Following Jesus - it's not quite as easy as it sounds is it?  Or maybe it is - but we just don't want to go there.  I don't even remember who it was who said, "Its not the things in the Bible that I don't understand that concern me, it's the things that I do understand!"  

          Jesus said, "Follow me" - and the response was a whole lot of "Yes, but . . . ."  "Yes but, I need to attend to the things of my life, yes but, I need to bury my father, say goodbye to my family."  Now these were things that were pretty standard then, and would be for us as well.  Under Jewish law, the son had a responsibility to see to the burial of the father, that was the duty - saying goodbye to the family was also part of following the law of honoring ones mother and father.  These people were trying to keep the letter of the law, they weren't just frittering away their time, or stalling with casual  excuses.  It was important, caring things that they wanted to attend to before following.  Each time Jesus had a snappy comeback - "Let the dead bury the dead" - "If you put your hand to the plow and then look back, you aren't fit for the kingdom of God."  Wow, that's harsh, about as harsh as what Jesus says later on in the gospel of Luke when he talks about discipleship - "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sister, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple."  Or in Matthew, "If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away."  This is hyperbole, exaggeration, a way to get right to the heart of the issue and stop the listeners cold in their tracks so that they would pay attention.

          And what is it then that we are to pay attention to?  Practicing our faith will require more than we are ever going to be capable of giving.  It will not be by our own will-power or our own determination that we will whole-heartedly devote ourselves to following Jesus;  it will be by the leading of the Spirit and the grace of God. 

It is easy to think about the destructive, evil, selfish things that get in the way of our following, but even the very best things in life can get in the way of following Jesus.  Family, friends, patriotism, work;  even religious obligations can become our highest priority.  Sometimes we hear a lesson like this and think that Jesus is asking us to somehow leave the world, turn away from worldly relationships and actions.  But it is this world that Jesus sends us to - it is this world that is in need of what we have to give.

Paul said it in his letter to the Galatians which we also heard this morning - "The whole law is summed up in a single commandment, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"

And if you are anything like me, you are at the point where you start to think,  "Well, I might as well just give up because I have a million things that are getting in the way of my whole-hearted following."  But maybe giving up is not the end but the beginning.  Maybe giving up is when God can finally do something with us, maybe when we give up, the love of God can finally begin to take root in our hearts and we can let ourselves be led to those places and people who need us.

I have told this story to the church council.  My dad has a strong commitment to stewardship, especially in the area of financial giving.  He was talking to another member of his church about what he saw as the importance of tithing.  He said, "I'll tell you what, if you tithe for one year, and you do not find that your life has been blessed in ways you never imagined, I will pay you back everything over and above your usual giving."  The man just looked at my dad and said,  "I would never dare to do that"

Think of some of the stories that we have heard in the last few weeks - judgment, forgiveness, healing, fear, release, hospitality, love - these are the things that are part of our life in Christ, and the things that get in the way of our being fully alive in that relationship.  When you feel like giving up - give up.  Give up and trust God.  You may be amazed at the places and actions that will become part of your life.  You don't know what to do? Love your neighbor.  Who is your neighbor?  We'll be talking about that very question in a couple of weeks as we look at the parable of the Good Samaritan, but it might mean more than the person who lives next door to you.

We are having such an important conversation in this congregation right now.  How do we follow Jesus?  What is our vision for who this congregation wants to be as we look into the future?  How can we live out that baptismal call that we have to be a sign of God's love in the world?  How can we invite others to know and follow Jesus?  What are the gifts and resources that we have that could further the outreach of our congregation? God has a mission in the world, God is about transforming and renewing this world, and we are asked to be a part of that, to come and follow.

If someone were to ask you to prove that God were alive in this city, what would you point to?  And then, how are we a part of what God is up to, and how can we continue to be an even stronger part of God's activity in the world?  Following Jesus is the call of each one of us - and it happens as we struggle with the daily challenges of home, family, work - and it happens corporately when we think about what it means to be a congregation who is following Jesus.  It will mean that we spend time getting to know Jesus, through study, prayer, worship, through fellowship with one another.  And it will mean being led out to serve.  Sometimes we just do what needs to be done, what's right in front of us, and sometimes we have to ask, "Where is God inviting us to go?"

As a church, we need to spend a whole lot more time talking about discipleship than membership.  It is discipleship that we are called to, and that is a mighty adventure that asks for all that we are - it is the ministry of each one of us.  A wonderful woman named Verna Dozier puts it this way, "The call to ministry is the call to be a citizen of the kingdom of God in a new way, the daring, free, accepting, compassionate way Jesus modeled.  It means being bound by no yesterday, fearing no tomorrow, drawing no lines between friend and foe, the acceptable ones and the outcast.  Ministry is commitment to the dream of God."

Do you believe that?  WE are part of God's dream for the world.  Can you imagine?  That sort of news ought to get us right up out of our seats, on to our knees, and then out the door.  That sort of news ought to be enough to light a fire in the church that would spread throughout the world.  AMEN