Follow the Leader

In the summer of 2015 I did something that I had never done before…I became a church camp counselor. I was nervous about this, but also excited. I was going to be staying at Greene Hills for a week, working with kids and other adults, and trying to teach them and show them all about God and the love of Jesus!

Of course, because I was young and energetic I was assigned to the cabin-side of the camp, as opposed to the manor-side of the camp, which had air conditioning, comfortable furniture, and a pool. That’s where the older kids went, while the cabin-side had all of the younger kids. So, in a tiny cabin with bunk beds, one bathroom in the middle, and a lot of woods surrounding us I had about 6 or 7 boys to care for.

It was a blast to work with these kids, to talk to them about life, but it was often times really hard to come up with interesting things to do with them when we had free time. Now, after having the same kids for a few years they learned the value of nap time during free time, especially when we kept them up all night, but when they were younger they just couldn’t sit still. Trying to think of something to do one of the youngest boys said, “What about follow the leader?” The other kids, to my surprise, loved the idea.

We set out from the cabin with our stuff. The kids, 1 by 1, followed in a line, with my co-counselor bringing up the rear. I would clap my hands, they would clap. I would spin in circles, they would spin in circles, all as we walked around. I weaved them in and out and all around the cabin-side of camp, through the dining hall, over to the soccer field, and down to the bridge to get to the manor-side of camp. The creek that flowed under the bridge was particularly narrow at one point, and I decided that since I had a bunch of brave and energetic boys I was going to take them across by jumping.

I stopped at the edge, looked back at the kids with a smile, and jumped. I cleared the creek easily, so did the first boy, then the next, then the next, and so on…until we got to the last and youngest boy. While he was certainly big enough to easily jump, he stepped up to the edge, looked at the water, and completely froze. I remember saying, “Come on, you can do it.” He looked up white as a ghost and said, “I’m afraid I won’t make it.” At first I played a bit and said, “Come on. In follow the leader sometimes you have to do what you don’t want, that’s part of the fun!” Unconvinced, he stepped back and headed for the bridge. We didn’t pressure him anymore, and from then on I took safer routes for the kids.

I think back to that story in the midst of reading about Jesus in Luke 9:51-62. In this Gospel lesson we learned about Jesus’ attempt to enter into the village of Samaria. He sent a few messengers ahead of him, to prepare the town for Jesus’ arrival. Well, as he approached, and as the Samaritans realized that Jesus was a Jew, they refused to receive him. In a time where hospitality was incredibly important this was taken as a huge sign of disrespect to Jesus, and James and John wanted nothing to do with that.

“Shall we make fire rain down from heaven and consume them?” asks James and John to Jesus, almost certainly thinking Jesus was comply. Instead, they are rebuked by Jesus. Here, we begin to see that sometimes even Jesus’ own disciples didn’t really want to follow his lead. Previously, in Luke 9:5 Jesus gave the disciples explicit instructions as to what to do when a town doesn’t welcome you in… and what was that?

Luke 9:5 NRSV

5 Wherever they do not welcome you, as you are leaving that town shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”

It certainly wasn’t a command to rain down fire from heaven to consume and destroy, but to leave peacefully and quietly. But, after the rebuking they moved on to “another village.” And, as they travel along to this other village a man comes up to Jesus and said, “I will follow you wherever you go.” After having an entire village reject him, this must have been a nice change of pace, right? I mean, I’m sure James and John thought, “Finally, someone gets what we’re trying to do here!” Yet, Jesus says something interesting. “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

Then, without skipping a beat, Jesus calls to another man and this time Jesus is the one to introduce the idea of following. Telling the man to follow him, the man responds by saying “Let me go bury my father first,” after which Jesus says, “Let the death bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” And, finally, Jesus is met by another man who asks to follow Jesus, but only after he says “farewell” to those at his home. Jesus replies, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God.”

I want to focus this morning on the second half of our Gospel reading, specifically, Luke 9:57-62 and this pretty odd chain of events with even more bizarre sayings from Jesus. First, let’s talk about what these men and Jesus say, and then let’s see what it all means for us sitting here this morning.

First, we have a man who approaches Jesus and says, “I will follow you wherever you go.” This statement comes directly after the refusal of the Samaritan village to allow Jesus in. It comes right after Jesus rebukes brothers James and John. It’s a nice change of pace, at least it seems that way. Jesus’ response here gives us a hint as to what this man’s true intentions might have been. Jesus responds by saying, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

That certainly sounds like an odd way to just say, “no.” But, there is reason behind it. This enthusiastic willingness isn’t problematic in and of itself, in fact, I would hope that all of us here would be enthusiastic and willing to follow Jesus everyday, but likely this was just superficial. It’s possible that this man wanted to follow Jesus because maybe it seemed glamorous and exciting. He wanted to be in the journey, experiencing and seeing Jesus and his miracles. This caused the main to not wait for an invitation from Jesus, but to enthusiastically proclaim his willingness to follow, regardless of where Jesus would be going.

So, Jesus balances out this enthusiasm with his response. Jesus’ response is saying that while the little foxes have a place to stay and call their own, with little baby foxes and a momma fox… and while the flittering birds of the air have a place to rest their weary wings and sit atop eggs that need their warmth…Jesus and his followers have no such luxury. In a time where property and livestock gave you purpose and value, Jesus and his nomadic friends were seen as some of the least valuable people. Some nights they had a temporary place to stay, but most of the time they would have been camping out, living day by day wondering if they’d have food and water. Hearing this reality, it seems that the man’s wrongful enthusiasm was curbed because we hear nothing else about him.

