Year C. Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, July 1st, 2001, Luke 9: 51-62
Title: “Life is a Journey”
Heavenly Father, thank you for this life, which is a journey from birth to death of learning to find and trust in you. Amen.
First of all, today’s Gospel is about a trip - a journey - which Jesus and his disciples are making. You can easily miss the point when you read it, because while Luke uses the same word for journey five times in the first six verses, the English translation never uses it at all! Here is where the word for journey appears. In verse 51 Jesus set his face to journey to Jerusalem. In verse 52 on their journey they enter a village of the Samaritans. In verse 53 the Samaritans do not receive Jesus because his face was set on a journey to Jerusalem. In verse 56 Jesus and his disciples journey to another village. And in verse 57 it is as they are on their journey that all the things in that paragraph occur. Five times the same word for journey appears. Obviously, it is Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem that is the basis and the framework for today’s Gospel.
As Jesus resolutely begins his journey to Jerusalem, the city of his destiny, he and his disciples encounter hostility from the Samaritans. Jesus reinforces his teaching on non-retaliation and stresses the need for unqualified commitment.
The section in Luke from 9:51 to 19:10 has been called “the Great Interpolation.” Luke has inserted much material into this part of Jesus’ life and ministry that is not found in Mark. He has folded it into the “journey theme” he is so fond of. In this section Jesus firmly sets his sights on Jerusalem, realizing his days are numbered. Hence, there will be a heightened sense of urgency in what Jesus teaches along the way as he nears the cross. The section begins as his ministry in Galilee began- with rejection. He was rejected by his hometown folks when he began his public life and now he is rejected by the Samaritans as he begins his public march on the capital of Judaism. It did not stop him then; it does not stop him now. Along the way he will clarify some issues: he is not Elijah or Elisha or a clone of any other prophet. He will require of his disciples what he requires of himself: unqualified commitment.
In verse fifty-one, when the days for his being taken up were fulfilled: As Luke writes this sentence it has the ring of a new beginning. More literally translated the text says, “It happened that….” “His being taken up” translates a technical term, Greek analempsis, which includes his suffering, death, resurrection and ascension.
He resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem: Jesus freely chose to go to Jerusalem to be killed. He was not fulfilling a role. He was not an actor unaffected by what happens to his character. This was real life. Soon to be rejected yet again, he does not reject his Father’s will. He accepts his plan and adopts it as his own.
In verse fifty-two, messengers…to prepare for his reception: It was a teaching of Jesus, almost a truism, that whoever welcomes, receives, accepts his messenger accepts him, and whoever rejects someone sent in his name rejects him. Thus, the rejection of his messengers is tantamount to rejecting Jesus himself. It is not specified what these preparations would entail. We can presume they would include lodging and eating arrangements. The direct journey to Jerusalem went through Samaria, a regular route taken by pilgrims from Galilee, about a day’s walk of a three day journey.
In verse fifty-three, not welcome because the destination was Jerusalem: Luke means this on two levels. On the level of raw fact Jesus and his companions were rejected simply because they were going to the capital of the people the Samaritans despised, purely racial prejudice. On the symbolic level, Jesus was rejected because his ultimate destination was not God’s earthly city, but God himself, not so much where he was going but what he stood for. On the earthly level those who rejected him represented all Samaritans; on the spiritual level they represented any and all who oppose Kingdom values.
In verse fifty-four, call down fire: This is a metaphor for retaliation. When James and John, called elsewhere the “sons of thunder,” wanted to “call down fire,” they were thinking of Elijah (2Kgs 1: 10) who cast lightning upon the king’s soldiers who wanted to arrest him for opposing the king.
In verse fifty-five, Jesus rebuked them: Jesus always rejects retaliation as a response to rejection, preferring the power of persuasion to the “persuasion” of power. Implicitly, Jesus is rejecting Elijah’s response.
They journeyed to another village: Jesus had no trouble switching from Plan A to Plan B. Like the wise men in Matthew Chapter two, he took another approach to reaching his goal, not allowing obstacles to prevent him.
In verses fifty-seven to sixty-two: Just as Jesus disassociates himself from Elijah’s histrionic display of fiery power in verses fifty-two to fifty-six, so he rejects the temporizing tactics of Elisha, successor to Elijah. Elisha waited until he said good-bye to his parents and had a farewell dinner with his family before accepting his call as successor-prophet to Elijah. Jesus demands immediate and absolute commitment. These verses tell of three would-be disciples who are willing to follow Jesus but misunderstand the degree of self-sacrifice involved.
