For Sunday, June
20, 2019, 3rd Sunday after Pentecost, Year C, Readings:
1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21; Psalm 16, Galatians 5:1, 13-25; Luke 9:51-62
Protect me, O God, for I take refuge in you…my good above all other…my portion and my cup…You will show me the path of life… [Psalm 16:1, 5a, 11a]
For freedom of Christ has set us free. Stand firm…do not use your freedom for self-indulgence… the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another…Live by the Spirit… [Galatians 5:1a, 13, 14-16]
To another [Jesus] said: "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." [Luke 9:59-60]
Elisha was
going about the daily chores, plowing the fields with a yoke of 12 oxen, not a
common task for most of us non-farmers. Elijah passed by and threw his
mantle over him, the sign of adoption as Elijah’s God-ordered successor. We
don’t know how old Elisha was, but he was likely living with his parents as he
wished to kiss them goodbye, which Elijah permitted. A contrast from Jesus who
tells a disciple asking to bury his father to follow him and not look back. Both
lives were interrupted and abruptly changed by the acceptance of a Divine command. As the saying
goes, life happens when you’re making other plans.
The Psalmist is more positive this week
praising and feeling more secure and hopeful in God’s presence and guidance. And
in Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he reminds us of part of the Great
Commandment of Jesus: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. He then
says that if you bite and devour one another, take care that you
are not consumed by one another, an interesting aside that speaks
volumes to us in our own day and time!
Paul opens this
week’s selection by saying that we are called to freedom by Christ, freedom
from a yoke of mortal temptation, and to stand firm in that conviction. He lists
examples of desires of the flesh and he also lists a contrasting list of
the fruits given us by the Holy Spirit, a mantle of guidance and strength. The Fruits
of the Spirit are available as easily as the works of the flesh, yet recognizing
the Fruits already within us, and accepting and incorporating them into our
daily lives, requires conscious and continuous effort to move beyond earthly
self-indulgence. Consciousness and effort, then, are the costs of the freedom "you were called to" by Christ, or as Dietrich
Bonhoeffer* calls it in his book of the same name, the cost of discipleship.
Bonhoeffer tells
us that, We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God. God will
be constantly crossing our paths and canceling our plans by sending us people
with claims and petitions.
What is the
going rate for discipleship? In terms of avoiding earthly self-indulgence or a scheduling
inconvenience, the cost may feel high indeed at first awareness. But how do we measure
short-term, mortal pleasures against eternal life and salvation? Developing a regular,
consistent, conscious, active spiritual/prayer life and a like-minded community helps to
pay the price in ways that will feel more free than being caught in
the traps of the flesh. While we may be quick to beg and pray when all is going
wrong, we may be considerably slower giving thanks for all things - small and
big - that go well; and even, upon reflection, to give thanksgiving for things that went wrong yet led us in a direction we mightn't have found otherwise. But sometimes we are nearly aware of that little nagging,
goading, prodding something that
calls us to take a second look at a person in need, give extra change to
someone in the grocery line, allow that annoying driver to pull into the lane
in front of us, or (albeit with a heavy sigh) go out of our way to help
someone at the last minute when other plans had been made. Divine interruption?
Perhaps, and/or a sudden conscious moment of discipleship in loving
your neighbor as yourself.
The price of
eternal freedom is tax free soul transformation, merely a commitment to be the
hands, the feet, the voice, the smile, the love of Christ on earth. In asking
for the help to find our path of life all we need to do is Follow and live
life planning for divine interruptions.
*Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945)
was a German Lutheran theologian and dissident, author of "The Cost of
Discipleship" and other books. He was imprisoned and subsequently executed
by the Nazis as the regime was collapsing, just one month before their
surrender.
LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY
Leader: ~ O Lord, our
Path of Life, interrupt our daily thoughts and
plans to remind us that You are our Good above all other, our Portion and our
Cup. Let us seek to follow You in the ordinary and mundane, in the joy and
satisfaction as well as in sorrow, fear, or frustration. May we love You enough
to see You in all others and to truly love them as we love ourselves.
Holy God
RESPONSE: Our
Refuge and our Hope
~ O Lord,
our Path of Life, renew our strength and courage that
we may continue to stand firm and speak on behalf of those who have no voice,
no justice, and no freedom before dictatorships and governments in this world,
this nation, and this community. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
Holy
God
Our
Refuge and our Hope
~
O Lord, our Path of Life, relieve the anguish of those in physical or emotional
pain and bolster the energies of those who provide care and support. We
now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need…
Holy
God
Our
Refuge and our Hope
~ O Lord, our Path of Life, attend all hearts who are in the depths of mourning as
You lift the souls of those, beloved on earth, to the light of new life in Your
everlasting Presence. We pray especially for:
Holy
God
Our
Refuge and our Hope
~ O Lord,
our Path of Life, we pause in this
moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions,
petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently…
Holy
God
Our
Refuge and our Hope
~ O Lord, our Path of Life, enhance, enrich, and enlighten the faith of all who are
called as today’s prophets in Your church, that they may continue to inspire
and guide our pilgrimage toward You. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
Holy
God
Our
Refuge and our Hope
The Celebrant adds: Living, Loving
God, by Your Eternal Presence rouse
us from complacency and self-indulgence to recognize the mantle of Christ
already laid upon our shoulders. Open us to wholly accept and live by the Fruit
of the Spirit, looking only forward to the fullness of Your Kingdom through all
we do on this Earth. We ask through Jesus, our
Redeemer Christ, and the Holy Spirit, our Guide in Truth, who together with You
are One God, now and forever. Amen.
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