June 26, 2022: Third Sunday after Pentecost
Luke 9:51-62
When the days drew near for Jesus 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 he 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.”
I can relate to the potential followers of Jesus asking to take care of business before they follow him. As alluring as Jesus’ message was to them, I can imagine that leaving all they knew and loved behind was scary for them.
In our lives of faith we, too are often asked to let go of what is comfortable and secure to follow Jesus. Maybe God wants us to give up a toxic relationship, or perhaps we recognize we need to give more of our time in service. Could it be that old ways of being and doing no longer work for us, and we need to find new ways?
The possibilities for change are endless in our lives as Christians, because life is not static. In order to grow and evolve into the people God has called us to be, we must garner the courage to embrace change. The challenge for us is that we don’t know the future, and where we are might be comfortable for us.
But in our passage from Luke, Jesus was emphatic to his potential followers that they needed to let go of the past in order to follow him. He was asking them to be “all in” if they wanted to be his disciples.
Are we willing to say goodbye to the things of old so that we can grow more fully into who God has invited us to become?
AMEN FOR SURE