Creekside Church Sermon of June 27, 2004 "No Ifs, Ands, or Buts" Luke 9:51-62	Rev. David Bibbee
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If I had to choose a game that parallels our relationship with God, it would be, "Hide and Seek." When you played it with your kids, they wanted you to be the seeker. And they hid themselves where they could be found. When you came close, they gave themselves away with a giggle, or you saw a leg sticking out behind the couch or shoes peeking from beneath the curtains. For children, the joy is in being found. So it is with God. God wants us to seek. God is hidden in plain sight, and if we take the trouble to look, we will find the hints he leaves in order to be found.

What about being a Christian? What children's game parallels the relationship between Jesus and his disciples? That's easy… "Follow the Leader." What can be more straightforward? Yet, practically speaking, it seems that many have convinced themselves that following doesn't actually mean following, if following means dropping whatever we are doing and leaving it behind to go with Jesus to goodness knows where. It may have happened like this to the disciples, but not likely to us. Or is it?

Jesus leads. We follow. But as far as day-to-day life is concerned, you have to wonder. It has been said that even devoted followers, "…stumble after a dimly lit figure who's somewhere out there." If it is this way for the dedicated, what about the uncertain and unsure?

This is the question of our gospel text. Jesus had been going through towns and villages with no apparent destination in mind. Then comes verse fifty-one. It is a "pivot point." Luke says Jesus, "…. set his face to go to Jerusalem." The water under the bridge will flow faster, now. From now on, the shadow of a cross will fall upon everything he says and does.

Jesus sent an advanced party to a Samaritan village to prepare for his arrival, but the Samaritans didn't want him. There was lots of bad blood between Samaritans and Jews. Jerusalem was the holiest site to Jews. Mt. Gerasim was the holiest site to Samaritans. The heard that Jesus was going to worship… at the wrong place. Why listen to someone who doesn't know a holy site when he sees one?

The disciples told Jesus about the nasty reception. They asked a little too enthusiastically, "Do you want us to call down a fireball from heaven and turn them to burnt toast?" Jesus said it wouldn't be necessary. It didn't fit his mission to seek and save the lost.

On the way to another village, Jesus spoke with three, "would-be" disciples. He told each about the claim he would stake upon them if they decided to follow him. What Jesus said was hard to hear. It is one of those passages where the congregation wants the pastor to say, "There, there, now. It's not as threatening as it sounds. I'll file off the sharp edges so Jesus' message will be easier to handle." But protecting you from the truth won't do you any favors.

Jesus' recruiting method had "WARNING" written all over it. He didn't make big promises. There was no pressure to sign the dotted line. There was no backslapping-- "I could really use someone with your abilities. I need all the help I can get, now. I know you'll have an immediate impact upon the operation." Jesus' needed work with his recruiting skills. He dissuaded more than enticed.

A man came to him and said, "I'll follow you wherever you go." "We won't be staying in Holiday Inns," Jesus said. "Foxes and birds have better accommodations than I do. You'll have no better." He said to another man, "Follow me." The man replied, "All right. But first let me take care of my father's funeral arrangements." "That's the undertaker's business. My business is life. Which do you want to be part of?" Another one said, "I'll follow you, but first let my say good-bye to my family and put things in order before I go." Jesus replied, "You can't work for God's kingdom and look backwards at the same time."

The Danish philosopher Soren Kierkagaard, who lived in the 1800's said: "I went into the church and sat on the velvet pew. I watched as the sun came shining through the beautiful stained glass windows. The minister, dressed in a velvet robe, open a golden gilded Bible, marked it with a silk bookmark and said, 'If anyone will be my disciple, said Jesus, let him deny himself, take up his cross, sell all he has, give it to the poor, and follow me.' And I looked around, and nobody was laughing. It never crossed their minds that their possessions were an impediment to following God.

We can't, "have it all" and wholeheartedly follow Jesus. Nothing takes precedence over commitment to him, and there is no negotiating our terms of service. Jesus is demanding. If you choose to follow, you should expect no if's, and's, or but's.

An elaborate system of excuses shields us from the call of discipleship. Over the years I've heard lots of excuses disguised as legitimate reasons for why people don't come to church:

"It's too early. It's our only morning to sleep in. It cuts into family time. It's too far to drive. It's too hard to get to. It's too hot in the summer. The service is too long, the music is too loud, the music is too old, the music is all new. The pastor doesn't preach from the Bible. The pastor only preaches from the New Testament. He's boring. I'm afraid I'll fall asleep. I don't get anything out of the service. The service is the same every week. The order of worship is different every week. The church is too formal. It's too informal. They're always asking for money. I got my feelings hurt forty years ago."

