Sermon July 1, 2007
Proper 8
July 1, 2007
Readings
The Lesson: 2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14
The Epistle: Galatians 5:1,13-25
The Holy Gospel: Luke 9:51-62
Sermon
The Cloud of Unknowing, "O God, our great companion, lead us ever more deeply into the mystery of your life and ours, that we may be faithful interpreters of Life to each other, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen."
How often do you feel guilty about being a Christian, about the kind of Christian that you are? Never? Once in a great while? Sometimes? Every waking second? Yeah, Catholics do not own the concept of guilt. To be a Christian is to constantly feel as though you don’t measure up. It’s verse like today’s that reinforce that. Don’t take the time to bury the dead. Don’t take care of your family. Don’t say good bye, don’t even look back. Just follow. Just go. And so many Christians hear these words and the first thing we think is: ___________
I could never do that. I could never obey that completely, that radically.
Carl Jung once observed that all moral conflicts are "conflicts of duty." I hear these words from Jesus today and I think to myself, “I could never do that.” I owe my family, my friends, my congregation, my wife. I could never walk out the door and not take care of the people I love, the people I’m responsible for! And then I think, “where does Jesus get off asking for this kind of response?” Am I more faithful when I turn my back on everything and everyone? Is this what a real Christian looks like, someone who runs after Jesus and abandons all other responsibilities? All moral conflicts are "conflicts of duty."
Hold on to that dilemma for a moment and let me fill you in on what is happening in this gospel.
Jesus has been in Galilee, which is up here (north). And this famous verse, Luke 9:51- When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
And he heads south. To get to Jerusalem Jesus and his merry band had to go through Samaria. Most Jews would have gone across the Jordan and taken the long way through another country. There was such hatred, such fear between the Jews and Samaritans that they would do anything to avoid each other. And here is Jesus going straight through enemy country. And in this story, the Samaritans won’t even let him into their villages. So much for the good Samaritan. So James and John (what was their nickname?), the Sons of Thunder, offer to help the Samaritans change their attitude: Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down
from heaven and consume them?" See, that’s how the disciples handle people who aren’t Christian enough. At Luke 9:56 some Greek manuscripts add a conclusion to the story: "And Jesus said to them, 'You do not know what kind of spirit you are of, for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them.'"
And then comes three potential disciples. Each one wants to follow Jesus-and yet each one is insulted, pushed away, spurned. Why? Is Jesus saying they aren’t strong enough? Aren’t faithful enough? Are too weak? Too cowardly? To follow him? Why does he speak like this-and what does it mean for us? Is Jesus saying that we have to abandon everything else in life or we’re not worthy? No wonder we feel guilty. No wonder no one ever seems Christian enough.
In the 1924 Olympics in Paris, Eric Liddell, a Scottish runner and son of Christian missionary parents, gave up a certain medal in the 100 meter dash, because he wouldn’t race on Sundays. He was under enormous pressure from his country and his peers to race, but he felt that it would be breaking the sabbath. And so he did not run, and did not win. All moral conflicts are "conflicts of duty." Are we supposed to run after Jesus and abandon everyone and everything?
Let me remind you of a couple of things. Two weeks ago, the widow of Nain’s son was raised from the dead-and after raising him Jesus gave him back to her. Last week the demon possessed Wild man of the Gerasenes was healed and begged to follow Jesus-and Jesus said no, “39“Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.”
The famous theologian and Bible scholar, John Dominic Crossan says that in the gospels there are two kinds of disciples: "Itinerant Christians" and "householders." Each is as vital as theother. There must be householders to host the itenerants. There are those (such as the Gerasenedemoniac, or the widow's son) who were clearly instructed to go back or remain with their family/community. And others yet - clearly called to "pack very lightly."
