Sermon: "Just Do It"

Luke 9:51-62  -  Intro to Scripture

The passage we’re about to hear begins with one verse that sets the stage for the next 10 chapters in Luke’s gospel.

We’re told that when the day drew near for Jesus to be taken up, he set his face towards Jerusalem.

Nearly one third of Luke’s gospel is a travel narrative,

detailing Jesus’ journey towards Jerusalem and the series of events that would result in his arrest and execution.

These 10 chapters in Luke also contain some of the most familiar stories in our gospels – the story of Mary and Martha – the story of the healing of the ten lepers – the story of the Good Samaritan.

But if we were to plot Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem on a map as Luke lays it out we would find it to be quite meandering –

If we picture Jerusalem as the center point

we see that Jesus leaves Galilee and heads southwest of Jerusalem to Samaria,

and then over to Bethany in the southeast

and then back to Galilee in the northwest,

and then back to Samaria in the south,

and then up to Jericho in the northeast. 

Bypassing Jerusalem several times on the way.

We soon realize that Luke’s travel narrative is less about a geographical journey and more about an existential journey –

as Jesus words and actions in his meandering ministry garner attention and add fuel to the fire of those who wish to see him removed from the picture. 

By the time Jesus arrives in Jerusalem for the Passover celebration the stage has been set for a very dramatic ending.

What we don’t know is how long this journey took – it may have taken a few months, or it may have taken a few years.

But as we’ll hear in today’s passage – it begins with a sense of urgency.

Jesus has turned his face towards Jerusalem.

He is preparing himself and his disciples for what is to come.

And in the same model of the prophets of old, who were often said to have set their faces towards a city that was not living into God’s calling –

on this journey, Jesus will have a few words to say about Jerusalem and its future.

Oh, and one more thing – in this passage Jesus says a few things to his followers that may have us questioning his compassion  – yet again.

But more on that later.

Let’s listen to the passage from the gospel of Luke and listen also for the word of God. 

Luke 9:51-62

When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem.

When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to another village.

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

To another he said, “Follow me.” But the man said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

The Rev. Maureen R. Frescott

Congregational Church of Amherst, NH

June 30, 2019 – Third Sunday after Pentecost

Luke 9:51-62

“Just Do It!”

When we look at the meandering journey that Jesus took towards Jerusalem and plot it on a map, there’s one overarching question that springs to my mind.

Was there a well thought out itinerary that Jesus was following or did he just go wherever the Spirit and his curiosity carried him?

In other words, if Jesus were to take a Myers Briggs personality test, would he be a planning and purposeful J or a loosey-goosey and spontaneous P?

If you’re familiar with formal personality assessments –

like Myers Briggs or the MMPI – or if you’ve ever taken an informal personality quiz in a magazine or on the internet – then you know that they consist of a series of questions where your answer determines where you fall on a defined spectrum of personality types.

There are a multitude of different factors that go into determining personality type but one of the more notable areas where we differ has to do with whether we approach life in an orderly and structured way or in an open and flexible way.

If someone asks you to drop what you’re doing and take on a new task or do something unexpected – do you say “yes!” without hesitation or do you have to go away and think about it for awhile?

Do you work well with deadlines and schedules and due dates, or do you tend to leave things to the last minute, or past the last minute?

In other words, are you spontaneous or a planner?

Are you punctual or a procrastinator?

Keeping in mind, we can be any combination of the above.

You can be a spontaneous procrastinator –

who gets so distracted by living in the moment that you conveniently forget what it is you were supposed to have done yesterday.

You can be a procrastinating planner –

who has all the steps to follow fully mapped out, but you may lack the motivation, or the means, or the courage to take the first step.

You can be spontaneously punctual –

because you’re eager to have new experiences and you don’t want to miss a single minute of it. 

And you can be a punctual planner –

and if you are, you’re probably an engineer.

Personality quizzes are fun because they give us some insight into how we might handle a situation in comparison to others.

Looking at Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem we might assume that he went where the moment carried him – addressing needs and situations as they arose.

But as we see in today’s passage from Luke – Jesus began the journey with a specific goal in mind – and a sense of urgency to get there.

We find this urgency in Jesus’ response to those who stood up and announced that they would follow him anywhere at anytime…

but when Jesus then stood up and said, “Okay, follow me” they each had their own expectations of what this actually meant.

One man says fervently, “I will follow you wherever you go!”

And Jesus says, “Really? Foxes and birds have holes and nests to sleep in – but don’t expect those kind of creature comforts on this journey, because we’ll likely be tossed out of towns – like we were in Samaria - and wind up sleeping on the side of the road most of the time.

Another man said, “I will follow you….but first I have to say goodbye to my family.”

And Jesus says, “Really? If you’re looking back towards what you’re leaving behind instead of ahead to where we’re going, you’re of no use to any of us.”

And another man said, “I will follow you…..but first I must bury my father.”

