The Third Sunday after Pentecost ---- 30 June 2019

Galatians 5:1, 13-25

1 For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

13 For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. 14 For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 15 If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. 16 Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.

Luke 9:51-62

51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; 53 but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 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?" 55 But he turned and rebuked them. 56 Then they went on to another village. 57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." 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." 59 To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." 60 But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." 61 Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." 62 Jesus said to him, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

"Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God."

·       What Jesus says here sounds cruel to our ears. He seems to be denying both the reality and the validity of mourning. The other sayings from this passage sound like they go against family ties and against having a place to stay and a place to live.

·       There’s no denying that what is being said here is troubling. To us, Jesus’ words go against normal human life and normal human relationships. We feel we cannot live that way; it would be too hard. Yet, there are the words of the Gospel, plain as day. – I have nowhere to lay my head – the dead are just that – There is no returning to your past life, because No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.

·       We could say that Jesus doesn’t really mean it, that these are exaggerated phrases. We could say that, and that would be what many people would hold. Even those who hold the words of the Gospels to be the literal words of Jesus don’t always take these words literally.

·       In the history of the church, there have been those who lived a wanderer’s life with no fixed place to live. There are those who have cut all ties with family and friends and followed Jesus. AND there are those who have not done those things and are still firm Christian believers.

·       So what is Jesus saying? The Christian church exists and Christians do have places to lay their heads. They do mourn and bury their loved ones. They do remain attached to their families. I might dare to say that, as a general rule, Christians put their hand to the plow and yet look back. We could let these sayings ruin our spirits and crush our souls. (I don’t think that is what Jesus wanted or intended.)

·       Or we could take these saying as a way of Jesus telling us that discipleship – ‘following’ him – reaches and effects every aspect of our lives. For those who follow Jesus, nothing is left out. Of all the people who come and speak with Jesus in our Gospel reading, none are rejected. All of them are made aware of the absolute nature of the call to discipleship. And the call to proclaim the kingdom of God. The one man is told exactly that: go and proclaim the kingdom of God. That person’s individual call sounds like it can be applied exactly where he is, although the urgency of the mission is made quite clear.

·       In our own time and place, we too are called to proclaim the kingdom of God, by what we say and by what we do. This is not the vocation of pastors or deacons or deaconesses only; it is given to each and every Christian.

·       How that is to be done depends on who each of us is and what gifts we have been given. Paul speaks of the fruits of the Spirit in his letter to the Galatians. Included among them are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Of course, the list is longer and Paul is listing these for the Galatians in contrast to what he calls the “works of the flesh.”

·       These gifts might seem rather ordinary and maybe even small. They are, however, the virtues that will attract people to the grace of God and the community formed by that grace, the Church. More than miracles shows and fancy sidelines, these gifts can make any congregation a true place of prayer and reflect the presence of God… for these are gifts of the Holy Spirit and it is that Holy Spirit that enlivens and enlightens the Church. These are the gift that make and keep disciples, no matter what their situations. These are the gifts that permit us to authentically proclaim the kingdom of God.

"Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God."