But you know what, I think this gospel reading is even better than that. I think it’s about who we are-more than what we do-or how fast we follow. Listen, you, me, us, we will probably never completely give our lives to God. We will fail lots of times-using excuses for our faith, looking back, worrying about whether God will take care us. Here is what Dr. Greg Rickel, and Episcopal priest wrote: follow me while doing those things; follow me in a way that makes you do those things in a new way. Follow me forever: no ‘BUT FIRSTs;’ no ‘insteads;’ no ‘YES AND’—not ‘either/or.’ Instead: ‘both/and.’” …doing the ordinary extraordinarily well, making all of life a prayer. It's not about what you are doing or not doing; it is instead about what and who you are being. It is about what we finally put our hope and trust in everyday, and all days.
Listen, we will never be as good as we think God wants us to be. We will never give as much as we think God wants, we will never by faithful, or righteous, or brave as we want to be. We probably won’t be Eric Liddells, and other Christians from time to time may offer “to command fire to come down from heaven and consume us”. We will not act and follow and obey as we know we should. We will make wrong choices and choose wrong ways fairly often.
But we can awake each day and begin as people of faith. We can rise each morning and pledge not to put God first, but to put God only. We can begin each moment of our lives not beating ourselves for failure in our “conflicts of duty”-but simply letting the extraordinary move through us and our ordinary lives. Jesus, I think, wanted these three volunteers to change who they were-not how fast they followed. I think he wanted them to live extraordinary lives where they were. This doesn’t let us off the hook. If anything, it’s harder. It’s in some ways easier to run after a savior and never look back, drop all ties, erase all that is past. It’s much harder to live new ways, to be a new person with the people who have always known us. Jesus said to the Gerasene demoniac, 39“Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And then he follows that story with these three disciple wannabes. I think this story is about following, but not on the physical road to Jerusalem-but on the spiritual road to the cross. How often do you feel guilty about being a Christian, about the kind of Christian that you are?
Luke 9:51-62
9:51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
9:52 And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him;
9:53 but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem.
9:54 When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?"
9:55 But he turned and rebuked them.
9:56 Then they went on to another village.
If your Bible has study notes, you'll see that some ancient manuscripts insert an extra verse in this week's Gospel at Luke 9:56. I think of this extra verse as the most important verse not in the Bible. At Luke 9:56 some Greek manuscripts add a conclusion to the story: "And Jesus said to them, 'You do not know what kind of spirit you are of, for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them.'"
9:57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."
9:58 And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."
9:59 To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."
9:60 But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God."
9:61 Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home."
9:62 Jesus said to him, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."
How often do you feel guilty about being a Christian, about the kind of Christian that you are? Never? Once in a great while? Sometimes? Every waking second? Yeah, Catholics do not own the concept of guilt. To be a Christian is to constantly feel as though you don’t measure up. It’s verse like today’s that reinforce that. Don’t take the time to bury the dead. Don’t take care of your family. Don’t say good bye, don’t even look back. Just follow. Just go. And so many Christians hear these words and the first thing we think is: ___________
I could never do that. I could never obey that completely, that radically.
Carl Jung once observed that all moral conflicts are "conflicts of duty." I hear these words from Jesus today and I think to myself, “I could never do that.” I owe my family, my friends, my congregation, my wife. I could never walk out the door and not take care of the people I love, the people I’m responsible for! And then I think, “where does Jesus get off asking for this kind of response?” Am I more faithful when I turn my back on everything and everyone? Is this what a real Christian looks like, someone who runs after Jesus and abandons all other responsibilities? All moral conflicts are "conflicts of duty."
Hold on to that dilemma for a moment and let me fill you in on what is happening in this gospel.
Jesus has been in Galilee, which is up here (north). And this famous verse, Luke 9:51- When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
And he heads south. To get to Jerusalem Jesus and his merry band had to go through Samaria. Most Jews would have gone across the Jordan and taken the long way through another country. There was such hatred, such fear between the Jews and Samaritans that they would do anything to avoid each other. And here is Jesus going straight through enemy country. And in this story, the Samaritans won’t even let him into their villages. So much for the good Samaritan. So James and John (what was their nickname?), the Sons of Thunder, offer to help the Samaritans change their attitude: Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down
from heaven and consume them?" See, that’s how the disciples handle people who aren’t Christian enough. At Luke 9:56 some Greek manuscripts add a conclusion to the story: "And Jesus said to them, 'You do not know what kind of spirit you are of, for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them.'"
