The Road Less Traveled
Commentary
Robert Frost is famous, if for nothing else, for his poem “The Road Not Taken.” In it he reflects:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Now he doesn’t tell us what that difference might have been, and to be honest, sometimes as we look back on a choice, we made it’s impossible to know what might have been. We just know what actually happened. In today’s scriptures, taking the road less traveled makes all the difference. It doesn’t save Elisha, Paul, and the followers of Jesus from trials, tribulations, persecution, and even death, but choosing the road less traveled means following God’s will on the path to glory!
Elisha sticks by Elijah on the day of his departure from this life, much as we might have chosen (or not) to stick with someone during their last days. That can make a huge difference. The Apostle Paul reminds the Galatians that they have chosen the road less traveled, and it will do no good to backtrack and try to take the other road as well. Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life, is the road less traveled. In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus demonstrates just how different that road can be from our expectations.
(By the way, I tell the story behind the poem in the 2017 February 12 StoryShare)
2 King 2:1-2, 6-14
Elisha is offered two choices — to accompany Elijah on this, his last day on this earth, or pass on this possibility. The disciples keep reminding Elisha what’s about to happen, though really, none of them guess that it involves chariots of fire and an ascension into heaven. They seem to think he’s about to die. Elisha chooses to stay with Elijah. Johnny Carson used to talk about the rule of three when it comes to storytelling, funny or otherwise, and in true storytelling fashion three times Elisha is offered a chance to take the road more often traveled. The reward for Elisha is his presence at something extraordinary and perhaps unprecedented — we’re not told if someone else was present when Enoch was taken by God — and moreover, the gift of prophecy is passed on. Before Elijah’s elevation he parts the waters, calling to mind Moses and the Red Sea. After his Ascension, we see that Elisha also part the waters — as a direct response to the question by the disciples, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” We see that the Lord is also the God of Elisha, and the God not only of every seemingly irreplaceable follower of Jesus, but the people who replace them.
It is a very difficult decision to walk with someone during their last days. It means sitting by a bedside, performing menial tasks, administering medications, and overcoming exhaustion — but it’s also a way of answering the question Jesus asks in the Garden of Gethsemane — can no one stay awake with me while I pray (cf. Matthew 26:40 and Mark 14:32)? Perhaps we are able to do this. Perhaps (and let us not judge another because every circumstance is different) perhaps you can’t. And let me clearly state that when we make the decision to walk with someone through this time, we should also include organizations like hospice or other family members, who whoever else is available through church or other groups, to share the burden. But our decision will reveal gifts we didn’t know we have — maybe not parting the waters, but certainly surprising strengths which may have been hidden, even from ourselves.
That can make a huge difference.
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
Talk about a road less traveled. The first century Christian church manual called the Didache, or “The Teaching,” begins with these words — “There are two ways, a way of life and a way of death, and there is a great deal of difference between the two.” It then goes on to list some of what Jesus said in the sermon on the mount, contrasting these with some of the Ten Commandments and other prohibitions from scripture and common sense.
It seems as if our spiritual ancestors in the faith liked to make lists of do’s and don’ts. One suspects from these lists they’re saying that the road less traveled is the way of life. We see such a list in the manual of discipline from the Dead Sea Scrolls, and from the popular 2nd century Christian document, The Shepherd of Hermas. And also, here in Galatians.
This letter is written to the Celts of Asia (known as the galats in Latin). This civilization stretched in pockets across northern Europe and the British Isles. They were different than the Greek-speaking Roman Empire and the Aramaic-speaking Semitic peoples of the Middle East. They came to the Christian faith without a lot of the baggage of either civilization. And in the first verse of chapter 5 Paul warns them not to take a step backwards. He is not speaking against the Hebrew Scriptures or Jewish people. He himself is Jewish, after all, and what we call Christianity he saw as the fulfillment of Judaism. No, he is asking them not to slip back into old ways of interpreting those scriptures. And in order to help them remember, he gives them two lists, a way of life — the fruits of the Spirit — and a way of death — the works of the flesh — to help them remember to take the road less traveled. It’s no good backtracking because they have already chosen the road less traveled. You can’t travel down both roads. That’s like eating your cake and having it too.
Lists help us remember. That’s why Sunday School kids like the tune and words of the song “Fruits of the Spirit.” They’re silly, but memorable.
