First, Jesus admonishes James and John for wanting to bring down a hell-fire and brimstone end to the Samaritans for not being nice to them. Then Jesus tells a would-be follower that anyone who looks back isn’t fit for the kingdom of God. What happened to ‘nice Jesus’?
Jesus has set his fact to Jerusalem and the cross. I can understand why Jesus was frustrated with James and John. And they quickly forgot that hell fire and brimstone was NOT the Jesus’ way of doing things when people didn’t fall lockstep with Jesus’ message.
I bet that Jesus gets frustrated with us, too. We have got to be in control. When things don’t go our way, when people don’t think just like us, act the way we think they should follow our version of God, well then THEY and certainly not us will be deserving of an unsavory end.
Being in control makes us feel safe and when things don’t go our way, well then we have a meltdown that surpasses the maelstrom created by from a determined two or three year old who was told “no”.
The need to be in control is a fear response. It was the disciples’ fear that drove their response. It’s the Jesus way to respond with courage, compassion and trust. And Jesus bids us to leave the power trip and all that goes with it beside the road and follow him.
Jesus is telling those who were following him that he didn’t have time for all that foolishness and neither should we. Time is of the essence. Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem and there was still much to do. And lessons to be learned.
Three people approach or either approached by Jesus to follow him. Each time there is a reaction from the people.
“but first let me…”
These are legitimate requests – bury a parent, say goodbye to family and friends. No one could argue that they were not very good reasons for not immediately embarking on the Jesus’ journey, for not wanting to be a disciple today but perhaps tomorrow, when it’s just better timing. When I’ve got all ducks in a row, when I have all my stuff figured out.
There is no perfect time to tell someone about Jesus – the planets don’t have to align and what we say and do might make a difference in the life of one of the least, the lost, the lonely and the left-behind.
Right before I went into worship I posted on Facebook about where I was and that the community would be offering prayers. Truth be told, I wasn’t expecting anything. But I did it just the same and gave anyone who was reading the post just ½ hour to respond. And I received three prayer requests – heart wrenching and poignant prayer requests from outside of the state.
As Caroline Lewis, a leading Luther seminary scholar and professor, pointed out, “Perhaps Jesus simply says stop making excuses and start imagining experiences that invite “let’s see what happens” instead of “I need all my stuff figured out.”
Because the call to discipleship, the call to grow in faith, is a call TO follow Christ, a call to something. There will always be other things that will compete for the priority in our lives. Yet, that is what discipleship requires – prioritization.
That requires us to give up the illusion of control. Looking at the responses that Jesus gives, it’s all about control.
The son of man has nowhere to lay his head and neither will you. That’s life on the journey with Jesus. It takes courage.
You go and proclaim the kingdom of God because death is a part of life even though God never wanted it to be. That takes compassion.
Don’t look back. Trust that God is on this journey with us, that he’s part of the adventure, that he has our back, even if our plowing isn’t exactly straight because his promise of eternal life is eternal. That takes trust.
That’s the life of faith. We won’t always get it right or perfect, just like Jesus’ first disciples.
But unless we get on the road, get on the journey with Jesus, be a disciple, get our feet wet in the waters of baptism and live out our baptismal covenant, then we will never know what we can do, what kind of adventure through this chaotic thing called life will be like and where we will see, feel, hear, sense, or touch Jesus along the way.
Yes, some of the choices that we make have been, are and will indeed be heart-wrenching. That is what the transformative power of Jesus feels like. When courage, compassion and trust coalesce.
We might find ourselves with the courage to speak justice, call for righteous rather than waiting for someone else to do it.
We might find ourselves with the compassion to stand up for the least, the lost and the lonely – those that world would rather not think about.
We might find ourselves trusting in God as we risk telling the truth about the kingdom even if no one seems to be listening.
We too, are called with urgency, by Christ, to be on the journey, to be about his mission, to love God, serve our neighbor and grow in faith.
Jesus set his face to Jerusalem and never looked back. Jesus reminds us that now is the time to act.
Luther said, “Be little Christs in this world.”
See like Jesus. Do like Jesus. Love like Jesus. And don’t look back.