Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
1 Kings 19:9b-21
Psalm 16
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
Luke 9:51-62
I, even I only, am left...
Have you ever felt like you were alone in the world? Have you watched your Facebook timeline and wondered if you were the only person left with any common sense? Have you seen the hot new reality show, heard the buzz around the water cooler and wondered if you were the only one who thought it was the most ridiculous thing you'd ever seen? Have you read the hot new book put out by that prolific Christian author and wondered if you were the only one who still understands what the bible really means?
Have you faced an enemy and thought you were alone in the battle? Have you been lonely and thought you had no friends? Have you been challenged by a crisis and thought that there was no one to walk with you through it?
Have you ever said, "I, even I only, am left..."?
It is easy to think that we are alone in the world, especially when everyone else seems to have their paths paved so differently. After Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal, he ran away into the mountains out of fear for his life. He really thought he was all alone, that there were none who still believed God. He even felt abandoned by God. "I was so zealous for you!" he cries, "So why am I in such danger? Can't they see that I was right about you?"
I doubt that any of us have defeated a multitude of pagan prophets lately, but I'm certain that we've stood up for something we believe and experienced the rejected of those who don't believe. Post something controversial on Facebook and you are likely to get at least a few detractors. Even if there is only one, the disagreement will be the response that will stands out. You can get twenty "amens" and one "you've got to be kidding me" and you'll feel like you are all alone because we have this tendency to focus on the bad making us blind to the reality that we aren't really alone.
It is easy to become exhausted when you feel the weight of the world is on your shoulders. It is also easy to run away when you think that what you are doing is not worth your time or energy. We think that we are the only ones who care. We think that we are the only ones willing to do anything. We think we are all alone. And that’s when we burn out. That is when we give up. That's what happened to Elijah.
Elijah wasn't alone, was he? He ran into the mountains after one of the most extraordinary experiences of any of God's people. He had proven that his God was God above all other gods. How many of us can do anything like it? There are some days I can barely convince myself that God is with me. We pray for the healing of a friend or family member and they die anyway. I pray for the hurricane to dissipate and it hits our town. We pray for the right job or spouse, for joy and peace, for a world without suffering and we don't get the answers we want. We feel hopeless and helpless and alone.
Elijah was just having a pity party, that his attitude was selfish and self-centered, but don't we all have our own moments of melancholy and hopelessness. We wonder what we are doing wrong. We get frustrated because we know we can't do it alone. When we don't get the answers we expect, we wonder if we are hearing God's voice correctly. "Is this really what God intends in His word and my calling?" We see no way of making things better. We might as well just hide in a cave and let the world come to an end without us. It is easy to give up and give in. Why should we fight if it seems as though God isn't fighting with us? If God were fighting, wouldn't He be winning?
The problem is, we can't see as clearly as God. God was winning. As a matter of fact, God won the battle that was waged against the false gods in Elijah's time. God had a plan, and He sent Elijah off with a promise. "You aren't alone."
"Yet I reserved seven thousand in Israel, all the knees of which have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth which has not kissed him." We think that there are no others who think as we think or see as we see. We think we are alone, but is that really true? When your Facebook timeline is filled with memes or articles that don't make sense, do you assume that everyone is against you? And do you think, "I have been so zealous for you, Lord, but you don't seem to be winning this war!"
There's a story about a man who felt God was calling him to push against a huge boulder in his yard. Day after day he pushed and shoved but the boulder never moved. People made fun of him. He eventually felt defeated. One day he turned to God and asked, "Why have you called me to this pointless task that I can't accomplish? I have failed." God answered, "Look how you have changed in all this time. You are stronger, wiser, and ready for whatever will come next. I didn't call you to move the rock, but to push against it. You were faithful and obedient. Now that you have done this, I will move the rock."
We become discouraged because we don't see the outcome we expect, but we don't know what outcome God intends. We feel alone because we doubt that God is working through us when we don't seem to accomplish the task. Elijah proved God was greater than the false gods, but still people didn't believe. It is no wonder he ran off to the mountains and begged to be finished! We understand Elijah's point of view. We might not be upset because enemies are trying to kill us, but our own little corner of the world can fall apart in so many ways: relationships, work, and health. We do not understand how God can abandon us when we are so passionate about doing His work.
The problem is that we usually want to accomplish something we deem valuable. Like the man with the boulder, we expect there to be an outcome that changes the world. Like Elijah, we expect everyone to believe because of what we have done. God reminds us in this week's lessons that He is the one who accomplishes these things. He will move the rock. He will set things right. He will save those who are lost.
We think we are alone, and so when we fail we think the work will never get done. But God reminds us that He is with us and that there are others who still believe.
James and John wanted to prove God's power, just as Elijah did. James and John, otherwise known as the "Sons of Thunder" for their quick tempers, asked Jesus if He wanted them to call fire down on the village. They were certainly zealous about the work they were doing with and for the Lord.
The Samaritans were enemies of the Jews, half-breeds because they had intermingled with Gentiles through marriage. They did not worship in Jerusalem as did the Jews. Yet, despite the animosity between Jews and Samaritans, Jesus had mercy on them. In the story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus used the Samaritan as the example of the good neighbor. Jesus treated the woman at the well with compassion and revealed Himself to her there. Yet, the Samaritans did not receive Jesus or His disciples because they were Jews. The disciples went to the village, but they were sent away and they wanted to respond with power. There is power that comes from being a follower of Christ, yet Jesus does not give us that power to bring harm to people. Instead, we are called to be merciful and filled with grace.
