When the days drew near for Jesus to be taken up, he set his
face to go to Jerusalem.
And he sent messengers ahead of him.
On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to
make ready for him;
but they did not receive him, because his face was set
toward Jerusalem.
When his disciples James and John saw it, they said,
“Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from
heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to
another village.
As they were going along the road, someone said to
him,
“I will follow you wherever you go.”
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.”
To another he said,
“Follow me.”
But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my
father.”
But Jesus said to him,
“Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and
proclaim the kingdom
of God.”
Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say
farewell to those at my home.”
Jesus said to him,
“No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is
fit for the kingdom
of God.”
***
It seems a reasonable request to have a place to lay your
head as do foxes and birds. It seems a reasonable request to go and bury you
father before setting off. It seems a reasonable request to say farewell to
those at your home, before packing up. But there is nothing reasonable about
Jesus setting his face toward Jerusalem.
There is nothing reasonable about Jesus being taken up. We do not have a
reasonable Lord; we have Lord of justice, grace and immediacy. Therefore,
whatever we want to do, no matter how reasonable, cannot stall Jesus heading
toward Jerusalem, his face is already set, and I thank God.
Because there are times where justice can not wait. There
are times where to stall is to be left out. There are times, that if you are
not with them, you against them. This scripture is one of those times.
Already in the gospel of Luke, Jesus has been born to Mary,
baptized by John, tempted by Satan, called James and John, healed the
paralytic, confronted the pharisees, healed on the Sabbath, called the twelve,
blessed the poor, raised the widow’s son, welcomed the woman washing his feet
with her tears, told the parable about the sower, and healed Jairus’ daughter,
and much, much more. There has been a time to rest your head, there has been a
time to bury your father, there has been a time to say goodbye to your loved
ones, but this is the time where you must just go. Jesus has set his face
toward Jerusalem.
He is about to feed 5,000 and then send out the twelve, saying, “Take up your
cross.” Then he will send out the seventy-two and teach who is our neighbor
using the parable of the Good Samaritan. He will pray, “Father, your kingdom
come.” He will tell them, “Seek and you will find,” and proclaim, “Woe to you
Pharisees!” He will say, "Even the hairs of your head are numbered. Sell
your possessions. Be ready for the Son of Man. I came to bring division.” He
will say, "Repent or you will perish." He will again heal a woman on
the Sabbath. He will tell them, "Seek the narrow door. I must go on to Jerusalem.” His face it
set.
As he goes, he will tell them, “Choose the lowest place. To
be my disciple you must carry your cross.” He will turn over the tables by
telling them the story of the Prodigal Son, and the rich giving away their
wealth. He will heal ten lepers and proclaim,”In his day the Son of Man will
light up the sky.” He will give them parables about prayer and tell a rich man
to sell everything, but he will assure them, “The Son of Man will be killed but
he will rise” Jesus will eat with Zacchaeus and tell a parable about servants
in the kingdom. and then, he will ride into Jerusalem on a colt.
In Jerusalem
the plot will quicken even more; the elders will question Jesus' authority,
they will ask about taxes and the resurrection and Jesus will say, “The temple
will be thrown down. Jerusalem
will be trampled. The Son of Man will come in glory. Stay awake at all times.”
Then Jesus will take Passover with the disciples. He will pray at the Mount of Olives. Judas will betray him to the chief
priests. Peter will deny him. Jesus will be taken to Pilate. The crowd will
say, "Crucify him!" And he will be alongside two criminals. Darkness
will fall and he will breathe his last. For this he has set his face, knowing,
in that same place, the women will find the tomb empty and Jesus will meet the
two on the road to Emeaus's and he will appear to the disciples and open the
Scriptures to them.
We have a Lord of grace, a Lord of justice, and a Lord of
immediacy. He doesn’t wait, thank God. Because sometimes, justice cannot wait,
and grace is needed now. While it is reasonable to want a place to lay your
head, how long shall we wait until all of creation has a place like the nests
of birds, and the holes of foxes? How long shall people sleep on the street,
and beavers’ dens be destroyed along with our riverbeds? How long will the poor
always be with us? How long will we feed Backpacks and breakfasts to children?
How long will we need a homeless coordinator for our schools and children sleep
in the library parking lot and under bridges on the Leo Adler Parkway, or on couches and
floors abandoned to Meth nearby? How long will Baker City
send indigent along with a bus ticket and no sustainable help? For what will we
set our face to Jerusalem?
While it is reasonable to want to bury our loved ones, how long shall we wait
until we can proclaim death is no more? How long until we have a cure for cancer;
how long until we or someone in our families is not affected by addition, how
long until the darkness of depression and mental illness will clear like the
fog lifted on the road to Emmaus? For what will we set our face to Jerusalem? It is
reasonable to want to go and say farewell to our loved ones back at home, but
how long will we wait to plow for the kingdom of God?
How long will we stay in an occupation which is not our calling? How long will
we nurture friendships and family who neither see us as a child of God, nor
desire a higher calling for themselves? How long will we keep our secrets and
their underlying shame before we come to the feet of Christ to know his grace?
How long will we hold on to definitions that deplete us rather than those which
give us strength to plow the field for the kingdom of God?
For what will we set our face to Jerusalem?
What most reasonable request will not be reasonable enough for who he has
called us to be right now? Whether we go or not, these things will come to pass.
We have a Lord of justice, grace and immediacy, but the question is, what is
holding us back, because the invitation is there. Amen.