And Jesus said, “We don’t have time for that. Those you’re leaving behind are all going to die eventually, they’ll always be someone to bury, we have God’s promise of new life to proclaim, what’s more important than that?”

On first read, we may think Jesus is being a bit rigid here.

We might even go as far as to say he’s being a bit of a jerk.

He seems uncharacteristically lacking in compassion for those who wish to tend to their familial obligations and their relationships.

Isn’t there a commandment that tells us to honor our father and our mother?

Wasn’t Jesus himself always stressing the need to love one another and treat even strangers like family?

Is Jesus saying that to be one of his followers we have to drop everything and walk away from all that we have and everyone that we love –

without so much as a goodbye?

The short answer is: No, Jesus is not saying this – to us.

But he is saying this to those standing before him in that moment.

This is a good time remind ourselves that our Bible is a collection of stories, histories, poems, and other writings that tell us how our ancestors came to know God in their lives.

It’s not a rulebook or a How-To manual.

It’s not a book where we can look at every interaction between Jesus and his disciples and say, “This is how we’re expected to act as well.”

As we keep saying, context matters.

In that moment, Jesus was setting his face towards Jerusalem.

A series of significant and life altering events was about to play out and Jesus needed his A-team by his side.

Those who understood the gravity of the situation and the extreme challenges that lay ahead.

Jesus was single minded in that moment because he had to be,

and he was preparing those who wished to follow him IN THAT MOMENT

to be so as well.

Essentially he was saying, “Hey fellas, I’m leaving, so get in the car, now….I don’t have time for you to dawdle or run to the bathroom one more time, so get your shoe’s on and let’s go!”

Every parent can relate to this.

But knowing that Jesus was speaking here to a specific set of followers in a specific time and place doesn’t completely let us off the hook when it comes to understanding the cost of discipleship…

and what it’s going to take to bring about this love-based – grace filled –

justice-seeking Kingdom of God that Jesus is calling us to help build.

What makes this particular biblical text relevant in our own time –

even as it’s placed in its time –

is that it prods us to think about what may be keeping us from saying

“YES”, to Jesus’ call to follow him, wherever he goes….

What may be keeping us from living into our potential as children of God?

Think of something you’d like to be doing more of – or less of –

Something you’d like to take on ….or let go of…

And then think about what is keeping you from doing so. 

Do you tell yourself that you could do it if you just had more time,

or more money,

If you were in better health, or better shape,

If you had fewer responsibilities, or fewer people relying on you,

If you had more patience, fewer doubts, less anxiety, and more faith….

“Jesus, I will follow you wherever you go…but first I have to convince myself that I’m ready to do so….”

Because Jesus asks us to follow him into some pretty tough situations,

some pretty scary places, some pretty ambiguous spaces.

Into inner city shelters and soup kitchens.

Into prison cells and half-way houses.

Into the back alleys of questionable neighborhoods.

Into the trenches of war zones.

Into refugee camps and detention centers and border processing facilities.

Into the hearts of our enemies.

Into the hearts of our neighbors.

Into the hidden recesses of our own hearts as well.

What’s keeping you from joining Jesus on this journey?

More than likely it’s fear.

Fear for our well being, fear for our safety and security.

Fear of the unknown, fear of the difficulty, fear that we won’t live up to the challenge.

Fear of what we have to lose,

fear that others will take advantage of our kindness,

fear that the problems of the world are so complex that just showing up to help another in need may not be the best thing to do.

So we hesitate, we delay, we ask for more time to consider the options,

and Jesus heads off towards Jerusalem without us.

We are not first-century disciples.
Jesus is not asking us to leave our homes, or our families, or our livelihoods, or any of the things that give our lives meaning and purpose and joy.

But Jesus does ask us to push ourselves, just a little farther or a lot further than we may feel comfortable going…

To listen to someone who may have a different story to tell.

To offer hospitality to someone we wouldn’t normally welcome in.

To seek understanding of a situation that we struggle to comprehend.

And to do so not from a place of fear, but from a place of compassion and love.

Because as we often find when we face our fears and just do whatever it is we’ve been hesitant to do…

We gain an experience that enriches us rather than harms us.

We build a relationship where one didn’t exist before.

We find that we’re less hesitant to embrace something challenging the next time around.

And we end up going so much further down that road with Jesus than we ever thought we could go.

Regardless of our personality type –

our willingness to try new things,

our capacity to be flexible in the moment,

our ability to make a plan and stick to it -

so we’re not wasting our efforts or meandering all over the place,

we all have a Jerusalem road that we’re hesitant to step onto.

Because we fear that we may lose something along the way.

What Jesus wants all of his followers to hear,

then and now,

is, Yes, we will most definitely lose something along the way –

our narrowed perspective,

our need for constant stability, comfort, and control,

our reluctance to offer others mercy and grace,

and we will have gained so much more for having done so.

Thanks be to God, and Amen.