Circle of Days: Reflections on the Church Year
Proper 8-C
“. . . Christ did not appoint professors, but followers. If Christianity ... is not reduplicated in the life of the person expounding it, then he does not expound Christianity, for Christianity is a message about living and can only be expounded by being realized in men’s lives.” — Soren Kierkegaard.
Today’s readings call attention to the radical demands of discipleship. What was once of primary importance becomes less significant in light of Christ’s call.
The Gospel passage marks the beginning of Luke’s travel narrative. As the time drew near for Jesus “to be taken up” (9:51; cf 2 Ki. 2:1), he “set his face to go to Jerusalem” (9:51; cf Isa. 50:7) where he would face rejection, suffering, and death. Jesus now has a sense of urgency, for Jerusalem represents the end of his earthly ministry and the beginning of the Christian mission.
There are three sections in the travel narrative that concludes with Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem (9:51—13:21; 13:22—17:10; 17:11—19:27). Much of this material is found only in Luke as Jesus teaches his followers through both words and actions what it means to be a disciple, so that his mission would continue when he was no longer with them.
The passage begins with an incident in Samaria that is unique to Luke (9:52-55). Since the most direct route from Galilee to Jerusalem was through the unfriendly territory of the Samaritans, messengers were sent ahead to prepare the way. But when Jesus and his disciples arrived, they were not received— a foreshadowing of the rejection of Jesus himself as well as opposition to the later mission of the Church.
There were major theological differences between Jews and Samaritans that contributed to their long-standing conflict. The Samaritans believed that Mt. Gerizim, not Jerusalem, was the center of true worship (Jn. 4:20); thus pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem were not welcomed.
The disciples James and John are offended by the disrespect shown to Jesus and propose bringing down fire from heaven on the Samaritans, as the Prophet Elijah brought down fire upon his enemies (cf 2 Ki. 1:10-14). They completely misunderstand the mission of Jesus, who rebukes them for their attitude.
Jesus’ concern to reach out to the Samaritans is in keeping with the universal nature of the salvation he offers. Later, Samaria will be one of the areas specifically named to receive the witness of the Gospel (Acts 1:8; 8:4-25). Here we see that Jesus’ response to rejection is not retribution but forgiveness (Lk. 6:27-29, 31, 35). Disciples are not to plot revenge on those who do not follow him.
As they move on to another village, the remainder of today’s passage includes encounters with three individuals who serve to reveal the nature of true discipleship (cf Mt. 8:19-22). In the first (vv. 57-58), a man approaches Jesus and declares that he is willing to follow him wherever he goes. Jesus replies that while even birds and animals have a place to live, “the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (v. 58). Although Jesus did not live as an ascetic, he did renounce worldly security; and his followers would be called to do likewise. This way of Jesus is not for the faint-hearted or those concerned with personal safety and comfort.
In the second encounter (vv. 59-60), Jesus himself issues the invitation to “Follow me”; but the man asks for time to bury his father. Tradition placed a strong emphasis on the obligation to properly bury one’s parents (Gen. 50:5; Tobit 4:3).
Jesus’ response to “let the dead bury their own dead” (v. 60) implies that those who do not hear the words of Jesus and share in the new life of the Kingdom are already spiritually dead. The spiritually alive must heed the call to God’s service and proclaim the Kingdom now.
In the final episode (vv. 61-62), another individual takes the initiative to become a disciple; but he first asks permission to say good-bye to his family (cf 1 Kings 19:19-21). Jesus compares one with such second thoughts to a person who begins plowing a field and then looks back, thus losing control of the plow. One could not look back and end up with straight furrows. Commitment to follow Jesus means to look ahead to the future Kingdom of God—not back to the past.
Jesus’ uncompromising responses serve to jolt his listeners out of conventional attitudes and to view the world from the perspective of an unreserved commitment to God’s Kingdom. Those who wish to serve Jesus must totally surrender to the Lord’s cause and be undivided in heart and loyalty. Priorities must be reconsidered, and disciples must choose between worldly interests and God’s call.