Sometimes we work hard to change our lives, then find ourselves slipping back into the old ways, little by little. We need reminders, post-it notes on the fridge, little pop-ups on our phone, to encourage us, regale us, bug us, like Paul is doing here. It’s kind of like the spiritual:
Guide my feet while I run my race
’Cause I don’t want to run my race in vain.
Luke 9:51-62
Jesus himself is the road less traveled — the way, the truth, and the life. In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus demonstrates just how different that road can be from our expectations.
Jesus sets his face towards Jerusalem. He is walking with purpose — through his death and beyond to his resurrection. And though it’s going to take him ten chapters to get to Jerusalem, he does take the straight road, right through Samaria. The Samaritans included some of the “poor of the land” (cf. 2 Kings 25:22 and Jeremiah 39:10) who were God’s people but were not taken away into exile in Babylon. They’re relatives. But when the exiles returned, they rejected the people who remained there, farming the land, worshipping at the temple they built, and staying faithful. They weren’t allowed to help. As a result, there was enmity between the two people. There was fault on both sides.
So maybe the rejection of a religious leader on his way to Jerusalem is not surprising. No doubt these Samaritans had experienced prejudice against them, and thought of themselves as the true believers. What’s interesting to me is that the disciples want to call down fire and brimstone on them — and Jesus refuses. This is a true expression of the road less traveled — love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you! Jesus leads them to another village.
What follows is even more puzzling. Three individuals seek to follow Jesus, but want to tie up a few loose ends. Jesus warns the first he’ll be homeless, refuses the second permission to perform the important duty of burying a parent (it’s not clear if the parent is dead yet and perhaps he was saying he couldn’t be free to follow Jesus until his parent had passed), and won’t let the third say farewell to family. Now it’s often assumed these people did not follow Jesus — but the scripture doesn’t say that. They were challenged to step out onto the road less traveled, that’s for sure.
How did they respond? Just as important, how would we? Jesus makes it hard for people who want to take care of some other stuff first before following — yet he shows forbearance to the Samaritan village that rejects him. Obviously, he did not see a consultant before acting in this manner. But Jesus does not automatically choose the more travelled road to popularity. He takes the road less traveled towards truth.
Don’t write the script for Jesus. Watch Jesus. Listen to Jesus. Follow Jesus.
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Now he doesn’t tell us what that difference might have been, and to be honest, sometimes as we look back on a choice, we made it’s impossible to know what might have been. We just know what actually happened. In today’s scriptures, taking the road less traveled makes all the difference. It doesn’t save Elisha, Paul, and the followers of Jesus from trials, tribulations, persecution, and even death, but choosing the road less traveled means following God’s will on the path to glory!
Elisha sticks by Elijah on the day of his departure from this life, much as we might have chosen (or not) to stick with someone during their last days. That can make a huge difference. The Apostle Paul reminds the Galatians that they have chosen the road less traveled, and it will do no good to backtrack and try to take the other road as well. Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life, is the road less traveled. In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus demonstrates just how different that road can be from our expectations.
(By the way, I tell the story behind the poem in the 2017 February 12 StoryShare)
2 King 2:1-2, 6-14
Elisha is offered two choices — to accompany Elijah on this, his last day on this earth, or pass on this possibility. The disciples keep reminding Elisha what’s about to happen, though really, none of them guess that it involves chariots of fire and an ascension into heaven. They seem to think he’s about to die. Elisha chooses to stay with Elijah. Johnny Carson used to talk about the rule of three when it comes to storytelling, funny or otherwise, and in true storytelling fashion three times Elisha is offered a chance to take the road more often traveled. The reward for Elisha is his presence at something extraordinary and perhaps unprecedented — we’re not told if someone else was present when Enoch was taken by God — and moreover, the gift of prophecy is passed on. Before Elijah’s elevation he parts the waters, calling to mind Moses and the Red Sea. After his Ascension, we see that Elisha also part the waters — as a direct response to the question by the disciples, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” We see that the Lord is also the God of Elisha, and the God not only of every seemingly irreplaceable follower of Jesus, but the people who replace them.
