The best excuse for throwing away your healthy eating pattern is this: oh, come on, it was just one (extra-large pizza). The second is for you kids. The best excuse for not cleaning your room is this: you know, mom and dad, really; it's only going to get dirty again. The best excuse for not feeling "in the mood" is this: honey, not now, the game is on! The best excuse for being "in the mood" is this: honey, after that extra-large pizza,
it's a great calorie burner. The best excuse for carving out a four-day weekend is this: your 119 year-old great, great Aunt Gertrude has died....again.  Finally, the best excuse for missing a church council meeting is...there is no excuse for missing a church council meeting!  See you tomorrow night, 7:30, Lecture Hall.

With the exception of council meetings, we do come up with the best excuses. Some are obvious, others more subtle. When strapped, when really desperate to explain our way out of the following situation, how many have at least considered this tried and true excuse not yet been mentioned: the dog ate my homework? Even if you don't have a dog, which, as a dog lover I say "shame on you," or you had no homework to turn in because, ah, this is June 27th and summertime is here for us all, we can still reach for this dog-eating homework excuse. Or, even better, we realize how silly it is to use it.

Take this further. I invite you to realize how silly some of the excuses we hand to God are, and I'll use the scripture to do it. Today, we'll look at the three people Jesus encounters in this passage during his travel to Jerusalem. The three points I'll make this morning are first, you are not of this world if you follow Jesus. Second, excuses come from a lack of trust and faith in Jesus. And, finally, every situation we have in our lives has room for our Savior in it. 

To begin with the first point, you are not of this world if you follow Jesus Christ, let's take a look at what happened when Jesus, John, and James meet the one who says in verse 57, "I will follow you wherever you go."

Now this individual may have said, "I'll follow wherever you go," because the three could well have been doing a rousing rendition of "100 bottles of wine on the wall." What? "100 bottles of wine on the wall" was a favorite pastime song 2,000 years ago.

Okay, maybe it wasn't the song that prompted him to say what he did. Maybe the newcomer said he'd follow Jesus wherever he goes because he overheard Jesus, who was never understood in his ministry, rebuke those two disciples. Maybe this man realized that a man angry is a man of passion. Maybe this man heard in Jesus' voice what you hear in your heart, and it's a stirring, an invitation, a need to follow Christ.

Jesus responds in somewhat of a riddle. I'd like us all to read in verse 58. "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head." In other words, Jesus is saying, I don't have any home. If you follow me, you have no home to call your own either.

If you follow Jesus, not sit empty or vacant or silent in a pew, you won't have a home either, at least not now.  Having no place to truly lay down your own head, your home is not here either.

Your home is not here. This isn't sobering; this is celebratory! Yet when is the last time you've acted this way? What if you lived your life not for this world, but truly now, for the one that is to come?

Consider this. Jesus is a sojourner or non-resident alien as you are a sojourner or non-resident alien in a world that alienates and annihilates peace, protection, and love with each spin of this big old green and blue ball. The point Jesus is making is that if you follow him, you are not a part of this world; you are apart from this world.

Jesus is a traveler, as you can be, without excuse, a traveler. I think of the M&M series we ran last fall, where the M's meant ministry and move. Let Jesus lead you. Let Jesus move you. To help, there's an old gospel song that, while a little hokey, brings this home in a memorable way. "This world is not my home," the lyrics suggest, "I'm just a-passin' through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue. The angels beckon me from heaven's open door, and I can't feel at home in this world any more."

That's point number one again, shared a little differently yet still plain and simple. You are not to be of this world when you, disciple, follow Jesus Christ.

"If we mean to follow Christ," writes Matthew Henry, who was an eighteenth century Bible commentator and Presbyterian minister, "we must lay aside the thoughts of great things in the world." We must live our lives not on what is here now, but on what is to come. And we live our lives not on what is here now, but on what is to come when we answer, yes" when Jesus says, "Come, follow me."

When the second individual heard Jesus say, "Come, follow me." And he responds, "Yes, sure, I'll follow you, Jesus. Sure, I'll give my life to you. Yes, I'll just go, but, ah, first, I have to bury my dad. First I have to take care of things in this world."

