Saying “Yes”
Sermon by Pr. Sharai Jacob on Peter and Paul, Apostles + Saturday, June 28, 2025
Jesus is passing through a Samaritan Village on his journey to Jerusalem. But the Samaritans would not receive him because he was focused on Jerusalem. It may seem that the Samaritans are rude or uninviting, but this little snapshot of scripture is not the full story.
There was a long history of discrimination and hatred between Samaritans and Judeans. One that was rooted in differences of theology and ethnicity.
The Samaritans had been pushed down and tossed away by the very people Jesus is going to minister to. It makes sense that they wouldn’t trust a band of Judeans on their way to Jerusalem to treat them well, even as their guests.
Another viewpoint to consider, is that it may have been incredibly dangerous for this little village to host Jesus and his followers. Jesus is standing boldly against the authority of Rome, and Samaritans are already vulnerable to prejudice. As we know, violence and prejudice often go together.
Whether for their safety or because they had been hurt before, the Samaritans set a boundary. They acted with autonomy. They said, “No.”
The Disciples react to their, “No,” with violence. Their jump to violence speaks not only to an entitlement that they feel, but to what we might refer to today as, “a colonizer mindset.” The question, “May we stay in your village?” was really a threat, “Let us stay in your village or we will command fire to come down upon you.”
Jesus rebukes their entitlement and violence. When Jesus knocks on your door, he does not arrive with a knife behind his back. Jesus defends and respects the autonomy of the Samaritans by simply accepting that their answer is “No.”
The other half of our reading is a bit harder to decipher. Jesus has very harsh words for people who are concerned with the funerals of their loved ones, and the welfare of their families.
The first person says, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus’ response is, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
Jesus is saying that he has no home here and that to follow him wouldn’t afford the comforts of home either. This journey promised constant forward momentum.
Next, Jesus is the one to ask someone else, “Follow Me.” But the person said, “First let me go and bury my father.” Jesus replied, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God”
This particular response has been interpreted in many different ways, some really lean into the idea that spiritual matters should always come before earthly worries - which is an interpretation that has caused harm for many, but has bolstered the faith of others. Part of what makes scripture come alive is that many different interpretations can have validity in different contexts. They thread together across scripture in ways that can be difficult to fully comprehend.
Another interpretation might ask: What if this person’s father is not actually dead yet? What if what this person is asking for, is to go home, live in comfort until his father passes away (however many years that might take), and then return to follow Jesus?
This would make Jesus’ response understandable, “You’re going to go home and sink into spiritual death while you wait for your father’s death? Just come with me and live!”
I sometimes wonder if Jesus is sending this person out? “But as for you, go and proclaim.” Maybe Jesus is sending him home to bury his father, and out to proclaim the kingdom of God? Instructing him to both honor his grief, and hold onto the promise that death is not the end.
Looking at these interpretations, I don’t see Jesus asking that we set aside our grief, or disregard our loved ones. Jesus is simply communicating a sense of urgency.
A few verses before our reading this week, Jesus predicted his own death. And now, he’s moving forward toward Jerusalem, which he would later name, “The city that kills prophets.” I wonder if his sense of urgency comes from how limited his time on Earth is?
He tells the first would-be follower, I have no home here, where I am going things won’t be easy. He tells the second, this call to follow is urgent, Jesus is working on a time limit.
The last person comes up to Jesus and says, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus responds, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
This is yet another difficult statement from Jesus. And just like the previous statement, it shows us a sense of urgency.
Jesus’ response could be interpreted as Jesus telling this poor person that their care for their loved ones has made them unfit for God’s Kingdom. But, I would suggest that this response is instead directed at the audience: anyone who has their hands on the tools to do good work, and stands idly - is not fully participating in the Kingdom of God.
In this passage, we encounter both the mercy and the urgency of Jesus. He honors the boundaries of the Samaritans and rebukes the disciples' violent instincts, showing us that the Kingdom of God is not built through coercion, but through respect, love, and humility.
At the same time, Jesus speaks with clarity and conviction about the cost of discipleship. The road ahead is not easy, there is hard work to be done. And that work begins not by burning down what we don’t understand or delaying until we feel ready, but by saying “yes” in the face of discomfort, and moving forward even when the path is uncertain.
Jesus is not asking us to abandon our humanity or our grief. He is reminding us that the call to follow him is both deeply personal and profoundly urgent. It’s a call to step into the work of justice, healing, and love—not just tomorrow, but today.
