Proper 8C

"Mommy! Look at me!"

"Daddy! Watch this!"

"Gram! Did you see what I did there??"

Or perhaps you've heard the adult version,

"Dude, hold my beer." 

You know, when you hear one of these phrases

someone wants your attention

and they want it right now

because they are going to do something

they think is pretty cool.

Naturally, what counts as pretty cool

is a wide variety, 

mostly depending on the context and age of the person speaking.

However, we all know the longing for someone to pay attention to us.

God created us as relational beings 

and part of being in relationship is sharing our focus with other people.

And we all certain know

what it is like to want someone else's attention and not get it. 

At first glance, 

to us today,

this is how the Gospel passage from Luke looks.

The Samaritans can tell that Jesus is focused on other things.

It seems like they want his attention and he isn't willing to give it. 

Then the passage goes the other way

and Jesus is trying to get the attention of people in the area

and they have more pressing things on their minds.

While today the story looks like some Samaritans in the local villages

being snobby about not getting the attention they wanted, 

because they could tell that Jesus was going somewhere else,

there is more going on underneath.

Naturally, there may have been some of that kind of feeling,

We all know how annoying it can be to have someone else not focused on you when you are trying to talk to you. 

If you have had children... you might remember this feeling well.

Jesus seems so focused on the big picture in this passage 

that he doesn't seem to be able to connect with other people. 

However, it wasn't just Jesus who was not paying attention in this passage.

The Samaritans had a rule about not helping those on the road who were going to 

what they considered the wrong temple for the feast days.

Jesus was obviously traveling to Jerusalem for the Passover feast,

but in Samaritan custom, the temple was at Shiloh 

and those going to Jerusalem were going to the wrong place. 

They weren't just being snobby for no reason, 

they had a regional religious idea to uphold. 

I think my biggest surprise from this passage 

comes from the disciples' response to their religious tradition.

I am a little amazed how quickly the disciples want to pull out all the power stops

and rip the village apart.

James and John, "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?"

Rejection hurts, but wiping them out with heavenly fire?

It seems the disciples aren't quite paying attention to the whole spread GOOD news imperative.

Wiping people out with heavenly fire was not on Jesus' mission statement. 

And then we come to the people Jesus is trying to reach.

The man who wants to bury his father

or the man who wants to say goodbye to his friends first. 

They don't quite seem to be paying attention to what Jesus is truly asking them.

Also, the way it is worded in the English, you can't tell,

but in the Greek, so I am told,

it is clear that the man's father is not even dead yet.

"I'm not dead yet!"

So he is offering an excuse to delay his following of Jesus

not just taking care of his family member.

So they go somewhere else along the way.

And Jesus continues to try to build his disciples.

It doesn't work so well along this road.

People have other things they are concerned about.

And we get this admonition about hesitation and fitness for the kingdom of God.

Jesus is almost saying, you got to jump right in, you can't walk in the pool on the shallow end all non-committal

you got to dive right in the deep end and go at it.

Which is not how all of us approach life.

Or even Christianity.

Some of us would rather take it easy and get our toes wet first and maybe wade in and get adjusted.

This Christianity thing can be just as scary and deep as the deep end of an unknown pool.

It seems everyone in this passage is on different wavelengths,

and none of them are on Jesus'.

Jesus is in tune with the big picture,

he is paying attention to the Good News.

He is trying to focus on the important work God has called him to,

and he is trying to reach people with a new way of living.

That is in fact, the big picture,

and the whole point of this frustrating passage Jesus makes. 

God is offering new life,

if only we would pay attention.

New life in relationship with God

new life in salvation

new life in the kingdom of Heaven

New life.

new life.

New life which doesn't get hung up on the trivial details of the world

new life which does not give into the temptations of malice

new life which does not give up on hope and sink into despair

New life.

Jesus is headed towards Jerusalem for one purpose.

To share his message of new life and hope and love

in a very grand way.

Yes, he was headed there for the Passover festival,

a festival of the new life that the Israelites had found in God

when they had been in slavery in Egypt.

Yes, he is also headed to his death

but he is also headed to new life

resurrected life

which he will share with all of his followers.

if only they could get the picture.

Even after they see Jesus in his resurrected form

Even after they see Jesus embodied in this new life

even after they see the kingdom of God at work

they still struggle with seeing the big picture

on a daily basis

do you remember the big picture in your struggles to pray

do you remember the big picture in your struggles with the temptations and trials and frustrations of human life?

We forget. 

Yet Jesus keeps bringing us back. 

Reminding us of the Good News

New life in God.

Not just for you and me

for everybody!

Everybody!

This is the big picture which keeps Jesus' focus.

It is the big picture which we need to remember in our lives.

This is the big picture to remember in our ministry.

The Good News is about new life in God.

New life for everyone. 

Amen.