The second man we hear about is someone who Jesus invites to follow him. He wants this man to come along side him, to join the band of believers and disciples. He says to him, “Follow me.” Another place where Jesus says this to someone is in John 1:43, where he tells Philip to “Follow me.” Now, Philip responds correctly. He offers no rebuttal, no condition, no hesitation. Instead, he just does it. And, he even convinces Nathanael to do the same! But, this man in Luke 9, while seemingly interested in Jesus’ invitation, wants to first go and bury his father.

First, it must be understood that a son has one final act of service and sonship to do in the life of his father, and that’s to bury him. Keeping this in mind, there are two possibilites behind this man’s response. The first is that his father is about to die and he wants to help. The second is that he isn’t close to death and wants to prolong the discomfort that may come with following Jesus into the unknown. Most likely, this man was still holding on to the life he knew and loved before Jesus and was using this as an excuse to wait just a bit longer to actually follow Jesus. Had his father actually died or been close to death he would not have been out talking with a Rabbi, but fulfilling that obligation already. Either way, Jesus is saying “Loyalty to me takes precedence over a primary family obligation.” Jesus’ language here is socially shocking.

The final man we hear about requests to follow Jesus, much like the first man. But, this time, the man makes the request with that dreaded conjunction...”but.” This expresses great interest, but with the attachment of conditions. And, Jesus has no interest in negotiating with this man’s conditions. The man requests to say farewell to the people at his home and Jesus refers back to a story in 1 Kings 19:19-21. In this story Elijah called Elisha to follow him. And, guess what Elisha was actively doing when Elijah did this…he was plowing a field! Elisha requests a delay so that he can say goodbye to his family and even throw a party, which Elijah accepts and allows. The thing is, Elisha had 12 yoke of oxen, or 24 individual oxen. If he has that many oxen, has a field to plow, and is going home to throw a party, then we can pretty easily tell that he was rich. So, he chooses to sacrifice his wealth and status to adopt the rugged lifestyle of an Israelite prophet. For the man in Luke 9 though, it’s tougher to do the work of Kingdom than it is to be an OT prophet. Being fit for service in the Kingdom includes a willingness to pay the price for unconditional acceptance of the invitation to follow Christ.

The first man wants to follow Jesus because of the exciting adventure that is attached to it, without much consideration for the difficulty of such an adventure. The discomfort and hard work that comes along with it. The second man is excited to receive the invitation to follow Jesus, but not excited nor eager enough to drop everything and go without hesitation. He just wanted a bit more time to do the things he wished to do. The third man offers to follow Jesus, but only if Jesus allows this man’s condition to be met. “I’ll follow you Jesus, only if...”

When you hear about these three men, do any of them stick out to you? Maybe you know someone who is like one of these men? Maybe at one time you were like one of these men. Or, maybe you find yourself here this morning still struggling and being exactly like one of these men. The bottom line here is that following Jesus, and I mean truly following Jesus, requires us to submit fully and with no conditions to the authority and commands of Jesus. It means a full submission that alters how we live our lives on the daily, how we interact with the people around us, and how we treat one another. It means understanding that following Jesus sometimes means being displaced, uncomfortable, and unsure about what the future holds. It means understanding that you can’t wait and put off the obligation to follow Christ so that you can live life to “the fullest” until you get bored or burnt out. It means understanding that we are in no position to put conditions on Jesus and require Him to do anything for us so that we may follow him.

If we choose to follow the leader, it means doing so fully and with complete trust. Jesus will never be the leader that takes you into a situation that He himself has not already, or would not be willing to go through himself. Jesus is not the leader who will abuse you and string you along, only to drop you the first time you make a mistake. Jesus is the most competent, self-sacrificing, loving and graceful leader that you can follow.

So, not only does this mean we must follow Jesus fully right now, it means doing what he did and still does. Loving the people we may not like. Sacrificing our comfort, time, and resources so that we can truly and fully love our neighbors. It means worshipping the Lord our God above ourselves, our families, our friends, our nation, and even our world.

Following Jesus as our leader is the most important decision you can make. It’s a decision that saves your life and brings you into the Kingdom of heaven when all is said and done. But, it isn’t an easy decision. It isn’t one that can be made light heartedly, or one that can be done with conditions attached. If you believe that Jesus has died for your sins, has taken on the weight of your sin, has taken on the punishment that you deserved… then you would do everything in your power to follow him to full. You would do everything in your power to follow that leader as exactly as you could, mimicking every movement, word, and action. You would do everything in your power to add more people to the line who is following the leader.

Consider this morning if you are truly and fully following Jesus. Determine if maybe you are still holding onto to that sinful life, asking Jesus for more time, or even giving Jesus conditions. If that is you, I ask that you drop it this morning at the altar of Christ. Do not walk out of this church this morning still holding on to your hesitations. Give it over to Christ! If you don’t think you can, or you’re not sure how to do it, talk with me after the service. But, no matter what, all of us every single day needs to ask ourselves this one question as we start the day...

“Am I willing to follow Jesus fully and completely this day?” I pray that everyone in this room answers that question like this...

“Not only am I willing, but I’m eager. Jesus, I submit myself to you this day with no strings attached, no reservations and no conditions. Bring to my mind those things that I need to sacrifice in order to follow you more fully. Prepare me for the challenging road ahead, and let me stay in love with you always.”

Amen.