We Don't Walk Alone
A Reflection on Luke 9:51-65
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Pastor Dale Stiles
Grace and Peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
I've said it before and this morning I'll say it again - Fish Lake Lutheran has a built in evangelism committee. Each one of you serve on it. Members ofFish Lake, it seems, are eager to, and enjoy talking about their church. You are good at inviting your friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family to worship with you. There is not a Sunday that goes by that there are not visitors among us.
But many congregations are not as fortunate.
Many congregations have to have very intentional evangelism programs and practices in place in order to attract visitors and new members. It's not uncommon for churches to send their evangelism committees out to go door to door throughout the neighborhoods to talk about their church and invite people to worship.
One congregation I read about did just that for a period of six months. They then met, as the evangelism committee, to discuss how things were going and to evaluate their work. By all accounts, things were going pretty well. They were growing at a rapid and steady pace. Large numbers of people had responded favorably to their personal invitation to attend their church. Average worship attendance was on the rise. What more could they ask of an Evangelism Program? Their intentional and hard work seemed to be paying off.
"But something bothers me about all this," said Gladys, a member of that committee.
"Here we go, knocking on neighbors' doors, urging them to come to our church and worship with us. But what are we inviting them to? We tell them that we have a great youth program, that we will do this or that for their children. We have great summer activities for all ages, and a picnic in the fall. We have pastoral counseling, good music in our services, and great preaching. In other words, we have all these services to meet their needs, to entertain them, and to fix what's wrong with their life."
"What's wrong with that? the other committee members asked. "After all, isn't the church here to meet our needs?"
"Seems like I remember," continued Gladys, "that somewhere in the Bible it says, ?Take up your cross and follow me.'"
They all became silent. Remembering that very specific, and difficult, call to discipleship that Gladys was referring to.
That illustration leaves us with a hard question to answer. "How can we continue being evangelists, as we know how, in light of the call to discipleship spoken of in today's gospel? Hear again a portion of our gospel lesson from Eugene Peterson's Bible translation, The Message, beginning with verse 57:
On the road someone asked if he could go along. "I'll go with you, wherever," he said. Jesus was abrupt: "Are you ready to rough it? We're not staying in the best inns, you know." Jesus said to another, "Follow me." The man said, "Certainly, but first excuse me for a couple of days, please. I have to make arrangements for my father's funeral." Jesus refused. "First things first. Your business is life, not death. And life is urgent: Go and announce God's kingdom!" Then another said, "I'm ready to follow you, Master, but first excuse me while I get things straightened out at home." Jesus said, "No procrastination. No backward looks. You can't put God's kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day!"
We know where Jesus was headed along that road. Jesus is on the way to his death. For Him, He knew that every hour, every minute, every second counted and that He and we needed to seize the day!
And yet, on the way, people come up to him saying, "I'll follow you wherever you go, only first let me give my father a decent burial. After all ?honor your father and mother,' isn't that what the Good Book says?"
"We're about life!" Jesus says.
Another says, "I'll follow you, just let me get things in order at home. After all, don't you believe in family values?"
"Seize the day!" Jesus says.
On this beautiful summer Sunday morning we come to Jesus, here in this place, wanting to follow him. And he gives us these abrupt, tough, challenging, and demanding words, which might cause us to ask, "Are we really ready to follow Jesus?"
At the beginning of the Tom Cruise film, "Jerry McGuire", Jerry is caught in a rat race of a job as a sports agent, representing spoiled, overpaid, professional athletes, while living off of their sports talent. One night after tossing and turning and being unable to sleep, Jerry jumps out of bed, turns on his computer, and writes a long mission statement in which he criticizes what his job has become and proposes some radical changes. He copies the memo and has it put in the mailboxes of all of his coworkers.
When he nervously enters the office the next day, he receives a warm, standing ovation for his act of courage and vision. "Thank God you said it," one of his coworkers says.
Well, if you've seen the movie and remember that scene, his bold act of courage did not create the dedication and integrity in his business that he had hoped for. In fact, instead, he was fired by one of his friends and tossed out on the street with just his goldfish in hand.
What I liked about that movie though, was the realism and the honesty of this first scene when Jerry stands up for what's right and speaks up for the truth, even when there may have been a high cost involved. The movie had the courage not to water down, romanticize, or sentimentalize the role of a courageous reformer in an often corrupt occupation.
That illustration is relevant because after hearing our gospel lesson read this morning, in the same way, we too, shouldn't romanticize or sentimentalize the role of the disciple of Jesus. The lesson makes it clear that following Jesus is not easy. We don't need to be reminded that sometimes the choices Jesus asks us to make are tough. In this case, isn't it important to love and support our families? Isn't love of children for parents important? The choices are tough. Sometimes it's something so small as the choice between whether to spend an evening at home with the family or to go participate in a church meeting or activity. Yet at other times, the cost seems very high.
You and me are here this morning because, in one way or another, we are those who have said to Jesus, "I will follow you." Sometimes we have been faithful, sometimes we have not. Yet maybe the good news for us is, at least we are following him. We are here, being reminded of His Word, examining what that Word means in our lives, and hopefully making changes where necessary.
It's clear that Jesus knows following Him is not easy. Yet despite the challenges, it is a journey worth taking. He gives to our lives a sense of adventure and reward. We walk with him, sometimes well, sometimes poorly, but always with Him and beside Him.
We're going to leave the safety of this place and this time of worship this morning and return to the world with all sorts of tough choices and difficult demands. But hear this one more time - Jesus knows it is not always easy. That's why, every Sunday, as part of the service, we pray for strength, we confess our shortcomings, we ask for forgiveness when we fail, and in the sacrament of Holy Communion we renew our commitment and determination to walk with Him, remembering always that though it may seem harsh today, the good news is this - we do not walk alone.
Thanks be to God!
Amen.
