A
Wanna-Be or Committed Disciple?
57
As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you
wherever you go.” 58 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.” 59 To another
he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for
you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow
you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to
him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the
kingdom of God.” Luke 9:57-62 (ESV)
The
renowned pianist Arthur Rubinstein was once asked to judge a piano competition
in London. The scorecards were marked on a scale of one to 20, with the most
outstanding performances rating a 20. During the competition Rubinstein
listened carefully to the students’ recitals and marked his cards as each
finished.
At
the end of the competition the sponsors looked at the scores and were shocked
to see that most players had been given zeros. Only a few had rated scores of
20 and there were no scores in between. The sponsors hurried over to Rubinstein
and asked him why he had judged the entrants in such an arbitrary manner. “It’s
simple,” replied the great master. “Either they can play the piano or they
can’t.”
We
have entered the new year and I am sure we all have made some resolutions. But
as Leonard Sweet says don’t make resolutions for we often aren’t able to stick
to it but make resolves.
Jesus
trained his disciples in his travel. The background of the read passage is
Jesus now has set his face to go to Jerusalem. There is no turning back. This
is the beginning of the climax of Jesus’ mission on earth. And for the
disciples to remove the training wheels as they are now entering the highway.
Here
we see three separate type of wanna be disciples coming to Jesus and asking to
let them follow Him.
The
first wanna-be disciple promises to go “wherever you go”. There is a difference
between political “followers”, cricket fans and movie fans who follow the one
whom they love or respect. Jesus makes it clear to the first inquirer that
following him is not a trip to any place but to every place.
The
second wanna-be gets a reprimand even harsher than the first. This wanna-be
disciple just asks for a moment to perform the most back responsibilities. But
if a parent had already died this person would not have been out since the
Torah mandated seven days of mourning. So this was a long distance request. The
wanna-be disciple probably is saying, “Yes, I will follow you when I am free of
all other obligations.” Jesus response is a call to action. Move forward is the
call. Don’t wait until it is convenient.
The
third wanna-be disciple says “let me first say good bye and farewell to my
family.” Jesus replies, “don’t look back”. Jesus was not saying ‘Don’t bring your
family with you.’ Infact why should a follower say farewell. Instead a faithful
follower should say “come with me on the amazing journey of following Christ.
Jesus invited everyone to join him on this homeless and selfless journey to
Jerusalem.
The
problem with the three wanna-be’s were that they did not commit 100%. We have
stepped into a new year. For all the resolutions to work out they have to change
into resolves and a commitment to fulfill it.
Have
I resolved to follow Jesus denying my “self” and following Him completely this
year?
