Monday, June 27, 2022

Sermon (June 26) by Rev. Robert McDowell




    People who have served in the military know this phrase all too well, “Hurry up and wait!” That phrase is often used because when it’s time to report to duty, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you will be leaving right away. You probably end up waiting for an extended period of time to complete final details before the actual deployment.

     Here in our Gospel reading, there is no “Hurry up and Wait” with Jesus. It’s more like, “Hurry up, We’re Leaving Right Now.”

     In Luke 9:51, we are told that Jesus “set his face to go to Jerusalem.” That’s an ancient semitic phrase that implies not only the direction someone is headed but also the sheer determination of the person who is about to leave on a trip. 

     Direction and determination is what we have here in Luke, chapter 9. And it will be ten chapters later in chapter 19 when Jesus will finally arrive in Jerusalem. And from there, it will lead him to the cross where he will offer his life for the sake of the world and then rise again. 

     Jesus made it to Jerusalem only because of this critical moment here in Luke chapter 9 where we are told that he “set his face” to begin that long journey. Another phrase that we might use is that Jesus was “all in” in his commitment to fulfill the purpose for which God had sent him in bringing salvation to the world.

     All in. We don’t often use language like that because we like to keep our options open. “All In” doesn’t sound like there’s a plan B. It’s just plan A. We’re either going to do this or we’re not.

     And this is why as soon as Luke tells us that Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem, we have these three examples of why there will be many who will say they want to follow Jesus, but are not really “all in” like they think they are.

     Jesus tells the first person who says to him that they will follow him wherever he goes to not expect to stop at any fancy hotels along the way because the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.

     The next person says, “I’ll follow you Jesus, but I need to first bury my father.” And Jesus, not offering a lot of TLC here, responds with, “Let the dead bury their dead. If you’re going to proclaim the Kingdom of God with me, you need to leave now.”

     And then the third person agreed to go with Jesus, but first wanted to say goodbye to his family. And once again, Jesus is not willing to budge on this. You’re either going now, or not at all.

     All three of these examples show us Jesus’ “all In” determination to leave immediately.

     As I’ve been reflecting on this scripture reading, I keep thinking about something a very wise church consultant said to me years ago and I still find it to be extremely helpful today. When you’re looking for new ministries to start in the church, go with who’s ready and what’s ready.

     Find out people’s passions and see how those passions might lead to vital and impactful ministries. Every church is unique. What might work in one church may not work in another church.  Go with who’s ready and what’s ready.

     That’s why Jesus’ face was set to go to Jerusalem. That’s why Jesus was “all In” and was ready to go to Jerusalem. He was passionate about fulfilling the purpose for which God sent him, to bring salvation to the world.

     During a Leadership Board meeting this past winter we were brainstorming possible new ministries to help our church reach more people for Christ. Somebody mentioned that it would be good if we could start a monthly ministry in welcoming new residents to our community.     

     Now, keep in mind, that was just one of many different ministry brainstorming ideas that we had shared during that meeting. A lot of people at that meeting thought, “That’s a great idea. I wonder who would want to help with that new ministry?” The purpose of that meeting wasn’t to plan out all of the ministry ideas, but to list them and come back to them at our next meeting.

     Before we even had our next meeting which was only a month later, someone had shared that idea with some other people in the church, and it was already getting off the ground. They even had a name for it. They gave this new ministry the name, “Loaves and Fishes” where they now take homemade bread to new residents in our area. That quickly, this new idea became one of our regular activities for our monthly Athens First Saturday Blessing of the Community.

     We didn’t expect that idea to take off so quickly but when you have some folks who have that kind of passion for welcoming people outside the church, you’re going to have people who are “all In” and ready to go with Jesus now. 

     Who’s ready and what’s ready?

     Here’s a personal “all In” story that surprised me. Around May of 2020, just a couple of months into the pandemic, I was trying to think of a way to connect with our church since our in-person ministries were very minimal especially during those first few months.

     I prayed about it and it occurred to me that maybe I could start offering a mid-week video recording with church updates. I had a smart-phone that could record videos. 

     And then I thought, Wednesdays are known as “Hump Day.” Hey, what if it would be called, “Holy Hump Day?” I would later discover that a Catholic nun already thought of that fun title for her mid-week videos. 



     My first Holy Hump Day video was just a little over two years ago. It was out on the front steps of our church because just a day earlier, there was a peaceful protest march that had gone by our church building so I was highlighting the importance of social justice.

     Over these two years, I’ve covered all sorts of topics from how to choose a bible translation, to highlighting an upcoming church event, to talking about the seasons of the church year and their meaning for us, and I’ve even done a stand-up comedy routine for one of the weeks.

     For the first several weeks of those videos, I was only using my smart phone. And then I realized I should probably invest in a quality microphone to improve the sound, and that led to buying a tripod for better camera angles. I also learned how to do some basic video editing where I could insert graphics, sound effects and videos. 

