“When the days drew near for Jesus to
be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.”
So begins the gospel lesson for today.
Here we are on the third Sunday after Pentecost and already we have
Luke preparing us for Jesus' entry into Jerusalem and his
crucifixion. We hear these words – the days drew near – and we
think we are approaching the end. We hear that Jesus has “set his
face to go to Jerusalem” and we think that he is singularly focused
and determined. But we still have ten chapters to go until we
actually get to Jerusalem, and on the way Jesus will be in Samaria,
Bethany, Galilee, Jericho, and points between. He will visit
friends, be a guest in various homes, and share meals.
One commentary says that this section
of Luke isn't so much a march to Jerusalem as much as it is a
travelogue. Luke is asking us to see this journey with Jesus as a
pilgrimage that deepens our relationship with Christ as we journey to
both the Passion and the kingdom of God. And as I said last week,
this is the point of Ordinary Time – to deepen our discipleship.
This is when we move from learning broadly about the events of Jesus'
life to deepening our roots of discipleship.
Today we have two stories of
discipleship that can help us to deepen those roots.
First we have a visit to Samaria. This
is not the first visit outside of Jewish territory for Jesus
(remember last week Jesus visited the country of the Gerasenes), but
it is the first visit after he sets his face to go to Jerusalem.
Jesus knows that he must go to Jerusalem. He knows he will suffer
and die there. He knows that his life and ministry are to draw all
people to God. And through the acts of his Passion, he will save the
world. So the first thing he does is travel to Samaria, the land of
outsiders and half-breed heretics.
But Samaria did not receive him and
would not follow him. In retaliation, James and John want to
eradicate them with fire from heaven. Before we condemn these two
for their rash behavior, we need to think back to last week's
demoniac and remember that he is us. We are the demoniac, and we are
James and John.
How many times has the Church, or any
number of self-professed Christians, been more than happy to call
down fire from heaven in an attempt to eradicate those who don't
accept their message or claim to follow a different path? Everything
from the Inquisition to the 30-years War to missionaries in both
North and South America, Christians have been happy to persecute
those with whom they disagree. And you don't even need to go back
that far when we have preachers claiming LGBT people are the reason
God is punishing America, women are second-class citizens, whites are
God's chosen people, and anyone who disagrees with any of this is
going to hell. So James and John calling down fire from heaven is
simply par for the course.
If you go back to the beginning of
Chapter 9, which textually falls between last week and today, you
will read the story of Jesus sending out the twelve apostles on their
first missionary trip. They are to proclaim the kingdom of God and
are given these instructions: Wherever they do not welcome you,
shake the dust from your feet and move on. In other words, offer the
Good News of the kingdom of God to people and let them decide what to
do with it. James and John seem to have forgotten this. They, like
too many Christians, would rather show the power of God through
damnation rather than love.
This long journey with Jesus that we
have embarked on to deepen our faith isn't accomplished by broad
strokes of condemnation or looking to mow down those with whom we
disagree. Instead, we need to dig deep and cultivate the way of love
through Christ so that the Holy Spirit can do the work of
transforming lives. That goes for people out there as well as those
of us in here. Because like James and John, there are times we would
rather call down fire from heaven on those who annoy us than do the
hard work of building relationships.
The second discipleship story comes
when Jesus has encounters with three people about following him.
In the first encounter Jesus says,
“Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but he Son of Man has
nowhere to lay his head.” This reminds us that Jesus is reliant on
the hospitality of others. Jesus doesn't force his way into peoples
lives. Like the incident above with James and John, all we can do is
invite; it's up to others to let us and Jesus in.
This points to an aspect of
discipleship we don't often talk about, and that is the acceptance of
hospitality. We are all good at stepping up to care for others. We
are all good at being doers. But sometimes we need to be Marys.
Sometimes we need to let our feet be washed. Sometimes we need to
say, “Yes, I need help.” Discipleship isn't always about doing,
it's also about learning. And sometimes we need to learn to be cared
for.
In the second encounter Jesus asks
someone to follow him. The answer is, “Sure, but first let me bury
my father.” And the third encounter has a similar response – “I
will follow, but let me first say goodbye.”
Both of these people are rebuked by
Jesus. We may see it as harsh, especially for those of us who have
close family members or who have had the difficult experience of
burying a family member. The issue, though, may not be literal as
much as it is telling us about priorities.
Discipleship is hard. Being a
committed disciples takes time and effort. In our discipleship, we
are asked to give our best. Like our pledges shouldn't come from
what is left over but from what we receive first, our discipleship
shouldn't come from the leftovers of our life and time. We are asked
to make discipleship a priority.
This isn't a priority over the worst of
our lives. As one commentator put it, “Jesus doesn't ask us to
choose him over the devil but over our family.” Again, this sounds
harsh. But before we throw the baby out with the bathwater, let's
start with small steps.
Here's one: How many of us leave out
of town family/friends at home when they are visiting to attend
church on Sunday morning? How many of us attend church when we're on
vacation? Is worshiping God on the Lord's day a priority in your
life?
This second section of today's gospel
is asking us to prioritize our discipleship. We are asked to give
God the best we have, not simply our extra leftovers.
Discipleship isn't easy; it takes time
and dedication. We commit our time and energies to all sorts of
things we find important. Where is God in all of that? As our
journey with Jesus begins, let us work on prioritizing our lives.
Will we work to build up in love rather than tear down? Will we
spend time learning? Will we take steps to make God a priority in
our lives, and not just an afterthought?
Discipleship is hard work and takes
time; but then, so does anything we deem worthwhile.
Amen.
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