Don't plow Backward

Luke 9:57-62 (NRSV)
57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." 58 And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." 59 To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." 60 But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." 61 Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." 62 Jesus said to him, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

We as Christians are disciples, followers of Jesus, right? Yet how often do we consider the words that Jesus said to those who claimed a desire to be his follower. Look at these verses. The first one proclaimed he would go wherever Jesus went, but then Jesus reminded him of a scary truth, this is not an easy comfortable road. There is no settling in, or arriving. There is no reaching the place where you will stay. Foxes have places to stay, birds build places from time to time, but the gospel, the Messiah, the message in constantly on the move, and so are those who will follow him. Are we ready to be on the move, to not get comfortable, to keep looking at where we are going rather than settle for where we are?
The second person was commanded by Jesus to follow but he gave Jesus an excuse. Let me first take care of my father. The implication is not that his father had passed away, but that he knew it was coming, and he didn’t want to leave until after all those affairs were taken care of. In other words, I’m tied down right now Jesus, but in a little while I will follow you. Jesus’ response is not as heartless as it sounds, his response is more akin to do something now for God and don’t wait to be caught dead.
But the last one is the one I want to focus on as we as a Church need to recognize our tendencies. The last one says I will follow you, and intends to, but says just let me say good bye. In other words, I am having a hard time moving forward, although I want to. I am having a difficult time in walking away from those that I have been with, from the life that I had been living,or perhaps for us in the church, from the way we had done things, from the good old ways of yesteryear, or for some of us, I am simply having a hard time letting go of the past, for good or for ill. I want to move forward, just give me more time. I will get there.
Listen to Jesus’ response. No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God. You can not try to plow the field by looking backward. You cannot accomplish the new thing God wants us to do if we are turning around. It is dangerous and silly. And it will wreck whatever we try to do.
Now is the time. It is 2011. It is the time to move forward. No more turning around and looking back. No more pillars of salt. We are moving forward, we cannot drive looking in the rear view mirror. I want you to know God has things he wants us to accomplish this year, but we have to look forward to see them! So lets all commit to putting our hand to the plow. Lets all commit to getting our shoes muddy, our hands dirty and getting in this field to do the work, looking forward at what lies ahead and letting the past be the past. Amen.