Homily for July 1, 2007 13th Sunday of the Year
I'm going to invite some participation this morning. First of all, did you see a parallel between the first reading and the Gospel? Elijah calls Elisha. By the way, those two names: Elijah means "God judges," Elisha means "God saves." And so the two prophets had quite different ministries.
Elijah called fire from heaven to consume his enemies, so the reference in the Gospel where James and John say, "Do you want us to call fire down from heaven to consume them?" is a reference back to Elijah.
Elisha wants to go home and take leave of his family. Elijah seems to allow him. In the Gospel a man wants to go home and take leave of his family and Jesus seems not to allow it. So there are a lot of parallels.
By the way, the Church, when it picked that first reading from the book of Kings, thought that it went with the Gospel. Do you think Luke, when he wrote his Gospel, thought of the book of Kings? Scripture scholars would say that he did.
And then, what do you think of Jesus' attitude in the Gospel today? Does it seem, well, what does it seem like to you? "Harsh," Julie said. How many of you thought it was pretty harsh? Yeah.
I mean, the commentaries I read on it, by the way, said, "Well, He's saying that the demands of the Kingdom are unconditional, and we have to follow unconditionally." And I read that, and you know, I have never been able to preach a homily on the demands of Jesus being unconditional and feel good about it, because I've never been able to feel that I live up to that myself. I wish it was that easy, to say you put your hand to the plow and you never look back. How many of you can say your life has been that way?
I wish it was that easy to say, "Let the dead bury their dead, just move on." I've never been able to feel that I live up to that. So I think those of you who might say that the Gospel is harsh, that's my reaction, too. In fact, in my letter in the bulletin I point out that that often is a way of teaching - the rebuke - that points out to you right away, we're not on the same page. And it does it by rebuking you and pointing out to you where your thinking or where your line of thought is just not in line with what's being proclaimed.
I find in my life, sometimes when I am rebuked - well, how do you feel when you feel rebuked? What? Ashamed? Belittled, defensive? Humbled? Anybody ever get angry? It hurts your feelings and you get confused? Sometimes being rebuked does that to me. But do you know, sometimes it opens up a new way of thinking for me, and it points out to me that I'm not on the right page and it opens up a new possibility. Can you relate to that, too? Do you know the difference in your life when it happens? I don't often, but I recognize that sometimes it works both ways for me.
Now, in the Gospel today, the people that were rebuked, the Gospel doesn't tell us what happens afterwards. So let's take the man who said, "I will follow you wherever you go."
And Jesus said, "Well, okay, but I've got nowhere to lay my head.” What do you think he did? What do you think the end of the story is?
Okay. Mike said he'd like to think the man said, "Yeah, I know that. I'm ready." So you might think that there was a possibility that in spite of that realistic warning, he followed Jesus, only with a greater sense of realism about what it might cost him. You could equally imagine that he walked away sad.
What about the other two? What do you think they ended up doing? There is no right answer, by the way, because we don't know. It doesn't tell us. I would like to think that the rebuke of Jesus opened a door for them into a new way of thinking and a new way of being, and that they went through that door with Jesus. And I'd like to think that that's the way our life can be.
You know most of us live in a very real world where we are torn day in and day out between conflicting obligations. I mean, I'd like to follow Jesus, but I've got to live in the world and make a living, and there are very practical demands. I'd like to leave everything behind, but I have family and I have friends. I have obligations in this world, and often I feel torn. Can you relate to that? Is there anybody here who has not felt conflict in your following of Jesus, or in your trying to hear the Gospel?
I'd like to proclaim to you that there is a way that you can come up with a long-range strategic plan that eliminates all the conflict and has everything in place, and if you believe that anybody can do that for you, I've got some real estate to sell you somewhere!
I think more often in our life what happens is we come up against the rebuke, or we come up against the absolute frustration or the blind wall, and either we turn away in anger and confusion or a new door opens for us and we go through that door into new territory. And at least today I'd like you to let the Gospel suggest that possibility to you, that through all of the conflicts we experience in life, what we might really experience is a new door being opened, and that we might be able to walk through that door.
