Let Go

CPent6 13, Lectionary 13, Proper 8

1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21 Psalm 16 Galatians 5:1, 13-25 Luke 9:51-62

The Gospel according to St. Luke. [Glory to you O Lord]

51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; 53 but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54 When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" 55 But he turned and rebuked them. 56 Then they went on to another village.

57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." 58 And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." 59 To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." 60 But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." 61 Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." 62 Jesus said to him, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

The Gospel of the Lord [Praise to you O Christ].

Grace, Peace and Expanding Love are yours from God the Father, through the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ.

I am not a farmer kid, but I do come from farm country.  And therefore, I have seen people plowing.  Anyone here ever plowed a field themselves? Do you mind if I put you on the spot? 

[come up?]

1.     Can you describe for us plowing a field?   

2.     Ok, so say we have the tractor (or oxen) set up with the plows and we are about to head out into the field.  What is the most important thing to know if we were going to be given this job?

3.     One thing I have noticed is that the fields are always so geometric looking… the plowing seems to go in straight lines… would that be key to the job?  Why?

“Straight lines.”

Hm. Jesus says, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”  Now Jesus is a carpenter, but I wonder if he had noticed the same thing I had.  A main skill in plowing seems to be heading off in a straight line.  I mean, you need to be looking where you are going. Is that right? I bet that was especially true when the plow was pulled by oxen or horses rather than a tractor.  In my experience with animals, if you aren’t clear about where they should be headed, you’re in trou-ah-ble. 

So I wonder, if you were trying to lead the oxen and plow down the field while looking over your shoulder… just what would happen? Maybe just a messy job?  Is it possible to ruin a field that way? Would we have to do the whole thing over again?

It’s probably helpful to look at the scripture again: Jesus says to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God,”… Jesus says this in response to a person who says, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.”  A guy who seems eager for Jesus’ invitation to “Follow me” but that invitation was actually addressed to someone else who wanted to go and bury his father.  And Jesus response there was not particularly kind either: let the dead bury their own dead.  Three times Jesus is in conversation with people who want to follow him and he responds by upping the ante.  “You want to follow me?  Well, let me tell you what this is really all about… “

Three times Jesus challenges the would-be followers.  And each time the answers do not seem to be particularly encouraging.  What is Jesus up to here?

Jesus has just come down from the mountain where he was transfigured, the text tells us that “his face is set towards Jerusalem.”  The tone of the story of Luke changes here.  Suddenly Jesus is a “man on a mission.”  Even though his followers don’t get it yet, Jesus seems to know what Jerusalem has in store for him, his focus is incredible.  Focus upon what he came to earth to do, which has been revealed to him on that mountaintop.  Focus upon his dear Father, to whom he looks, longing to be back together again.  The story tells us that the days drew near for him to be “Taken up”… does Luke mean taken up on the cross?  Taken up to heaven? Taken up from the tomb?  Maybe Jesus doesn’t even know what’s in store, precisely.  But he clearly won’t be distracted from his mission.

“Follow me”… “follow me”

We are invited into the mission /as the three people/ who Jesus encounters on the road.  These three have no name… no identity… we don’t even know how they react to Jesus statements to them!  “Follow me,” Jesus says. ///We have to remember, that all we know about so far is that Jesus is a miracle worker who has taught us that these supernatural healings and signs all point towards the coming kingdom of God.  And we know that we have glimpsed this kingdom, we have glimpsed the wholeness and beauty in these miracles we have seen. We are just beginning to discover who Jesus is, and are so excited about the change that is coming, that we are following the call.  The call to bring people to Jesus… to hear the good news of the coming kingdom.

We are those followers on the road.  We get to hear the difficult words of Jesus; maybe he’s saying a different thing to each of us… what we each need to hear to point us towards a new way of life.  A life of letting go.

For that seems to be the bottom line.  No matter what we bring to Jesus, his response is “Let that go.”  Let go of our ideas, let go of our rules, let go of our past…fears, hang-ups, judgemental tendencies, fixation on money, narrow minded ness, piles of stuff and self-centeredness all have to go… not to mention, our entire lives[1].  Jesus invites us, “Come live!”  Come live where God has already taken that thing that is holding you back…God has already made it let go of you.

What do you hear when I say that today Jesus says “let go”?  

Do you hear Jesus saying the familiar adage…“Let Go and let God?”  Is that freeing for you?  Can you hear Jesus calmly easing off your burdens of excess responsibility? 

