Title: The “Buts”
Text: Luke 9:51-62
Thesis: Real discipleship is demanding… it takes a lot for a spur-of-the-moment impulse to become a lifetime commitment to following Christ.
Introduction
Eric Weiner tells of being rushed to the hospital emergency room in excruciating pain. They took some X-rays and CT scans. When the grim-faced ER doctor came into the examining room he knew something bad was going on. The ER doc told him that a surgeon was on his way… they had located him at a dinner party but he would be arriving soon.
A nurse entered to room. She too was grim-faced. And as she explained that she was going to draw some blood, he judged from her accent that she must be from the Caribbean or maybe West Africa. Then as she moved to draw the blood she said very slowly and clearly, “Have you found your God yet?”
She asked it as casually as she might have asked, “Have you found your car keys yet?” She sensed her genuine concern and as coming from someone who had already found her God.
Following his recovery her words continued to haunt him and so much so that he set out to “find” God, despite the fact that he didn’t really know anything and was pretty unsure of just about everything. He did not want to think he was an atheist. He wondered if he was an agnostic, which literally means, “one without knowledge.” But he was hesitant to consider himself as an agnostic who doesn’t know if God exists and doesn’t particularly care.” At this point he described himself as a “Confusionist” meaning he was deeply and profoundly confused when it came to questions about God and religion.
So he set out in a series of what he called “Flirtations with the Divine” to find his God. (Eric Weiner, Man Seeks God, Twelve, Introduction)
I thought of Eric Weiner when I read our text today of a Samaritan village and three men who flirted with the Divine, so to speak. The three men were searching for and felt they had found their God.
There is a bit of a back story to our text. Jesus had set his face toward Jerusalem where he would ultimately give his life for all the sins of all mankind for all of time. I Peter 3:18 His was a serious business and so much so that he was willing to sacrifice everything, up to and including his life, in order that we might have eternal life. Philippians 2:5-11 and John 3:16
When it comes to matters of faith people have the right to choose. They may be terribly mistaken in their decision but it is their choice to make.
I. The Rejection Factor
But the people of the village did not welcome Jesus because he was on his way to Jerusalem. Luke 9:53
On his way to Jerusalem he had chosen to pass through Samaria rather than skirt it, as most Jews did. The Samaritans did not like the Jews and the Jews did not like the Samaritans. Their issues were both racial and theological… and that’s another story.
In the world of organ transplants they refer to the rejection factor. One of the factors to consider in organ transplants is that an organ may be rejected by the recipient. In the world of sales there is a rejection factor… not everyone buys. In the world of romance not everyone you love will love you back. In matters of faith people accept Christ and people reject Christ, i.e., the rejection factor.
At any rate when Jesus and his disciples passed through Samaria they found a very unreceptive and even hostile audience. They were received so poorly that James and John (Sons of Thunder) were so angry they wanted to call down fire from heaven to burn up the Samaritans. The bible says Jesus rebuked them and they went on… In other words Jesus accepted their rejection without malice and went on his way to Jerusalem.
One day I stopped by to visit a couple in our church who owned and operated a grain elevator and feed business in our town. While I was there a pastor, new in the community, came into their office. He was offended by the school mascot and wanted them to sign a petition he had drawn up to change the school mascot. Being life-long residents in the community and having graduated from the local high school, they respectfully declined to sign the petition.
So the pastor took his clip board, went out the front door, dropped his clip board onto the walk, removed his shoes and banged them together in anger and stomped off. According to his understanding of Luke 10, he thought he was doing what Jesus wanted him to do. It is unfortunate that would essentially damn my friends to a Christ-less eternity over his petition… but back to Jesus in Luke 9.
In that sense we have to see Jesus as being both respectful of the right of people to decide and pragmatic. If you love people and have great Good News to share with them but they don’t want to be loved or hear your Good News… then just move on. They have made their choice. People have the right to exercise their own free-will. And should the time come when they might wish to change their minds it is not likely they will change their minds in favor of those who angrily bang they shoes together or call down fire from heaven to burn them up for not opting in the first time.
