Welcome to this space where I seek to interpret the Scripture and Christian faith accurately through the lens of history, and just maybe uncover some real-world applications even in this modern era!
Below you’ll find a video recording of this week’s sermon, delivered on July 6th, 2025, based on two powerful passages: 2 Kings 2:1–11 and Luke 9:51–62. I invite you to watch the video and, if you prefer, read along with the full sermon text posted right beneath. Whether you’re joining us for the first time or returning, I hope this message encourages you to see God’s timing—and your own journey—in a fresh light.
Perfectionism and the Fear of Getting It Wrong
Perfectionism is bad.
Let’s just get that statement out of the way, right away, this morning.
As a recovering perfectionist, I can tell you, perfectionism is bad.
And by recovering, I mean, I see and acknowledge that it is a problem in my life… With the rest of the steps in the recovery process hopefully forthcoming…
But there is nothing more paralyzing. Nothing more self-defeating.
How Perfectionism Paralyzes Our Faith
Last week, we talked about a self-defeating fear—how acting in fear often leads to the very outcome that is feared. We discussed the story from Luke 8 about this legion of demons, whose greatest fear upon meeting Jesus was that he would send them into the Abyss. And then, lo and behold, at the end of the story, after Jesus has in fact shown the legion mercy, the legion just runs itself over the edge of the cliff, and into the Abyss…
And the thing about perfectionism is, it’s an exercise based in fear.
It’s fear of judgment. Fear of rejection. Fear of just getting something wrong. And so, we attempt to combat that fear with control. Control every detail, make sure everything is right, avoid judgment… Avoid error…
The problem is, we don’t actually control the relevant part. We don’t actually control how people perceive us—we can’t. We don’t actually control other people’s opinions. And we don’t know everything, so we can never actually be 100% certain we are right.
Because we don’t control the relevant part of the equation—the part that inspires the actual fear—perfectionism becomes this self-defeating exercise where everything just gets left unfinished…
Perfectionism and Control in the Bible: Setting the Stage
Now what does any of this have to do with our scripture readings for today? Well…
It occurred to me, that what we have here are two very different accounts of people or groups of people, in very different ways, trying to control events, engineer time around their own wants and desires, wait for or engineer this perfect moment when everything will be just right, and all that friction that naturally comes with doing the right thing or doing the worthwhile thing will just magically disappear.
And when I started looking at our reading from Luke today in that way, this somewhat uncomfortable passage just snapped into focus, and suddenly made a lot of sense.
Following Jesus into Luke 9:51–62
Because, most people, in my experience, when they first read or encounter this passage have some pretty typical first reactions:
What do you mean Jesus won’t let the guy go say goodbye to his family? What do you mean Jesus won’t let someone attend his father’s funeral?
What do you mean these things don’t matter?
And the thing is, Jesus isn’t saying these things don’t matter in general. And what Jesus is saying, is true, and vital.
We start with the first man, who’s all eager to go. And to that man, Jesus gives this reminder, that going with him is not going to be perfect—or I should say controllable. This ministry is hard, and unpredictable, uncomfortable, and outside of our personal control.
I think a lot of us imagine on hearing the story that this is Jesus turning the man away or that the man does turn away at that point—but we actually don’t know that. We don’t know what happens next. And I think that’s intentional; I think the point of sharing the story is for us reading the story to be able to gauge our own reaction—how would we respond to these statements?
Maybe if our automatic assumption after reading this passage is that the man turns away and does not follow Jesus because of what he’s just been told—if that’s what we assume happens next—I don’t know, maybe we have to think about that in our own minds for a minute.
The Illusion of the “Perfect Moment”
But then we get to this next person, who is asked to follow and replies, “Yeah, sure, just let me bury my father first…”
This is where the message starts to come into focus, and the perfectionism, attempts to control the uncontrollable, show up.
It has been pointed out, that this statement doesn’t actually mean this man’s father is, in fact, deceased. That actually, more likely, his father is still alive, and what the man is saying is, “Yeah, totally, I’ll become a preacher… a few years from now… when I have my life more worked out, when I’m more independent… when I have control over my inheritance from my father… maybe…”
In other words, “Yes, Jesus, this is totally what I want to do with my life… the timing’s just a little off right now, though. Let’s wait for the perfect moment.”
I know from personal experience, the perfect moment just never actually shows up.
That perfect moment that we human beings try to control and look for and engineer never actually shows up, because we are not in fact capable of organizing or structuring time.
But there is a version of the perfect moment that does exist—something I also know from personal experience. That is the moment that God engineers in time, which God does control. I also know from personal experience that things come together when they are meant to come together. That we humans can’t rush the perfect moment—and we also can’t safely put it off when it does arrive. In that moment when Jesus is standing in your village saying to you, “Follow me”—yeah, however inconvenient or incomprehensible it may be to mortals, that is the perfect moment when everything has come together as it is meant to come together…
And from the gift of hindsight, we know what this man would in fact be missing if he did stay behind a few years to bury his father—we know that in those few years Jesus’s ministry as a human on earth will be over. And there’s no getting that moment back.