Do you hear Jesus commanding voice prying your fingers from that to which you cling?  Your children, your spouse, your credentials, your status?

What else might you hear?

Peter Marty, a Lutheran pastor and teacher wrote an article on this in the July Lutheran Magazine. I invite you to check it out online. www.thelutheran.org – search for “Letting Go.”

I’ll tell you what I hear from Jesus’ message to Let Go.

I hear Jesus siphoning off my worry about what I can’t control.  I hear Jesus reminding me that my image is as a Child of God over and above any other image I might want to portray.  I feel God clasping my face in his hands, looking me straight in the eyes “I love you, you are my creature, put your trust in me.  For I have made you fit for the kingdom of God in the waters of baptism.  I have made you fit to proclaim the kingdom.  The joy, the peace, the heart-wrenching compassion of your God.  I am your God, who refuses to burn you to a crisp with a lightening bolt even when you refuse me.  I have chosen another way.  I have chosen the way of loving you all the way to the cross… down to hell and back again. For you, my child, you can let go.  But I will never let go of you.”

Can I get an Amen?

So back to that plow, before we’re done here: it’s hard to do a job unless I look ahead to where I am going.

Over and over again Jesus says, Let Go.  Let go of the stuff that is holding you back.  For you have a mission.  You are called.  You need to go the way a bird needs to fly.  And you don’t need any extra junk weighing you down.  No, you need to move forward.  You need to move into the hungry and naked places of the world.  You are my hands and feet!  You bring in the kingdom that overturns the tables.  You bring the light to dark places!  Go, welcome all into me.  Welcome all to faith.  Welcome all to life.  This new, free, life where we are able to let go of all that keeps us from following.  By only God’s power, we let go and let God move us forward.

Amen.

[1] Peter Marty, The Lutheran, June

Thomas and Us.

CEaster2 13

Acts 5:27–32 

Psalm 150 (Alternate) 

Revelation 1:4–8 John 20:19–31

Grace, Peace and Amazement are yours by Jesus Christ, the Risen One.

Puffy eyes, wake up dreaming about the worries of the night before, exhaustion from the sobs, the flood of emotion that racked my body… overwhelming

standing in a line to buy bread and suddenly  the voice of the merchant is too grating or the thing someone is buying in front of me reminds me of who I’ve lost, and I leave the my items behind and head for the door before my tears betray me

waves of memories, moments I wish I could relive, moments I wish I could re-do, guilt next to laughter, bright, shiny memories next to painful ones,

the injustice leaves me angry, the blaming leaves me exhausted,

time moves slowly when I want it to move quickly and races rapidly by when I cling to the fleeting moments

regrets I never knew you had, or never guessed would pop up, take on a life of their own, loom like they are ultimate failures

…and now they tell me they’ve seen him alive.  They tell me Jesus lives.  Impossible!  I can’t bring myself to believe that… I feel so betrayed… he just left us.  Got himself killed on that cross.  I don’t trust him anymore.  We thought he was God.

What might it have been like to be one of the disciples after Jesus died?  In John’s version of the story, every time we hear about the disciples after Jesus dies it isn’t just the inner circle of 11, it’s just “disciples”  those who were with him… those who heard his stories and trusted his teachings… those who believed he was bringing in a new kingdom.  Like you and me.  Just regular disciples of Jesus. 

And those disciples are the ones Jesus breathes on.  The ones who receive the Spirit and become Christ’s new body in the world.  Christ’s body, the church.  That’s you and me. 

Just like Thomas and the disciples, we live in the in-between times.  We live knowing Christ has died and that death is still a part of life.  AND we live knowing that resurrection is a reality.  Even when we do not always know how that looks for us. 

In fact, like Christ’s first body, we are undergoing a death and resurrection.  I’m sure you’ve heard the bad news.  The church is dying. 

The Pew Research Center put out new results on the “nones” last October. That is, n-o-n-e-s.  Those who do not claim a religion of any kind when asked.  It probably won’t surprise you that one in five US citizens now check the “none” box.  And those same people aren’t looking for a religion, for the most part.  But, interestingly, most of them believe in God and sense some sort of spirituality.  But the thing I think is most compelling for our dying church was stated by my colleague, Keith Anderson, “There are plenty of takeaways from the report, but it is clear that there are simply fewer and fewer people with whom the church has a traditional, historic affinity - people who might attend a church out of expectation, obligation, or habit, be it for familial, ethnic, or cultural reasons.”  (http://pastorkeithanderson.net/item/the-rise-of-the-nones-and-my-trip-to-asheville)  

The church is dying.  Yes, dying.  The church we know has been laid in a grave.  The church that dispenses religious goods and services.  The church that feeds us. The church where our needs are met through quality programs and where our children go to be taught by the professionals.  The church who has a long history.  That church is on its last leg. 

