Following Jesus is (not)
Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. 19 And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 21 Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22 And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.” (Mt 8:18–22).
Following Jesus is not about going to a place or accomplishing a task. Foxes have holes and birds have nests. Men build homes, businesses, cities, and kingdoms, These become identifying places and even come to own their makers. People become slaves of their gardens, workaholics, have streets and cities named after them, become absorbed in the preservation of their places and possessions. Following Jesus will probably require leaving a place. “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come” (Heb 13:14). Neither is following Jesus about getting things done. Not to say that Jesus never leads us to do anything, but that we run the risk of getting left behind when the task becomes primary. The disciple who wanted to bury his father turned a task into an excuse. Following Jesus is all about responding continually, listening to the leading of his Spirit, following him on his mission. Jesus accomplished many tasks in his earthly life. He traveled widely, often into foreign cultures, but built no businesses, had no home, no city bears his name. Only one task consumed him and he calls us to join in the task of the cross. “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple” (Lk 14:27). Jesus likewise left one living monument, the church, his body, and calls us to find our place in it, that we might become joined to him, partners in ministry and mission, redeemed, heirs of God, and recipients of his Spirit (Gal 4:5-7). Following Jesus is all about joining the person who opens heaven to us and makes our lives meaningful and significant. We will utterly fail if we aim for heaven or good deeds rather than the person. Follow Jesus.
A Holy Conversation
Prayer ought to be a holy conversation, a dialog. Often we try to fill the silence with too many words. There is also a time to be still and listen. God may want to answer our prayers right on the spot if we will be still and listen. When Jesus had just begun his public ministry, had just called Simon, Andrew, James, and John, had begun to preach the gospel and heal people, we have a story of Jesus praying in Mark 1:35-38. There were important decisions to be made. Where should Jesus and his followers go next? Where should they focus their efforts? Where was the mission leading them? What did God want? Jesus prayed to find out. He needed clarity of direction and purpose. Listen to Mark’s gospel:
And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” (Mk 1:35–38)
I don’t think Jesus just went to the desolate place and told God what he was going to do. I don’t think Jesus just went to the desolate place and delivered a monologue. I suspect that he talked to his father, had a conversation. He may have asked whether he should stay in Capernaum. He may have asked his father whether he should continue teaching in the synagogue. Regardless of what he said to his father, I’m sure he also listened to hear what the father had to say to him. The text tells us that Jesus had a clear sense of direction and purpose after he spent the evening in prayer. “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” Is this not what we need too? Don’t we also need a clear sense of direction and purpose?
I’m convinced that God wants to give us the direction and sense of mission we desire and need. This is why we seek God in prayer, and since we are a community and in this journey with Jesus together, this is why seek God in prayer together. Since we need to hear from God, this is why we should not fill up all the space with words, so that God can also speak words to us. Let us have a holy conversation, a dialog, with God. Let us do this together as a community.