Jesus refused to be angry or retaliatory toward those who reject him… he rebuked his disciples for having those kinds of thoughts and desires. The hearts of the Samaritans may have been hateful but Jesus’ disposition toward the Samaritans did not change. He still loved them and longed for them to come to faith. That’s a good lesson for us all…
But now as we move on in the text we see a different Jesus. The Jesus that was so gracious toward those who rejected him became difficult toward those who wanted to follow him. He was easy on those who rejected him but off-putting toward those who expressed a desire to follow him.
I think it comes down to this… either you are in or you are out. Jesus respects the decisions of those who opt out but if you want to opt in, then opt in all the way.
The first flirtation with the Divine was a rather enthusiastic person who needed to consider the hidden costs of opting in to being a follower of Christ.
II. The Hidden Costs, Luke 9:57-58
As they were walking along someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.” But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.” Luke 9:57-58
When I think of how Jesus walked his way I think of the story The Way in which a grieving American father flew to France to collect the ashes of his adult son who died in the Pyrenees Mountains attempting to walk a Pilgrimage called the Camino de Santiago across northern Spain. The father, in an attempt to honor his son’s memory decided to walk The Way himself, carrying his son’s ashes and scattering them along The Way.
He set out alone thinking this trek would be a solitary one but he soon discovered he was not the only person on a pilgrimage… others were walking The Way as well. Soon he had picked up three others who would accompany him all The Way.
In our story we have another “no name” person whom Jesus picked up on his way to Jerusalem. He joined Jesus and the other disciples as they walked along together. In a rather spontaneous move and enthusiastic gesture he said to Jesus, who is on his way to the cross, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
Jesus was no military recruiter in a high school cafeteria set on filling the ranks. But here was a guy who was ready to enlist. Here was a guy who was waving his hand in the air anxious to volunteer. And Jesus tried to discourage him from opting in. But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.” Luke 9:57-58 (“You don’t want to go with me…”)
Certainly, for many, following Jesus may mean giving up your home and moving to another place. It may mean moving away to a far and distant place away from family and all that is familiar. So when we opt in to be a follower of Christ we never know where we are going to land. Following Christ is going wherever God leads you.
When Bonnie and I sensed our call to ministry we signed up to live in a store front for a year. We lived in a suburb of St. Paul. We lived in a little housing project in Lincoln, Nebraska. We lived in a farm house on a dirt road in western KS. We lived in Orange County in Southern California. We lived in a tiny little parsonage in a tiny little town in eastern KS where we slept on the floor in the living room so our kids could have bedrooms. We lived in a big old parsonage next door to the church one block off main street USA. We moved around and we moved our kids around and we missed being near our loved ones but that was how it was. And it was good. It never crossed our minds that we would not go if we were being led.
So it kind of amuses me when I see pastoral and missionary candidates who specify where they are willing to accept a call. And it isn’t just full-time Christian workers who are selective in their calls… I often hear comments like, “I wouldn’t move there?” Or “I wouldn’t accept a job there?” I think what Christ want to hear is, “I’m willing to go anywhere you lead me.” The man in our text said, “I’ll go anywhere.” And here is where we hear the first “but.” “But” Jesus said, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.”
If we wish to probe a little deeper and ask a question like, “What is the underlying issue or hidden cost Jesus wants all of us to be aware of?” How does, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head,” apply to us? We’re not tagalongs following Jesus down the road or Christian wannabes are we?
One of the hidden costs…
A. One of the hidden costs in opting in to be a follower of Jesus Christ is an understanding that following Christ is not a call to security.
There is nothing like the security of a home. We love our homes. We love our condos. We love our townhomes. We love our patio homes. We love our vacation homes. We love our RV homes. We love our patios, our lawns, our gardens, our fireplaces, our recliners, our newly updated kitchens with stainless steel appliances, and mostly we love our big old king-sized, pillow-top mattress beds where we lay our heads on down-filled pillows every night. And I, along with you am grateful to God for our home. I love our home and I love being home! After all even “foxes have dens to live in and birds have nests...”
But more to the point, it isn’t just that we all like to feel secure and know we have a place to go and be safe and comfortable.
B. The second and most telling hidden cost in opting in to be a follower of Jesus Christ is an understanding that following Christ is not a call to cocoon. It is a call to be engaged with real people in the real world and sometimes at the cost of our own comfort and convenience.
