Sermon: Wittenberg Academy – Tuesday of Easter 4

2 May 2023

Text: Luke 9:37-62

In the name of + Jesus.  Amen.

Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia! 

St. Luke’s narrative takes a turn, as our Lord “set His face to go to Jerusalem.”  Now, everything is moving toward the cross.  And here we see our Lord calling His disciples to their radical vocation and service as Christians. 

Up until now, our Lord’s friction has been with the demons, the Pharisees, the priests, and the scribes.  He has been deferential to His own followers.  But now, as they have been with Him a while, and as they too are marching with Jesus to the cross, to His passion, to their own doubts and fears, in their own blissful ignorance of what is to come, Jesus is becoming more blunt with them, and demanding more of them

When they were unable to exorcise a demon, our Lord says to His disciples: “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you and bear with you?  And even as they were “marveling at everything He was doing,” our Lord speaks bluntly to them, “Let these words sink into your ears,” and telling them in plain language what was to come when they got to Jerusalem.  “But they did not understand this saying, and it was concealed from them,” and even as they heard these words – which did not sink in – “they were afraid to ask Him about this saying.”

For they are still caught up in a false narrative of glory instead of about the cross, arguing among themselves about “which of them was the greatest.”  Jesus again demonstrates the radical nature of discipleship by using the example of a child, saying, “He who is least among you all is the one who is great.”  The disciples are also caught up in seeing themselves as a kind of exclusive brand, rather than focusing on Christ and His Word.  A complaint arose because of Christians who were not part of their immediate circle.  “Do not stop him,” says Jesus, “for the one who is not against you is for you.”

In Samaria, James and John want to “tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them,” and Jesus “turned and rebuked them.”  Jesus reveals to them that the call to the Christian life is like no other kind of education or social arrangement or belief system.  With Jesus, it is all or nothing: “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” 

Once a person becomes a disciple, once a person has joined Jesus in setting His face toward Jerusalem, toward the cross, toward the tomb, and toward the radical nature of this life – there is no turning back.  This is the meaning of faith.  We commit to clinging to Jesus come what may.  Nothing comes before Christ; nothing is allowed to interfere with our life of discipleship toward Christ.  It is about true belief and the commitment that grows out of it.  And fortunately for us, it is Jesus who does the heavy lifting, who walks the road to Jerusalem and to Calvary.  We are disciples, followers.  We do not have to blaze the trail.  For Jesus is the Way.  Our task is to get out of the way.

Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

Amen.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.