 |
Journey to Jerusalem July 1, 2007 By Philip D. Ropp |
|
Today’s Gospel marks the end of the Galilean ministry of Jesus and the beginning of the fateful journey to Jerusalem and the cross. This Galilean ministry, as presented to us in Luke, begins with Jesus accepting the baptism of John, and with it the proclamation that he is the Son of God. This expression “Son of God,” in ancient Israelite culture, is the highest title attributed to Israel’s king, and with this proclamation made, Luke proceeds to list the genealogy of Jesus so as to establish for his readers that Jesus is truly the legitimate heir to the throne as descended through the House of David. John’s baptism is in the form of his anointing or coronation as such, made possible by John’s own lineage as the true high priest of Israel as descended through the House of Aaron. Jesus begins his ministry as the duly anointed and long expected Messianic king of Israel. When we are able to see this through the eyes of those first crowds that were gathered to him in Galilee at the urging of the charismatic and prophetic figure of John the Baptist, we realize that this, in and of itself, is an amazing revelation. Yet from this revelation, Luke allows the dramatic tension to build as the crowds slowly but surely become aware, as does the reader, that Jesus is much different and much more than can be contained within this ancient concept of who and what the Messiah was supposed to be. Increasingly, Jesus is revealed as the one and only begotten Son of God, and the Son of Man, the first of a new and ascended race of humankind who has conquered sin and even death itself. And so he gives sight to the blind, heals the halt and the lame, cleanses the lepers, and casts out the demons. In chapter seven of Luke’s Gospel he dramatically and publicly raises the son of the widow of Nain from the dead and calms the raging sea. In chapter eight he casts a legion of devils out of the Gerasene demoniac and raises the daughter of Jairus back to life. In chapter nine he gives even his own disciples power over demons and disease, and teaches them to feed a multitude with five loaves and two fish. And when he poses the question to them of just who it is that he might be, we must stand awestruck with Simon Peter and proclaim, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!” Now we are at today’s Gospel at the end of Luke chapter nine. Jesus, proclaimed Christ, has come to that time when the days of his being taken up by God and to God must be fulfilled, and so we are told, “…he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem,” And so begins that final sojourn to the cross and to that certain death that would free all those that would forevermore proclaim him Christ from the curse of sin and the just retribution of the grave. At this point, the teaching of Jesus takes on a new urgency and intensity, and the emphasis of his instruction shifts from the crowds to the disciples. And as Jesus proceeds on towards Jerusalem, the last call to this discipleship goes out, and so he beckons, “Follow me!” And the one to whom he calls begs him, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” And Jesus answers him, “Let the dead bury their dead,” for the spiritually dead are capable of burying the physically dead, and if we are to follow him, then we are to turn from death and follow life. And we are to do it now. Another begs to follow but asks, “…let me say farewell to my family at home,” and Jesus tells him, “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.” And so we learn that there is only one direction in which our faith can take us and that is forward; always forward. Today, this call to discipleship is ours and it is the most precious offer that we will ever receive. Today, Jesus beckons to each of us to be resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem. And, if we listen carefully and prayerfully, through the din and noise of a world consumed by its own sin, we will hear his voice call to us in the hour of our deepest need, “Follow me!” And what he asks of each of us is that we heed this call without question or reservation, without hesitation or excuse, and, dropping every earthly care, turn our eyes towards him, pick up our cross and fall in behind him on the long and narrow road that leads to Calvary. No one has ever claimed that the way of the cross is easy, but all that have ever walked it do make the claim that it is worth the effort. The way of the cross is the road to that true freedom that only comes through faith in Christ. No longer ensnared in the ways of the flesh, no longer enslaved to the death and despair of the grave, Christ has set us free to soar in a Spirit liberated by his undying love for us, and manifested through our uncompromised devotion to him. Through this devotion to him, we find the burden of the law which no one could uphold replaced by the burden of the love that no one can contain. When our hearts become filled with this love and through it we learn to reach out to others as Christ has reached out to us, then we come to know that the cross that he asks us to bear is worth all the effort required because, like the old song says, it “…ain’t heavy, it’s my brother.” And so Jesus can reassure us that, indeed, his yoke is easy and his burden is light. And so, today, let us accept this invitation to follow him that has been extended to us: Let us leave the dead to bury their own, set a hand to the plow and never look back at the sin and broken lives that we have left behind. It is this that makes us fit for the kingdom of God, and it is Christ, and Christ alone, that makes us worthy. Let each of us answer this call as he requires; without question or reservation, without hesitation or excuse that our faith may take us forward; always forward on the journey to Jerusalem. |
July 1, 2007
