Reflection - Almost

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/092816.cfm

Job 9:1-12, 14-16
Luke 9:57-62

One of the most common ways to approach Scripture, particularly the books of the New Testament, is to read with the intent of discovering God's message to you. A common question associated with this approach is "what does this text mean for me?" It's easy to see this morning's Gospel text as one that offers specific instruction for the Christ-follower. 

Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.
Let the dead bury their dead.
But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.
No one who sets a hand to the plow
and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God.

As useful as it might be to read, all the while seeking to hear and understand God's word, appearances do not always reveal the riches that may be present. That's the case with this morning's brief text. Recall that Luke's clearly stated purpose in writing his Gospel is "that you [the reader] may know the truth concerning the things of which you have been informed." (Luke 1:4) Luke's primary intent is not to write a book of moral instruction or to describe the correct behavior of the disciple, though both of these may to some degree be included. Rather, Luke's primary purpose is to reveal the person of Jesus, in order that He may be accepted and affirmed with confidence. In other words, it is Jesus himself who is the message to me; and Luke writes in order that I may know and receive Him.

In these few lines of today's text, Luke's teaching is far more significant than what might be assumed from a first reading. Those of us living today are at a disadvantage when compared with Luke's contemporaries, who were well versed in the Old Testament. Unlike Luke's first century audience, many today are not sufficiently aware of the content of the Jewish Scriptures and, therefore, cannot readily see the connections that Luke would make. Let me fill in a few of the gaps and you will better understand the import of what Luke is saying. 

The section actually begins six verses earlier.

"When the days drew near for him [i.e. Jesus] to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem." Both of the two parts to the verse would immediately ring with familiarity in the minds of his Jewish readers. The second part of the verse (he set his face to go to Jerusalem) echoes what was said to the prophet Ezekiel several centuries earlier: The word of the Lord came to Ezekiel: "Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem." (Ezekiel 21:2) The first part (When the days drew near for him to be taken up) would call to mind what happened to the first and greatest of the prophets, Eli'jah. "Now when the LORD was about to take Eli'jah up to heaven." (2king 2:1) In this opening verse Luke thus sets the stage for his assertion: Jesus is THE Prophet for our time. And, to reinforce the declaration he continues with the comparison, turning to incidents in the life of Eli'jah.

Immediately following the introductory statement, Luke tells of the disciples who were sent on ahead to make preparations for Jesus' travels. They were rebuffed by the Samaritans. When James and John heard about this "they said, 'Lord, do you want us to bid fire come down from heaven and consume them?'" (Luke 9:54) The incident recalls the life of Eli'jah, who actually did call down fire on the enemies of God. "Eli'jah answered, "If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty." Then fire came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty." (2kings 1:10)

Luke continues, and the text now picks up at the beginning verse from this morning's reading. Just as Eli'jah's disciple, Eli'sha, volunteers to follow and stay with the prophet, so, too, an unknown disciple volunteers to follow and stay with Jesus. Moreover, Jesus response to the offer ---  "the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” --- describes perfectly the circumstances of Eli'jah, who was continually forced to change locations in order to escape the clutches of an ungodly King.

But Luke is not yet done with the parallel he is drawing. When Eli'jah first encounters Eli'sha, Eli'sha is in the field behind a plow. The detail finds its counterpart in the words of Jesus: “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God.” Still the parallel continues. The man who says he will follow "but first let me say farewell to my family at home.” is clearly paraphrasing the words of Eli'sha at the point where he affirms his decision to follow Eli'jah. "Let me kiss my father and my mother', he says "and then I will follow you."

So what does all of this mean? And why does Luke draw such an elaborate parallel? The answer is found in the words with which he began this section: "When the days drew near for him [i.e. Jesus] to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem." Like Eli'jah, Jesus will, in God's good time, not only be lifted up on the cross but will also be taken up to heaven. Like Ezekiel, he is told to set his face to go to Jerusalem where judgment will be rendered. Like them both, Eli'jah and Ezekiel, Jesus is a prophet; indeed, he is THE prophet. The import of this difference is found in the variances between the two sets of incidents, those involving the prophets of Old and those involving Jesus here in Luke's gospel.

Whereas Eli'jah had brought down fire from heaven to consume the fifty men, Jesus admonishes his disciples when they make a similar suggestion. "For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him." (John 3:13) And, while Eli'jah allows Eli'sha to say goodby to his family, Jesus insists that there are more pressing issues at hand.  “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God.” 

Things have changed.
Something greater than Jonah is here.
Something greater than Solomon is here.
Something greater the Eli'sha and Ezekiel is here.
God is doing something new.

St Paul tells those early Christians: "You know what hour it is, how it is full time now for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed." (Romans 13:11)

"For he [the Lord] says, 'At the acceptable time I have listened to you,and helped you on the day of salvation. 'Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.'" (2 Corinthians 6:2)

If this was a compelling issue for those disciples living two thousand years ago, how much more does it demand our own personal watchfulness two thousand years later. Jesus has turned his face toward Jerusalem; and, if we are true disciples we turn with him as well. Our time is short. Our minds and hearts, faith and our commitment must be strengthened. There is no time to look to what was left behind. 

"For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us." (2 Corinthians 4:5-7)

When my children were young and we were traveling, the common question during the journey was: "Are we there yet." And the usual reply was "almost." The interim between the answer and the actual arrival was sometimes long and sometimes short. No matter. Wherever we were in the course of the journey, we were almost there for our destination was nearer to us now than when we first began.