Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“As they were going along the road, someone said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ 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.’ ”
NL Daily Devotion for (Ash) Wednesday, February 17, 2021
by Dr. Kimberly Leetch, Clergy Stuff
Main Idea: Jesus was distracted by the terrifying events in Jerusalem, but still he resolved to continue his journey there.
By this point in Luke, Jesus was preparing for the end, which he knew would come when he entered Jerusalem. He still had work to do, but when he tried to make a trip to Samaria, “they did not receive him because his face was set toward Jerusalem.” Did they perhaps know he was distracted by the events to come? Or maybe they perceived Jesus was invested in the fate of Jerusalem and wondered whether he was still invested in Gentiles. Finally, the disciples were ready to pick up Jesus’ mantle, but in a strange way. They desired to rain fire from heaven as punishment for Samaria’s rejection of Jesus. But Jesus rebuked them. Maybe Jesus knew he had been rejected because he was distracted by the events to unfold in Jerusalem.
Jesus had certainly gathered quite a following by this time, and more desired to join him. But, like Jesus, they too were distracted by the many things they thought they needed to take care of. I wonder if the people’s obvious distractedness held up a mirror to Jesus’ own distractedness. With his harsh words, he may have been speaking to himself—talking himself into following through on the (terrifying) work God still had before him.
The path to Jerusalem (confrontation, torture, and death) was set. Jesus’ footsteps toward Jerusalem were laid. There would be nothing left to distract him away from this final journey.
God, in this 40 day journey, guide my heart to move to you. Amen.
