“On the journey”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Monday, May 22, 2023

Luke 9:51-62 (Forward, p. 24) CEV p. 1072

Throughout the long history of Christianity, and indeed, throughout many of the world’s faith traditions, the idea of a faith journey or pilgrimage is part and parcel of that faith. And certainly, within the Christian faith the idea of journeying with Christ is rather central, as is depicted in John Bunyan’s famous book, Pilgrim’s Progress, or the more recent hymn by Herbert O’Driscoll, “Come and Journey with a Saviour”.

In today’s passage that same theme pops up again, and in two senses:

a) Firstly, there are those who are asked to ‘help’ with the journey and then have to make a decision as whether to do so or not. The first Samaritan village chooses to say ‘no’, because Jesus & the disciples were on route to Jerusalem, the rival place of worship. And so, the disciples and Jesus were forced to move on. And yet, there was ‘another village’, not named or identified in any way, that choose to say ‘yes.’ This puts me in mind of Jesus’ sayings about those who were for or against Him. For instance, the apostle John once tried to stop someone casting out demons in Jesus’ name and Jesus responded by saying:

“Do not stop him, for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward” (Mark 9:39-41).

While these people may not be obvious disciples of Jesus, they do choose to help in His work. So, here is a million-dollar question, namely, how to we look at them or treat them? And then, do we choose to work with them in whatever shared goals we might have?

I would say to treat them with respect and appreciation and work with them wholeheartedly wherever possible.

b) And secondly, there are the ‘would-be’ followers, people who really do want to follow—or at very least, say that they want to. However, here we (or they) run into a snag. Three ‘would-be’ followers have their own particular hang-ups which get in the way:

-the first has an issue with security, with things like knowing in advance where Jesus will lead them or where they will stay. He wants a security that is rooted in some fixed thing, like a place or a calendar. He is unable, or unwilling, to place His security in a person, namely Jesus.

-the second person has an issue with ongoing family obligations. here Jesus sounds positively merciless, “Let the dead bury the dead”, but in so describing Jesus we are missing out on the cultural realities of that place and time. The initial and primary burial would have taken place the very day that the person died, so there was no need for any delay on that count. No, what the person was alluding to, was the secondary burial, when the bones were moved from the tomb to the ossuary once the flesh had decayed. This, depending on the conditions in the tomb, could take months or years! Talk about putting off discipleship: this is it!

-the third person has a similar excuse. “Here, I have some things at home that I need to take care of.” Well, can’t we all claim that, can’t that always be an excuse not to follow Jesus, not to spend time with Him etc. It is so easy, and natural, for the important—things like our daily tasks and emergencies and demands--to crowd out what is truly urgent (like following and being with Jesus or doing His work).

These people want to follow, to be with Jesus, to be part of His endeavour, but not yet.

How often we have heard variants of this: “I want to follow Jesus, but not yet.” They say, “I still want to experience life, I have ‘some living to do’” etc., as if following Jesus renders all of that impossible. (Yet, maybe they have a point, namely that their ‘wild oats’—however one defines that—isn’t quite compatible with following and being with Jesus. But, even so, having said that, is that thing or activity they want to hold on to and enjoy, whatever it might be, anywhere as valuable as following and being with

Him? I would say not. I would suggest that there is nothing quite like being ‘on the road’, journeying, with Him.

So, just where do we, you and I, fit into this picture of journeying with Jesus, of being ‘on the road’ with Him with no fixed address or clearly delineated goal or objective, but simply being willing to trust Him to take us how and where we need to do? It is an exercise of trust, one that He encourages, and enables. Amen.

Forward notes: “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’” (verse 58).

“Luke 9 contains bookend sections where Jesus describes the cares and preoccupations of the world. At the beginning of the chapter, Jesus sends his disciples out and tells them to take nothing, not even a change of clothes. The chapter ends with Jesus showing that he is willing to do the same.

“This call to austerity can be challenging for modern Christians who live in houses with closets full of clothing. But what if we ponder Jesus’s words as a lesson rather than receiving them as condemnation? We live in a culture that is quick to associate material success with God’s blessing and favour even though scripture teaches the opposite. Jesus himself tells us that the poor and persecuted are blessed and will inherit the kingdom. Perhaps Jesus is warning us that making material success our aim causes us to miss the simple truths of God’s kingdom.

“It can be easy to overlook or dismiss those on the margins because society tells us they have little material value. The truth is we have much to learn about God’s kingdom from those with no permanent place to lay their heads.”

Moving Forward: “Make plans to volunteer at a food pantry or shelter.”