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and go do that; because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”—Howard Thurman.
There is a story about a farmer’s chicken who proposed to the cow that they make breakfast for the farmer. The cow cheerfully responded, “Great! What will we give him?” The chicken replied, “I’ll supply the eggs and you supply the meat.”
The cow’s countenance dropped as she realized the ramifications of what she had agreed to. She sadly replied to the chicken, “For you that’s devotion, but for me it means total sacrifice.” And she walked away.
This barnyard fable can serve to throw light on Jesus’ interactions with three potential disciples in today’s Gospel. They too were seemingly prepared to respond to an invitation, but like the cow, were stopped in their tracks when confronted with the full measure of the demands of discipleship. How could they be expected to respond to the call of Jesus without excuse, delay or hesitation, without consulting family or colleagues, forming a focus group, or checking the weather?
The decision to follow Jesus cannot be forced on others, inherited or manipulated. To answer the call to “follow me” is to yield ourselves wholeheartedly to the Lord, to follow in trust his leading into situations of service beyond our imagination. You don’t learn discipleship by studying it—at some point you just have to do it.
Brain McLaren explains, “ . . . the radical nature of Jesus’ teaching hit me as never before, which makes me realize that to be a missional disciple means . . . not something ‘nice’ or ‘proper’, but something revolutionary, world-changing, uncontainable. It’s about social transformation, not social control. It’s wild, not tame.”
Dag Hammerskjold wrote in his spiritual autobiography: “I don’t know when it was put. I don’t even remember answering. But at some moment I did answer Yes to Someone—or Something—and from that hour I was certain that existence is meaningful and that, therefore, my life in self-surrender had a goal. From that moment I have known what it means ‘not to look back’ and ‘to take no thought for the morrow.’”
“For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’”— Galatians 5:14.
The Apostle Paul provides further teachings on how followers of Christ are to conduct their lives. He writes to the Galatians that the freedom they have received from Christ also involves responsibility. Thus he calls them to love one another and forsake self-indulgence, exploitation, and rancor. Indeed, the whole law is summed up in the command to “love your neighbor as yourself” (5:14).
Brian Doyle, writing in A Book of Uncommon Prayer: 100 Celebrations of the Miracle and Muddle of the Ordinary (Notre Dame, IN: Sorin Books, 2014), laments that LOVE is such a tough assignment. Why couldn’t the Lord have given us something easier like astrophysics or quantum mechanics?
“But no—love those you cannot love. Love those who are poor and broken and fouled and dirty and sick with sores. Love those who wish to strike you on both cheeks. Love the blowhard, the pompous ass, the arrogant liar. Find the Christ in each heart, even those. Preach the Gospel and only if necessary talk about it. Be the Word. It is easy to advise and pronounce and counsel and suggest and lecture: it is not so easy to do what must be done without sometimes shrieking. Bring love like a bright weapon against the dark. The Rabbi did not say build churches, or retreat houses, or secure a fleet of cars for general use, or convene conferences, or issue position papers. He was pretty blunt about the hungry, and the naked and the sick. He was not reasonable; we forget this. The Church is not a reasonable idea. The Church should be a verb. When it is only a noun it is not what the Founder asked of us. Let us pray that we are ever after dissolving the formal officious arrogant thing that wants to rise, and ever fomenting the contradictory revolutionary counter-cultural thing that could change life on this planet. It could, you know. Let’s try again today. And so: Amen.”
St. Augustine reminds us: “God loves you as though you are the only person in the world, and [God] loves everyone the way [God] loves you.”
Readings for Proper 8-C: 2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14; Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20; Galatians 5:1, 13-25; Luke 9:51-62.
This reflection is adapted from Circle of Days: A Church Year Primer—Year C by Paula Franck and Isabel Anders available in print and ebook formats from circleofdayspublishing.com or Amazon.com.