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“Steadfastly, No Turning Back”
2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14; Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20; Galatians 5:1, 13-25; Luke 9:51-62
Rev. Sandy Nuernberg
Oakland-Cambridge Presbyterian Church, Cambridge, WI
13th Sunday in Ordinary Time -
Immigration Sunday
July 1, 2007
Please pray with me: O
Lord, as we hear your Word and try to understand its meaning, allow the
fruits of your Holy Spirit to grow in us, that we might receive and harvest
their power, and as God’s people proclaim your mighty acts calling us out of
darkness and into sharing your marvelous light. AMEN.
On this 5th Sunday
after Pentecost, as the church calls ordinary time, we are receiving the
triunity of God in works of the Holy Spirit and wondering what to do with it
all, or so it seems? For we know that in our Christian discipleship there are
choices, there is ‘opposition’, Paul says, alternatives to make; specifically,
the world’s way of life or that of a life in Christ. We’ve been talking
these weeks of the love, grace, freedom, and guidance of God through the Holy
Spirit; now we are discerning two texts with similar themes, specifically that
of living in the Spirit, steadfastly, standing firm walking in Jesus’
steps where there is not only submission (obedience) but suffering in attaining
the Kingdom of God.
In Luke Jesus has a passion, it
seems, in his disciples following, obeying, now, with no waiting or turning
back. They can walk in Christ’s footsteps, not in the ways of the world of
impurity, strife, anger, drunkenness, in knowing and attaining his Father’s
Kingdom to come. And Paul, the apostle, follows Jesus Christ in freedom with his
own warning to those of Galatia, of belonging to the ways of Christ with the
fruits of the Spirit of love, peace, joy, not turning back to the law of conceit
and competition, but crucifying those works of the flesh and being guided by the
Spirit to inherit God’s Kingdom. Really, our texts tell us that life in
Christ, being Christ-like, is steadfast, standing firm, and there is no turning
back!
Have you ever been involved in
or confronted by teaching a ‘crash course’ in anything? I mean really having to
give/or take someone’s ‘orders’ or instruction in a very short period of time
because of circumstances? It might be teaching someone how to use the new grill;
isn’t that along with shopping at ‘the Pig!!’, or taking telephone messages
while you were gone, maybe for Paris Hilton!!, or anything you knew you were
responsible for doing but couldn’t do yourself in today’s world; like watering
someone else’s flower/vegetable gardens while they are gone. You see, my friend
Sally and I exchange tasks; I water and watch her home and yard, and she comes
to feed our cat, Harry Potter, when we are away on vacation. But we both lead
busy lives and need crash courses to know what to do for each other–sometimes
only a phone contact. We go with what we know and don’t turn back to what we
don’t know or can’t do. This week, with the heat and dryness we’ve had, I sure
have tried hard to do a good job for my friend. They have new landscaping:
trees, shrubs, flower gardens. In our tasks, we try to help each other, even as
we are free to make choices of what we think is best in any situation; we trust
each other in each other’s absence.
In our text, Jesus is ‘setting
his face’ on Jerusalem; important probably because it is stated twice. And in
doing so, Jesus has a kind of ‘crash course’ to complete before he gets there;
like teaching many followers what to do in proclaiming and responding to God’s
will. Now, Jesus has a plan, commanded by God; Jesus even forewarned his
disciples of his coming absence, but like us, sometimes, they didn’t seem to get
it. They were amazed and full of fear, our texts repeat again and again.
How often do we hear of the
amazement in Christ Jesus by his disciples, but also the fear? He is heading to
Jerusalem to his death and resurrection, and being ascended to heaven with the
Father. Yes, knowing of his own suffering to come, Jesus’ ‘face was set for
Jerusalem’, not Galilee or anywhere else, and Luke, the physician describes in
detail these travels; ten chapters (ch. 9-18),
where the Gospel of Mark, which Luke seems to have access to in his
writings, takes a little less than one chapter on these travels of Jesus. In
looking closer in Luke, these humble and proud stories not heard anywhere else
are Jesus’ passion in clarifying how difficult it was, the cost of discipleship
in following, finding the Kingdom; the visit with Mary/Martha,
(10:38-42), dining with the Pharisees
(11:37-54), the rich fool
(12:13-21), and parables of the prodigal
son (15:11-32), the dishonest manager
(16:1-13), and the widow and unjust judge
(18:1-8), to name a familiar few.
This life in Christ is about
steadfastly, not turning back, moving into a new life in Christ that persons
must desire more than anything else. In our text, three times Jesus cautions of
the difficult road ahead; ‘wherever you go’ as denying oneself, ‘first let me go
and bury my father’ as having family priorities, and ‘ first say farewell to
those at home’ as looking back and not ahead for the kingdom of God. Jesus’
concern is for devotedness, determinedness, dedication, and decisiveness in his
disciples. For us, seemingly, commitment unfolds in a new life for us.
How often Paul uses intangibles to
grasp what he means by a new life in Christ; not something to touch or
feel, smell, or hold on to. He describes committing ourselves with those works
of the Spirit that can be testy, can’t they? We know we can’t always love our
neighbor as ourselves, even if this is the whole law
(summed up, 5:14). The clincher is that he tells us that if we
live by the Spirit, we aren’t subject to the law or the works of the flesh, and
that we will be guided by the Spirit (v, 16, 18,
25) with such things as love, peace, joy, and kindness. We can ask, how
does all that happen? Paul says with gentleness and without temptation, if we
bear each other’s burdens, love one another, even when we can’t seem to, we will
fulfill the law of Christ (6:2).
Aha, there it is, alternatives of
harmony in gentleness and severity, or harshness; the passion of Jesus in our
obedience to follow without turning back, and the warning by Paul of the
wondrous works of the Spirit, perhaps in our suffering, in a new life in
Christ. As we come to the communion table desiring to be nourished by Christ’
forgiveness and freedom in being filled with the Spirit, our Gospel guides us
with choices in the works of the Spirit that are felt close to the heart;
bountiful in love, joy, peace, patience, and generosity. And these fruits will
follow our choices, our alternatives. There is no law against such faithfulness,
such kindness, such self-control. After all, it is this kind of discipleship
that is steadfastly, not turning back, but looking forward to God’s Kingdom.
Thanks be to God. AMEN
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