One of the people I truly admire is a fellow named Dean Karnazas. I’ve never met him, though I’ve heard him speak. Karnazas is famous for being an ultramarathon runner. In his prime, he’s over 60 now, he regularly ran races of 50 miles, 100 miles and even more. He would run a marathon to get to the start of a marathon. He once ran a marathon in all 50 states in 50 days. He was never the best ultramarathon runner, but he was very good.
Interestingly, it wasn’t until he was 30 that he began serious running. He had run in Junior High and High School but had not kept it up. He was athletic, but not a serious runner.
When he was 30, for several reasons, he went back to running and committed himself to running the Western States Endurance Run, which is a 100-mile trail race through the Sierra Nevada mountains. His goal was to finish within 24 hours.
Of course, no one just goes out and runs 100 miles. You gotta pay your dues, a lot of them. And he did. Changed his diet. Changed his lifestyle. Running before work. Running after work Every weekend. Spending more and more time running and less and less time socializing. He radically changed.
When they saw what he was doing, some of his old friends quietly pulled away. They weren’t interested in his goals or in supporting his lifestyle. But he also began making new friends. Friends at the gym, friends at races, friends in the ultrarunning community. Friends who appreciated his goals and encouraged his lifestyle.
Karnazas’ experience is not unique. Anyone who seriously devotes themselves to a consuming goal knows all about it. Professional sports, concert-level musician, kicking drugs or alcohol, starting your own business. You have to give yourself to it completely, and when you do it changes you. Some people will embrace the new you. Some won’t.
Reading our Gospel lesson, we need to remember Luke is writing for a largely Gentile readership. For them, being a Christian would have very real consequences. They couldn’t join their friends
in the local religious festivals and sacrifices. They couldn’t pray with their family to the household gods. Their faith might well make them social pariahs. In the early church, choosing to follow Jesus would have real consequences.
For us, the consequences may not be as dramatic, but they are real. If our goal is following Jesus’ teachings, day in and day out, it will have an impact on our lives. It will change us. It will change our relationship with our family and friends. Some will react badly. They’ll see the changes in us and resent them. They’ll pull away.
But we will also make new friends. Friends and family who support our decision to live a meaningful life devoted to the self-giving love of Jesus.
Maybe you already know this. You’ve been a devoted follower of Jesus for decades. Your closest friends and family all support your faith and are advocates for your lifestyle.
But friend, if you are newer to our faith, or if you’ve always been on the periphery but are now moving closer to the center, don’t be surprised if your faith causes some disruption.
Some will see the changes going on in you and will resent them. They’ll pull back. But others will seek you out.
You’ll see it happening, like a thunderstorm moving in. It’s a sign of the times. It’s a sign of how closely you’re following Jesus.
Beloved, none of us need to become ultra-marathon runners. We don’t need to leave here today and go run 100 miles. But the good news of God is, if we stay committed to God, if we keep on living Jesus’ lifestyle of self-giving love, we will live meaningful, powerful lives that are pleasing to God.
Or, to borrow from Isaiah, we will produce good grapes and God will be proud. By God’s grace may it be so for us. Amen.