In verse fifty-seven, I will follow you wherever you go: This man, a scribe in Matthew’s version of the story, volunteers. “Wherever you go” is quite broad. He puts no limitations on the destination. However, there must have been some qualification he put on his commitment. Jesus saw into the man and warned him about imitating Jesus completely, without reservation, even to the point of being homeless.
In verse fifty-eight,: foxes have dens…Son of Man has nowhere: A would-be disciple cannot count on the emotion of the moment to help him or her be faithful. One must be willing to undergo inconveniences and even deprivations as basic as shelter.
In verse fifty-nine, let me go first and bury my father: In this second example Jesus takes the initiative and calls. The man temporizes. It may be that his father just died and he is asking for a day’s delay until after the burial. More likely, he is saying that he wants to wait until his parents die and are buried before he would make a commitment to follow Jesus. In Jewish society burial took precedence over all other religious duties, even the study of the law and Sabbath observance. To leave it undone would be an unthinkable offense.
In verse sixty, let the dead bury their dead: If the man were asking for a day or so delay in order to bury his recently deceased father, his very reasonable request is met with a seemingly unreasonable response. However, more than likely Jesus is establishing a general principle pertaining to priorities. In effect he says, “Let the spiritually dead bury the physically dead.” Those who do not follow Jesus are considered spiritually dead. They have missed out on the life, the quality of life, the Kingdom offers. The urgency and absolute importance of accepting the call to discipleship could not be made clearer.
In verse sixty-one, let me first say farewell to my family at home: This third man seems to be a volunteer, like the first one, rather than a conscript, like the second one. He seems to be asking for a lesser privilege than the second man. He only wants to say good-bye to his family first. Even that is putting something “first” regarding the Kingdom and the request is not honored, but used as an opportunity to teach the lesson again.
In verse sixty-two, no one who sets a hand to the plow: The man is verse sixty-one, was obviously quoting Elisha in 1Kgs 19:20, the first reading for this week. Elisha merely wanted to say good-bye to his family. Jesus is obviously referring to the fact that Elisha was plowing at the time of his call. Jesus, however, states that a person who harks back to a past way of life, “the good old days,” is not, yet, fit for the Kingdom and its work.
Sermon
Jesus and his disciples felt the sting of racial prejudice. Only Jesus dealt with it differently. He refused to let it stop him from reaching his goals and he refused to let it infect him with resentment. He just took another route, another approach, a different tack. Besides racial prejudice, he also knew “religious” prejudice, hatred, hostility and rejection because of his beliefs and principles. He dealt with all of that by using the same principle of flexibility. Rejected by others, he refused to retaliate in any other form than to behave toward them in a way better than they behaved toward him.
We have all heard of athletes and performers refused lodging or service at a hotel or restaurant or forced to remain separate from the whites. Most of us have been denied “safe passage” through a neighbor’s yard or property because of some hostility, usually unknown to us until the time of request. We have all been hurt, or at least puzzled, by not being invited to a gathering we expected to be or thought we qualified to be. Many can identify with not getting a job or promotion because of some prejudice against us- color, creed, gender, sexual orientation, age, lack of “proper” paper credentials, too little or too much experience, etc. So, all of us have been victims of prejudice in some form, although not as much as others perhaps. The Christian response is given in this scene. Jesus practiced what he preached, in Luke chapter six verse twenty-nine, and refused to respond in kind or worse. Why? It would be wrong and it would slow down his own progress toward his goal “Jerusalem,” symbol of his sacrificial death and subsequent resurrection and ascension.
Prejudice really hurts. In some places it is racial prejudice that is the prominent one; in other places it is religious prejudice. Usually, prejudice travels in groups. It would be a very rare person who was only racially prejudiced, but not prejudiced in any other way. No, most of us suffer from a cluster or syndrome of prejudices, like the person who hates all black, Catholic, homosexual, elderly women who speak Spanish, are poor and uneducated and belong to the Democratic party. When we say it that way it reveals how utterly stupid and blind prejudice is. Nonetheless, prejudice is rampant and all of us suffer from it in one form or another, in one degree or another. We are both victims and perpetrators of prejudice. Jesus spent little time lamenting that fact. Instead, he went around it, just like he detoured around the Samaritan village.
