Over the past year, our synod’s Publicly Engaged Church Committee has spent a considerable amount of time focusing on the life and work of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. So, as I studied today’s gospel reading, I was reminded of Bonhoeffer’s book The Cost of Discipleship in which he wrote, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” Bonhoeffer knew discipleship is not easy. He knew that there comes a time in each person’s faith journey when it is clearly and unequivocally necessary to declare the depth of one’s commitment to Christ. And, today, we hear Jesus teaching about this aspect of discipleship.
Today, we come to a major turning point in Luke’s telling of the Jesus story. Jesus “sets his face” toward Jerusalem, meaning he sets his face to the cross. Jesus is resolute and single-minded in purpose. And, as he and the disciples are on their way, someone asks if he or she can come along. Eager to follow Jesus, this person says, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Now, you would think this is something Jesus would love to hear. You’d think he might respond, “Well thank you. I would love to have you follow.” Instead, Jesus’ response seems harsh and unreasonable as he curtly says, “Are you ready to rough it? Look at the animals. They have all kinds of places to lay their heads, but we do not. We’re not staying in the best inns, you know. This is not going to be an easy journey.”
Then, Jesus says to another person, “Follow me.” And, the guy responds saying, “Certainly, but first excuse me for a couple of days, please. I have to make arrangements for my father’s funeral.” Well, Jesus appears to be getting quite testy and even radical as his response seems to attack what many of us find important – family values. Here we have a fella who wants to make sure his father gets an honorable burial, something I am sure all of us consider to be of utmost importance, maybe even sacred. And, Jesus essentially seems to instruct the man to abandon his family! Jesus says, “Follow me, and let the dead bury the dead. First things first when you follow me. Your business is life; not death. And life is urgent: Announce God’s kingdom!”
So, after Jesus says this, another person says, “I’m ready to follow you, Master, but first excuse me while I get things straightened out at home.” And, Jesus responds to this person and to each of us by saying, “No procrastination. No backward looks. You can’t put God’s kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day.”
Well, Jesus just seems to be getting grumpy and crabby and, truthfully, I do not like his response. You see, if I am honest with myself, I understand what these people are saying to Jesus. There are reasons why it is very difficult to drop everything, to just leave everything behind and follow. I want to say, “Jesus, when I leave to go on a journey, I really do like to get certain things done and in order before I leave. There are arrangements that must be made: we have an important soccer tournament to finish; we need to make one more trip to our summer cottage; the lights have to be put on a timer so they turn on every night and people will then think we are home; the refrigerator needs to be emptied of anything that will spoil; and, I just cannot leave without saying goodbye to my husband and kids and go off without leaving them my itinerary so they know where I am!”
Well, remember, the writer of Luke has told us, “Jesus set his face toward Jerusalem.” He is focused on a mission and there is great urgency, urgency about bringing forth God’s reign. Jesus’ response to some very legitimate requests reminds us that there will always be justifiable excuses causing us to postpone living a life of discipleship. Other important matters will always compete for our attention. However, when our loyalties to family, community, sports, pleasure, tradition, or anything else claim first place, we who are disciples compromise Jesus’ call on our lives. Quite frankly, putting Jesus first and letting go of the seemingly important “stuff” of life, can mean making some heart-wrenching decisions. Yet, this passage from Luke reminds us that neither family, nor religious, social, or business obligations, or even patriotism as we look forward to a holiday weekend, none of these, no matter how good or mandatory, can stand in the way of following Jesus. None of these are ultimate! Only love and compassion are ultimate. Contemporary theologian, Fred Craddock, puts it this way:
The radicality of Jesus' words lies in his claim to priority over the best, not the worst, of human relationships. Jesus never said to choose him over the devil but to choose him over the family. And the remarkable thing is that those who have done so have been freed from possessions and worship of family and have found the distance necessary to love them. (Luke, Interpretation Commentaries; p. 144)
Frankly, none of us are going to make the cut to follow Jesus. Our desires for soft pillows and comfortable beds, for valued family time, for leisure time, even our sense of patriotism will frequently have higher priorities than following Jesus – especially following Jesus all the way to Jerusalem and the cross. We might be willing to give up some evils in our lives to follow Jesus, but to give up all these good things – to put them as a lower priority than Jesus? … When writing about Jesus’ call to us today, Lutheran pastor, Brian Stoffregen, says:
Frequently, I think, that the greatest threat to the gospel is "the good" not "the evil." When we recognize “the evil” in our lives, we usually want to get rid of it. However, when we become content with “the good” -- the good in our lives and in our congregations -- we may fail to follow Jesus and seek what is “the best.”
For those of us who are Lutheran, grace and love are part of the fabric of our belief system. We truly believe that it is grace, love and compassion that change people. However, we should not let this focus on grace deter us from facing the challenging aspects of Jesus’ call to discipleship. Jesus’ words to us today are tough and rather hard to swallow. Yet, his toughness comes from the depth of his love, compassion and grace for this broken world. Jesus intentionally sets his face toward Jerusalem and he is now focused on his upcoming death. He is intentionally facing the ugly, violent, unfair, cruel things that this world does to love and grace. Jesus knows such love is not easy and sometimes it even takes you to situations where you have no place to lay your head. Jesus knows that setting his face toward Jerusalem means his head will hang from a cross. And yet, Jesus sets his face to Jerusalem to embrace the cross for the sake of the world. Today, we see in him a single-mindedness of purpose that is prompted by God’s profound, all-encompassing love for humanity and the entire cosmos.
My friends, a life of discipleship cannot be a part-time, once-in a while, off and on commitment. It is a life-changing shift in direction, a shift in priorities in which our own human needs and wants become subservient to Christ’s call to share and LIVE God’s transforming love and grace in this world. Those who embrace this call and are embraced by the radical love of God made known in Jesus and his cross must necessarily see that this love always stands with the most vulnerable in this world. Virtually everything – friendships, love of family, work, sports, community, love of country – everything looks different when viewed through the lens of God’s sacrificial love for the cosmos. And, as I look at some of the things happening in our country at the present time, this kind of love means naming what is happening at our southern border detention centers as immoral. It means standing in that tough place with the most vulnerable, holding our leaders accountable and demanding change. The reality is that God’s transforming love will take you to places where you never thought you would go, some of the toughest of places in life. In fact, it is going to take you to the toughest place where you must leave your old self behind and never be the same, the place where you will be forever changed!
Jesus is not in a bad mood. He’s focused. He’s on his way to the cross. Discipleship is not easy, but it takes us to a much deeper place in this faith journey. And, yes, we are reassured that that deeper place truly is a place of life – new life – and a place of deep, deep joy.