It is a very difficult decision to walk with someone during their last days. It means sitting by a bedside, performing menial tasks, administering medications, and overcoming exhaustion — but it’s also a way of answering the question Jesus asks in the Garden of Gethsemane — can no one stay awake with me while I pray (cf. Matthew 26:40 and Mark 14:32)? Perhaps we are able to do this. Perhaps (and let us not judge another because every circumstance is different) perhaps you can’t. And let me clearly state that when we make the decision to walk with someone through this time, we should also include organizations like hospice or other family members, who whoever else is available through church or other groups, to share the burden. But our decision will reveal gifts we didn’t know we have — maybe not parting the waters, but certainly surprising strengths which may have been hidden, even from ourselves.
That can make a huge difference.
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
Talk about a road less traveled. The first century Christian church manual called the Didache, or “The Teaching,” begins with these words — “There are two ways, a way of life and a way of death, and there is a great deal of difference between the two.” It then goes on to list some of what Jesus said in the sermon on the mount, contrasting these with some of the Ten Commandments and other prohibitions from scripture and common sense.
It seems as if our spiritual ancestors in the faith liked to make lists of do’s and don’ts. One suspects from these lists they’re saying that the road less traveled is the way of life. We see such a list in the manual of discipline from the Dead Sea Scrolls, and from the popular 2nd century Christian document, The Shepherd of Hermas. And also, here in Galatians.
This letter is written to the Celts of Asia (known as the galats in Latin). This civilization stretched in pockets across northern Europe and the British Isles. They were different than the Greek-speaking Roman Empire and the Aramaic-speaking Semitic peoples of the Middle East. They came to the Christian faith without a lot of the baggage of either civilization. And in the first verse of chapter 5 Paul warns them not to take a step backwards. He is not speaking against the Hebrew Scriptures or Jewish people. He himself is Jewish, after all, and what we call Christianity he saw as the fulfillment of Judaism. No, he is asking them not to slip back into old ways of interpreting those scriptures. And in order to help them remember, he gives them two lists, a way of life — the fruits of the Spirit — and a way of death — the works of the flesh — to help them remember to take the road less traveled. It’s no good backtracking because they have already chosen the road less traveled. You can’t travel down both roads. That’s like eating your cake and having it too.
Lists help us remember. That’s why Sunday School kids like the tune and words of the song “Fruits of the Spirit.” They’re silly, but memorable.
Sometimes we work hard to change our lives, then find ourselves slipping back into the old ways, little by little. We need reminders, post-it notes on the fridge, little pop-ups on our phone, to encourage us, regale us, bug us, like Paul is doing here. It’s kind of like the spiritual:
Guide my feet while I run my race
’Cause I don’t want to run my race in vain.
Luke 9:51-62
Jesus himself is the road less traveled — the way, the truth, and the life. In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus demonstrates just how different that road can be from our expectations.
Jesus sets his face towards Jerusalem. He is walking with purpose — through his death and beyond to his resurrection. And though it’s going to take him ten chapters to get to Jerusalem, he does take the straight road, right through Samaria. The Samaritans included some of the “poor of the land” (cf. 2 Kings 25:22 and Jeremiah 39:10) who were God’s people but were not taken away into exile in Babylon. They’re relatives. But when the exiles returned, they rejected the people who remained there, farming the land, worshipping at the temple they built, and staying faithful. They weren’t allowed to help. As a result, there was enmity between the two people. There was fault on both sides.
So maybe the rejection of a religious leader on his way to Jerusalem is not surprising. No doubt these Samaritans had experienced prejudice against them, and thought of themselves as the true believers. What’s interesting to me is that the disciples want to call down fire and brimstone on them — and Jesus refuses. This is a true expression of the road less traveled — love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you! Jesus leads them to another village.
What follows is even more puzzling. Three individuals seek to follow Jesus, but want to tie up a few loose ends. Jesus warns the first he’ll be homeless, refuses the second permission to perform the important duty of burying a parent (it’s not clear if the parent is dead yet and perhaps he was saying he couldn’t be free to follow Jesus until his parent had passed), and won’t let the third say farewell to family. Now it’s often assumed these people did not follow Jesus — but the scripture doesn’t say that. They were challenged to step out onto the road less traveled, that’s for sure.
How did they respond? Just as important, how would we? Jesus makes it hard for people who want to take care of some other stuff first before following — yet he shows forbearance to the Samaritan village that rejects him. Obviously, he did not see a consultant before acting in this manner. But Jesus does not automatically choose the more travelled road to popularity. He takes the road less traveled towards truth.
Don’t write the script for Jesus. Watch Jesus. Listen to Jesus. Follow Jesus.