A woman told me the reason her husband didn't come to church was because he COULDN'T come. "Crowds make him very nervous," she said. I found her answer interesting because I saw him a month earlier at a Notre Dame football game. Go figure.

A pastor in Australia visited a couple whose names were on the church rolls, but they never attended. Inquiring about their absence he was told, "We'd like to come, but since they changed from miles to kilometers it means we're twice as far out of town as we used to be. Maybe if you had services closer…." That excuse should get an award!

"Where he leads I'll follow, follow all the way. Where he leads I'll follow, follow Jesus every day." You recognize this familiar refrain from an old hymn. It's easy to sing it, but tough to live. Following is a costly, demanding, and specific decision. I say, "specific" because today we have a big buffet with all sorts of religions and spiritualities to choose from. One reason for their popularity is their ease. When asked what is meaningful about their spirituality, people say things like, "There's no one telling me what to believe. I'm free to follow my own path. It makes me a more mellow, loving, peaceful."

Religion today is whatever you want it to be. It is, "follow the leader," and the leader is you. Here's another hymn we sing: "He the head, we are his members, we reflect the light he is. He the master, we disciples, he is ours and we are his." It is so demanding. The things God has entrusted to us as gifts become idols that keep us from him. What keeps you from following? What captures you imagination? What competes with your devotion?

"I'll follow you, Jesus, but let me bury my father first." This did not mean that his father was dead. It was the son's job to see to it that his father received a proper burial. Maybe he was telling Jesus, "I'll go with you-- after Dad is gone." Jesus replied, "Are you going to wait until Dad dies, or will you come right now and spread God's gift of life? You decide."

Another said, "I'm with you Jesus. Let me bid farewell to my family. I'll be right back." Jesus said, "Don't bother. The Kingdom of God won't wait for you. If you put your hand to the plow and look back, you're not fit for the Kingdom." He knew what Jesus meant. Plowing a straight line meant keeping the eye on a fixed point on the horizon. If you lost your line of sight, or worse, if you turned to see where you had been, the furrow would wind like a snake.

On Friday I went with John to Freshman Orientation at Purdue. The parents attended lectures on what to do to increase your child's odds for success, details about paying tuition and board, and financial assistance. The students got their student ID, opened an email account, bank account, did pre-testing in calculus and languages, and met with faculty advisors to register for fall classes.

As the day went on, John grew more excited. The fact that his dorm is less than a block away from the football stadium and Mackey Arena didn't dampen his enthusiasm. He can't wait to begin. As the day went on, Dad grew more melancholy. This can't be happening. I just took him to Kindergarten last week! I will have a hard time letting go.

As John grew up and time sped up I kept telling myself, "He is your son, not your possession. God entrusted him to your care. You've done your job, now is his time to go out on his own to face all the blessings and burdens life will send his way. John slept all the way home while I rewound his life and played back the years of memorable moments we shared. Then someone broke my concentration.

"Follow me," he said. I replied, "Do you mind? Can't you see I'm being nostalgic? I'm new at this separation anxiety thing. The longest the boy has ever been away is a week. Come back later. I've got feelings to sort through." "Follow me," he said. "I WILL follow you!" I told him. "Just leave me alone a while. I'm going to miss the boy-really bad. He'll be on his own for the first time, you know." He replied, "I'm aware of that." "Its normal to be a concerned parent. That campus is so big, and…" The voice said, "I know all about Purdue. Follow me."

"You've got lousy timing." That's what I told him. "I'll follow you, but first let me say farewell. If you really cared you would--" "Don't lecture me about caring," he said. "I'm perfectly capable of caring for your son. You, too, if you'll let me. No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God."

"Your pastoral style could use some work," I said. "I'm making a point," he answered. "I'm daring you to be my disciple. I'm daring you to believe that I'll carry you through this time. I'm daring you to believe I have prepared a way for John. I'm daring you to believe that there is an adventure ahead for you, no if's, and's, and but's about it. If you'll spend less time looking back, and instead look forward and follow, you'll know what I mean."

"By the way," he said. "When you preach on Sunday, tell the congregation the same goes for them."

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