It was not that Jesus did not enjoy the comforts of home. He grew up in a home. It is likely that he lived in his childhood home and worked in the family business until he was 30 years old. He often enjoyed the comforts of home with his friends and followers. He enjoyed the hospitality of those who invited him to join them in their homes. Homes aren’t bad… they are good. But for the follower of Christ a home is not for cocooning. Homes are not castles to which we retire, raise the drawbridge, and fill the moat with alligators and post sentries.
Cocooning is a growing trend but anything but a new trend. Cocooning happens when individuals socialize less and less. Cocooning is when individuals retreat into their homes more and more and for longer periods of time. Cocooning is working from home. Cocooning is shopping from home. Cocooning is ordering in. Cocooning is hours of face time on the computer and television and Netflix in the comforts of the family room. Cocooning avoids face to face encounters by tweeting and texting and posting and blogging.
In some ways we are much more aware of life and what is happening in the world when we cocoon but when we cocoon we are less and less engaged in what is going on in the lives of others.
Jesus wants us to be his followers “but” not if we are unwilling to engage the world and the people of the world outside of our cocoons.
I so admire Jeff and Mary Chapman. They opened their home to Rita… you remember Rita. Rita came as an international student from China to live with them. She completed her education and has now gone on to higher education. But while living with Jeff and Mary she became a follower of Christ. She was baptized right here at Heritage. She continues to grow in her faith and shared her testimony with on her last visit. And one day Rita will return to China taking her newfound faith with her.
Conclusion:
During our Perspectives class we learned some amazing statistics.
• 11% of the people on Planet Earth claim Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
• 38% of people on Planet Earth have heard the gospel but have not accepted Christ yet.
• 50% of the people on Planet Earth have not heard the gospel and most have no realistic opportunity to ever hear about Christ.
• Of the 11,646 distinct people groups on the planet, 60% contain between 0% and 2% who identify as Christians.
• And many of those 6,734 people groups have no churches, no bibles, no Christian literature, and no mission agencies who are seeking to reach them for Christ.
While it is true, there are vast numbers of people to reach with the love of God in Christ who are living in places we cannot go… there are vast numbers of the peoples of the world that God has brought right to our doorstep.
We are privileged to support a number of missionaries here at Heritage and among them, Chuck and Ginny Lewis serve with Campus Crusade at the University of West Virginia where they have a ministry to international students. It is always great when they visit and we hear stories and see pictures of the students they are reaching for Christ. It is our joyful privilege to be a a part of a ministry to reaches international students who upon completing their educations, return to their homelands with their new found faith in Jesus Christ.
But while that is a really fun thing to be a part of Chuck and Ginny’s ministry, it is still pretty much operating from our cocoon homes and church. We send them money every month so they can do there what we cannot do there. We are empowering others to be engaged in reaching international students while we have an opportunity to engage international students with the love of Christ right here! But we have to come out of our cocoon homes and our cocoon church to do it!
How hard could it be to take a two hour orientation class with International Students, Inc. to learn how to befriend one of the 1,500 international students, just fifteen minutes away, down on the Auraria Campus? How much fun would it be to meet that student and call that student once a week and plan an activity with that student once a month? How much fun would it be to welcome a student into our cocoons on Thanksgiving and include them on Christmas? How much fun would it be to learn about another culture? How much fun would it be to gain a life-long friend who would be eternally grateful for your kindness? How much fun would it be to invite these students to be part of the life of our church? How fun would it be to live out the life of Christ and perhaps even have the privilege of seeing that student come to Christ? And how much fun would it be to drive that student out to DIA one day as they take their newfound faith back to Sudan or Iraq or China or Russia or Yemen or Haiti or Iceland or Botswana or Germany or Sweden or Croatia? You get the idea…
We cannot be neighbors in our communities or globally is we remain in our cocoons.
The first “but” this morning was written of those who chose to reject Christ, “But the people of the village did not welcome Jesus…” The first “But” is the reality of the rejection factor.
The second “But” was raised in response to one man’s enthusiastic desire to follow Christ anywhere. Jesus said, “[But do you realize] Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” The second “But” is the hidden cost of failing to understand that following Christ is not a call to cocoon… it is a call to go, to engage the world.
At the very least Jesus was saying, “We will reach the world with the love of God in Christ only if we emerge from our cocoons and connect with the people of the world.”
