The Church of St.
Paul & Incarnation, Jersey City NJ
June 30, 2019
Year C, Proper 8: The
Third Sunday after Pentecost
2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14
Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
Luke 9:51-62
“It” Can Happen
You
don’t have to look very hard or very far to find celebrities or politicians –
or, ahem, celebrity-politicians – who have devoted their lives to the pursuit
of fame and fortune, power and pleasure.
Lots
of people, famous and unknown, are convinced that if only they get enough of
these things then, then they will be finally satisfied, finally at peace,
finally secure, finally sure of their own worthiness and lovability.
Well,
you know where this is going, right?
It’s
a tragic and old, old story. We’ve seen it played out in the Bible, in
mythology, in literature, and every week in the tabloids that some of us flip
through on line at the supermarket (not me, of course, but probably some of
you).
It’s a tragic and
old, old story: people who seem to have it all – piles of money, the adulation
of millions, power over other people – and yet, somehow, it’s still not enough.
It’s
never enough.
And,
despite all that they have, there’s little peace in their hearts and in their
lives.
Instead,
they crave more applause, an even fatter bank account, higher highs, more,
more, more…
It’s
a sad story.
Some
of you know that one of my favorite celebrities is William Shatner, who became
famous more than fifty years ago playing Captain Kirk on what I’m sure you’ll
agree was the best TV show ever, Star
Trek.
Shatner
has been famous for as long as I’ve been alive, beloved by millions, richer
than he could have probably ever imagined, and he’s still remarkably active at
the hard-to-believe age of 88. He’s achieved so much you’d think he would feel a real sense of accomplishment.
But,
even with all of his fame, fortune, and fans, even with middle-aged men getting
teary-eyed when they meet him in person (or, so I’ve heard), even with all of
that, Shatner has spoken openly of still feeling dissatisfied and unfulfilled.
As
he’s put it: “It hasn’t happened yet.”
And,
I think most of us non-celebrities can probably relate to that feeling.
If
we’ve lived long enough, we’ve all thought that if only we could have that
experience – or get that job – or have that relationship – or
live in that house – or have that much money in the bank – if
only we had our own church parking lot - if only we had that, then, then
finally we would be satisfied and be at peace.
It
hasn’t happened yet.
And
it hasn’t happened yet – and, spoiler alert, it is not going to happen – it
hasn’t happened yet because we were made first and foremost for God.
And,
it’s only when we put God first – it’s only when we make our home with God - it’s
only then that we can know true peace.
As
the great theologian St. Augustine famously said, “You have made us for
yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in you.”
Today’s
gospel lesson marks a turning point in the story of Jesus as told by the
Evangelist Luke.
Jesus
has set his face toward Jerusalem, beginning the journey to his capital city
where he will be first greeted with great joy but where the mood will quickly
change and he will be rejected, abandoned, tortured, and left for dead.
Along
with his disciples, Jesus begins this final journey by going from his homeland
of Galilee into Samaria.
Now,
because of the parable of the Good Samaritan we tend to think of
Samaritans as, well, good, but the truth is Jews and Samaritans had a tense
relationship with each other. It was actually kind of a family feud. Jews and
Samaritans were related to each other but had different histories and had very
different ideas about Scripture and worship and the messiah.
But,
still, as unpleasant as it might have been for all involved, the most direct
route from Galilee to Jerusalem was through Samaria. Not surprisingly, the
Samaritans don’t want to have anything to do with Jesus. And also not
surprisingly, the disciples James and John – both Jews, of course - don’t take
this rejection well at all and provide us with the latest episode in our
long-running series, “The Disciples Just Don’t Get It.”
Apparently
James and John (and probably the other disciples, too) hadn’t been paying
attention when Jesus taught that we should turn the other cheek and that we
should love our enemies. Instead, they ask permission to… call down fire from
heaven in order to destroy the Samaritan villages.
Luke
simply says that Jesus turned and “rebuked” them – a strong word. Personally,
I’d like to know what a probably highly frustrated Jesus actually said to these
guys, but we can probably imagine, right?
Anyway,
so far this is a pretty routine story with two very familiar ingredients:
Number 1: Some
people reject Jesus.
Number 2: The
disciples just don’t get it.
But the second
half of today’s gospel lesson is much more unsettling challenging – and gets us
to the heart of the matter.
As Jesus continues
on in his journey to Jerusalem, he encounters three people.
The first takes
the initiative and says boldly to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
To which Jesus
replies that, unlike foxes and birds, he has nowhere to lay his head – he has no
earthly home of his own. Jesus seems to be saying: understand that if you
really go through with this – if you really do follow me – you may lose your
home – or, what you had thought of as your home.
And then, Jesus
encounters two other people and in these cases it’s Jesus who takes the
initiative and says to them, “Follow me.”
They both seem
interested and willing to become disciples, but they have other priorities,
priorities that involve home - or what they had thought of as home.
One says, “First
let me go bury my father.”
And the other
says, “Let me say farewell to those at my home.”
But, Jesus says to
both of these interested, willing, and, yes, responsible people that, no, this
isn’t good enough.
It must have been
shocking when Jesus said these words.
I mean, who can
object to wanting to bury a parent or to saying goodbye to those we love before
setting out on a long journey?
It must have been
shocking two thousand years ago and I bet if we really listen to these words
it’s still shocking for us here today.
And it seems to me
that Jesus means these words to be shocking – shocking us to get our priorities
straight – shocking us to put God first in our lives – shocking us to recognize
that our true home is with God – that, no matter how much we love our homes and
our families and our neighborhoods and our jobs – now matter how much we love
all of those usually very good things – our hearts are restless until they rest
in God.
And then – and
here’s the thing – when we really do allow ourselves to rest in the God who
loves us just the same no matter how much or how little we achieve – when we
really do put God first - then “it”
finally happens.
And, if we want to
know what “it” is, in today’s second lesson from the Letter to the Galatians,
St. Paul gives us quite a list.
For Paul, “it” is the
fruit of the Spirit.
“It” is love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and
self-control.
“It” is kind of
the exact opposite of the celebrities and politicians – and
celebrity-politicians – who always crave more.
And, sure, it’s easy
to judge them as we flip through the supermarket tabloids (uh, you, I mean
you.)
But, the truth is
that most, probably, of us have our priorities out of order – maybe not as
messed up as celebrities who get turned around by fame, but we all put someone
or something in the first place that should belong only to God.
You know, we don’t
know what happened to those three people who really wanted to follow Jesus but
who were challenged to put God first, ahead of everyone and everything.
But, if they
really did accept that great challenge, I bet they discovered that by making
their home with God they were able to love the people in their lives more
generously, more wholeheartedly, than they had ever thought possible.
“It” might have
happened back then.
And, “it” can
happen for us today.
Amen.
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