Anyone who's ever set out on a journey will know that time spent in preparation for a journey is time well spent. Looking at a map and understanding its symbols will always be helpful: it enables us to better negotiate the terrain or the route ahead.
So, for example, noticing that a symbol that looks like a tuft of grass means not 'long grass' but 'marsh' might have some bearing on our choice of footwear. Realising that parallel broken black lines with white in the middle means 'other road, drive or track' and not 'quaint country lane' might have some bearing on our choice of vehicle. Apologies are long outstanding then to my friend Simon whom I once confidently led through a marsh with him only wearing plimsolls and to my friend Tim, whose Renault's suspension was never the same again following a drive down a particularly rocky track, again courtesy of my map reading!
In each case, time spent preparing thoroughly for the journey would have led to a different route being taken. Knowledge of the terrain that we were going to encounter would have enabled me to better identify our limitations in the face of it. Indeed, in each case, noticing and understanding those map symbols would have forced us to at least ask ourselves the question as to whether we were equipped to face the journey at all.
For those of us who say that we want to follow Jesus, it is vital that we spend time preparing for the journey. Such preparation will help us to anticipate that which lies ahead and be as ready as we can be for it and/or it will force us to wrestle with the question as to whether we are in a position to make the journey at all. And sometimes, we will have to conclude - however disappointed we might feel about it - that we simply cannot. One day, when he was out walking, Jesus met some people along the road. Each of them considered following him (Luke 9: 51-62).
To the first, who says, 'I will follow you wherever you go', he replies 'Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.' Fair enough, we might think - a tad abrupt perhaps, but fair enough: it's only right that he spells out the uncertain nature of the journey ahead. But when he says to the second, 'follow me' and gets the reply, 'I will - but let me first go and bury my father' don't we squirm just a bit when Jesus comes back with the 'let the dead bury their own dead' stuff? This is hardly the kind, sensitive, gentle, caring, understanding Jesus that we have grown to know and love, is it? And when Jesus seemingly rejects the offer of the third person to follow him, because that person first wants to go and say some farewells to those at home, do we not begin to feel just a little bit embarrassed or ashamed by his response? After all, imagine the pain and anguish that would be caused should a member of your family simply disappear.
But Jesus is not being unnecessarily harsh. He is asking tough questions because he wants to be sure that those of us who say that we will follow him have thought about the implications of doing so. He wants to be sure that we are prepared for the journey. And so he asks, 'Do you understand what following me will mean? Do you know how much it'll ask of you? Do you realise how much it'll cost you?'
But, equally, Jesus is realistic. Jesus knows that some people, at certain points in their life, will need the security of home. Jesus understands that those who are recently bereaved will simply not be in a place to go anywhere or do anything much. And Jesus realises that there'll always be some people who need to be with their families. Jesus is not saying that these things are not important. He is acknowledging that they are, that they are very important, and he is saying that those who say that they will follow him need to do some serious thinking before making such a claim.
Jesus is saying, 'I know how incredibly important these things are. I just need you to understand that my work is even more important. I want you to be aware of the fact that following me might well cost you those things that are most important to you. Are you prepared for that?'
This summer, as you perhaps enjoy the fruit of all the preparations that you made for your holidays - sitting on a terrace with a refreshing drink or lying on the beach with a good book - why not spend some time thinking about your life and about what Jesus asks of you? Why not begin to prepare yourself for the next stage of your journey?
Wishing you a restful, if challenging, summer.
With every blessing,
Paul