Likewise, we have all temporized, put off until “tomorrow,” which never comes, what we should do today. And we have all been able to come up with good excuses, even real reasons: too inconvenient, have something more important to do, too busy, other commitments, etc. Jesus falls for none of it; not even the most religious-sounding ones like burying a parent. No doubt he used that one to emphasize how serious he is about total, absolute and immediate commitment. On the one hand, he teaches that we should sit down and count the cost of being his follower. It could involve homelessness, deprivation of family relations, renunciation of all past associations, customs, habits, etc. On the other hand, he teaches that none of them can hold a candle to what he offers. If in the short run it is difficult to follow him because of the false and exaggerated value we put on what we are giving up, in the long run the “loss” cannot compare to the “gain.” Jesus requires no more than he himself has given. Though he does not go around trumpeting his sacrifices, he is a penniless, homeless person who has sacrificed his family, home and profession for the sake of the Kingdom. The issue, of course, is not the specific sacrifices but the principle behind them. For instance, if discipleship required one to forsake living parents, how much more would it require forsaking deceased ones. No excuse, no matter how pious or religious, is strong enough to outweigh commitment to Jesus. It is not enough to be “well-meaning.” That is not commitment. Commitment to Jesus involves detachment from everything and everyone. Detachment does not entail a lack of love, but a freeing of desire in order that that desire may “ attach” to God. When we put him first, all other commitments and responsibilities fall into perspective and proper place.
When Jesus encountered prejudice or rejection, he went around it, did not even fight it, ignored it.
Jesus did not let anything, including prejudice, keep him from being the person his Father wants him to be.
Jesus does not want any lukewarm or vacillating disciples; he expects the same of them as he expects of himself.
What we give up for the sake of the Kingdom cannot compare to what we receive as a result.
Commitment: There are two types of commitment highlighted in this gospel account. The first one is that of Jesus. “He resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem.” That is a commitment, a decision to do something no matter what the obstacles. However, this is not an initial commitment. Jesus made that commitment long before when he was baptized in the Jordan. This decision is part of his continuing commitment to be faithful to that first decision. Indeed, our initial commitment, made in many cases by our parents in our infancy and confirmed by us in early adolescence, our Baptism and Confirmation commitment is really a promise to allow all our subsequent decisions to be colored and shaded by that initial one. It is a promise to always include Jesus in every decision we make subsequently. Indeed, it is really a promise to let Jesus inform us of his decision and carry that out. At least, in most cases when we are deliberating over what to do we can consult his word, Scripture, and find out what he would do and then do that same thing. However, there are situations when the matter is not so clear and we must allow his Spirit to guide us in rather uncharted territory. In those cases we do have to depend on less specific revelation and inspiration because Jesus’ Spirit does not speak in words as the earthly Jesus did. Nonetheless, continuing commitment and fidelity to it involves submitting all our subsequent decisions to the scrutiny of Jesus’ word and or his Spirit.
Initial Commitment: The other type of commitment, initial commitment, gets most of the ink in this account. Jesus challenges would-be disciples to count the cost of commitment before diving in. No doubt all three were emotionally ready to commit to Jesus. Jesus throws cold water on their emotions by emphasizing the negatives of commitment to him. Now, many Christians were baptized as infants and did not get this chance to review what is involved before committing, before signing the contract. And we have to honestly wonder whether we were even old enough at our Confirmation to understand what is involved. Or were we? Most committed married folks would say the same thing about their initial marriage commitment. They really did not know what was involved. Each day they have to renew that commitment when new, unforeseen challenges arose. If they renew or decide to stay committed no matter what, that is, to remain faithful to “for better or worse…” then they find that they are doing just what Jesus is doing in this gospel account. They continue to submit their present decisions to the scrutiny of an earlier verbalized and signed commitment and they make those decisions in the light of and in fidelity to that earlier “resolute determination.” At their marriage they were told, or should have been, that there were costs, even told what they would generally be. They committed anyway. In Confirmation a child is old enough to know in general that the commitment he or she is making involves the cost of his or her very life, all of it, no holds barred. However, what that cost specifically means remains to be seen in the subsequent years and days ahead. Continuing commitment, fidelity to one’s initial commitment, is really an enfleshing of one’s word. Putting flesh, the hand to the plough, our money where our mouth is, on a promise incarnates the word, like God did in Jesus. In the third example Jesus gives of the cost of commitment he has our first reading for today in mind. He stresses the need to be unqualified, unwavering, indeed immediate in answering every and any call God gives us, even quicker than such a holy person like Elisha. That, in itself, is a challenge. Amen.
