6 Pentecost, C p 8, June 30, 2013
2 Kings
2:1-2, 6-14 Psalm 77:1-2,
11-20
Gal. 5:1, 13-25 Luke 9:51-62
What is it that lifts the human spirit when
we watch those who participate and compete in the Special Olympics? We are really touched when persons who
struggle with their impairments put forth a heroic effort and compete for the
sheer joy of it and give their unqualified effort.
And I would assert to you that the great
issues are rarely about issues of ability; they mainly about issues of will and
choice.
The main duty of every parent is to convince
their children that when they say, “I can’t,” it probably means, “I won’t.”
What kind of parent would require their
children to do things that they were unable to do? Yes there are probably some compulsive and
driven parents who have unrealistic expectations for their children but the
vast majority of parents only ask their children to do things that fall well
within their ability to do.
Another task of a parent is to encourage
their children to be realistic about their abilities and willingness. Sometimes in youthful pride children are more
confident of their abilities than they should be because they are not realistic
about what is required of them in a task.
In our appointed Gospel, the writer has collected an interesting group
of traditions about Jesus and his disciples.
The disciples of Jesus seem to be clueless
about his mission. They believe him to
be an end of the world apocalyptic General.
And so when a village in Samaria
What is the work of God and Christ about
anyway? It is not about fire bombs from
heaven to convince people about God; no, it is about the inside job that God is
trying to do on all of us. It is about
the call of God in Christ. That is how
God intends to change this world. God
wants to do with through the free wills of men and women. The call of God upon our lives is the way in
which God wants to persuade this world to be better.
The call of God is offered to everyone and
when Jesus came, men and women were challenged to answer that call.
And Jesus offered some rather crisp assessment about the call to
discipleship.
For one who was so sure that he wanted to
follow Christ, Jesus told him to be realistic about what is involved. How many people have started out as wide-eyed
optimistic Bible-believing with certainty about God, only to go through the maze
of loss and disillusionment and end up as pessimistic atheists or
agnostics? Some of the most devout have
had their faith ruined on the rocks of life.
So, Jesus encouraged a potential follower not to think that he would be
exempt from the standard requirements of life if he chose to follow him.
Then Jesus addressed the great dilemma in
life when most people say, “I can’t,” they really mean, “I won’t.” And that is when Jesus began to speak in his
exaggerated speech to challenge them about his calling. It is like Jesus was saying to them: “Tell me what you really think of me! If you think that following me is going to be
bad for you and your family, then you probably should not do it. If you think that I am asking you to do
something that is bad for you, then you probably should not do it?
The standard excuse in life is not a matter
of ability but a matter of will. If we
have money to buy season tickets for sports events and boats and items of
luxury, do we have money to buy a couple of new wells for villages in Africa without water?
The issue is never ability, the issue is always choice. God and Christ are never asking us to do what
we cannot do, but they are always asking us about matters of our choice to
challenge our will. The call of God is
mostly about our will and not about our ability.
The greatest hindrances to the call of God
are the ordinary things in life: Like
when we let ourselves think that the call of God is in competition with the
good of our own life and the lives of our family. And what does Jesus say: “If that is what you
are thinking then you do not understand God or me.”
What the words of Jesus confronts us about
is: If we are saying the demands of
God’s call are not good for our lives or our family, then we are building false
and phony reasons for saying, “Oh, God, I surely can’t do that; it would be too
hard for me and my family.” If the call
of God is incompatible with our lives, then indeed it is unrealistic. But Jesus was really saying, “Don’t go there,
if you are trying to cover up your, “I can’t” with an, “I won’t.” It is your will that is the issue, not your
ability or the demands of God.
Most things in our life come down to the
issue of our will. And often we can be
so programmed into our social, family and cultural patterns; we literally do
not feel very free. Sometimes when we
don’t feel very free it’s because we have accepted so many commitments. And the call of God is a reminder for us
always to re-evaluate our priority and commitments so that we can truly express
our freedom.
The reading from St. Paul St. Paul
What are the expressions of freedom of the
Holy Spirit? They are the fruits of the
Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience., kindness, generosity, faithfulness,
gentleness, and self-control. The fruits
of the Spirit are the powerful ways in which we say to the call of God, “I
will.” And are any of these fruits bad
for our family life, our church life, our personal lives or the life of this
world?
The God that Jesus preached was not
a God who bombed people into submission with fire from heaven; the God of Jesus
was a God who gently called people to follow what is good. The God of Jesus is the one who placed the
Holy Spirit within us to empower us to true freedom to answer the call of
Christ. And what is that call? It is a call to love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. And that call is freedom and it is good for
us, for our families, our parish and our world.
Let us give up our excuses and let us say, “I will and I can follow
Christ, through the wonderful fruits of the Holy Spirit.” Amen.
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