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.
Delores Hart was an actress in the 50s and 60s. She grew up with her grandfather who was a movie theater projectionist in Chicago. Delores would sit in the dark alcove of her grandfather’s movie house watching watching film after film and had a dream to one day become an actress.
After high school and college, Delores Hart landed a role as Elvis Presley’s love interest in the 1957 film, “Loving You.” She would later be in another movie with Elvis, and she followed that up with an award winning performance on Broadway.
Delores became a household name in Hollywood and people compared her to Grace Kelly. She had fulfilled her childhood dream of being an actress.
But then in 1963, she was in New York promoting her new movie, “Come Fly with Me” when something compelled her – called her – to take a one-way cab ride to Connecticut and attend a spiritual retreat at a Benedictine Abby.
After that retreat, she returned to her red-carpet Hollywood life, but she could tell that God was calling her to do something greater in her life. In the HBO documentary about her life which is called, “God is the Bigger Elvis,” she says, “I had it all, everything really, but my life wasn’t full.” She ended up abruptly quitting her acting schedule and became a member of that same Benedectine Abby back in Connecticut.
Delores Hart had heard Jesus calling her to follow him which for her meant leaving her very successful acting career in order to live in full-time Christian community at that Abby where she continues to this day.
Delores went all in.
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.
Who’s ready and what’s ready?
Someone once told me that she loves making prayer shawls for her church to give to people who are going through a difficult time just to remind them of their love and prayers for them. It was easy for me to see that she loves using her gifts in this way. 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 the church building from time to time to check on needed repairs. Others love to send cards to those on our prayer list or who have been in the hospital.
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.
Early in my ministry, I served a church where I met an elderly member who was in his late 80s but had the youthful spirit of someone in their teens. He 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.
The name of the elderly man was Glen and he only had one arm from a childhood farming accident. I noticed that he 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 Glen 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.
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