Follow with urgency

Luke 9:59-62

59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 60 But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Here we meet two more possible followers. For both, the urgency of the moment – the urgency of following now – is something they failed to grasp.

In the first case, the person asks to bury their father. This is not a case where the individual is asking for time to go to their father’s funeral. Instead, they are asking to start following Jesus after their father (who is presently live) has died, which might be soon or might be at a time in the distant future. Jesus cuts to the heart of the matter – there are commitments that are more important than even family obligation. God’s call, Jesus’ invitation, the Holy Spirit’s nudges are the top priority, we should respond to those with urgency and purpose. The proclaiming of the kingdom of God, the reign of God – through our words and our actions – is to be the urgent call in the lives of those who follow Jesus.

In the second case, again there is urgency in the call, to not have a long, drawn-out good-bye but to make the move to following Jesus a matter of commitment now. Jesus adds the challenge of not looking back, that is not looking back wishfully to what has been given up, not looking back and thinking about the life we had before we started following. No, the call is to be fully focussed on the coming reign, the road of following Jesus who goes ahead of us. For the best is yet to come. If we are constantly looking back, we will miss the opportunities and the blessings that lie ahead.

Following Jesus is a matter of urgency for those who make the choice to follow.

PRAYER:

God who calls us out of darkness into your marvelous light, give us such urgency in our following that we place it above all other calls in our lives, that we may keep our lives focussed on following Jesus without looking back. In Jesus’ name. Amen.