This Month's Article from the Pastor

The Priority of Following Jesus

A sermon based on Luke 9:51-62

By Pastor Scott Hannon

 

The events of today’s gospel lesson occur as Jesus is making his final trip to Jerusalem. We catch up to him as he and his disciples are approaching a village of Samaritans. Perhaps because he wants to spend the night there, he sends messengers to the village. They return to report that the Samaritans do not want Jesus to visit them. James and John think the Samaritans have insulted Jesus and want to punish them. So they ask, "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" In response, Jesus rebukes them. Afterwards, they proceed to another village.

 

Along the way, someone tells Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus realizes the person is not prepared to suffer the consequences of following him. So he rebuffs his offer. He tells him that unlike foxes that have holes for homes and birds that have nests for homes, he does not have a home. Jesus has an iterant ministry, much like the Methodist circuit riders, who used to spread the Good News throughout the American frontier. As it was on his disciples, this lifestyle was very hard on the circuit riders.

 

In an article entitled Nothing But Crows and Methodist Preachers Rita Juanita Moc says, “The trail itself was always physically demanding, as one pioneer preacher records: ‘Every day I travel, I have to swim through creeks or swamps, and I am wet from head to feet, and some days from morning to night I am dripping with water. My horse's legs are now skinned and rough to his hock joints, and I have rheumatism in all my joints . . . what I have suffered in body and mind my pen is not able to communicate to you.’

 

“Life on the trail for the these iterant preachers was in fact so rugged and exacting that half of these ministers died before the age of thirty-three. However, many of them thrived on the severity of trail life, despite the hardships, including Peter Cartwright who likely held the record for stamina, with seventy-one years of itinerancy.”[1] I am so glad that today’s iterant ministry is not like it was back then. Instead of riding a horse between many different churches, I can drive my car between two churches and get home each evening, sometimes late, but home nonetheless.

 

Later, Jesus invites someone to follow him. The person agrees, but first, he wants to bury his father. In response, Jesus makes a rather rude remark. He says, “Let the dead bury their own dead…” It appears Jesus has no pity on a person whose father has just died. But, as they say, appearances are deceiving. It is very likely that the person’s father is still alive. Accordingly, the person could be implying that he wants to care for his father and when he dies, he will be ready to follow Jesus.

 

Jesus is not willing to wait. He wants the man to leave now and proclaim the kingdom of God. As for who will bury his father, Jesus says that the dead will bury him. The dead are persons who do not respond to his message about the kingdom of God. Jesus wants the man to proclaim the kingdom of God so that more people can experience life in the Spirit. This endeavor, Jesus believes, is a greater calling than caring for the man’s father.

 

Still another person says that she wants to follow Jesus. But before she does so, she wants to say farewell to her family. Again, Jesus makes a rather rude remark. He says, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” This makes sense when you consider that for farmers, everything must be lined up square with the world. Straight. Smooth. To avoid plowing crooked rows, you have to keep your eyes on a target in front of you. Likewise, to follow Jesus you have to keep your eyes on Jesus. Otherwise, your life will be crooked. But if you take your eyes off of Jesus and as a consequence live a crooked life, know that Jesus forgives.

 

In each scenario of today’s gospel lesson, giving first priority to following Jesus is the main point. When we decide to follow Jesus, we need to do so without reservation or hesitation. Everyone and everything else needs to be second. Jesus wants following him as a disciple to be first in our lives.

 

“Being a disciple should be radically different from not being a disciple. It involves much more than worship attendance, bible study, or service on a church board. Admittedly, those can be important parts of a Christian life. But they are merely food for the journey, not the journey itself. Hopefully they provide nourishment, not a detour.

 

“Discipleship should result in people who lead a radically different type of life, who are counter-cultural, who are markedly different from the rest of the world.

 

“Jesus calls us to transform the world. He calls us to spend our lives in the service of the least, the lost and the lonely. That kind of life goes way beyond serving in a local congregation.

 

“The content of true discipleship is found outside of the walls of a church. It is found where people are hurting, where people are hungry, where people are oppressed, where people are denied justice, where people are dying.”[2]

 

The hymn Be Thou My Vision, is my favorite hymn. The first stanza expresses a desire to put following Jesus first:

Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

 

“Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart” is my most earnest request. With the Lord as my vision, I hope to see as Jesus sees. I couple that request with “Lord, teach me thy way and thy truth.” I want to see as Jesus sees and know the way in which I should respond. And I want to know his truth. I have learned that it is easy to confuse my truth with the truth Jesus offers. So I do my best to discern whether or not I am following what I want or what Jesus wants.

 

When we place following Jesus first, we invite Jesus to guide our lives. We do our best to see the world the way Jesus sees it and respond accordingly. Through this process, Jesus becomes the Lord of our hearts. He becomes the best thought that we have. And he is our light each hour, each minute, each second of the day and night.

 

Not only does following Jesus give us the opportunity to gain eternal life, it also gives us the opportunity to live abundant lives. Remember he said: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”[3] If we make following Jesus our first priority, we will receive the greatest possible benefit from his gift. We will say and do things that promote life in abundance.

 

So, what is your number one priority going to be?