     Preparing those videos does take some time, but it has been a fun new ministry for me. I hope it’s been meaningful to those who’ve been watching these and is a way to stay connected with me and with the life of the church in between Sundays. 

     This Wednesday will be my 105th Holy Hump Day video so for this week’s focus, I’ll be celebrating this big milestone!

     I say all of that because that’s just a personal example of where I didn’t even know I had a passion for making these kinds of videos. And once I realized that I enjoyed this new ministry, I was “all In.”

     One of our members, Jan Slattery makes prayer shawls for our church to give to people who are going through a difficult time just to remind them of our love and prayers for them. Jan loves making these and she is “all In” when it comes to making these prayer shawls.

     Some of you love to make meals for people who have lost a loved one or who just got home from the hospital. There are others who absolutely love to just check on our church building from time to time to do little projects to help out our Maintenance Director. We also have people who are passionate about arranging and delivering flowers and making blankets for people in our community.

     You are “all In” with these ministries that bless others. Why? Because deep down, all of us want to do something we love in order to bless others.

     When Jesus invited those three people to follow him to Jerusalem, I wonder if they just didn’t realize the magnitude of what Jesus was about to do. I mean, in all fairness to them, I’m not really sure that they realized what that moment meant for Jesus to “set his face” to go to Jerusalem. 

     The unanswered question in this story is what happened to these three people? Did they ever go “all In?” We’ll never know. This scripture reading invites us to wonder about such things. 

     In the mid 90’s I was appointed to be the pastor of a church in Toledo. An elderly saint in the church who was in his late 80s but had the youthful spirit of someone in their teens, was at the church trimming an overgrown tree one day. I had only been there for a couple of weeks and I was still getting to meet the people of that church.

     Glen, an elderly man who only had one arm from a childhood farming accident, was up on the top step of a step ladder trying to saw off a large branch in the front yard of the church. When I saw him doing this, I said, “Glen, you shouldn’t be up there. Someone else can do this. I don’t want you to fall down and die!”

     And with sweat just dripping down from his forehead because it was a very hot summer day, I’ll never forget what he said to me, his new pastor. He looked down at me from the top of that ladder and with a mischievous grin said, “Oh, don’t worry about me, Pastor. Let the dead bury the dead.” 

     I laughed at his comment but I still made him get down from that ladder. And throughout my time at that church, I came to discover that nothing, nothing, nothing was going to stop this elderly saint from following Jesus and being All In for the kingdom.

     An old commercial once used the tagline, “Be a traveler, not a tourist.” 

     In other words, don’t be a mere observer of life from a safe distance; no, live it, dive into it, and go “All In.”

     I like that! Jesus is inviting us to be travelers, not tourists in this journey of discipleship. He invites us to follow him. Find your passion and use that passion to be a blessing to others in the name of Jesus.

     See ya in Jerusalem.

All In!

Sermon Discussion Questions
Luke 9:51-62
June 26, 2022

In our Gospel reading, Luke tells us, “When the days drew near for him (Jesus) to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.” The phrase “set his face” is an ancient Semitic phrase that means a person is determined and “all in” to accomplish a purpose and mission. Jesus made up his mind that it was time to face opposition in Jerusalem and offer his life for the sake of the world.

Share an experience where you made up your mind to “set your face” and be “all in” to accomplish something important. What led you to be “all in” in that moment?

Our Gospel reading also includes three people who wanted to follow Jesus to Jerusalem but offered excuses why they needed to wait before leaving. These excuses included a desire to know where they would be lodging during the trip, wanting to attend a funeral of a family member, and a request to say farewell to loved ones before leaving. Jesus wasn’t willing to accept those excuses for not being able to leave immediately.

Do you think Jesus was too demanding of these three people who seem to have valid reasons in not wanting to leave immediately with Jesus? Why or why not?

Pastor Robert shared words of advice from a church consultant that was shared with him years ago. “Go with who’s ready and what’s ready.”

What do you think is meant by the advice, to plan ministry around “who’s ready and what’s ready.” How can we know “who’s ready and what’s ready?”

There is an old commercial that used the tag line, “be a traveler, not a tourist.”

What do you think is the difference between a traveler and a tourist?

The interesting thing about our Gospel reading is that we never find out what happened to the three people who wanted to follow Jesus but also had excuses why they didn’t want to leave with him right away. This is typical of so many stories in the Bible. We are left wondering how the story ended with them. Perhaps this is a creative way that invites us to reflect on the important question, “Are we all in and ready to follow Jesus?”

In thinking about the answer to that question, offer this prayer that was used this past Sunday during worship:

O God, you are an awesome God! You reign from heaven above with wisdom, power, and love. You are an awesome God! If you are so awesome, why do we often find ourselves holding back when you call us to follow you? If you are so awesome, why do we come up with excuses that now is not a good time? Will it ever be the right time? Forgive our procrastination. May this be a day we go all in and follow in your footsteps. Amen.


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