The Journey

As children we looked forward to holidays especially if it involved a trip to somewhere. The beach, a relative’s home or an amusement park. Anywhere was fine as long as it wasn’t home. As we grew older, where we went depended less on our parents and more on our financial circumstances and maybe where the destination was. In the made for TV series, The Chosen, I was struck by the conversation (fictional though it was) between Jesus and Thaddeus, a fellow worker, whom he befriended while working on a latrine being built by the Romans. After some small talk, Jesus let on that he was a Rabbi and was about to begin building a kingdom and wanted Thaddeus to join. Thaddeus, surprised and somewhat taken aback at the boldness of the idea was reluctant and said they had only met a half an hour earlier. Jesus undeterred continued for several minutes ‘selling’ the idea of what would come from such a venture. Such a kingdom would not be allowed by the occupying Romans and Thaddeus’ reluctance was evident when he asked, “Just the two of us? Jesus replied, “No. but where, if not here and who, if not you?”

This scene was told in flashback shortly before The Last Supper as Thaddeus was remembering how he met Jesus as were the other Twelve in other flashbacks. Thaddeus’ story is one that many of us can relate to because of our own reluctance to let go and ‘Follow (Jesus).’ It is a step that often means going a different path than we had been use to, with people we don’t know or going places that are not as familiar as when Mom and Dad chose the destination for the family trip.

This Life

Being a Christ Follower (or Christian if you prefer) is not for the faint of heart or anyone who is not willing to put their own comfort and security on the back burner and take up their cross to follow him.

Yes or No

As the flashback scene was coming to an end, the most telling line came through when Jesus told Thaddeus that being part of this movement he was launching meant “You will have said ‘yes’ to the world’s ‘no’.  How about you?