Sunday Sermon

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.”

Thoughts about the Gospel and the point of the Sunday sermon:

In life, certain things are primary and others are secondary. For an alcoholic, AA meetings and staying sober are primary pursuits that hold the key to the rest of life. An alcoholic must stay sober to truly be in relationship with others and even God. It is not that God is not there for an alcoholic; it is that the alcoholic must put “spirits” away to embrace the Holy Spirit. Staying sober is the key to life, for those suffering from the physical and spiritual disease of alcoholism.

For Jesus, the journey to Jerusalem and his faithfulness, in the midst of what awaits him there, is the key to our faithfulness. Jesus’ life, death and resurrection come to a head in Jerusalem. On the way, Jesus encounters individuals that articulate a desire to follow him, and He welcomes them, but they cannot make the journey- primary. Each of the individuals, in the text, places something before following Jesus, and Jesus is clear that following is primary.

We hear Jesus’ words, and feel that they are insensitive. We need to think more about the context. In Jesus life, death and resurrection, real life is offered to us now, and eternal life is promised as well. So when Jesus says, “leave the corpses with the corpses”-(my emphasis), He is on the journey, and is calling us to follow on the way. Jesus’ way promises that we will not be corpses forever, but will be raised to life with God.