Listen

As Jesus and his disciples traveled along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and the birds in the sky have nests, but the Human One has no place to lay his head.”

Luke 9:57-58

Think

“As Jesus and his disciples traveled along the road…” I imagine today’s passage as Jesus and the disciples walking and talking like I remember from some of my hikes with friends in Virginia.

Seemingly out of nowhere someone says to Jesus, “I’ll follow you wherever you go.” I wonder why he said that. What was he thinking?

Regardless, Jesus replies with a rather confusing response, also seemingly out of nowhere. In essence, Jesus replies, “I don’t think you know what you are saying!”

It is easy to make promises or commitments to Jesus in those “mountain-top hike” moments. Jesus reminds all of us that following him may not always be as easy as it seems in those moments. What if following Jesus leads us to places we never intended? “Talk is cheap,” it is said. Our faith is truly lived when we take the next step on the journey, even if it isn’t a step we anticipated.

Dale Tadlock

Pray

Jesus, it seems so easy at times to make commitments to you. Yet, living out my faith can sometimes be more difficult than I ever imagined.

Help me to have the courage to take the next step in my faith journey, regardless of how small or life-changing it may seem.

Amen.

Go

We are travelers on a journey
Fellow pilgrims on the road
We are here to help each other
walk the mile and bear the load.

I will hold the Christ light for you
in the nighttime of your fear;
I will hold my hand out to you,
speak the peace you long to hear.

Richard Gillard in “The Servant Song” (1977)