Puzzles and Riddles

Labyrinth (1986 movie) has several riddles and puzzles (like Dan Brown’s books). In one of them, two guards stand before two doors. One door leads to the castle while the other to certain death. Sarah (the visitor) could ask one of the guards just one question to decipher the correct door to enter the castle. But there is a catch: one guard always lies, the other always tells the truth, and she doesn’t know which. Imagine she asks the liar, “Does this door lead to the castle?” He could lie and say “yes” and lead her astray. So, she must talk with the truthteller, but she doesn’t know what that is. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grOpvXBmTx8)

I find some of the Lord Jesus’s instructions as confusing as the above riddles. The following three stories are examples of such riddles.

“As they were going in the path, one said to Jesus: I’ll follow you wherever you go. Jesus said to him: The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests. But the son of man does not have a place to lay his head.” (Luke 9:57–58)

“Jesus said to another: Follow me. He said: Let me first go and bury my father. Jesus said to him: Let the dead bury their dead, but you follow and proclaim God’s rule.” (9:59–60)

“To another, Jesus said: Follow me. He said: Lord, first, let me go and say goodbye to my family. Jesus said: No one, laying his hands upon the plow and looking back, is worthy of God’s rule.” (9:61–62).

One wanted to follow him, and Jesus discouraged him, saying following him meant no rest. The other two didn’t want to follow him, but he insisted they did. Another teacher would have accepted those willing to follow and left alone those who didn’t want to. But Jesus made it difficult for both groups. That, I think, was the lesson. None of them should have thought that following the Lord was easy. Discipleship was demanding.

A few weeks ago, a colleague referred to a study that said, “50 percent of ministers drop out of ministry within the first five years and many never to go back to church again” (https://ministeringtoministers.org/clergy-losses-are-massive/). I am suspicious of this statistic. But I know some friends and students have returned to secular work after studying the Bible and theology. Instead of seeing them as failures, I applaud them because Christians are supposed to be salts and lights in the world, not within churches. If the Lord calls me to go to a non-religious job, I will.

Regardless of where we are, following the Lord Jesus is a commitment, and we can’t shy away from it. We are called to be faithful, not necessarily successful or have an easy life.