October 2017 - Shepherd of Faith

The Would Be Followers of Jesus – Luke 9:57-62

As they were proceeding on their journey someone said to him: “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus answered him “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” And to another he said “Follow me.” But he replied “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” But he answered him “Let the dead bury their dead. But you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” And another said “I will say farewell to my family at home.” To him Jesus said “No one who set a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.”

In this passage Jesus warns his disciples that the road ahead is not going to be easy. Even He did not have a place to rest his head. He admonishes the followers who want to handle their business first before proclaiming the kingdom of God. As a matter of fact, he says they’re not fit for the Kingdom of God. Those are strong words!

The term “would be followers” implies that a desire to follow is present but the action is lacking. Sound familiar? It does to me. When I read this passage, I immediately thought of all the times I get the sudden desire to pray or meditate. Unfortunately I give in to the pressures of daily life and fail to ACT on the desire.

What upsets me most about myself is the fact that I KNOW where the sudden desire to pray comes from. It is actually the Holy Spirit prompting me from within. It’s His calling out to me. When I ignore that prompting, I ignore God’s calling. In that moment I’ve lost the opportunity for God to reveal Himself to me. When I think of all the lost opportunities…………………I’m disappointed.

Sometimes I’m on a roll and consistent with my practices. At other times I’m being pulled away by thoughts, activities and responsibilities. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve felt the desire to contemplate or write in recent months but ignored it because I have other things on my mind. How horrible is that? Ignoring the Spirit even though I know how fruitful His action and presence will be. Today I refused to be sidetracked and Lord knows how many distractions there were. It was interesting for me to witness the distraction and then get myself back on track when I realized THAT was exactly the topic of this post. A lesson in perseverance for sure!

I have read many books on the practice of contemplation. Contemplation is just sitting in God’s presence and surrendering to His action and presence.. The beauty and benefits of simply sitting and allowing God’s presence to envelope us described in these books makes me DESIRE to contemplate more often than I actually do. It’s what I believe Jesus is getting at in this Gospel.

I would venture to say that Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, moves within each one of us as He moved through the Samaritan town on His way to Jerusalem. In those days the Samaritans didn’t welcome Him because they were more focused on His destination (Jerusalem) and not His journey. At times we refuse to welcome Him as well. Maybe because we hope to create the perfect environment and perfect life for ourselves before we can bask in His presence. It’s quite possible that, like the Samaritans, we get so caught up in the destination (where we want to be spiritually, emotionally, financially) that we ignore the journey, the in-between, the lessons and our relationships (with others and ESPECIALLY with Jesus).