The Jesus We Will Follow

This sermon was preached by me at Ebenezer UMC in Raleigh, NC on June 27, 2010. If the church is called to follow Jesus, it better know what kind of Jesus it is who it's following.

Text: Luke 9:57-62

Kids do some of the strangest things at the request of other kids, don’t they? Little Darius gives the excuse when he gets caught with her hand in the cookie jar, that “Holden told me to do it!” And what does mom say, “If your friends asked you to _______, would you do it?” Blind following of someone else is not the solution. For awhile, one of my children, who shall remain nameless, got pretty good at exploiting the naivety of his little brother, telling him to ask us or act suspiciously so that he could avoid punishment himself. Following someone else blindly is a recipe for discomfort. A friend of mine when I was a teenager had just become enraged when a neighborhood enemy had offended him. We were driving to meet him, so my friend could settle the matter with his fists. As we were going, he said, “you follow me in. you’ve got my back, right?” Gulp. Let’s just say I had much less confidence in my own fists than my friend did in his, and I wasn’t quite sure I was on board. Did any of you ever see the movie “We were Soldiers” with Mel Gibson? In a stirring quote, as he is rallying his troops before they deploy, he says that he cannot promise that he will bring them all back alive, but what he can promise is that his boots will be the first ones on the ground on the battlefield, and they will be the last ones to leave, dead or alive. He’s instilling confidence in his men that they can follow him to hell and back, because he’ll be with them.

Matthew West sings a song in which he says that he would take a bullet for a friend (if it came to that) as an expression of his love. I think many of us have a bit of bravado in us when it comes to big commitments; it’s the little ones that trip us up. Of course, we’ll lay down our life for our family, but when it comes to inviting a neighbor over for Sunday supper, that’s a different matter.

Fred Craddock recounts that when he entered the ministry, he was willing to jump out of airplanes for Jesus, to forsake millions. In reflecting on a long life of ministry, he reflected that it did cost millions, but it was taken out a small withdrawl at a time, .43 cents here, 1.17 there. One after another.

I don’t know where Jesus is going to lead us. I do know that we’d better know who Jesus is if we want to follow him. And that Jesus’ life is found in the pages of Holy Scripture.

In our text today, someone comes to Jesus saying he wants to follow Jesus anywhere; Jesus responds that if you want to settle in, you’re following the wrong guy. Birds have nests and foxes have holes, but the son of man has no place to lay his head.
If the primary purpose in the life of a Jesus follower is to follow Jesus, we had better know who it is – what kind of person it is – what kind of Jesus it is – that we’re following.

We get a little glimpse in the passage I just read. Jesus is someone who you can’t pin down. Jesus is someone who, despite the best efforts of many in our culture and churches, will not yield himself to our image – he will not be formed into the Jesus we want to make him; rather he constantly invites us to take on his image.

Jesus went out into the desert soon after he was baptized, and went without food for forty days, preparing for his ministry and wrestling with the same temptations that we wrestle with – power, gluttony, convenience, pride. (Luke 4:1-13)

That’s the way of Jesus that We’re following. The Jesus that wrestled with the same temptations as me. That’s our Jesus. That’s the Jesus who has led us, that’s the Jesus who will lead us. If we choose to follow, it might mean entering the wilderness and dwelling in the midst of temptation.

And Jesus, filled with the Spirit, began to teach in the synagogues, and word spread about him. He proclaimed that he had been anointed to bring good news to the poor, release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the year of Jubilee. He proclaimed that all people were worthy of God’s favor. (Luke 4:18-19)

That’s the way of Jesus that We’re following. The Good News Jesus. The everyone has a place in the kingdom Jesus. That’s our Jesus. That’s the Jesus who has led us, that’s the Jesus who will lead us. If we choose to follow, it might mean participating in acts of mercy and justice alongside of others working for the same thing.
And in return the people took him out to the cliff to throw him over and kill him, but he passed through the midst of them and went on his way. (Luke 4:28-30)

That’s the way of Jesus that We’re following – the You can’t kill me ‘cause I’m not done living yet kind of Jesus. That’s our Jesus. That’s the Jesus who has led us, that’s the Jesus who will lead us. If we choose to follow, it might mean walking through the middle of angry people.

