2 Kings 2: 9, 10, 13; Luke 9:57

In the footsteps

Both the text in 2 Kings and in Luke speak about following.  The first is about following in the footsteps, for Elijah will be taken up.  But really so is the second, Jesus too uses that kind of language. He knows His ministry will be short. There is something about footsteps.  Most of the time a footstep is the only way we make contact with the earth.  In Kona, heart of the ancient Hawaiian kingdom, there are a number of historical markers along Alii drive and they simply say:”Royal footsteps along the Kona Coast.” That simple line grabs you and stimulates the imagination, because as you pass that marker you are connected with those who have passed through history in that place through the earth. But footsteps are also temporary, they have a way of vanishing.  Time washes and burns them out.  Physically both Elijah (who for all practical purposes was Israel’s greatest prophet) and Jesus have footsteps that are vanishing and they have awfully big shoes (or sandals) to fill.

When I was thinking about today’s message, I was also thinking about some words I needed to say about Osame today and at one moment it became intertwined. What if, I thought, we were to take everything that was written for the memorial services for Parkview people over the last (assuming we could find it), have somebody edit it and put it together, it would give a pretty clear picture of the Nisei, the second generation, the people most of you here are following.  The idea occurred to me that the perfect title might be 2 Kings 2:9:”Give me a double portion of your spirit.”

Friends, there are two things I would like to highlight about following and how it is not easy, one from each text. The first is that when we wish to follow in the footsteps of someone, we can get more than their spirit. We also inherit their burdens. Elisha asks for a double dose of Elijah’s spirit and Elijah says:” you have asked for a hard thing.” Why does he say that? Well, it could be that Elijah’s spirit is already humongous!  But here’s that thought: you cannot just take someone’s spirit you inherit, because you also inherit their burdens, their grief and sorrow and, when applicable, their sins. You cannot inherit someone spirit without their worries and their passion. Where this hits home hard is on the reservation spread around North America or Native Americans and First Nation peoples.  I got a taste of that when I first got started in ministry, which was on a reservation on the Nevada/Idaho border. On the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, there a huge crisis on teenage suicides. Alcoholism is a way of life. Up to 500 kids get referred to behavioral services per year.  One local counselor talked about historical grief that the next generation takes on.  I think this is true of other groups in this country too, including Asian Americans.  The kids do not just inherit the pride and culture of the Lakota, they also absorb their sorrow. I guess this is why people leave home sometimes. They want to clear the slate from all the baggage. So following has its perils.

Jesus pulls no punches when it comes to talking about following.  “Foxes have holes..” but the Son of humanity has nowhere to lay is head.” Essentially Jesus is saying:”you want to follow me, know what you are getting into. I am going to take you places you thought you’d never go and nothing will be predictable.”  There is risk in following.  This is especially true when Jesus says:” I set my face to Jerusalem.”  When you are leader “sets His face” for a great goal, then hold on to you seats. Things are about to get interesting!

Friends, we all have a relationship to the act of following.  We have all some of that.  Our society kind of frowns on following these days.  Following seems to imply weakness. “He/she is follower,” is not a positive statement.  “Follower of Christ” is a little more positive perhaps, but only in certain circles. Sometimes when we follow we can be tentative.  “We’ll try out and We’ll see how it goes,” we whisper to ourselves. “We’ll try it out.” Most of us have been burnt one way of another in the act of following. Our leaders, including our religious leaders, have disappointed us. Their promises have sounded hollow over time. Their humanness had disillusioned us. But there is also an inevitability in following. We follow the previous generations unless we totally detach ourselves from them which almost always is a bad idea. We follow our predecessors and therefore inherit the works they wrought. These things happen unless we live by ourselves in a cabin in the woods, but that would create a whole different set of problems!  Our texts today call us to a revisiting of following, a following that catches the spirit of those who came before and a following that is risky and unpredictable. May God give us the strength to follow the ones who came before us with dignity and diligence and courage to follow the Christ Who takes us places we did not think we would go. Thanks to be to God.