Freedom to Follow
Luke 9:51-62, Galatians 5:1, 13-25
In today’s gospel text we find ourselves walking with Jesus as he begins his journey toward Jerusalem. As we hear the story this week and the ones in the weeks ahead of us, we know, because we have heard the end of the story, that the shadow of Jesus’ crucifixion is just around the bend. …Today’s story unfolds as they journey together.
Verses 57-62 of today’s text are ones that raise some questions about what Jesus is teaching. In these verses we find three different people wanting to follow Jesus, but it seems Jesus tells them “no“… almost saying, ‘you’re not good enough’ or ‘you don’t get it so don’t bother.’… Let’s take a closer look at what is happening…
Our call to follow Jesus - or to follow any path for that matter - brings us into conflict with other things. Someone once said, “following means being willing for change to be the only constant.” Sometimes the changes that following God brings to our lives are significant - like going to seminary and being ordained at the age of 45. Sometimes the changes that following God brings to our lives are more subtle, not as obvious - like seeking to treat others with courtesy and respect at all times, regardless of how we feel or how they act, simply because we believe everyone carries within them the image of God.
One of the difficulties in interpreting the scriptures, especially passages that share Jesus’ words, is that we only have the written words to go by. Just like email and letters, we don’t have any body language, facial cues, or tone of voice to weigh the words against to help us better understand the person’s meaning. Sometimes people hear Jesus words to his hopeful followers in today’s passage and say that the lesson is - “if you want to be a follower of Christ you must do so wholeheartedly, anything less and you are not really committed to following.” Well, if that’s true, then I wonder how the message of the good news of God’s love is ever communicated. If the gospel message depends upon us becoming “good” or being flawless in our following, then it doesn’t seem like it’s very good news... …Maybe these encounters have more to say about the gospel message than they do about what we must do to be considered disciples.
The text tells us that while they were on their journey a person approached Jesus and said, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”…I think Jesus is reminding us - that the message he shares is not just for one place or one time, but for all places and for all times. If we choose to follow Christ, truly follow wherever it may lead, then we must be prepared to go places we never dreamed of - spiritually and emotionally and, perhaps, even physically. Jesus is not seeking simply to make our homes better, he is seeking to make the world better, to heal its brokenness. When we follow Jesus, we travel with Christ…pilgrims on a journey… Faith is not a destination; it is path that takes us on our journey through this life and beyond….
The text then tells us Jesus said to another person, “Follow me.” But the person replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” …Now that doesn’t seem like a bad request - the scriptures tell us to honor our father and mother… But Jesus replied, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”… The point is not “if you won’t come now then you’re not good enough, go away”; the point is that God’s message of love shared through Jesus is radically different from what had been understood until then. Through Jesus we are not tied to the laws of the Old Testament in order to be in relationship with God. Christ came to fulfill the law, to free us from the law, to show us a new way to be in relationship with God and with one another. The message is not ‘don’t bury your parents.’ Instead, the message is “do it out of love not out of duty and prescription.”
Don’t allow yourselves to be tied to lifeless systems, rigid rules and dogmas that tell you what “ought” to be. The gospel message cannot be fully understood through rigid systems, through rules and laws. Rules and laws have their place as we grow and learn (any parent or teacher would tell you that), but eventually we are called to grow in our faith to the point that our faith, our living out of the way of Christ, moves us beyond merely obeying laws. The gospel message is a message of freedom and responsibility. It is a call to live fully alive with God in each moment, aware of God’s presence - aware of our connectedness to God and to one another so that our actions, our responses move from a place of centeredness in Christ, from centeredness in love and connected to one another, so that rules and laws are not only unnecessary, but they actually hinder us in living in loving ways with each other. In book of Galatians Paul talks about freedom. And in chapter 5 verse 1, he tells us it was for freedom that Christ came to set us free. Freedom is not simply the gift Christ gives. To live fully as freed people is the goal of discipleship… Freedom to follow…
As their journey continues, another person approaches Jesus and says, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” This too doesn’t seem unreasonable, but Jesus says, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”… Not say goodbye?…Where’s the love in that?… …I think that misses Jesus’ point. He is not saying don’t honor the past. Instead, he is saying “don’t be so tied to the ways of the past that they blind you to the ways of a future with God.”
