Are You Ready to Follow Jesus?

Rev. Debbie Cato
Fairfield Community Church
Luke 9:51-62
June 26, 2022 

Gracious God.  Quiet our minds and our hearts that we may be open to your Word and what you have for us today.  Help us to hear your Holy Spirit speaking to us through the Words of your humble servant.  In Jesus name, Amen.

 

Are You Ready to Follow Jesus?

 

Have you ever started something and not finished it?  Maybe something sounded like a good idea, and you did it for a while and then you slowly forgot about it, or other things became more important. 

I love refinishing furniture and if you’ve been in my house you would know that most of my furniture is old stuff I’ve found at vintage stores or Goodwill that I have stripped and repainted and reupholstered.  Well, I need a couple more chairs for my dining room table and I found a couple at Goodwill for less than $10 back in late November/early December.  I sanded them down, removed the seats and seat covers and primed them. I bought paint and new fabric for the seats.  They have been sitting in my basement waiting to be painted and the seats recovered ever since. Every time I do laundry, I see them sitting there, waiting to be finished.  I’ll do them this weekend, I think.  And the weekend comes and goes.  Do you have anything like that? Or am I the only one?

In today’s scripture, we are told that the journey through Galilee is coming to an end, and Jesus is headed to Jerusalem.  He is preparing his disciples for what lies ahead.  The tone is sober.  Jesus has already begun to warn the disciples that he will be betrayed and put to death.  Partnership with Jesus and his mission requires ruggged commitment.  The disciples must learn how to respond to rejection and persecution.  To be a Christ-follower requires walking the way of Jesus regardless of the outcome.[1] You can’t do it part-way.

Jesus is met along the way with people who want to follow him but have things they need to do first.  Jesus’ answers feel extreme.  They sound harsh.  They don’t sound like the compassionate Jesus we know. 

To the first man who wants to follow, Jesus basically tells him that he has to be willing to be homeless.  “The Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”  Can you really follow me?  It’s harder than you think.  Jesus depends on the hospitality of others to meet his needs.  He is detached from material possessions.  Can his followers do the same? Can following Jesus be more important than stuff?

The second man wants to follow Jesus but needs to bury his father.  That sounds very reasonable doesn’t it!  “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God,” is Jesus response.  That sounds harsh.  Of course, we don’t know all the circumstances.  Had his father already died and the burial was very soon?  Was he saying he would follow Jesus once his father died – whenever that might be?  So was it an excuse that well, I want to follow you but I have to wait …..?  We don’t know.

The third man says, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me say good-bye to my family at my home.”  Again, Jesus responds, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”  Bidding farewell to family hardly seems extreme.  It seems reasonable. Yet does Jesus see this as an excuse to postpone following him?  Are priorities confused? 

Jesus’ point is that when other loyalties to family, community, and tradition claim first place, disciples will compromise the call on their lives – a call we all have on our lives.  The Christian journey does not demand that we reject our responsibilities to family and vocation, but rather, encourages us to see those needs in the light of our faith and through the lens of our deepening commitment to Christ.  It’s when we put conditions on our willingness to follow Jesus that we need to reassess if our commitment to following Christ is there.

Early in our faith development, we are often focused on learning more about Scripture, the church, and what it means to be a child of God.  We rejoice in the knowledge that we are loved fully and completely by a wonderful, caring Savior.  We share together in the marvelous fellowship that is the body of Christ.  We feel renewed, nurtured, and marvelously fulfilled.  As our faith grows and matures, our life in Christ slowly merges with our life in the world.  We come to realize that living by the Way is more than just a private endeavor, no  matter how meaningful.  To have true meaning and integrity, it must be our identity; we must recognize and live it in every part of our being.  No matter what our gifts or imperfections, the mature Christian must willingly walk alongside Jesus, even if that journey compels us to make difficult choices that a more secular existence might otherwise avoid.[2]  Our life with Christ should merge so intently with our lives that they are one and the same.  They cannot be separated.

That can mean our life in Christ impacts the way we engage in conversations, the way we vote, how we spend our money; how we allocate our budgets, how we spend our time. For a mature Christian, following Jesus - the call to discipleship is a call to open hands, a practice the saints and mystics call “detachment.”  It’s not clinging to possessions too tightly and faithfully following Christ.[3]  We should live simple lives so we can give back to God from what He has so generously given to us.

Following Jesus is not something we can start and not follow through like a New Year’s resolution. Or like my chair project.  We can’t put it on hold while we do other things. It’s serious business.  Christ requires a commitment. 

Where are you in your walk with Jesus?  If you are at the beginning of your walk, that’s a wonderful place to be.  I challenge you to be inquisitive.  Read Scripture.  If you don’t have a Bible, I’ve got one for you.  Get to know what Scripture teaches about God and what Jesus taught and did during his life and ministry.  Ask questions.  I love to talk about my faith. 

If you’ve been a Christian for a while, ask yourself if you have grown.  Are you are growing?  You should not be in the same place you were 5 years ago. Two years ago. Last year.  How is your relationship with Christ? 

Does your faith encompass your life?  Does it impact your relationships?  Your family life?  Do you think about your faith when you vote?  When you respond to issues in the world?  In the community?  Do you pray?  Do you consider your life a life of service; no matter your vocation?  Do you consider your faith a priority in your life?

These are questions we should ask ourselves.  Following Christ is a journey, it’s not a destination.  We should always be growing and changing and learning and it’s something that we can do together.  That’s what a community of faith is all about.  Let’s be a church that grows together while we reach out into our community and serve together.  I think that’s what Christ asks of us.  Amen.

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[1] Feasting on the Word.  Year C, Volume 3.  Pentecost and Season After Pentecost 1. Proper 8.  Luke 9:51-62.  Theological Perspective.  Elaine A. Heath.  P. 190.
[2] Feasting on the Word.  Year C, Volume 3.  Pentecost and Season After Pentecost 1. Proper 8.  Luke 9:51-62.  Pastoral Perspective.  Richard J. Shaffer Jr. P. 192.
[3] Feasting on the Word.  Year C, Volume 3.  Pentecost and Season After Pentecost 1. Proper 8.  Luke 9:51-62.  Theological Perspective.  Elaine A. Heath.  P. 192.