treat others fairly when I feel I’m not being treated fairly?” 

The point of the story that concludes in today’s Gospel is that all excuses are equal in God’s sight because all excuses are lies we tell ourselves in order to dull our conscience to God’s Word.  When Jesus told the people in the crowds that each person must carry her or his own cross, he was neither romanticizing the life of faith nor speaking in abstractions. (Lk 14:27)  Carrying one’s cross requires faithful and hopeful acceptance of all life’s burdens.  Making excuses for not imitating Jesus’ mercy and generosity is a choice to reject the Cross, and rejection of the Cross nullifies any claim we make about having faith or being Jesus’ followers.