In other words, this second individual, just like the first, hands Jesus an excuse. "Yes, I'll be a disciple, as long as I don't have to do anything weird, like tithe, or promise a lot of money to a church destined by God to grow. Yes, I'll be a disciple, as long as I call the shots as to when and where this happens. Yes, I'll be a disciple, if I get to stay all neat and tidy. Yes, I'll be a disciple, as long as I get to just sit here in the oldest church in Susquehanna County and not do anything for my neighbor, especially the one that did, is, and will rub me the wrong way. Yes, I'll be a disciple, as long as I get to sit here and do nothing."

The second man makes our second point this morning. Excuses come from a lack
of trust. It's true. We use excuses because we doubt. We doubt God will change our hearts. We doubt, ultimately, God's presence in our lives. Otherwise, we would accept the call. We would not quantitatively give to God—as we've been doing with nickels and dimes here and there—no, we would give fully. Completely. 100%.

Matthew Henry, the eighteenth century bible commentator and Presbyterian minister mentioned a moment ago, shares the following about the  second encounter with scripture, and I quote. "Here is another [individual] that seems resolved to follow Christ, but he begs a short delay."

Religion teaches us to be kind and good. Religion teaches us to show piety at home. Religion teaches us to requite our parents; but we must not make religion an excuse for neglecting our duty to God. In other words, we cannot even use religion as an excuse of forgetting what we are called to do, and that is follow.

Follow Jesus. In everything you say and do, follow Jesus. And scripturally speaking, Jesus is like Abraham, his forefather, as you hear in Hebrews 11:8-10 which reads, "By faith, Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, he obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the Promised Land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents....for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God."

Abraham did not know where he was going, yet still he followed. You may have an inkling where your day will take you, but follow Jesus through it. Hurdles or hardships may meet you today, but through them follow Jesus.  

It's time to close with our third point which, again, is every situation we have in our lives has room for our Savior in it. 

Here's a true story that happened Friday.

You've walked or driven by situations too. Instead of following Jesus, which is what our Savior asks you to do, you, like those guys in our scripture today, think of yourself. Instead of following Jesus, you follow your earthly needs—that new car, that dream vacation, that time by the water instead of time with this lesson, that easy afternoon with a friend rather than the hour alone with God. Let excuses go and let God in. Let God into your journey.

If you stick with excuses, like those that started the sermon, you'll come up with sillier and sillier ones. In time, it won't be the dog ate my homework, but God ate my homework. In the following moment of silence, do some 'in class' home work. You and God will be the only two who know if you do or don't do it.

Here it is. In this quiet, recognize an excuse or two you've used not to follow God, and then with renewed strength from the bread and the cup that you were a part of, get rid of them. No excuses.

The third excuse maker in our scripture today is another that is willing to follow Christ, but he must have a little time to talk with his friends about it, set in order his household affairs, and give directions concerning them. He seemed to have worldly concerns more upon his heart than he ought to have, and he was willing to enter into a temptation leading him from his purpose of following Christ. No one can do any business in a proper manner, if he is attending to other things. Those who begin with the work of God, must resolve to go on, or they will make nothing of it. Looking back, leads to drawing back, and drawing back is to perdition. He only that endures to the end shall be saved.

We come up with the best excuses. We do. Some are obvious, others more subtle. When strapped, when really desperate to explain our way out of a situation, how many will resort to this tried and true: the dog ate my homework? Even if one, you don't have a dog, which, of course, as a dog lover I say "shame on you," or two, you had no homework due because, after all, this is summertime for us all, we can still reach for this dog-eating homework excuse. Or, even better, we realize how silly it is to use it.

I invite you to realize how silly some of the excuses we hand to God are, and I'll use the scripture to do it. Today, we'll look at the three people Jesus encounters in this passage during his travel to Jerusalem. The three points I'll make this morning are first, you are not of this world if you follow Jesus. Second, excuses come from a lack of trust and faith in Jesus. And, finally, every situation we have in our lives has room for our Savior in it. 

Okay, now all that said, when these three people, when told what to do, hand Jesus excuses. These excuses, it can be argued, are as lame as the one we've started talking about, the dog ate my homework.

To begin with the first point, you are not of this world if you follow Jesus Christ, there is a key phrase here in scripture we should not overlook. To find it, turn back to your pew Bible, the one you brought with you, or your scripture sheet. It's the very first part of verse 57. Read the first few words of verse 57 with me now. As they were going along the road...

What was the mood like between Jesus and the two disciples, James and John, who were with him? Were they singing 100 bottle of wine on the wall to pass the travel time, were they seeking our equivalent to Volkswagen Bugs in a punch buggy game, or was the mood pretty dour?  With your finger still near what we had just read, silently scroll back up to verse 53 and read the following few verses either silently or quietly to someone you love who is beside you and may need just a little help in reading such small text. Please read those few verses now as I have a question for you. 

