Faith Works 3-27-21

Faith Works 3-27-21

Jeff Gill

The Jesus I want to follow

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And after saying this he said to him, "Follow me."

John 21:19

Palm Sunday is tomorrow, and Holy Week is ahead, a journey from the Mount of Olives into the valley of Hinnom to the Temple courtyards, a way of sorrow through Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, a week of strong emotions and painful episodes before we reach the joy of Easter. We dress it all up with Latin and labels, "Via Dolorosa" and Passiontide, but the reality behind it all is hard.

A hard journey, with a solid hope at the end: Resurrection. That promise redeems a great deal of suffering, but the suffering comes first. And in a way continues, since the passage we've been gnawing at all Lent takes place in the light of resurrection, by the Sea of Galilee, with the Risen Christ speaking to Peter.

There Jesus talks to his leading apostle about what is to come, and after calling on him (redemptively) to take on the challenge of tending the flock of his Lord, he cautions him that everything will not be in his ability to command, even where he is to go. Specifically not always Peter getting to decide where he wants to go.

And then says "Follow me."

Palm Sunday marks a strange day where almost any of us can easily imagine joyfully and happily following Jesus. The crowd proclaims him king, and we shout out loud and in public the ancient formula of salvation "Hallelujah!" which is simply archaic Hebrew for "Praise God!" There's a parade and children and families and both Rome and the oppressing local authorities are safely at a distance, even if frowning. The Jesus movement is heading for the Temple, and we are all celebrating the Messiah together. "Follow me"? Sure!

Yet there is more to come. And still Jesus says "Follow me." The mystery of the supper in the upper, rented room. Darkness in the garden, then confused battles and betrayals; a trial, a whipping, humiliation, pronouncement of sentence. And Jesus says "Follow me."

And the way of the cross, through the streets, to the knoll overlooking the dump and civic garden and road towards the port and the world, to nails and spears and pain and death. And Jesus says "Follow me."

Yes, if you've read ahead like a good student, you know there's more to come. But there's also no short cut, no "skip a step" here. You want to follow Jesus in the Palm Sunday procession, and you want to follow Jesus into resurrection and life eternal, you will be following Jesus on the path in between to get there. Following Jesus when its convenient, when we want to, when it feels good and everyone is right there with us — that means ducking into the parade and out of it. The great thing about Jesus is he's always going to want to let you come back on board the bandwagon; the problem with sin and separation is that the more time we spend out of the parade, the more likely it becomes we won't find our way back into the procession.

The kingdom of heaven, the realm of God, is a street fair with a conga line that makes some strange turns along the way, into neighborhoods far from the temples and palaces and "good people," which can suddenly become a nervous, frightened line of children holding the hand of the one in front and the person behind us, walking down narrow alleys closing in on either side, the streetlights far behind and the doorways looming and ominous. Jesus knows what he's doing, but we wonder what happened to the band, the shouting, the joy. We recall something said earlier about parks and picnics and green grass and music on ahead, but why are we here you think, as you step into a puddle and rats scatter. You hold onto your faith in Jesus our leader, no longer on a donkey but still up ahead of us as always, and you're glad you didn't step out of the parade anywhere sooner because you'd never figure out this stretch of the path on your own, but you wish you were somewhere else. 

"Follow me," Jesus says.

Jeff Gill is a writer, storyteller, and preacher in central Ohio; he's been in a few parades. Tell him about your path following Jesus has taken you at knapsack77@gmail.com, or follow @Knapsack on Twitter.