Without Blinking

Sermon by Rev. Mary Alice Mulligan, Ph.D.

Scripture: Luke 9:51-62

Practically from the first moment you walk in the church door the first time, you hear an encouragement to follow Jesus. In other words, model your life on the love of God as displayed in the teachings of Jesus. In the midst of the chaos of 21st century life, you are invited to consider: How is God calling you to live as a disciple of Christ? And how is God calling St. Andrew together as church to live out your commitment? One of the ways you can learn what God is asking is to look to Jesus as a model.

I encourage you to read the entire 9th chapter this afternoon, because Luke squeezes so much into this section of scripture. Here, Peter declares Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah of God. Then Luke reports how a week later, he takes his inner circle up a mountain to pray, where Jesus is transfigured. His physical presence is stripped away, and his glory explodes out. Moses and Elijah appear as conversation partners. Of course, the disciples are terrified, and then it’s over. When they come down, there is healing and importantly Jesus predicts his betrayal. All this leads to Jesus’ setting his face for Jerusalem, preparing for the culmination of his self-giving love. Stop now and read Luke 9:51-62.

Some children are masters of the staring game. You know how it’s played. Two people lock eyes on each other and stare until they can’t hold it anymore. The first one to blink loses. The winners are often children who have an almost robotic concentration. You get the feeling a film of dust could coat their eyes and they still wouldn’t blink. Making a commitment to Jesus Christ is more serious than the staring game, but concentrated focus is still the key. You are to follow Jesus without blinking.

People blink for lots of reasons. Life is full of demands on their attention, so it’s easy to take one’s eyes off God. Everyone has responsibilities. They are trying to carve out time for emotionally healthy relationships with friends and family. And energy has to be spent on figuring out a secure retirement. People may want to have a singular focus on God, but lots of other legitimate obligations are tugging at their sleeves.

In fact, even what people believe God wants from them is sometimes pulling them away – causing them to blink, one might say. The weight of recent social issues demands attention. Doesn’t God want people who are willing to demand justice? Our UCC denomination observes Open and Affirming Sunday today. Lots of UCC members have been active in the fight for gay rights for decades. Now with mounting threats against even the rights already won, people need to put energy into working to sustain those rights. At the same time, most folks are pretty sure God wants a peaceful end to Russian aggression in Ukraine as well as increases in sensible gun laws in this country. And with the Supreme Court’s making the stunning decision to retract the Constitutional right of a person to have an abortion, the grief and rage welling up in many women is not only causing them to blink. They are either numb and unable to think what is next; or they are so angry they are ready to take to the streets with baseball bats and bricks.

The world is more than complicated. Tumultuous winds are blowing making it almost impossible not to blink. The swirling demands of life today seem to force people to divide their attention between multiple, serious concerns. No wonder people take their eyes off God.

But Jesus doesn’t blink. He sets his face to go to Jerusalem and doesn’t falter. Scripture indicates Jesus senses God’s call to go, so he goes. However, scripture is a bit funny about Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem. We might think he would head out, unblinking. Just get on the equivalent of a first century non-stop flight, since setting his face would seem to require urgency and speed. We could assume he wouldn’t stop anywhere or do any more teaching or sit down to leisurely meals with people, but Luke indicates although he knew where his journey was headed, he was also focused on God’s business along the way. If we pay attention, he “sets his face” for Jerusalem in chapter 9 but doesn’t arrive in Jerusalem until the end of chapter 19. He moves toward Jerusalem still teaching and healing, but his focus has changed. He is not only on a physical journey to Jerusalem; his journey is theological as well. He focuses with intensity on teaching those who are seriously following him. He sends them out on their own brief mission trip; he shows them the importance of prayer; he takes time for fellowship with friends and food, but always still teaching.

Scholars have argued through the centuries what Jesus knew or expected would happen once he got to Jerusalem. One thing scripture is firm on however, is showing that Jesus keeps focused on Jerusalem, not just getting there physically, but getting God’s work finished, accomplishing what God wants him to do. Nothing would get in his way, although Luke does report Jesus knows serious trouble awaits him. So Jesus is teaching his followers to keep faithful in the midst of difficulties. An often-overlooked part of his teaching during these days is how Jesus keeps pointing away from himself and toward God. He stresses his followers should be attentive to what God is doing; what God is asking. In faithfulness, Jesus ignores the danger and heads to Jerusalem. In his commitment to God, Jesus doesn’t blink.

Which is a good model for us. We need a singular focus. Followers of Jesus also need a single-minded commitment to God’s purposes. In other words, those committed to God’s vision shouldn’t blink. But in the mix of so many social justice issues and demands on our individual lives, how can we tell what is blinking and what is rightly focusing on God’s purposes along the way? Following Jesus’ model can help us distinguish.

Let’s just look at people’s reactions to the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. People on both sides got so ugly. They yelled, called their opponents names, screamed in anger or celebration that the other side was evil. Such hatefulness is blinking, absolutely taking our eyes off God’s ways for the world. Of course, those who support a woman’s right to choose can act, even as they stay focused on God. We just need to pay attention to God’s methods of interacting in the world. Act from moral strength, but also with compassion and generosity. Does Planned Parenthood need assistance supporting women in Florida? Is the UCC developing an Overground Railroad? Participating in such programs can be done even as we keep rightly focused. Keeping our spiritual lives fed and properly connected to God keeps us from blinking, so we can act on the outside according to the characteristics God approves of (like generosity, forgiveness, honesty, self-control, compassion), because we don’t take our inner eyes off God’s love for each person.

So, what does that mean? It means we choose to act out of God’s desire for every person’s wholeness and well-being. If we are committed to God’s purposes without blinking, then we cannot hate the folks on the other side of any issue. Each of them is precious to God, so our efforts must be to assist in creating a healthful world for all. We acknowledge the preciousness of each person, and we work for communities of justice and equality, with our eyes fixed on the purposes of God.

When Jesus tells us to proclaim the kingdom, the reigning, of God, he means to share the messages he taught by living the way God wants the whole world to live – showing that God’s love covers every inch of the universe. No one should be forgotten, or treated poorly, or killed. God’s purpose for the earth is for us all to live in a place where everyone is treated with dignity, where each person is working on being more forgiving, and where everyone goes to sleep at night feeling safe. God wants the earth to be a place of wholeness for everyone.

So what are we supposed to do? We fix our eyes on the world as Jesus sees it. Without blinking. The truth is, things are urgent. People are starving, living in soul crushing oppression, feeling hopeless. We don’t have time to blink. If we commit ourselves to following Jesus Christ, we get to fill ourselves with his self-sacrificing love. Breathe in his unconditional grace. Let his holy being fill every corner of our lives. And then we live out of his love. We get to abandon ourselves to spreading the love of God everywhere, until holy love becomes our daily life in the world. If we sense we are loved fully and completely by the Savior of the world, we can’t help but overflow with love for others; a love which is manifest in physical, tangible ways which make life better for others. We share Christ’s singular vision. Without blinking.