Living a Different Life – Luke 9:51-62

A text – Luke 9:51-62 

⁵¹ When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. ⁵² And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to prepare for his arrival, ⁵³ but they did not receive him because his face was set toward Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ When his disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” ⁵⁵ But he turned and rebuked them. ⁵⁶ Thenthey went on to another village.

⁵⁷ As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” ⁵⁸ And 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.” ⁵⁹ To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ And Jesussaid to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹ Another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” ⁶² And Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

A reflection:

These stories of Jesus, making his way inevitably toward Jerusalem and the cross, are about keeping focus and about what that life focused on God might look like.

A Luther Seminary New Testament scholar, Mike Rogness, once wrote of this passage:

“These verses jar us into asking, ‘How are our lives different as followers of Jesus than what they might have been otherwise?’ I remember a bumper sticker asking, ‘If you were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?’ Discipleship means living in ways we might not otherwise live.

“The umbrella truth above this whole topic of discipleship is that being a Christian and a disciple of Jesus gives us a whole new identity. We are no longer simply a biological unit on this earth, but a child of the God of the whole universe. We now live knowing that ‘our citizenship is in heaven’ (Philippians 3:20). Because our lives are now measured by eternal things, we are ‘exiles and aliens’ in this world (1Peter 2:11).”

Just how different does my life look from the lives of people I know who have not been called by the Holy Spirit to be followers of Jesus? No different at all? Is that a good thing? These days we might try to remain inconspicuous, fearful about being labeled “of a group” that might be contrary to our neighbors. So to us it might be challenging to openly be identifiable as followers of Jesus. Even the 12 disciples failed to distinguish themselves as followers when Jesus was on trial and being killed. How do we make clear (to at the very least our friends and family) that we are indeed followers of Christ? I’m pretty sure it doesn’t look like being sanctimonious or like reciting 8 verses of a hymn or psalm or like naming a bunch of sins we don’t do. I’m pretty sure it looks like Jesus making room for the forgotten ones or like making peace when others are planning wars. What does it look like to you?

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for pouring abundant gifts into our lives, not least of which are these stories of Jesus as he drew near to the end of his ministry. Help us to see when we must be clear about the One we follow, so that others will be bold enough to follow as well. Amen.