Year C 2025

Luke 9:51-62

The Very Rev. Denise Vaughn

The Difficult Journey

Who hasn’t heard this “old as time” chicken joke? Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side of course! We laugh at this joke but think about it. In a sense the chicken is kind of wise because he or she is not going to let anything stop them from getting to the other side. This is a chicken with a purpose and a mission. The goal is to get to the other side of the road no matter what happens. Like many good jokes they contain a small kernel of wisdom. Similar in a way to the same wisdom Jesus has as he carries on a mission that requires all his focus and strength. Jesus lets nothing distract him from what he needs to do and the goal he needs to fulfill. He is resolute, single-minded, and prophetic in the manner of Elijah and Paul.

This chapter in Luke of which our gospel text is taken from is a pivotal chapter in the story of Jesus’ life. Up to this point, Jesus has been teaching, preparing his disciples about the sacrifice that would eventually be required of him, but now his realization that “the days drew near for him to be taken up” cause him to change direction, to set his face to go to Jerusalem and the death he would meet there. Having done so, his words on the cost of being his disciple sharpen. What lies ahead is not for the half-hearted! For those who follow is to walk the way of Jesus regardless of the outcome. To follow him to Jerusalem is to arrive at a cross. Jerusalem, the Holy City, in Luke’s gospel, is a spiritual symbol. It is the city of Jesus’ destiny. He is always headed toward Jerusalem. The first scene in Luke’s gospel occurs just outside of Jerusalem.

Luke, even though he is not a Jew and he is not writing for Jews, he has accepted the Jewish symbol system because Jerusalem is the symbolic center of God’s action. It is all of biblical history, a microcosm of what God is doing on earth. Millions of people travel there to be immersed in the history of the Holy Land. It can be a very spiritual experience to literally walk the way of Jesus and my mother when she was there years ago had a very spiritual experience as she walked barefoot on the same stones that Jesus walked on as he made his way to the cross, and yet, it can also be a very unpleasant place to visit because there is so much hatred, bigotry, and prejudice in that city even among Christian denominations. Despite this, the light is still in that city. It is the center of three great religions of the world: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. 

After Jesus was transfigured on the mountaintop, he and his disciples set out for Jerusalem. Taking the most direct route, a route that takes him through enemy territory, Samaria where we read of his rejection and the righteous anger of James and John. As they travel to another village, he encounters three people on the way with three problems that  Luke uses to point out how hard it is to walk the way of Jesus. All three encounters with would-be disciples speak of worthy responsibilities that we all would take as common sense: the necessity of home and place, “sacred” duties, for example, burial of one’s parents, and relationships with family. On the surface, each response seems reasonable and appropriate.

Yet, when we look at these encounters in the context of Jesus’ purpose in setting his face to go to Jerusalem, it becomes apparent that following him in this context is seen as only one among a number of priorities, with each person putting something ahead of his or her desire to follow the Lord.  The journey Jesus takes is a difficult one, one that involves a clear choice about priorities and therefore, those who follow can expect testing of loyalties. We read of this testing in the text today from 2 Kings. Elisha is offered two choices-to accompany Elijah on this last day or pass on this possibility. Elisha simply refuses to leave the master’s side.

Today’s text records the story of the end of Elijah’s life and the equipping of Elijah’s successor, Elisha. God is about to call Elijah up in a whirlwind but before this happens, Elijah asks Elisha, “What do you want me to do for you before I am taken from you?” Elisha reply’s, “let me have twice your spirit.” This seems like quite a bold request, but Elijah grants the request if Elisha can see him taken away and Elisha indeed does this and inherits Elijah’s spirit. A great and godly leader is gone, but in his place God has raised another great and godly leader guided by God’s Spirit. Thus the faithfulness of those who seek to be true to God is affirmed and given direction by the very God whom the faithful seek to follow. Elisha’s experience invites us to strive to forward God’s purposes in the choices we make.

The apostle Paul reminds his readers in Galatians, after explaining the freedom in Christ that Christians have, to “be guided by the Spirit,” to follow the way, the truth, the life of Jesus. His description of life in the Spirit, can sound quite intimidating. The Spirit filled life disallows not only those behaviors that are relatively easy to avoid, it also prohibits behaviors such as jealousy, envy, and selfish ambition. But Paul does not stop with only those behaviors that should be rejected. He goes on to list “fruits” or positive behaviors or characteristics of life in the Spirit. One is tempted to respond after reading these negative and positive behaviors as followers of Jesus, “Then who can be saved?” This is where the gospel of grace comes in.

Paul’s letter to the Galatians is all about the fact that they are already right with God because of God’s grace in Christ. But being right with God is not the whole picture; this new life should be evident in their behavior, in their priorities. Jesus came to save everyone and to restore us to peace in all our relationships and encounters. But we also know that he and the disciples had no patience with anything that would hinder a person’s saying yes to the kingdom of God. His mission was “all or nothing.”  It was clear to him. He had to walk to the cross unhindered and without second thoughts.

Our journey does not demand that we reject our responsibilities to family and vocation but, rather we are encouraged to see those needs in the light of our faith and through our deepening commitment to walk the journey with Jesus. Those who follow him to that cross must acknowledge it’s necessity and that mission, that commitment of love which needs to be equally clear to us as well. Jesus offers us today the opportunity to stick by him like Elisha did to serve God’ purposes and to be guided by the Spirit that Paul calls us to today, as we follow a holy journey of faith to Jerusalem with Jesus.