Prayer: O Lord, set us free to see those in this world who need You. O Lord, set us free to help those in this world who need You. O Lord, set us free to prayer for those in this world who need You. Christ have mercy. Amen.
Read St. Luke 9: 57 – 62
This is the story of the three men. On the road to Jerusalem, two men come up to the disciples and Jesus and want to join with them on the journey. Jesus asks another man to follow them.
The first man states that he will follow Jesus wherever Jesus goes. But once Jesus says that they are not staying in high class hotels, the man leaves. Was not having a place to stay each night a deterrent for this follower? Yes indeed.
Then Jesus invites a man to join with them. This second man requests that everyone needs to wait while he buries his father. Is phrase is odd in itself. If this man’s father had just died this second man would have been unclean and not out on the roadways. He would have been home preparing the body for burial. After the burial there would have been the time of mourning. The time of mourning was anywhere from 7 to 30 days. At the end of the time of mourning, the man would go to the Synagogue and offer sacrifices to become clean again.
Jesus responds, “First things first. Your business is life, not death. And life is urgent: Announce God’s kingdom!” (Luke 9: 60 The Message Navpress, 2005).
The third man wanting to follow Jesus wants everyone to wait until he says good-bye to his family. Jesus responds, “No procrastination. No backward looks. You can’t put God’s kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day.” (Luke 9: 62 The Message Navpress, 2005).
Jesus is teaching that there is cost to being a follower of Christ. What, do you think are the costs of following Christ? What are the demands of following Christ? Jesus actively went out seeking followers. Of the three men, none joined Jesus at that time…. but we don’t know the rest of these men’s stories. Perhaps later in life they did become followers of Jesus. We just don’t know. But actively following Jesus also means seeking out followers…. sharing the Gospel….. telling others about Jesus. As a Church how do we actively seek out followers? When we do programs or events at the Church, we advertise in the bulletin perhaps we put a sign on the Church signboard but do we also advertise in the local paper or send out special invitations to the neighbours that live around the Church? And when we advertise an event or program and there are no results (no one new shows up), we often give up letting our neighbours know what is going on in the Church. Did Jesus give up seeking followers? Not at all. This is our example. Continue letting the neighbourhood know about Jesus. Always let the neighbourhood know what is going on at the Church. Invite them to worship. You never know how their hearts will be opened to following Jesus.
This Lent, what one thing will you do so that others will know that you are a follower of Christ?
Prayer: Lord God Almighty, may we be true members of Your body, able to help in a time of need. What ever we can do for the least of these, help us to do our best to share Your love. This we ask in Christ’s name. Amen.