And then comes three potential disciples. Each one wants to follow Jesus-and yet each one is insulted, pushed away, spurned. Why? Is Jesus saying they aren’t strong enough? Aren’t faithful enough? Are too weak? Too cowardly? To follow him? Why does he speak like this-and what does it mean for us? Is Jesus saying that we have to abandon everything else in life or we’re not worthy? No wonder we feel guilty. No wonder no one ever seems Christian enough.
In the 1924 Olympics in Paris, Eric Liddell, a Scottish runner and son of Christian missionary parents, gave up a certain medal in the 100 meter dash, because he wouldn’t race on Sundays. He was under enormous pressure from his country and his peers to race, but he felt that it would be breaking the sabbath. And so he did not run, and did not win. All moral conflicts are "conflicts of duty." Are we supposed to run after Jesus and abandon everyone and everything?
Let me remind you of a couple of things. Two weeks ago, the widow of Nain’s son was raised from the dead-and after raising him Jesus gave him back to her. Last week the demon possessed Wild man of the Gerasenes was healed and begged to follow Jesus-and Jesus said no, “39“Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.”
The famous theologian and Bible scholar, John Dominic Crossan says that in the gospels there are two kinds of disciples: "Itinerant Christians" and "householders." Each is as vital as theother. There must be householders to host the itenerants. There are those (such as the Gerasenedemoniac, or the widow's son) who were clearly instructed to go back or remain with their family/community. And others yet - clearly called to "pack very lightly."
But you know what, I think this gospel reading is even better than that. I think it’s about who we are-more than what we do-or how fast we follow. Listen, you, me, us, we will probably never completely give our lives to God. We will fail lots of times-using excuses for our faith, looking back, worrying about whether God will take care us. Here is what Dr. Greg Rickel, and Episcopal priest wrote: follow me while doing those things; follow me in a way that makes you do those things in a new way. Follow me forever: no ‘BUT FIRSTs;’ no ‘insteads;’ no ‘YES AND’—not ‘either/or.’ Instead: ‘both/and.’” …doing the ordinary extraordinarily well, making all of life a prayer. It's not about what you are doing or not doing; it is instead about what and who you are being. It is about what we finally put our hope and trust in everyday, and all days.
Listen, we will never be as good as we think God wants us to be. We will never give as much as we think God wants, we will never by faithful, or righteous, or brave as we want to be. We probably won’t be Eric Liddells, and other Christians from time to time may offer “to command fire to come down from heaven and consume us”. We will not act and follow and obey as we know we should. We will make wrong choices and choose wrong ways fairly often.
But we can awake each day and begin as people of faith. We can rise each morning and pledge not to put God first, but to put God only. We can begin each moment of our lives not beating ourselves for failure in our “conflicts of duty”-but simply letting the extraordinary move through us and our ordinary lives. Jesus, I think, wanted these three volunteers to change who they were-not how fast they followed. I think he wanted them to live extraordinary lives where they were. This doesn’t let us off the hook. If anything, it’s harder. It’s in some ways easier to run after a savior and never look back, drop all ties, erase all that is past. It’s much harder to live new ways, to be a new person with the people who have always known us. Jesus said to the Gerasene demoniac, 39“Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And then he follows that story with these three disciple wannabes. I think this story is about following, but not on the physical road to Jerusalem-but on the spiritual road to the cross. How often do you feel guilty about being a Christian, about the kind of Christian that you are?
Luke 9:51-62
9:51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
9:52 And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him;
9:53 but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem.
9:54 When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?"
9:55 But he turned and rebuked them.
9:56 Then they went on to another village.
If your Bible has study notes, you'll see that some ancient manuscripts insert an extra verse in this week's Gospel at Luke 9:56. I think of this extra verse as the most important verse not in the Bible. At Luke 9:56 some Greek manuscripts add a conclusion to the story: "And Jesus said to them, 'You do not know what kind of spirit you are of, for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them.'"
9:57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."
9:58 And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."
9:59 To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."
9:60 But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God."
9:61 Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home."
9:62 Jesus said to him, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."
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