He went to Capernaum, where a man with an unclean spirit disrupted church, for he was possessed. And Jesus healed the man, driving out the demon (Luke 4:31-37) And he healed Simon’s mother in law of a fever on the same day. (Luke 4:38-39) And when they begged him to stay with them where they were, he replied that his work required him to stay on the move, for others were in need of God’s love. (Luke 4:42-44)

That’s way of Jesus We’re following – the heals folks all over kind of Jesus, the “I’ve got to go because there are more people out there that need healing kind of Jesus. That’s our Jesus. That’s the Jesus who has led us, that’s the Jesus who will lead us. If we choose to follow, it might mean leaving behind the past and journeying into the future; it might mean participating in the healing of some pretty sick people – maybe even ourselves.

Jesus touched the leper, the unclean, and made him well. (Luke 5:12-16) He forgave the sins of a paralytic not because of the paralytic’s faith, but because of the faith of those who were so desperate to love and heal their friend that they tore a hole in the roof and lowered him down through it. He forgave his sins and restored his mobility. (Luke 5:17-26) He called a tax collector to follow him, He ate with his kind, the stealing, corrupt kind, and with sinners, the type that religious folks didn’t want to associate with. (Luke 5:27-32)

That’s the way of Jesus We’re following – the break a hole in the roof if it helps my brother Jesus. The friend of crooks Jesus. That’s our Jesus. That’s the Jesus who has led us, that’s the Jesus who will lead us. If we choose to follow, we risk embarrassment and association with those the world scorns.

He blessed the hungry and warned the full. (Luke 6:21, 25) He blessed the poor and warned the rich. (Luke 6:20,24) He blessed the devastated and warned those who enjoy life at the expense of others. (Luke 6:22) He blessed his enemies and thieves and beggars. (Luke 6:28-30) He warned against judgment (6:37) and self-righteousness (6:39-42), and cautioned that love in action is more important than love in words. (6:46)
When the sinful woman came with her alabaster jar of ointment, and poured it on his feet, and bathed his feet with her tears and dried them with her hair, he responded not with judgment and ostracism, but with compassion and praise and forgiveness. He said that it was her faith that saved her – that her salvation rested within her. (7:36-50)

That’s the way of Jesus We’re following – the building up Jesus. That’s our Jesus. That’s the Jesus who has led us, that’s the Jesus who will lead us. If we choose to follow, it might mean humbling ourselves in the midst of the righteous, seeking God’s forgiveness for ourselves.
This Jesus was a lousy gardener. Quite careless. This Jesus spread the seeds on the good soil, and on the rocky soil, and in the weedy soil, and on the road. This Jesus was a lousy gardener, a waster of seeds, but that’s our kind of Jesus.

That’s our Jesus. (Luke 8:4-15) That’s the Jesus who has led us, that’s the Jesus who will lead us. If we choose to follow, it might mean sowing seeds in some rough places, some forlorn places, some places no one else besides God is willing to visit.

This Jesus allowed a woman to touch him, a woman who had spent all her fortune on doctors that provided no relief, a woman who had been sick for more than a decade. And with that touch of an unclean woman he restored her to community and wholeness. (8:43-48)

That’s the way of Jesus We’re following – the Jesus who is your hope when you’ve got nowhere else to turn. That’s our Jesus. That’s the Jesus who has led us, that’s the Jesus who will lead us. If we choose to follow, it might mean creating and restoring community for those who have none.

This Jesus had compassion on the 5000, and directed his disciples to feed them. And they found they had more left over when they shared than they had when they began. (9:10-17)

That’s the Jesus that We’re following, the share with the masses Jesus. That’s our Jesus. That’s the Jesus who has led us, that’s the Jesus who will lead us. If we choose to follow, we may need to trust God’s miraculous abundance rather than our ability to plan.

Peter called this Jesus the Son of God. (9:20) This Jesus didn’t lay out the easy way, but offered the loss of life to any who wanted to find it. (9:23-27) This Jesus was transfigured into dazzling white on a mountaintop, and talked with the prophets of old. But this Jesus wouldn’t stay on the mountaintop. He realized his place was in the valley. (9:28-37)

That’s the way of the Jesus that We’re following – the Wow you on the mountaintop and come with you into the valley kind of Jesus. That’s our Jesus. That’s the Jesus who has led us, that’s the Jesus who will lead us. If we choose to follow, we may need to accompany Jesus in retreat on the mountaintop, and in anxiety in the valley.