But! A new church is arising.  Just like Jesus, this church is just the same body of Christ and yet might feel unrecognizable if we are looking for the old body.  This church is a body that is sent on a mission.  This church gathers in community for worship.  This church learns from one another and from the outside world, even when they are not “in church.” 

Nothing I am describing is a judgment of good or bad on the old or new church.  It just is.  These are observations that lots and lots of people are making- people a lot smarter than me.  But you and I can see it too, right?

The reason I bring up this uncomfortable truth today is because the reality of such a death-to-life transition is painfully obvious in today’s gospel.  The disciples are all in that moment.  I mean, it’s Easter!  Jesus Lives!  And they know it… or do they?  They’ve been told anyway, the women and Peter have seen the empty tomb.  Yet, here are the disciples.  Confused, alone, probably anguished – at least, it sure sounds like Thomas is.  The disciples have locked themselves up for fear of death. 

And then Jesus walks into the room – disregarding the locked doors.  Jesus appears with a word of Peace.  And a word of Purpose. 

My brothers and sisters, You are called to be OUT THERE, Jesus says.  They need to know!  They need to know that your God – the Father- THE God. Has overcome all fears, all wounds, all limitations.  For Them! For You have I died and For You have I overcome death.  So that you cannot be held captive by locks and chains.  So stop locking yourselves up!

This is the time.   You are freed.  Trust your freedom.  My Spirit is with you.  Trust my Spirit.  Trust in the One who Loved you enough to die for you… and to overcome death for you.  You saw me die, now you see me live.  Blessed are those who trust even when they do not see.

We have received the Spirit.  And now we have to figure out what to do next. 

And that makes us part of the new church that is being born. 

The church who experiments together, who worships in ways that engage our creativity and bring our lives “our there” “in here” and back out again. For Holy week, this church blew confetti into the air!  Maybe next we’ll make a mural together or create a stations of the cross that invites us to open our eyes to the Easter Story in a whole new way… I’m thinking glow sticks as “fire”.  Maybe next we’ll have a cross-generational Sunday School session where all our people – from grandpas and grandmas to little beepers – learn together and teach each other to trust in God.  We’ll hold up the baptismal promises made today by Jake’s family and welcome him and all the babies to teach us what trust looks like.  Next we’ll get Fit to Serve! Offering our very bodies as a whole body of Christ to our community… we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, heal the broken, love the difficult; Be present –for each other and in our community.  All of this is grounded in our sacramental worship – living into what we are made when we eat the Word every week…  the words, the body and the blood of Christ.

We are the church that welcomes all to faith and life in Jesus Christ.

We are called to go into the culture and be able to live out our faith there, to talk about our faith out there beyond the locked doors, to realize there really is no “out there” the body of Christ is everywhere.

So when someone says, “I will not trust until I see Christ’s own body,” we offer our hands…  In trust that the Spirit has been breathed into us whether we are in the midst of grief and confusion or pure, unadulterated, Resurrection joy.

Hand-trembling joy.  I wanted nothing more than to reach out and touch…to hold him in my arms.

Paralyzed, wide-eyed, by the rush of love that rolls over me… my love for him reaches out…yet  even before my hand twitches to move…even more his love is surrounding me, warmth easing over my heart until I realize my whole body is embraced by the light that emanates from him.  My heart feels like it will burst with the awe of the moment…and the pure truth of the matter, the “rightness” of it clears my eyes.

I can feel peace down to my toes, down to the darkest places of my heart, in that moment there is no darkness, only peace.  Peace replacing every anxiety, every doubt, every pain.  Peace as deep as the best sleep you’ve ever had.   

I touch his hands, hear him speaking… but I barely comprehend the words.  My thoughts are filled with just one, exploding phrase “He is alive!” 

Christ is risen!  Alleluia!  (response)

Jesus is alive! Alleluia! (response)

Jesus LIVES!  Alleluia! (response)

Amen.