The question I have for you is actually the one I just asked. You clearly know the answer now. There's room for interpretation here, of course, but what do you think, were these three all la-dee-dah, happy-go-lucky, or quiet?

I think they were quiet. Jesus had just rebuked them, or essentially yelled at them. And this I raise because Jesus, on his road, must have felt lonely sometimes because he was so clearly misunderstood. Since Jesus was lonely on his road, surely he understands what you're going through on your road, whether you're sometimes lonely or annoyed with your companions. Jesus understands when you're frustrated, angry, or overwhelmed because he's been there too.

And along comes this individual. This traveler, out on the road, has heard about Jesus because, chronologically, Jesus is becoming more and more known for his miracle healings, including the healing of a boy that happens just ahead of our lesson today. For those here who won't let a dog eat their homework, your assignment later today is to read about the boy starting in Luke 9, verse 37 and following. Again, that's Luke 9:37 for those who want a richer context of perhaps why this first individual we talk about knew the healing power of Jesus so well that she said, "I will follow you wherever you go."

And Jesus, who just ripped into James and John, replies what I'd like us all to read in verse 58, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head." In other words, Jesus is saying, I don't have any home. If you follow me, you have no home to call your own either. Does that mean that disciples shouldn't look forward to home ownership? That's what it may mean for some.

Jesus has left his family home in Nazareth to carry out his mission. From Luke 4:29, we know he can't return to Nazareth where they seek to kill him, so he has stayed with friends in Capernaum for awhile. In Luke 9:51, where our text today begins, he "sets his face towards Jerusalem" and cannot turn back.

Jesus is a sojourner, a non-resident alien. In this he is like Abraham, his forefather, as you hear from Hebrews 11:8-10. "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the Promised Land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God."

An old gospel song, while a little hokey, brings this home to all of us in a memorable way. "This world is not my home," the lyrics suggest, "I'm just a-passing through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue. The angels beckon me from heaven's open door, and I can't feel at home in this world any more."

That's point number one again, shared a little differently yet still plain and simple. You are not to be of this world when you, disciple, follow Jesus Christ.

"If we mean to follow Christ," writes Matthew Henry, who lived through the turn of the eighteenth century as a Bible commentator and Presbyterian minister, "we must lay aside the thoughts of great things in the world." Henry continues. "Let us not try to join the profession of Christianity [by] seeking worldly advantages."

Jesus' directive is clear. He says, "Come, follow me."

When the second individual heard these very words, he says (and this comes from the latter half of verse 59), "Yes, sure, I'll follow you. Sure, I'll give my life to you. Yes, I'll just go, but, ah, first, I have to bury my dad. First I have to take care of things in this world."

In other words, this second individual, just like the first, hands Jesus an excuse. "Yes, I'll be a disciple, as long as I don't have to do anything weird, like tithe, or promise a lot of money to a church destined by God to grow. Yes, I'll be a disciple, as long as I call the shots as to when and where this happens. Yes, I'll be a disciple, if I get to stay all neat and tidy. Yes, I'll be a disciple, as long as I get to just sit here in the oldest church in Susquehanna County and not do anything for my neighbor, especially the one that did, is, and will rub me the wrong way. Yes, I'll be a disciple, as long as I get to sit here and do nothing."

The second man makes our second point this morning. Excuses come from a lack of trust.

Henry writes. Here is another that seems resolved to follow Christ, but he begs a short delay. To this man Christ first gave the call; he said to him, "Follow me." Religion teaches us to be kind and good, to show piety at home, and to requite our parents; but we must not make these an excuse for neglecting our duty to God.

Henry. Third. Here is another that is willing to follow Christ, but he must have a little time to talk with his friends about it, and to set in order his household affairs, and give directions concerning them. He seemed to have worldly concerns more upon his heart than he ought to have, and he was willing to enter into a temptation leading him from his purpose of following Christ. No one can do any business in a proper manner, if he is attending to other things. Those who begin with the work of God, must resolve to go on, or they will make nothing of it. Looking back, leads to drawing back, and drawing back is to perdition. He only that endures to the end shall be saved.

Today, we'll look at the three people Jesus encounters in this passage during his travel to Jerusalem, which, to put this into perspective, is the place he knows he's going to be crucified