Is it ok to look back? - May 22

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 89:1-18; PM Psalm 89:19-52; Ezek. 4:1-17; Heb. 6:1-12; Luke 9:51-62

Today’s Gospel feels odd after a weekend celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of this church. We have spent a weekend remembering the past and being inspired by the past. We even had a play written about it that premiered on Friday night! Is this nostalgia? Is it helpful? It has certainly helped us all appreciate what a gift it is to be in community, to treasure what and who is special and precious in our lives. And I would like to believe that is a good thing, but it is only good if it propels more deeply into faithful living for the future. 

Today’s Gospel has some of the odder sayings from Jesus. We have the passage about foxes and birds and how the Son of Man has no place to rest. Jesus encounters a person on the road who feels compelled to follow Jesus. His father has recently died, and he is asking if he can first bury his father. Another person wants to go say farewell to the people at home and in both instances Jesus’ instructions are clear: do not turn back but full steam ahead. Is it wrong to bury our loved ones?

I do not find Jesus’ words particularly comforting, nor are they pastoral, or even practical. Sometimes we have to deal with the past. And one could argue, it’s my vocation to bury people. And when we bury people, we proclaim Christ’s reign and God’s victory over death and the Kingdom of God has drawn a little closer. Jesus’ words seem harsh. 

And yet – God is always beckoning us into a future. In the words of one of our recent preachers, Sam Wells, “A future that is bigger than the past.” Looking back is only helpful if it calls us into a deeper and more faithful hope for the future. I wonder if Jesus is concerned that the two people he encounters on his journey might get stuck in their past if they don’t move forward.

I loved looking back this past weekend. It was both a gift and an inspiration. But the future is what lies ahead. If we spend too much time only focusing on the past we might forget what is before us – a gift – a way of being in relationship with God and there is no better time than now to follow our Lord and Savior. 

Faithfully,

John+

Questions for Self-Reflection:  When you think of your faith, do you think more of the past or the future?  What are most hopeful for in the next few years, in the next decade, in the life to come?

Daily Challenge:  Write a letter to your future self about who you hope you in one year.  If you have an email program that schedules emails, schedule it to go out in one year’s time.