We’re going to look at a second story from the Bible this week, this one about Jesus in Luke 9:57-60

57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

59 He said to another man, “Follow me.”

But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

Just like yesterday’s story, this is a tough one to interpret, since we probably didn’t expect this kind of response from Jesus.  It sounds to us like the man’s father just died, and Jesus says he can’t mourn.  He comes across as cold and even cruel, but mostly because we lack cultural understanding. There are again two possibilities for why he responds this way:

One option: The man’s father is actually dead, sometime in the recent past.  He’s been put in a very hot middle eastern tomb.  The son wants to wait up to a year, so he can go and place his father’s bones in a bone box, an ossuary, for secondary burial in a family tomb.  This would have been a very important duty for a Jewish son, but Jesus says it’s not as important as God’s kingdom.

Another option: This is a stall tactic.  The man’s father is not dead.  The son wants to wait until his father dies and leaves him the inheritance.  He only wants to follow Jesus when there will be no financial risk.

Following Jesus looks different today – it’s not as simple as joining his entourage on a dusty road.  It changes us in many other ways, and we’re going to explore lots of those changes in the next few weeks.

Either way, we’ll be tempted to delay.  We’ll want to put off financial changes until we retire, service changes until we have more time, and so on.  But Jesus’ response to this man should inform us that Jesus needs to be first in our daytimer.

Question: What aspect of following Jesus are you tempted to put off?

Read the Bible in Sync Today

Ryan Sim - March 5, 2014

Wednesday - Change It - Reset Family

Reset

Hi, welcome to Redeem the Commute. I’m Ryan, your host of the Daily Challenges. Today’s Wednesday, so it’s the day we try to let our thoughts be challenged and transformed by the words of the Bible that we saw yesterday. We’re exploring how following Jesus resets our views of family. We acknowledged that family is a mechanism for providing good things: shelter, food, care, etc. But when a life is reset by Jesus, family becomes much more, it becomes a place for others to learn to follow Jesus themselves. It’s here that family members learn, in a “lab” setting, what Jesus said was most critical: Love god and Love neighbour. At the baptism we had a few weeks ago for some Redeem the Commute members, I asked those who’d gathered to support an infant being baptized the following: Today we are trusting God for her growth in faith. Will you pray for her, draw her by your example into the community of faith and walk with her in the way of Christ? In baptism she begins her journey in faith...You speak for her today. Will you care for her, and help her to take her place within the life and worship of Christ's Church? That’s a good vision for any family who are trying to follow Jesus – the parent(s) and their community gather around the child(ren) in discipleship. In no particular order, here are some ways that might happen with various Christian values: Sacrifice: Involve in kids decisions around activities (compromise), spending, vacations, etc. Love: Children learn love from parents, learn father’s love for us. Uniqueness. Pray/Worship: Pray for your kids, teach them to pray. Grace. Bedtime. Then special needs won’t be the only prayer they ever hear. Practice Peace & Love – Teaching about hitting, lying, gossip, etc. Compassion: Bring them to hospital, downtown, etc. Talk about what you see, how you react, how and why you help others or not. Communion: Eat meals together when you can. Talk about your day, and pray in response. Stewardship of body: Exercise, eat healthy, etc. Stewardship of money and possessions: When money comes, teach them how you save & spend & give. Christian Community: Give kids as many heroes as possible. Our own church community will be meeting in person soon. Forgive: Can’t run away from family, ignore for very long. Hurts need to be dealt with through forgiveness or an unending cycle of vengeance. Teach them forgiveness. Question: Think of your current schedule and activities as a family. What do they communicate is most important in life?

From Series: "Reset"

When our computers get bogged down and unmanageable, we know to hit a reset button to simply start over. Wouldn't a reset button be great in life? We know it would be complicated, with all our responsibilities and routines to consider, but imagine the freedom and refreshment of a new start in life! What would you do differently? What would you pay more attention to, and what would you ignore? How would you avoid getting bogged down and broken again? The great news is, in coming to earth as Jesus Christ, God has begun to "reset" our universe, our world, and even us. We're invited to start over with him, in what he calls his kingdom. We're invited to start a new life with a clean slate. What gets wiped clean, and lived differently, when God resets our lives? We'll explore how God resets these key areas of our lives: Reset: Goals Reset: Time Reset: Money Reset: Work Reset: Body & Food Reset: Sex & Marriage Reset: Family Reset: Compassion Reset: Nature Reset: Society Reset: Death Join us for the next several weeks, and invite God to reset your life.

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