Current Thoughts

Last Saturday I was privileged to bring the morning devotion for the Christian Education gathering in Area IV. I was asked to share that devotion with others. Here is an edited version

Plowing with Jesus
Luke 9:57-62

In the middle of this last journey to Jerusalem, on the way to the Cross, Luke records this teaching.

Notice that three times there are references to “following” Jesus. It was commonly understood in Jesus’ day that to “follow” someone meant more than just trailing behind someone, it meant to become a disciple, an apprentice, committed to learning a way of life from a master. It is obvious that this passage is about discipleship.

Also notice that you cannot “follow” and also stay in the same place. In contrast to Peter, who wanted to camp out and settle down on the Mount of Transfiguration (just a few verses before), Jesus was on the move. Jesus traveled resolutely to Jerusalem. Jesus was focused on Jerusalem and what would happen there. This trip had purpose, and Jesus would not be distracted or deterred.

Discipleship is not about getting comfortable and cozy. It is about traveling to “Jerusalem.” Jerusalem is a place of both promise and death. In this same sequence, from Luke, Jesus will warn again about his own death, and will tell his disciples that they must take up their own cross and follow him.

Discipleship—following Jesus—is deadly serious business. It is not only the mountaintop experience with Peter, James and John. It is also the embarrassment of a failed healing in the valley. It is also the pain of a cross. The more Jesus talked about the harsh reality of discipleship, the more reluctance was found among wannabe followers.

The teaching recorded here by Luke includes examples of reluctance and Jesus’ startling response. Each of the three references briefly describes a scenario of reluctant or uncertain “followership.” In each, rude, even harsh. This Jesus is demanding. This Jesus says: “If you are not willing to drop whatever it is you are doing and walk with me to Jerusalem—where I will be crucified— then stop wasting my time.” Ouch! This does not seem like the Jesus we sing about in hymns like “Pass
Me Not, O Gentle Savior.”

Jesus drove the message home with a proverb adapted from common agricultural life: “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” Let’s focus on that image, and what it says about discipleship.

One of my earliest memories is plowing with my grandfather. The mule would be harnessed and hitched to the single tree, walking plow. My grandfather would pass the lines over his shoulder and take hold of the plow handles. I would stand in front of my grandfather, holding on to the brace between the plow handles. He would call out to the mule and we would start out together, tilling the soil in the way developed by farmers in Mesopotamia thousands of years ago.

I was definitely more hindrance than help. Before long I would get hot and tired, turn loose of the brace, and head back to the house. I was a poor disciple of plowing. What started out with eager anticipation required more focus and energy than I could muster.

Plowing is hard work, and it requires constant attention and adjustment. Plow too deep and the whole rig will stall out, stuck in one place. Plow too shallow and the soil will not be a good seedbed. Both the soil type and terrain had to be considered. The condition of the mule was a concern; you had to pay attention so it wouldn’t overheat or dehydrate.

But most of all, you had to plow straight. An arrow-straight furrow was as much a matter of pride as anything. There were plenty of obstacles to plowing a straight furrow. The plowshare might hit a rock and deflect. The mule might get distracted and begin to wander. But the greatest obstacle was the attention of the person holding the handles. The mule could be called back on line; and the rig could be adjusted and shifted. But these corrections could be made only if the person at the plow had a clear sight
on a fixed point at the horizon—a destination.

The plowman can’t focus on his feet or look back to enjoy the furrow he had just plowed. The plowman can’t get distracted by an interesting sight or engage a threatening insect. The plowman can’t change the target point or look back to the house. Plowing is not about where you have been or what you have done; plowing is about where you are going.

No wonder Jesus used this familiar image for discipleship.

For too many of us, being a disciple means being a member of the Jesus fan club. It doesn’t mean a commitment to plow with Jesus. We want to be Christians, but we act like discipleship is an optional addon. Unfortunately, we can’t find that in the New Testament. Conversion marks the beginning of discipleship; and discipleship without conversion is impossible.

In our discipleship, we have at least as many distractions as I had plowing. It is easy to lose sight of the fixed point on the horizon. It is compelling to look back at the furrow we have just plowed. It is hard to keep the plow in line when it hits a rock. Heat and fatigue take their toll. Sometimes we just want to let go of the plow and go back to the house.

Then we read the harsh Word:

“No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in
the Kingdom of God.”

Like other discouraged disciples we might cry out: “Who, then, can be saved?” This is too hard! Who can do this?

But there is another Word: “He who began a good work in you is faithful to complete it.”

I am reminded of the complicated scene when I plowed: The soil, the mule, the harness, the plow, my hands on the brace – and my grandfather behind me with his hands on the plow. He was the one who actually guided the plow. It was his voice that the mule recognized and obeyed. He was the one who kept his eye on the horizon and hand the strength and skill to adjust the plow when it went awry.

I think plowing with Jesus is kind of like that.

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