Follow Me

13th Sunday of Ordinary Time; Luke 9:51-62

“…you go and proclaim the reign of God everywhere.”

Join me in a flight of fancy, if you will.

It’s the summer of 2025 and Jesus and his disciples are on a worldwide stadium tour. (Think: Billy Graham style.) The City of Detroit is all aflutter because Comerica Park is all sold out and the demand for tickets is Ca-Razy! Finally, the night of the rally arrives, and downtown is packed. Big-screens and speakers have been placed around the stadium so that everyone can see and hear what is going on inside.

The show opens with Simon Peter coming out to welcome everyone and doing an opening monologue to warm up the crowd. (As if they need it.)  He is followed by Mary and The Magdalas singing a few of their big hits, including “One Night On A Boat” and “Come With Me to the Upper Room”. The crowd is electric.

At last, the big moment comes and out comes Jesus. He is transcendent in his trademark white robe. After getting the crowd to calm down, he thanks his Mom for all her support, and there’s not a dry eye in the house. He proceeds to give his now famous Sermon On The Mount, but hearing him say it in person, just seems different and special.  And then he says, “I want you all to follow me!”

The crowd suddenly goes silent as everyone grabs their smart phones and opens Facebook to find and follow "JesusofNazareth-Official". Jesus, sensing what is going on (He is God, after all) says, “No, no! Not that! I want you to follow me and tell the world about my teachings!” Everyone nods and goes to Twitter and follows @JesusTheSon. Jesus is getting a little perturbed by now and leans into the microphone and says, “Listen people – I want you all to follow me and get to know my teachings and know the real me and to love me and your neighbors too! Can you that?” The crowd yells in unison, “YES!” and then opens Tik-Tok and Instagram to follow #JesusLovesYou. Jesus just shakes his head and walks off the stage.

James and John run onto the stage and break into their comedy routine, “Sons of Thunder” which has everyone rolling in their seats. The show ends with Simon Peter coming out to thank everyone for coming and to be safe driving home.

Okay, so I’m being a little(?) goofy. But, if you think about it, isn’t there a bit of truth in that scenario?  I’m not always sure of what it means to “follow” Jesus. I hear lots of words each week at church, but does it translate into my life being different? I see a lot of people going to churches and thinking they’ve checked the box. Does going to church equal following Jesus?

Somehow, over the eons, we’ve equated attending Sunday worship as following Jesus’ commands. (Some even will tell you that you’ve sinned if you don’t.) Don’t misunderstand – attending mass is important. However, nowhere in the Gospels will you see Jesus saying, “worship me”. No. Where. Jesus said to "Follow Me".

I need to be much more intentional about knowing what Jesus says in the Gospels and then actually doing those things in my life. Because I know that if I do, then someone may see me and wonder why. And maybe they’ll ask me about my attitudes and behaviors. And then I’ll have the chance to tell them that I follow Jesus. And when they pull out their smartphones, I can tell them that it’s not necessary. It’s about the heart, not the apps on the phone.

Every Day.

© 2025 by Timothy J. Doppel

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