Friday, July 1, 2016

Sermon from Sunday, June 26th

The Cost of Following Jesus

Luke 9:51-62  

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O God, our rock and our redeemer.  Amen.

Does Jesus seem a bit harsh in today’s gospel?  I have to admit, on first reading this text, I thought exactly that.  Wow, really Jesus, let the dead bury the dead?!  For a loving person, who is supposed to be setting an example for how we ought to live, it seems really cruel to turn a grieving person aside.  Of course, as happens sometimes, where I started my thinking was quite a distance from where I am now.  My change in thinking started when my mom and I were having a conversation in the car—where a lot of talking takes place…maybe because we spend a lot of time in the car. 

My mom pointed out that Jesus was probably using extreme examples to make his point as he was prone to do.  In this case Jesus wasn’t telling this man that he couldn’t bury his father AND follow Jesus, but rather if and when we are ready to follow Jesus, we can’t be forever making excuses.  We can’t be saying, “Yes, Jesus, I will follow you…tomorrow, or, you know, next week…soon anyway.  You go on ahead; I’ll be along it a bit.”

My mom knows her Bible well; she also knows her daughter well.  I have, at times, had difficulty with procrastination.  Shocking, I know.  I have made excuses for why tomorrow is not the right day to start that new exercise program I have been talking about.  I have made excuses for why I really can’t give up chocolate in January because February is just around the corner, and who gives up chocolate in February?  These may not be earth-shattering things, but I have also made excuses for why I can’t afford to care about this bad thing that is happening because if I care about that, then I will also have to care about this other bad thing, and I just don’t have the time and energy to care about every bad thing.

That sometimes makes it hard to be a follower of Jesus.  After all, as a little Christ in the world, am I not supposed to care about all people at all times?   Shouldn’t I be concerned for all the bad things that are happening?  And, even for someone filled with the hope of God in Christ Jesus, doesn’t it seem like there are a lot of bad things going on?  Can we really care about them all?  Compassion fatigue is a real thing.  At some point we just feel like we can’t care enough to the point that it may seem easier not to care at all.

Not care at all?

And still be a follower of Christ?

That takes it to another extreme that just won’t work.

So, somewhere in the middle ground—we look again.

Follow me.

Follow me and don’t make excuses.  Saying it hurts too much to care can become just another excuse.

Care. 

In Karoline Lewis’ letter on the Working Preacher website, she says “Perhaps Jesus sees that we come with ready excuses to defer our proclamation because we need to be in a better place, a better time, a time when the stars align so as to make our experience of the Gospel the perfect it was never meant to be.  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.’”

I think Lewis is right.  Every time we wait to follow Jesus, or wait to proclaim Jesus, or wait to love as Jesus calls because we don’t have it all perfect, we are missing an opportunity to reach out to others who are in desperate need of God’s love—NOW.  It doesn’t have to be the perfect time, or the perfect place, and we certainly don’t have to be perfect people to share Jesus.  God is ready to use us when, where, and as we are now.

We don’t need to wait and we don’t need to make excuses.

A conversation on faith can happen in a car if that is where you spend a lot of your time.  A change of heart can take place anyplace.  A revelation can happen while climbing a tree: Remember Zacchaeus?  Your life can be changed by God as you plow a field: Look at Elisha.  Where and when have you felt God calling and claiming you?

No moment is a bad moment to follow Jesus, to keep following.


No excuses.  Thanks be to God.  Amen.

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