Sunday, 30 June 2019

Following Jesus

On his journey to Jerusalem, Jesus meets three men who are anxious to follow him. Two of these voluntarily come forward to follow Jesus. But as we read in the gospel, all the three seem to be unfit or unprepared for the challenges involved in following Jesus. To follow Jesus is not a walk in the park.

To the first young man bursting with enthusiasm who, with whole-hearted response, vowed to be a follower of Jesus wherever he would go, must have been surprised to hear Jesus dampen his spirits and warn him off with the caution, that the Son of Man did not have a home to call his own. Jesus left his home at Nazareth, and settled in Capernaum. But that must have been merely a base for his activities. Jesus had no possessions or securities. Nor did he have institutional provisions for his nomadic mission of spreading God’s Kingdom in Galilee. His friends and followers were mainly from the lower class, though there were some including some pious women who were his benefactors. To all intents and purposes, Jesus did not have a place to lay his head.

Jesus is only being fair when he makes it clear in very direct terms what is expected of those who wish to join his group. If we want to accompany him we must know what we are doing and be aware of the harsh realities of life. To follow Jesus to Calvary can be no casual accompaniment of a wandering preacher. Less of romance, more of reality-bites. The message is harsh but clear – if anything at all stands in our way or takes priority over Jesus in our lives, then we are not free to follow him. Jesus would have certainly failed in any of our modern ad firms—who earn by the second (not merely by the minute)!

To the second man Jesus says, “Let the dead bury their dead.” It is not a polite thing to say to someone who just wants to provide a simple, human service to his father. A service, it needs to be said, that was required under Jewish law. Burying the dead and honouring one’s parents were both mandates, not suggestions.

But time is short, and Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem and his death. The shortcut across Samaria leads to shunning this time, as the Samaritans are not keen on a prophet destined for Jerusalem. The disciples would like to see them punished, but Jesus is not going to dignify that request with anything more than a curt reprimand. There is no time to lose.

To everyone, Jesus tells us what he says in this text to the man who wishes to bury his father: “Follow me.” Sometimes we have what seem to us good reasons for not dropping everything, but more often we make excuses.

To those who want to follow him, Jesus points out that the way he is going holds no glamour. Those who hesitate, Jesus rejects. The only disciples Jesus can use are those who put their hand to God’s plow and do not look back. That is what he tells the third young man, who too had conditions or duties to be fulfilled. You can only plow a straight line if you keep your focus on what you are doing—like Jesus, who is resolutely making his journey towards Jerusalem and the cross.

Every day we are faced with a situation similar to these three young prospective disciples. In the midst of our work, as we are hurrying about our business, we encounter Jesus who beckons us to come and serve. He longs for us to acknowledge his loving presence in silently carrying out his will. But how many times we have said, “Why now, Lord?” “Perhaps I’ll catch up with you later.” “Why don’t you come later?”

We could make other similar excuses. But having a habit of making excuses makes us halfhearted, which is one of the biggest reasons why we don’t feel fulfilled in life. Halfheartedness robs us of the joy and satisfaction that come from achievement.

What will be our response if we chance to meet the Lord today? Is there some kind of irritation with regard to Him? Do we want to postpone our following Him? Don’t we think it is easier to worship Jesus than to follow him?

Only one thing God wants of you: to call Him “my father,” and not stop following Him? (Jer 3:19) He wants from us a relationship, a loving devotedness.

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