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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