Have you ever used a mower or rototiller or plow? They are all things that are meant to be used while you are looking forward - while you are looking ahead to where your journey is taking you. If you try to use a mower, pushing forward while looking behind you, you will quickly find that the mower goes on a different path than the one you wanted to take. …I once heard a story of a pastor who decided to plant a garden. She rented a rototiller to prepare the soil for planting. As she was carefully tilling along the fence-line at the edge of her property one of her neighbors called to her over the fence. She looked away to respond and the tiller climbed up her chain link fence and hung there, 4 feet off the ground. …certainly gives a whole new image to “putting your hand to the plow and not looking back.”…
A man once told me the worst thing to have is a glorious past - a past that you allow to overshadow any future. When I live my life seeing only a glorious past, then I end up trying to relive the past now and in the future. But the past cannot be again. When I ignore that the context has changed, then I continue to try to do the old things that worked and lament that others won’t get on board…
One area that I have been struggling with lately is living out the knowledge that we must find new ways of being church. What worked in the 1950’s and 60’s or even in the 90’s is not what makes church relevant today. So what do we do as a community of faith to make the message of God’s love relevant in today’s world? The message has not changed, but the way we communicate it needs to - it needs to speak in the language people speak today. It needs to follow the example of Jesus’ ministry and meet people where they are today to help them grow more fully into the knowledge of the love of God found in Jesus Christ.
So what do we do to nurture and enliven and encourage our own faith journeys so that we are empowered to live out and share God’s message of love, to share God’s grace? How do we, for example, take the tradition of the church as educator for faith understanding and make that relevant for today?… At one time, the church was the sole provider of any educational teaching - so stained glass windows and other art forms were developed to teach about God and life and love in the language of the people. Later, when art was valued less and empirical knowledge was valued more and educating the masses became widespread, the church’s role in education grew into Sunday morning programs that mirrored education systems offered in the larger community - a church system that developed to teach about God and life and love in a new context, one that spoke the language of the people…
So what is the church’s role in education today? What does learning about God and faith, love and forgiveness, grace and hope - what will that look like in today’s context?… I am still searching for understanding - but perhaps it looks like sharing our faith journey through blogging on the web; sharing glimpses into our lives of faith in hopes that each of us can help strengthen one another’s journeys. …Maybe it looks like creating opportunity for study groups that meet on-line so that participants can join the conversation at the times of day that better meet their schedules. Perhaps it is a Tuesday morning breakfast study that meets before the work-day begins, or a weekday lunch group who meet to share a time of prayer and fellowship and connection to remember the One for whom they truly work, or a weekly group who meet to meditate together on passages of Scripture that are pertinent to what is happening in the world right now and then spend time together praying for God’s will, God’s love, and God’s blessing to be poured out… …Maybe one of these ideas calls you to participate or even to lead - or perhaps you have another idea that you’d like to share… I’d like to listen - where is God calling you to grow and learn in faith?
(pass out blue cards; ask everyone to: take a moment to reflect on how the language of faith speaks to you - and share your thoughts on what type of education experiences will help nurture and deepen your faith… you are welcome to put name on it if you’d like to talk with me further… place in offering plate later in service… I will give you time now - where is God calling you to grow and learn in faith? And what types of education experiences will help nurture and deepen that?…)
Spiritual growth, spiritual renewal, and growing in the fullness of Jesus Christ is not just the responsibility of the Church. It is the personal responsibility of each person who seeks to be a follower of Christ. The freedom that Jesus gives comes with responsibility, the responsibility of discipleship. In some ways we are more free today than we have ever been - and the responsibilities are greater than ever. Our society no longer “expects” us to go to church; most people think nothing of it if we do not go. So simply attending church might seem to satisfy our responsibility in following Christ. But we are also responsible to learn all we can and to grow in faith as deeply as we can, for ourselves and for the sake of others. We each have a responsibility to seek not just what God is calling me to do, but to seek what God is calling us to do. And we have the responsibility to speak the truth God has given us to others, in a way that they are able to hear…and we have the responsibility to listen to the truth God has given to others… so that we can learn and grow together toward wholeness in Christ….
As we walk together on this journey with Christ, Jesus calls us to be prepared to go places we never dreamed of - spiritually and perhaps physically, too. Jesus calls us to live not from duty and obligation to laws and rules, but to live out the freedom of the love of God found in Jesus Christ. And, Jesus calls us to live not from the past, but instead to live toward a creative new future with God. Christ has come so that we might be free to follow - freed to follow with Jesus on the journey to wholeness in God. …Amen.
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