“On the road again”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Sunday, June 26, 2022

Luke 9:51-62 (Forward, p. 59) CEV p. 1072

It is interesting, and highly informative, to consider the now widely accepted notion that we humans have always, all through history and pre-history, ‘been on the road’, always wandering, always migratory. Many scientists now trace the human journey over thousands of years from its earliest beginnings in East Africa to its furthest reaches in Polynesia and Terra de Fuego. So, when we consider the journeys of Abraham or Terah or of Joseph and his brethren, or the treks of Jesus and the Twelve, we are finding nothing new.

Coupled with this are perhaps a couple of things even more important and revealing, firstly, the nature of our contacts and experiences on route, and secondly, the content of our conversations as we journey along.

With regards to the first, I think that most of us can relate stories of how we were accepted and welcomed on route, or, sometimes, of how we were most decidedly not welcomed. I think back to some old family friends in Enderby, BC, who welcomed us, total strangers at the time, into their home, not only for board and room, but also for tremendous hospitality and several days of rock-hounding. Or, I think back of the kinds of welcome and hospitality we experienced along the route of the Camino de Santiago. Or, on the converse, of the farmer who siced his dogs on son Philip. These, for good or for worse, will always remain indelibly etched in our minds. And, so likewise, the experience of Jesus and His disciples of not being welcomed by a Samaritan village. And, why did the villagers reject Him and refuse to welcome them? It was because they disagreed with His destination, where He was heading. However, here it is of particular interest that Jesus did not allow this one negative episode to colour His overall care and concern for Samaritans in general—a good lesson for all of us.

And then, there is the matter of conversations. Once again, I think of the long chats we were privileged to have during the long stretches of the Camino, or of nighttime talks in the car while driving home from some out of town destination. Some of my most memorable conversations I ever had with my mother were at such times.

In today’s passage, Luke records three such on-the-road conversations that Jesus had with ‘would-be’ disciples. The first man glibly promised to go anywhere with Jesus, but then seems—we aren’t told this for certain—to have been ‘turned off’ by the prospect of having no fixed home, no fixed place of operations. He doesn’t seem to like the idea of being rootless and being connected, dependent, solely upon Jesus for his security.

With the second man, Jesus’ response seems totally unreasonably to us moderns—at least, until we understand correctly the customs then at play. We think that waiting around to bury one’s kinsfolk is entirely reasonable, and indeed, a very natural and obvious act of familial caring. But here, two things need to be noted. Firstly, that Jewish burials normally took place on the very day of death, so no waiting around was necessary. And then, there was a secondary burial, one that took place months or years later, once the body had decomposed. At that point in time, the bones were collected and re-buried, this time in a special box called an ossuary. But, of course, this could take ‘forever’, and would certainly interfere with the person’s ability, or availability, to follow Jesus.

And, with the third man, there were things back at home that he needed ‘to take care of.’ I’m afraid that I can certainly resonate with him, for there are always tag-ends, things left uncompleted or in process, that ‘could’ be attended to. But, as with the second fellow, this could serve to put off following Jesus indefinitely, perhaps even forever.

All of this puts me in mind of our conversations and encounters with Jesus, whether they be ‘on the road’ or not. Do we turn Him away because we aren’t exactly happy with the direction in which He is heading or leading? And, do we too come up with glib and flaky excuses why we cannot follow? Both of these scenarios seem all too common, for myself anyway, and maybe you as well. Perhaps then we can learn from these ‘on the road again’ experiences and conversation and do better than these folks. Amen.

Forward notes: “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” (verses 54-55).

“The impulse to destroy our enemies and those who do harm to us and to those we love is perfectly understandable & even scripturally supportable, if you look in the right places. Certainly, James and John are subject to it, seeking revenge on the Samaritans who refuse to allow Jesus into their villages.

“We don’t know exactly what Jesus said in his rebuke to them, but a mere thirty or so verses after this event, Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan, the gold standard of what it is to be a good neighbor.

“There are forces in this world that work to foment enmity among people and would have us confuse mercy for weakness. Jesus stands in opposition to those forces. He doesn’t allow his disciples to rain fire on the Samaritans because he doesn’t have a fixed view of his enemies. No one is beyond the reach of his redeeming grace.”

Moving Forward: “As you attend worship today, offer special prayer intentions for your friends—and perceived enemies.”