Luke 9:57-62

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen 

Luke 9:57-62

57 And when they were on the road, one said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."

58 And Jesus said to him, "The foxes have pits, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.

59 And he said to another, "Follow me." And he said, "Lord, allow me to go first and bury my father."

60 But he said to him, "Let the dead bury their dead; but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.

61 And another said, "Lord, I will follow you; but first allow me to take leave of those who are in my house.

62 But Jesus said to him, "He who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is not fit for the kingdom of God."

Dear congregation, 

"When they were on the way": a very ordinary day. Maybe a Tuesday. One is on his way to school. The other has made her way to the shops. Two are on their way to work. Others are on their way to visit someone. "When they were on the way". That's nothing special. Not then and not now. People are on the move and busy with their lives. The means of transport have changed. Certainly. 

But then as now, people lived their lives more or less consciously. They do not ask about the deeper meaning of life every morning, but follow their routine, their habits and are sufficiently busy with them.

An ordinary life, with its ups and downs. With the daily joys and gratitudes and the worries, the complaints. 

On an ordinary day, everything can change!

That's what Lukas wants to tell.

For the ordinary days had become a habit for the Jews in the Roman Empire. The people had become accustomed to all kinds of harassment and restrictions and unjust laws. The people didn't like it, but they were on their way – "probably we can't change much!" 

Fate. Zeitgeist. Political circumstances. "We have little influence on that!"

And then or now, we already have enough to do with our lives. That's nothing special.

The people lose sight of the fact that life is more than the entrenched everyday life. The people forget that they are on a very special path: the path to freedom – the path that leads out of political, social, emotional and everyday imprisonment. The people of Israel are settling in again, this time not in Egypt, but in the Roman Empire.

Jesus reminds the people with everything he says and reminds them of their special calling, the way to freedom.

And for some, this moves a new look at their path in life and the usual paths they take on this Tuesday or Wednesday.

"I want to follow you!" says a man.

Jesus had several followers. They were men and women who followed him not only inwardly, but also outwardly. They were on the road with Jesus. Some joined Jesus, and others were called by Jesus. Both were possible.

Luke and the other evangelists report surprisingly calmly about such a change in life.

Individuals let Jesus remind them of the special connection between God and Israel. In and in the people of Israel, it should become visible and tangible what it means that God dwells among them. They should be free. Everyone should have enough to eat. People live together peacefully. Children grow up in freedom. Justice has arrived.

But God's people suffer, even though God dwells in them.

This is how the idea arises that the people must be redeemed. The longing for the saviour is growing. The longing for a new realm. The kingdom of God—it is the kingdom that is so different from the experience of the Roman Empire.

It is beyond my time today to picture the kingdom of God in all its glorious expectations. Jesus speaks of this while he is on the way with his followers. It sounds so promising, so close, so imaginable, that some give up everything so that this empire can grow quickly. They are enthusiastic people, guided by the deep desire that God's nearness and God's mercy bring about humanity and bring peace.

The follow-up stories are stories through which a spirit of freedom and new beginnings blows.

They are new life plans, beyond ordinary everyday life.

But here with Luke in this passage it becomes clear: following Jesus has a price. Following Jesus does not mean just staying on the path and living for the day. To follow Jesus means to get involved in a change and to shape this change. Nothing is then ordinary and habitual anymore, but everything is put to the test and undergoes the question: Does what I do today serve the kingdom of God? Does God become visible through my life, through every step on my way, or does he remain the hidden God?

Discipleship means seeing my life in a new way: the very ordinary everyday life, perhaps a Tuesday when I am on the road – changes. The many successors then founded congregations.

Only the evangelists use the word "discipleship". Because only there did people really go along with Jesus.

But Paul also has a calling: baptism.

Baptism and belonging to the congregation.

What the followers meant for the people of Israel: To keep alive the memory of the kingdom of God and to make visible how the world changes when one orients oneself to Jesus, that is what the baptized mean to the world.We testify to the presence of Jesus – we as individuals and we as a congregation  that Jesus Christ testifies to. We study the Holy Scriptures, our Bible, and there we will hear: Follow me or we will decide for ourselves: I will follow you.

For those who follow it, everyday life will be different: burying the dead and saying goodbye. Building houses and work. The relationships. Being a parent and spending your free time. 

Those who orient themselves towards the kingdom of God – think from the future – from the end and from the beginning, because everything has become new.

May the peace of God, which is higher than our reason, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen