Luke 9:51 – 62 Move On

Luke 9:51 – 62 Move On

When the days for his being taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of him. On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there, but they would not welcome him because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?" Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village. As they were proceeding on their journey someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus answered him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head." And to another he said, "Follow me." But he replied, "(Lord,) let me go first and bury my father." Jesus answered him, "Let the dead bury their dead. But you, come away and proclaim the kingdom of God." And another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home." (To him) Jesus said, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God."

Jesus continues in his pensive, almost morose mood. The Samaritans would not welcome him and his followers, which angered James and John but not Jesus. He will not force his presence on anyone, not then and not now. He accepts the Samaritan’s right to turn away from him and moves on. Their loss. Along the way he grows weary of a mission that does not allow time to rest. No home, no family, no comfort, as he prepares for his coming trials. He meets a few individuals who say they want to follow him, but when challenged by Jesus find excuses to delay. He seems to have little sympathy for their very human (to me) requests to take leave of their families. This makes what Jesus (and his followers) are doing all the more remarkable. Jesus knows what is coming and he knows that distractions and excuses won’t cut it. I wonder what happened to those two men who were drawn to Jesus but could not seem to make a commitment. Did they later become one of the followers of the new church? I hope so. Or did they just sink back into their familiar, comfortable lives. Jesus challenges us, invites us, in his words to “come away and proclaim the Kingdom of God”. He asks us to make a commitment to him, to make a change in our lives. How do we deal with that in this complex, hard driving world? I’m pretty sure if I had been in the place of those two men I too would have disappointed Jesus.