Today's lesson continues with three different call stories. In the first encounter, a man tells Jesus that he will follow Jesus wherever He goes. Jesus answers, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." We don't know how the man received that piece of news, but in context it is probable that it disappointed him. What about the call of Christ makes us question whether or not we should follow Jesus?
Jesus said to the second man, "Follow me." He answered that he wanted to bury his father first. Now, this seems like a plausible reason to postpone following Jesus, but it is likely that the man's father was not yet dead. In other words, the man was telling Jesus, "I'll be glad to join you when my life circumstances change." Unfortunately, we often put off following Jesus until a better time. Jesus answered, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead, but you go and announce God's Kingdom." How often do we push aside the work of God's kingdom to do what we think we should do first?
A third man tells Jesus, "I want to follow you, Lord, but first..." In this case, the man just wants to say good-bye to his family. Jesus says, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for God's Kingdom." Are we willing to give up everything for the sake of the Gospel?
The cost of following Jesus is heavy. It means giving up everything including the family ties and the work we have think we have to do. It is easy to find excuses to put off the work of the kingdom, but Jesus is not willing to accept excuses. He was on His way to the cross. Time was short and there was too much left to do. Those who were not truly committed, faithful and obedient would never survive the next test. They would be the ones to fall under the pressure of the crucifixion. They would not have the strength or courage to wait until the resurrection.
Faithfulness and obedience do not mean that we will accomplish what we think we are supposed to accomplish. Faithfulness and obedience is doing what God calls us to do, even if it seems pointless. Faithless and obedience means trusting God even when it seems like we have failed. The men in today's Gospel lesson may have wanted to follow Jesus, but Jesus knew that the cost was too high for half-hearted commitment. Following Jesus requires the whole self. No one whose mind or heart is divided, or whose flesh will quickly fall to selfish desires, will be able to stand up against the pressure and persecution that comes against us because we serve God.
Are we willing to give up everything for the sake of the Gospel? Are we willing to give up our pity parties and go where God is leading us, no matter what we will face on that path?
Paul writes, "Now the deeds of the flesh are obvious, which are: adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which I forewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit God's Kingdom." We are called to help our neighbors live so that they will inherit eternal life.
Imagine how Jesus’ followers must have felt at this point in His story. He was doing good work among them. For them, it was more than enough. After all, they were eating well, being healed, and hearing good stories. They knew that a trip to Jerusalem was dangerous for Jesus. They certainly heard the threats against Jesus' life and ministry. Why go to where they want to kill you? Jesus, unlike Elijah, knew that His purpose lie in the city. He would not turn left or right, but would head straight into the hands of his enemies. The plan was right. His death was vital. He couldn't stay hidden among friends when God was sending Him to be slaughtered.
Yet the disciples, like Elijah and all the rest of us, wanted to take matters into their own hands.
The works of the flesh as listed by Paul are part of the old life that we must leave behind. At times these are quite easy to recognize and yet sometimes we do not even realize we are sinning against God with our works. It is easy to see idolatry when the god we are worshipping is a stone figurine. It is not so easy when our idols are our philosophical points of view. We are just like those men on the road to Jerusalem with an easy excuse like "now is not the time," or "let me take care of something first."
The life God expects from us looks so much different. Paul writes, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control; against such there is no law." The works of the flesh destroy. The works of the Spirit shine God's light. It is hard work, and we might be called to do some things that we simply do not want to do. We might be called to do something that just doesn't make sense or seem to accomplish anything. We might be called to face an enemy. But God calls us to be filled with faith, trusting that He knows what He is doing.
Paul reminds us to stand firm in the Gospel so that we will not be burdened by our sinful flesh. That includes the self-centered and selfish pity parties we like to have when we feel like God is sending us into a mean and hurtful world. We seek the freedom to pursue our desires and yet it is our desires that keep us in bondage. James and John had the power to call down fire on the Samaritan village, and yet their desire to do so was keeping them in bondage to their anger and hatred. Standing firm in the Gospel means that we won't give excuses when God calls us to His service.
In Christ we are freed from this world to serve others in love and mercy. The cost of discipleship is great. It means letting go of the past and putting God first. It means moving on even when we think we have failed and trusting that God will accomplish His work in His way and in His time. It means living in freedom from our flesh for the sake of others, loving as God loves us.
David wrote in today's psalm, "Their sorrows shall be multiplied who give gifts to another god." While our gods might not require our blood, they do tempt us to set God aside while we pursue the desires of our flesh. David continued, "I have set Yahweh always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved." We may think we are all alone in this world, persecuted by those who hate us and rejected by those we have been called to serve. However, we are not alone for God is with us and He has promised that there are others called to do His work, too.
God sees what we will never see, knows what we can never know, and He is faithful. That's enough to give us the strength to go on and continue doing what He has called us to do. In the end, God will not fail; His purpose will be accomplished.
A WORD FOR TODAY
Back to Midweek Oasis Index Page