Luke 9:51-62 (NRSV)
Read Luke 9:51-62 on biblegateway.com
Verse 51When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. Verse 52And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; Verse 53but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. Verse 54When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" Verse 55But he turned and rebuked them. Verse 56Then they went on to another village.
Verse 57As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Verse 58And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." Verse 59To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." Verse 60But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Verse 61Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." Verse 62Jesus said to him, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."
Devotion
It feels like we are back to Monday and our friend Jon Snow being newly cloaked in the dark mantle of the Night Watch. With a word, Jesus casts the mantle of discipleship over the eager would-be follower, the loyal son and hard working farmer. It is not only a mantle of what they will be, but it is also a mantle of what they will no longer be. The former things must be set aside or handed on to those whose call is different from theirs. Taking on the mantle of discipleship leaves room for no other mantle. Every aspect of life from the moment of the "cloaking" is shaped by that primary call. It is not a cloaking for the faint-hearted. Jesus' promise is to walk alongside us every step of the way.
Prayer
Empowering God, we quake a little at the weight of the mantle of discipleship cast across our shoulders. We ponder the impact on our daily lives and the reshaping of our long held priorities. And yet. And yet! You, creator of the universe, call us into partnership! Wonder of wonders! Thanks be to God. Amen.