Elijah called fire from heaven to consume his enemies, so the reference in the Gospel where James and John say, "Do you want us to call fire down from heaven to consume them?" is a reference back to Elijah.
Elisha wants to go home and take leave of his family. Elijah seems to allow him. In the Gospel a man wants to go home and take leave of his family and Jesus seems not to allow it. So there are a lot of parallels.
By the way, the Church, when it picked that first reading from the book of Kings, thought that it went with the Gospel. Do you think Luke, when he wrote his Gospel, thought of the book of Kings? Scripture scholars would say that he did.
And then, what do you think of Jesus' attitude in the Gospel today? Does it seem, well, what does it seem like to you? "Harsh," Julie said. How many of you thought it was pretty harsh? Yeah.
I mean, the commentaries I read on it, by the way, said, "Well, He's saying that the demands of the Kingdom are unconditional, and we have to follow unconditionally." And I read that, and you know, I have never been able to preach a homily on the demands of Jesus being unconditional and feel good about it, because I've never been able to feel that I live up to that myself. I wish it was that easy, to say you put your hand to the plow and you never look back. How many of you can say your life has been that way?
I wish it was that easy to say, "Let the dead bury their dead, just move on." I've never been able to feel that I live up to that. So I think those of you who might say that the Gospel is harsh, that's my reaction, too. In fact, in my letter in the bulletin I point out that that often is a way of teaching - the rebuke - that points out to you right away, we're not on the same page. And it does it by rebuking you and pointing out to you where your thinking or where your line of thought is just not in line with what's being proclaimed.
I find in my life, sometimes when I am rebuked - well, how do you feel when you feel rebuked? What? Ashamed? Belittled, defensive? Humbled? Anybody ever get angry? It hurts your feelings and you get confused? Sometimes being rebuked does that to me. But do you know, sometimes it opens up a new way of thinking for me, and it points out to me that I'm not on the right page and it opens up a new possibility. Can you relate to that, too? Do you know the difference in your life when it happens? I don't often, but I recognize that sometimes it works both ways for me.
Now, in the Gospel today, the people that were rebuked, the Gospel doesn't tell us what happens afterwards. So let's take the man who said, "I will follow you wherever you go."
And Jesus said, "Well, okay, but I've got nowhere to lay my head.” What do you think he did? What do you think the end of the story is?
Okay. Mike said he'd like to think the man said, "Yeah, I know that. I'm ready." So you might think that there was a possibility that in spite of that realistic warning, he followed Jesus, only with a greater sense of realism about what it might cost him. You could equally imagine that he walked away sad.
What about the other two? What do you think they ended up doing? There is no right answer, by the way, because we don't know. It doesn't tell us. I would like to think that the rebuke of Jesus opened a door for them into a new way of thinking and a new way of being, and that they went through that door with Jesus. And I'd like to think that that's the way our life can be.
You know most of us live in a very real world where we are torn day in and day out between conflicting obligations. I mean, I'd like to follow Jesus, but I've got to live in the world and make a living, and there are very practical demands. I'd like to leave everything behind, but I have family and I have friends. I have obligations in this world, and often I feel torn. Can you relate to that? Is there anybody here who has not felt conflict in your following of Jesus, or in your trying to hear the Gospel?
I'd like to proclaim to you that there is a way that you can come up with a long-range strategic plan that eliminates all the conflict and has everything in place, and if you believe that anybody can do that for you, I've got some real estate to sell you somewhere!
I think more often in our life what happens is we come up against the rebuke, or we come up against the absolute frustration or the blind wall, and either we turn away in anger and confusion or a new door opens for us and we go through that door into new territory. And at least today I'd like you to let the Gospel suggest that possibility to you, that through all of the conflicts we experience in life, what we might really experience is a new door being opened, and that we might be able to walk through that door.
Labels: Homilies
posted by Fr. Larry Voelker at
2:20 PM
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