When Saying Goodbye is Really About Control
And the third man, it is the same story. The thing here is, it’s kind of a given: if you leave home, you’re going to say goodbye to your family. That is just a normal, expected part of leaving—anywhere, not just home. I leave work for the day, I say goodbye to most of my coworkers on the way out the door—that’s just how leaving works. So… why bring it up?
The reason to bring it up, is that it’s more than just saying “goodbye.” It’s making sure things are organized, the house is in good repair, the dog has enough food, fixing that hole in the roof, getting through the rest of the weekend chore list… Putting in your two weeks notice at work—and, of course, you have to first make sure it’s the right time to put in your notice, so really, it’s going to be two weeks from the perfect time for it to be two weeks… And then your home vegetable garden will have to be weeded, every day for the rest of the summer, at least…
This is another person trying to engineer time, wait for the “perfect moment,” when the actual perfect moment is literally standing there in front of him.
Perfectionism means things never get done.
When We Can’t Control the Outcome – Elijah, Elisha, and those other Prophets
So, let’s turn now to our other example this morning—people trying to control, engineer, “perfectionism” time, in 2 Kings 2:1–11
This story of the prophet Elijah being taken up to heaven in a fiery chariot—which is what the retellings of the story usually focus on. Also on Elijah’s apprentice, rather inconveniently named Elisha—when we retell the stories we often focus on Elisha’s loyalty, his insistence on accompanying his mentor all the way to the end… also his request for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit—essentially that he will also become a great prophet, which of course he does…
And yeah, that stuff is all cool and worth discussing… Just not today.
Today, we’ll look at the part of the story that’s actually always stood out to me from the first time I read this passage as a child.
What’s always stood out to me in this story are the other prophets. The prophets our main characters run into in the cities they pass through, who lean over Elisha’s shoulder and whisper—You know your boss is leaving today. You know, you’re never going to see your mentor again…
And the thing about that that’s always stood out in my mind, the same reaction I think Elisha demonstrates to them in the text is: Okay, what’s your point?
Why are you telling me this?
What do you expect me to do about it?
It’s not something over which Elisha has any control. Elisha doesn’t control God, or fate, or even his mentor, Elijah.
And we have to assume that the other prophets are mentioning it to Elisha because, at least on some level, they want Elisha to control the situation, talk Elijah out of it, fix it, make the great prophet of the age stay with them just a little longer.
But that’s not something Elisha can do. And Elisha has the wisdom to know that. Elisha has the wisdom to know that by staying with his mentor, going with Elijah to the end—because the end is not up to either of them—and just being there is the best that he can do. As close to perfect as it can ever be.
Faith in Action: Embracing God’s Perfect Moment
So, I think what this all comes down to this morning, what Jesus is trying to communicate to these men in our reading from Luke, is that humans cannot engineer perfect moments. There are too many factors, too many things that we just do not control.
But at the same time, perfect moments do happen. Perfect timing is real. Being in the right place at the right time to accomplish or participate in the extraordinary is real.
So, instead of wasting our time trying to bring about the perfect moment—which is what perfectionism is, in essence—instead of wasting time in that, or waiting for the perfect moment that will never happen, I think what we are called to do is be vigilant for the perfect moment when it does occur.
I’m speaking to myself more than anyone this morning, really.
But instead of waiting for the perfect moment for that thing—instead, ask:
What is THIS the perfect moment FOR?
Is this the moment to follow Elijah out across the Jordan River?
Or is it the time for something else?
Is it the perfect moment to begin something new? Keep going at what has already been begun?
Is Jesus standing in front of you saying “Follow me” to Jerusalem—or might it in fact be the perfect moment to go home?
What Is This the Perfect Moment For? Lessons for Today’s Church
The above are personal questions for us all to answer on our own, obviously.
But to bring it to the church as a whole, for a moment—I think, for a long time now, the church has just been so focused on what we have lost in the modern world. And a lot of my frustration with the church for as long as I have actually worked in ministry has been this priority given to the question: “How do we rebuild what we have lost?”
And the fact is, we don’t. We can’t. We won’t.
That moment is gone.
It was wonderful. We should remember it with joy.
But it’s gone. And attempting to rebuild that moment is not going to be worth our time—and I don’t want to say that, because I did love that moment as much as anyone else, and I wish it were our future. Remember, this is the sermon I needed to hear today, really. I hope the rest of you get something out of it too, but…
What is this, right now, the perfect moment for? Because this IS the perfect moment for something. That’s the question we have to be asking, if we are to have any future.
Then, the next step of course, is to not be perfectionist about it and just do it, execute, actually move forward, but…
It does start with the question, training ourselves to recognize the “perfect moment” when he is literally standing in the road ahead of us, and calling us down that road. We have to train ourselves to see that call before we can know if we would answer it. And when we do see it, then we face that question posed to all disciples through the ages:
Will you follow?
Thank you for reading and joining in on the journey this week! If this message spoke to you, challenged you – If you think I’m just wrong about something – I’d love to hear your thoughts and questions in the comments below. Your perspective helps our community grow and learn together.
Don’t forget to come back next week for a new messages, or you can find all of my Sunday Messages here.
And in the meantime, keep seeking those perfect moments God places in your path!
