Sermon: March 4, 2007

“The Road of Danger”
Luke 13:31-35

Two roads diverged in a wood and I—
I chose the road less traveled by.
And that has made all the difference.
—Robert Frost

This area of the world is one that, in my opinion, has two wonderful traits that drew me and Amy here to live. 1. The Amish provide a reminder of the blessings in living a more simple life. 2. Beautiful rural scenery. In my opinion the best way to enjoy this area, whether as a tourist or local, is to get off the main roads and get lost in the back roads. Just a couple of weeks ago Amy and took a drive. We didn’t take a map, we just drove looking for things off the beaten path. It’s a bit risky to do such a thing. But, maybe it’s the risk that makes the drive seem more adventurous. Maybe it’s the danger of getting lost or stranded alone that somehow makes a drive in the car seem much less monotonous like the usual commute and more like the fun of exploring new ground. Amy and I did this when we were in Ireland. We had a car and we were in a land that we had not ever set foot on. We drove hundreds of mile every day. We drove looking for the back roads. Along the back roads, the less traveled roads, there are sights that can not be seen, experiences that remain hidden, along the main roads. But, there are very good, very safe, reasons for staying on the main roads. The main roads offer much better signage. If on the main roads, you don’t have to travel blind for long before you come to another sign telling you where you are or what to expect on the road ahead. Also, along the main roads there is much higher volume of travelers, traffic. We may not like traffic, but we must admit that there is a certain level of security we all feel from the numbers of people we travel along side on the busy roads.

The road less traveled may indeed be the one that offers much more for us to appreciate God’s creative and adventurous spirit, but it is a bit more risky and dangerous to travel that road. So, to overcome this we now have GPS navigation, Global Positioning Satellite navigation. Now, we can travel the back roads all we want and a little voice in the dash board of our car talks to us about the pertinent information regarding our whereabouts.

While we have GPS to give us the security needed to empower us to take the roads less traveled in our physical world, what about our spiritual world? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a sort of GPS to help us navigate the decisions of life?

God invites us to choose the roads that are less traveled. On Ash Wednesday, I spoke of the road of humility. Last Sunday it was the road of truth. Next Sunday is the road of judgment. These are all back roads that we know lead to beautiful, wonderful scenery along God’s terrain of righteous living. But, they are also very dangerous roads as well. Today, we hear that Jesus’ way, the way in which we are asked to follow, is the less traveled road of danger.

Jesus is warned by a Pharisee that Herod is out to get him. These Pharisees do not offer the voice of concerned friends. The Pharisees were not interested in protecting Jesus from danger. They were trying to trap him themselves. The Pharisees urged Jesus to leave because they wanted to stop him. But, Jesus’ life, work, and death were not to be determined by Herod or the Pharisees, or anyone else for that matter. Jesus’ life was planned and directed by God.

This is a very important piece for we who are believers today to grasp. The less traveled road of danger that Jesus faced, was not of God’s doing. But, because the path of Jesus' life, work, and even his death were determined by God, it was inevitable that danger would come. Also, and equally important, is the point that Jesus was not going to be stopped by the threat of danger along his road. Oh, its not that he wasn’t afraid, or that he didn’t fear the cross that awaited him in the road up ahead. But, Jesus’ actions—every move he made—was being guided by the Holy Spirit. Just last week we read the text that immediately followed Jesus baptism where it says that Jesus was “filled with the Holy Spirit and driven into the wilderness.” Every step Jesus took was in step with God’s direction. So, when the Pharisees came warning Jesus to go another way. His response is not one of arrogance or ignorance. It is one of the truth. He is going to continue along the path he is on regardless of Herod’s threat.

This, my friends, is true for us today. When God is the one determining our path, danger will come. Why? Because, in so much as we are following Jesus, we too are on the road less traveled. There are far too many Christians today who have gotten the wrong idea about Christianity. They assume that if the follow Jesus, and become a Christian then all their troubles and worries will go away. WRONG! If anything becoming a Christian, following our Lord, will bring more danger your way. Why? Because to follow Jesus puts you on the road less traveled. You see, the road most traveled is the road that most people are on. Its risky turns, and unseen bumps are all very well known and documented. Therefore, the minute you turn off this road and venture down the path that Jesus invites you upon, you can bet that the people around you are going to say you’re going the wrong way.

Amy and I have experienced this over the past several months. Ever since announcing that we are adopting a child from Ethiopia there have been some who can think of only the same threats of the Pharisees. Their warning comes to us like this: Are you sure you want to raise a black child in this neighborhood? Why are you adopting from Ethiopia, isn’t there a risk that your child will have some sort of disease? These threats are sincere. The dangers are real. But, Amy and I must stay the course. To do otherwise would be to abandon the way in which our Lord has invited us to follow. It may be the dangerous road less traveled, but to do otherwise would be unfaithful.

You see, my friends, to remain faithful there are times when we must take risks and face danger. To choose a path that avoids risk and danger is to abandon our Lord, and that’s more foolish than the risk of following our Lord.

The Good News however, is that with Jesus we have a GPS. Oh, it’s not a voice inside a gadget on your dashboard. That speaks to you when you push a button. Its much more. It’s a voice from our Lord. It’s the presence of Christ among us. You don’t have to push a button. You just need to pray. Our GPS is God’s Promised Son. He guides us and shows us the way. And, we can trust him because he has already been down every road of danger we can think of. He’s been through pain, rejection, abandonment, torture, death. He’s even been to hell. And, after going through all of that he came back from the grave to meet us once again, forgive us once again, and invite us once again to trust him and follow him.

Yes, the road that Jesus calls us upon to follow him is one filled danger.
But, we have GPS, Gods Promised Son with us to guide us, and as far as the road of danger—-He’s already been down that road. So, we can follow boldly. We can face our fears. We can take the necessary risks for the sake of others.

Amen.