We are not Alone (Luke 9:57-62

A fellow I know has been sober in AA for nearly 30 years. He told me a while ago a newcomer to their fellowship went out drinking after a couple of months of sobriety. Fortunately he got back into their program and is reportedly doing well.

My friend asked him, “Why didn’t you call me before you went out drinking?” The newcomer replied, “I know I should have. I didn’t because I knew if I talked to you I wouldn’t have gone out drinking.”

We can laugh at this man being rather, shall we say, disingenuous with himself. But as we laugh we may want to look at our own openheartedness or resistance to Jesus in our own life.

In the United Church creed we say “In Life, In death, in life beyond death God is with us. We are not alone.” In our hymn books this is followed by Thanks be to God. Is the same Thanks be to God being echoed in our own hearts.

Through our faith in Jesus Christ we know God loves us and wants the very best for us. We know that in Jesus we are shown the way to live fully: to become as the early church father Ireneaus said “the glory of God: humanity fully alive.”

The questions today’s gospel passage puts before us are: “Do we consistently resist the teaching and call of Jesus? If so, what form does this resistance take? What can we do about it?

Because, if there is one theme that is clear in today’s gospel it’s the consistent resistance encountered to the teaching and call of Jesus.

The people of Samaria want little to do with him when they hear he's headed for Jerusalem. Remember the one great theological sticking point between Jews and Samaritans was that the Samaritans worshipped at Mount Sinai and the Jews in Jerusalem.

His own disciples seem to have ignored his teaching about how to treat enemies (with prayer, love and respect!) and ask instead about calling down fire on them.

One person seems eager to follow Jesus, but apparently backs away when Jesus indicates there's no place one can call home in his ministry.

Jesus calls another, but he wants to wait until his father is dead before he joins Jesus.

A third wants to go home for a while to say his farewells first, but Jesus concludes sternly: "No one is fit for the kingdom who puts hand to the plow and then turns back." You're in, or you're not. There's no "in between."

Jesus "keeps plowing" and keeps leading those who will follow him.


I know I can be like the Samaritans and sometimes screen movements of the Spirit out because they don’t seem to fit what I think is the true faith. What about you? For example are their worship expressions that you just don’t think are right? Even though people are being led to full hearted and full headed commitment to the Lord through them? Are we sometimes so set in our ways that our way gets in the way-resists the way Jesus is calling us to follow him?

Or like his disciples, I can be as judgmental as the next guy? I might not call fire down upon those who believe differently then me about the Christian faith, but I sure can have not so nice thoughts. What about you? Do our prejudices get in the way-resist the call and teaching of our saviour and Lord?

And yes, when Jesus has called me to leave everything behind without promise of home or support I have balked. I would like to go and minister there, but there is no certainty of funding…. Yes, that sounds like a good project but where will the money come from? Does holding on to what we believe is safe and secure and comfortable and non threatening get in the way of following Jesus.

I remember a good Christian member of a congregation I ministered to as a student intern at a mission in Cameroon, West Africa. For him to have become a Christian, he had to leave the traditional religion of his village. He was disowned by his father when he became baptized. I don’t know if I could have overcome such resistance to following the call of Jesus as my friend did. Do you know if you could?

And like the man who wanted to say his farewells, sometimes we have to act in the name of Jesus in the here and now. Whether our friends like it or reject it. I find such situations very tough and have sometimes balked. Have you?

If we are honest, I believe at times as individuals and as a church community we sometimes find ourselves wanting to tell Jesus to go away, or where we want to ignore his ethic of loving enemies, or when we want to tell him to wait.

Just like our friend with the drinking problem, we don’t want to pick up the phone because we know what the answer will be.

Jesus is clear that his call is not negotiable and he will call others if we don’t respond. Our resistance doesn't stop him. Neither should it stop us when we call others into discipleship to Jesus with us and they offer their excuses.

The good news in this hard news, if you will, is if we acknowledge where we resist him it tells us much about what we actually consider more important than our relationship with the Lord. It identifies our allegiances. And it gives us a basis to confess, repent, and learn to grow, if we will.
The gospel story urges us to accept Jesus into our lives and into our home; to check our motives and be willing to follow him as a first priority.

But I would not be doing my job as a preacher if I left you with the impression that being a follower of Jesus is nothing but grim faced huffing and puffing and hanging in for the long haul. It is that, but along the way we walk with each other and share our experience strength and hope. We walk with the Spirit of the Risen Lord not only calling us into the unknown and sometimes scary future, but with that Spirit with us, comforting us, giving us those aha moments that may come with some comforting realization from a hymn or a prayer or a few words from a preacher, or the cry of your new born or a glorious sunrise that brings you hope in a dark time.

Those moments give us the assurance and the strength to go forward in faith, hope and love. For God is with us. We are not alone. Thanks be to God. Amen.