What would you do when Jesus says, “Follow Me”? The gospel reading this morning is a very hard one. Jesus was not making it easy to follow him. He appeared that he did not care about people’s concerns and needs. This was uncharacteristic of Jesus. All he seemed interested in was to push his own agenda. He wanted the would-be followers to do exactly what he asked them to do. They have to forget about their own life, leave their family behind and follow him. Jesus was very demanding. He was looking for volunteers and he was not being gentle with them at all. In this reading from Luke, Jesus was trying to make sure that anyone who wanted to follow him understood the cost of discipleship. It requires 100% commitment of our lives.

Making a commitment and a sacrifice is what Jesus is talking about in today’s scripture. Commitment and sacrifice were not the kind of words that the crowd wanted to hear from Jesus, and they are not very popular words in this day and age either. But, that is what Jesus demands from us; to make a commitment and be ready to make some sacrifices. If anyone wants to follow Jesus, it should not be taken lightly.

When a young man said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go” (verse 57), Jesus was not very eager to take his offer to be his follower. Instead of offering him some kind of a guarantee he warned him that he would be homeless. Maybe Jesus did not want the young man to have his hopes too high only to be disappointed at the end. Maybe Jesus was trying to see if the young man was really serious in his decision? Or, was it because of his young age? We don’t know the rest of the story. Seven years ago my niece in the Philippines wrote me that she wanted to become a pastor and needed to enroll in the seminary in order to follow her call. I wrote her back telling her that one pastor in the family is enough. She wrote me again convincing me that she was following God’s call and she really would like to go to the seminary and she needed my prayers and support. She was a high school science teacher at that time and was assuring me that she heard God’s call. I was actually touched to know that another member of my family was going to the seminary, but I was trying to find out from her if she was clear about her decision because I know that to obey God’s call is full of challenges. She graduated from the seminary with honors and is now serving a church not far from my hometown. When you have had someone tell you they have found a purpose in life, that they are going to follow God’s claim on their life, haven’t you been joyful and supportive? But according to this text, Jesus’ response to the young man was very discouraging. Maybe Jesus was trying to help the young man understand that if he really wants to give his life for the sake of the gospel he must be serious no matter what the cost. To follow Jesus comes both with joy and pain. But what Jesus failed to tell the young man was that he would not be alone in the journey; God will be with him.

The other two volunteers whom Jesus asked to follow him did not take his invitation instantly because of family obligations and relationships. Jesus did not accept their excuses. But I don’t think Jesus is saying that he hates everyday life obligations. He is not saying to not bury one’s own family. What Jesus is saying: “Why perform the ritualistic act of burying your father if at the same time you are not following the kingdom of God?” First follow the kingdom of God, and then go ahead and do the ritualistic everyday obligations that you need to do. Jesus is not saying to throw your family out of your life. What Jesus is saying “Why have a family and if you do not first follow the kingdom of God?” What Jesus was saying is, “follow me now.” Now is the time to proclaim the kingdom of God. Now is the time to be my disciple. Now is the time to make a commitment. Do not wait for tomorrow because tomorrow may not come.

Jesus seemed impatient and he did not want to wait. He wanted the prospective disciples to make a commitment right away. He did not want any procrastination or reluctance. Jesus was saying, “Here is your opportunity. Take it now and do not say, no.” But the two volunteers were not ready to follow him. They had something important to deal with first before they could say yes to Jesus. They were not ignoring Jesus’ invitation totally. They just wanted to wait for the right time. Jesus wanted a full commitment and he was not taking “wait” for an answer. Jesus demanded that they put him as their first priority. He wanted a first place in their lives. To the other volunteer he said, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God” (verse 60). To the other Jesus said, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (verse 62). No one is totally fit for the kingdom of God. None of us is perfect; we are all a work in progress. But we strive to do our best every day in order to be faithful. We need God’s grace and power to empower us to accomplish the work of the kingdom. To be faithful to our call is a choice that we have to make every day in our lives.