This Jesus didn’t send his disciples out with bodyguards, but instead sent them out like lambs into the midst of wolves, depending upon the hospitality of others and vulnerable to their threats. (10:1-12)

That’s the way of Jesus We’re following – the Jesus who overtakes hearts with his love one vulnerable person at a time. That’s our Jesus. That’s the Jesus who has led us, that’s the Jesus who will lead us. If we choose to follow, we may need to let down our guard, trusting God in the midst of our vulnerabilities instead of our charisma or strength.

He modeled speaking the truth boldly regardless of consequences. He taught us not to worry for God provides for everything, (12:22-34) not to build bigger barns but to share what we have (12:13-21). To stand ready for the time when God makes all things right. (12:35-56) He taught repentance as a way of expressing God’s patience, encouraging us that God wants us to have every chance to get it right, by his grace and through our faith. The kingdom, he said, is like a mustard seed – it looks small to begin with but miraculously grows into the greatest of living things. (Luke 13:18-19)

That’s the way of Jesus We’re following. The my kingdom will surprise you kind of Jesus. That’s our Jesus. That’s the Jesus who has led us, that’s the Jesus who will lead us. If we choose to follow, we may need to repent of some of our long-held habits, hurts, and hangups.

He left the 99 to pursue the one lost sheep and had a party (15:1-7). He searched for the lost coin and had a party when he found it. (15:8-10) He ran to meet the prodigal son, and had a party when he returned. (15:11-32) He celebrated those who built up relationships and forgave debts. (16:1-9) He lifted up the homeless and tormented the rich who had no compassion on those outside of their own household. (16:19-31)

That’s the way of Jesus We’re following – the search until you find the lost kind of Jesus. The let’s have a party for them kind of Jesus. That’s our Jesus. That’s the Jesus who has led us, that’s the Jesus who will lead us. If we choose to follow, we may find ourselves in the midst of a kingdom-party, with people we never would have chosen to invite!

Of course, this Jesus was no ordinary man, and certainly as we’ve seen does not promise pie in the sky. This Jesus promises to lead us straight to and through and beyond the cross. This Jesus meant what he said. He was killed for his actions. The non-believer, some of whom might be with us in this very room, may assert that this Jesus was nothing more than a radical teacher at best, a religious manipulator at worst. It’s not a new sentiment: some graffiti found dating from the early centuries after Jesus death depicted Jesus’ followers gathered around a cross with a crucified jackass. A fool killed for his radical ideas and disruptive tendencies.
Jesus never promised that everyone would understand him; in fact he predicted that this kind of Jesus-life that he lived would lead to a cross. But greater was Christ than he that was in the world. God’s power trumps the world’s power.

I close with a story set in the midst of South Africa, when it was under the oppressive rule of Apartheid, reported by Jim Wallace:
Jim Wallace reports A political rally had been called and then canceled by the government. So Archbishop Tutu said, "Okay, we're just going to have church then." And church he had. The protesters gathered together in the Cathedral in Cape Town and the police were massing by the hundreds on the outside and they were there to intimidate, to threaten, to try and frighten all the worshipers. The fear and tension in the room were palpable. The police were so bold and arrogant they even came into that Cathedral and stood along the walls. They were writing down and tape recording every word that was said. But Bishop Tutu stood up to preach. And he stood up, a little man with long, flowing robes, and he said, ‘This system of apartheid cannot endure because it is evil.’”…Then the bishop pointed his finger at those police standing along the walls of his sanctuary and said, ‘You are powerful. You have behind you the power of the state, you are very powerful but you are not gods and I serve a God who cannot be mocked.’ Then he flashed that wonderful Desmond Tutu smile and said, ‘So, since you've already lost, I invite you today to come and join the winning side!’ And at that the congregation erupted and they began dancing in the church. They danced out into the streets and the police moved back because they didn't expect dancing worshipers.”

Ebenezer United Methodist Church, you are the children of God. I know that this church follows Jesus because of the fruit born by God in the setting of this community of faith. I was with two of your newest members last night, Jason and Shannon Waters – they spoke with faces lit up of the new life that God has gifted them with : a 5 lb 10 oz. bundle of joy named Brianna. That, I expected. What I found marvelous, however, was how they spoke of the love that you have showered upon them – even as newcomers to this community.

This church has followed Jesus, and will continue to follow Jesus – through the valleys and onto mountaintops. I am so excited that God has merged our paths, so that we can learn to follow Jesus together, wherever he will lead - into and through the glorious. Whether we have food to eat and roofs over our heads, or nowhere to lay our heads, may we dance in the streets with joy, because we follow Christ! After all, the world doesn’t expect dancing worshippers!