Walking with Jesus

Pentecost 13 Proper 18

Fr. Tim Nunez

Jesus has a lot of people “traveling with” him. Why? We can only speculate, but our speculation is informed by so many descriptions of encounters Jesus had with people of all sorts that we have a good idea.

Many want to hear his preaching and teaching because he is opening up the Word of God to them in fresh ways that touch their hearts and bring them precious gifts like direction and hope. Those who toil in obscurity or live on the fringes of society who are used to being ignored, dismissed, or neglected. They are used to hearing and experiencing condemnation for their way of life or even their very existence. Jesus is explaining the scriptures such that they are hearing passages that speak directly to them of hope, of calling them back to God, of healing and forgiveness.

And there are people of higher means and standing among them, along with teachers, scribes, lawyers and others. Some of them are watching him warily, because those same scriptures expose their own hypocrisy. Some are feeling the conviction and are drawn to him.

So a good question to ask ourselves is, “Am I traveling with Jesus or am I following him?” The distinction is a matter of commitment.

But we are here so let’s think about this: Why are you following Jesus?

One reason may be that life is a long and difficult road and Jesus is the best guide. Guides are great to have, whether you are on a tour or navigating a new job – just about anything in life. We value mentors.

A lot of us follow Jesus because we find his way of life, the way he orders priorities makes the most sense. We are steeped in a culture, whether it remembers this or not, framed by values Jesus reasserted from the Old Testament and reframed in his person. These values include honesty, integrity, compassion and care for others.

Jesus gives us a moral framework that is absolute, reliable and is the thorough and studied ethic of love working its way through our infinite circumstance, challenges and problems. We see the alternatives people latch onto; so much greed, exploitation and evil in this world. Money money money, sex sex sex, power plays in everything from politics to the little league. And so, yes, we want to follow him and we want our children to follow him, too, so they do not get lost in the evil and insipid trappings of life.

And let’s be clear. That choice isn’t arbitrary. Look at our reading from Deuteronomy – 3,700 years old. One path leads to life and the other leads to hell. And I don’t mean in the afterlife. I often remind you that eternal life includes now, usually in the context of our invitation to the Kingdom. That may be hard to grasp, but hell on earth is easy to see. Some of you have been to hell. You can find it very quickly and a lot of people are born right into it and don’t have any idea there is a better way.

That is reason enough to follow him.

He is our best hope for healing and ultimate healing.

We follow him because of the hope he offers to heal us in many ways. That includes seeking his help with physical, emotional and psychological suffering. We give thanks for the blessing of doctors and all that medicine can do, but we want his blessing and guidance in that, too. We look for miracles, celebrate them when they come, and trust in his promises of eternal life beyond our current suffering and the suffering of those we love. He offers a way though and beyond the tragedy of existence: that we are all consigned to suffering and death.

That is reason enough to follow him. The decision to follow him is a good thing, right? But there is more, always more.

Jesu lays out the difference between traveling with him and following him by setting forth some strikingly clear challenges.

First, following him requires that we regard everything else as secondary to following him. He is using hyperbole to make his point. Loving him requires us to love our families but under him, in him. They cannot distract us from him.

Second, he talks about carrying the cross. They knew about crucifixion, about how a cross was a big piece of timber – long enough that 15-20 feet of it would be above ground, plus the crosspiece. Clearly Jesus is also foreshadowing the passion. Along with the physical weight of the cross, he also bore the suffering of the world for the world. He knows his disciples will face hardship and rejection, prison and death, for following him and proclaiming him to the world.

Not many of us face such extremes, but count the cost. Once we start following him we are on a different path from our own, and the cost is really everything. And if we don’t stick with him, “Look, that fellow claimed to be a Christian and…”

Then there is the battle, the ultimate battle for your life, for your soul. Look at it soberly. You cannot win. The forces arrayed against you are sin and death. There is no way around it, no way out of it by our own efforts. There is just one way through it. So yes, consider the cost and ask for the terms of peace from the Prince of Peace.

Jesus said we cannot be his disciple unless we give up our possessions. I don’t think that means get rid of all your stuff. The word here is possessions. We think of that as the things we have, things we own or can acquire, but we must be very clear and careful about possessions. We like to possess things, but we don’t want to be possessed in any way by anyone or anything.

We wrestle with these commandments. Remember that they are undergirded and express Our Lord’s inexpressibly deep love for you. He wants the very best for you. So, yes, he puts in the strongest language he can.

We see God’s heart at work in Paul’s letter to Philemon. Paul writes, “For this reason, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do your duty, yet I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love.” That is how God is trying to reach us. he is continually calling us, continually appealing to us to enter into a life-giving relationship with him. He could command us, yes, he is God after all. But he appeals to us out of love. Later, he wrote, “I preferred to do nothing without your consent, in order that your good deed might be voluntary and not something forced.”

He’d been trying to get this across to us for thousands of years, but we are difficult to sway. Let him win in you. Surrender and embrace the challenge of following Jesus every day.

AMEN!