Jesus is very straightforward in this text: Jesus was saying to the would-be followers that if their life, security, family, and relationships were more important to them than their commitment to following him, then they were missing the point of true discipleship. Jesus was teaching the crowd that if they (and if we) wanted to follow him they must have a changed life. Their priorities in life must be in accordance to Jesus’ priorities. Their desires in life must be those things that are important to Christ. They would deal with people in the way Christ would deal with them. They have to see things the way God would see them. They would love people the way Christ loved them. They would speak and stand up for what is right. These are hard things to do. Jesus would like to make sure that those who wish to follow him understood the consequences of their decisions.  

When Jesus invited the would-be disciples to make a commitment, he did not promise them that their life would be free from trials and challenges. Instead Jesus told them that they must be ready to take up the cost of discipleship. One must be ready to bear whatever may be the cross. Sometimes our trials in life are too hard to bear, but God promises us that he will not leave us alone. The Holy Spirit, our Comforter, will be with us at all times. God will continue to strengthen us to be able to carry our load. God will empower us in our decision-making and in all that we do. We might have some doubts as to what God wants us to be and to do, but God promised to accompany us in the journey.

What would you do when Jesus says, “Follow Me”? Let me tell you a little of my story and how I responded to that question. In the spring of 1985, I completed my junior year in college majoring in accounting when I received my call to follow Christ to become a deaconess of the United Methodist Church in the Philippines. I shared my story with my pastor and the deaconess assigned in my church about my call and I found out that in order for me to become a deaconess I had to earn a four-year Bachelor of Arts degree in Christian Education and after graduation the bishop will commission me to be a deaconess and appoint me to a church to serve. That meant I had to study at Harris Memorial College in Manila. This was five hours drive from my house and it was required that I had to live in the dorm. Harris is a United Methodist institution, preparing women to become deaconesses. A deaconess in the Philippines is called to serve the church full-time, and is commissioned and appointed by the bishop in the area of Christian Education and also may function as the director of the kindergarten or elementary school if the church happens to have one. At first I felt bad that I had to start a new college degree while I was only a year shy of earning my undergraduate degree in accounting. My classmates and friends would already be working and I would still be in school. After many prayers and consultation with my pastor and the deaconess I was very determined to apply at Harris Memorial College that school year of 1985. I have to mention that my family was not happy with my decision to give up my first degree in accounting and start college all over again. They thought it was a crazy idea and a waste of time and resources to give up my degree in accounting and take up a new course. When I told my mother that I wanted to become a deaconess she cried because she thought I was going to be a “Nun” (my whole family was Roman Catholic before we became United Methodists and my mother did not know the work of a deaconess at that time). In 1989, I graduated from Harris Memorial College with a degree in Bachelor of Arts in Christian Education and was commissioned by our bishop and I was appointed to serve a church as a deaconess. I thought that was the end of it. I responded to God’s call to become a deaconess and then Jesus asked me this question again; “are you going to ‘follow me’”? Then in 1993, after a few years of serving a church as a deaconess I was given a chance to come to the United States to do my graduate studies at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston. It was in the seminary where I received my call to become an ordained clergy. Now I am standing before you as one of your pastors through the grace of God. Since the day when I said yes to God, to this very day, I have experienced God’s grace and presence in my life. My faith journey comes with both joys and challenges. But the God who called me to follow and do his will did not leave me alone!

Some people are called to serve and they said yes instantly to the calling. Others heard God’s voice and waited later to accept the summons, and that is okay. I heard people in the seminary testifying that they postponed God’s call and yet God did not stop nudging them. Then later in life they ended up in the seminary to serve God. This proves that God will wait patiently and sustain those individuals who put their calls on the back burner and commit themselves to serve God later. To walk with God does not always come easily. Sometimes it is hard to give ourselves completely to God. We need God’s grace to follow him every day. It is only by God’s grace and mercy that we can be the disciples that God wants us to be. To journey with God is full of unknowns. We only need to put our whole trust in our Creator knowing that God is control.

We are not all called to go to seminary and be a pastor. Oftentimes our call is right here where we are. We are called to be Jesus’ disciples where God gives us the grace to perceive where the needs are; like here in our own church, in the community where we live, in places of work, with our own family, with our friends, and people we do not know. None of us have the same calling from God. We are called to different ministries, but we have one thing in common: the same God has called us to transform the world. This call is urgent and compelling; that what Jesus asked back then and now is for each of us. May we continue to heed the call, “follow me?” What will you do with it? Amen.  .