5th Sunday after Pentecost Luke 9:51-62 June 27, 2010

       5Pentecost2010 Luke 9:51-62 June 27, 2010

With the weather last Monday perfect for a hike to Feather Falls, Reg and I packed sunscreen,
peanut butter and crackers and the dogs, and headed out. In their final show of spring color
the wildflowers wonderful. But before we got to them we had to wait for a roadblock to be
removed. The Sheriff volunteers explained that Search and Rescue Teams were looking for an
84 year old man with emphysema and a heart condition and he was thought to be in the hills.
The trail finally opened at 2:00. We and one other hiking group had hung around long enough to
be let in and we pretty much had the trail to our selves. But the parking lot to the trail head didn’t
hold just one Search and Rescue Team, but five counties worth – and their dogs. There were at
least 25 vehicles and generators. They had searched every nook and cranny, but hadn’t found the
missing man. They were moving to search another area and did so for days the ER said. I don’t
know if they found him, maybe some of you heard.

What I do know is there was urgency about the search for this one precious man. All the
stops were out. They were doing everything they knew to accomplish their goal of finding
him. Urgency is on Jesus’ mind in today’s Gospel. He’s not being insensitive about the burial
practices of the people or the need for family members to say goodbye to each other. When
he says, “let the dead bury the dead” Jesus is using a hyperbole – an exaggeration to make
a point. The point is that Jesus’ mission is urgent. God’s reign of forgiveness has broken
in through Jesus the Christ and the Gospel urges us to respond for the sake of the world.
This 9th chapter of Luke is a turning point. There is no turning back. Jesus’ face is set towards
Jerusalem, which literally is Jeru- shalom – the place of peace. The central image in Luke
is “the road” – the space between where we leave and where we are going. All kinds of things
happen along the road – happy things and sad; encouraging things and discouraging. The road
Jesus himself walks is that way. There are no guarantees of perfect pavement in the spiritual life.
What’s important to remember, whatever comes, is that Jesus the Christ leads this wilderness
hike.

The Search and Rescue Teams at Feather Falls ran into obstacles. The man wasn’t easily found.
They had to learn from every clue and then reorient themselves and search in new directions.
Jesus teaches his first disciples, and us, to do the same. The way to maturity of faith involves
learning all there is to learn along the way, seeing every footprint, every rustle of the leaves as
guidance. And we are encouraged to not lose heart about the mission however painstaking the
way.

Sometimes the road may ask more of us than we think we’re capable of. But faithfulness to
the journey calls for trust, not in ourselves, but in God’s grace and love. That is what we are
to learn to count on and cherish. Everything else we try to cling to may fail us or elude us, but
God’s attentive love abides. And sometimes it may be that just when we feel desperate for a rest
there is an unexpected bend in the road. That’s what happened to Jesus in today’s Gospel story.
He and his disciples were ready to be welcomed in for the night, but the messengers sent ahead
of Jesus found only rejection. They weren’t wanted in that village of the Samaritans. Luke
doesn’t leave this story out just because it’s not a nice one. It’s an important clue of what we are
to learn. Things didn’t always go smoothly for Jesus, but he knew his mission and he kept the
course.

But the weary travelers who weren’t Jesus had to learn by trial and error. James and John
guessed that when they faced rejection they were to follow what Elijah had done in a similar
situation. Elijah called down fire from heaven. Is that what Jesus wanted of them? They
didn’t know, so they asked – which is the best thing they could possibly have done. Instead
of just acting out of instinct, James and John, “sons of thunder” turned their frustration into
prayer, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”
They knew what they were inclined to do, but they had learned enough already on the journey to
not second guess Jesus. Having guessed wrong before, they asked him this time and he said no.
He rebuked their proposal of violence. Instead he reminded them to remember their destination
– Jeru-shalom – the place of peace.

Jesus Hedoesn’t deny or belittle their frustration, but neither does he accept hardship as an
excuse for getting off mission. He models staying the course no matter what. The road to
Jerusalem is a hilly road. If you’ve been to Jerusalem you’ll know it’s a city set on a hill. The
way there is up-hill. So too for us on the walk of faith. But hilly as the way may be, Jesus is far
from negative about it.

I love the words in our Gospel Acclamation: “Lord, to whom shall we go, you have the words
of eternal life, Alleluia.” – or Praise the Lord – which is what Alleluia means. In other words,
what could be more praiseworthy than traveling with Jesus – “to whom else can we go?”
Christianity is the discovery that Jesus the Christ is eternal life. The word eternal is “zoë” in
Greek and it doesn’t mean life after death, but real life now as it will be in heaven. When we
sing “Lord, to whom shall we go,” we proclaim this mystery – that there’s a whole different
plain that trumps everything – even those things that seem so important – like a proper burial.
For Jesus there is nothing more important than the kingdom or realm of God – the fullness of
God’s love into which we are invited in this life and in the age to come. This is so important to
Jesus that he is urgent that we spread the word. So the question becomes, how can we best let
this good news comfort our fearful hearts and keep us on mission when discouraging hills loom
before us?

The stories of Jesus being rejected as he is in today’s Gospel and of him being betrayed and
abandoned and even killed as the story goes on, point us to how much more important his
message is than anything that can happen to him – and how much more important the message
we bear is than anything that can happen to us. Jesus is urgent about the message. The message
is the mission – telling the world of the love that is capable of successfully leading us over every
hilly road of life.
Have you ever been in a race or seen one where one runner passes a baton to the next? That’s
what we have in today’s Gospel. Jesus runs to the church saying, “Here is the Good News of
God’s love. Carry this baton into the world.” And he says it’s urgent because many are afraid.
The hills of life can be overwhelming and Jesus yearns for us to know the same mercy and peace
that he knew.

Many have picked up the baton through the years. Marge and Steve Troester are picking it
up and carrying it to Uganda as they leave even this week for their mission work there. St.
Francis picked up the baton when he prayed: “Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where
there is injury, pardon. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.” Picking up
the baton is what you do when you risk changing cycles of violence rather than perpetuate them.
Receiving the baton is what we do every time we gather to hear the word and share the supper.
Picking up the baton is what 38 volunteers will do tomorrow at VBS under the Baobab Tree
and “God’s Great Get-Together.” It may be that one of the most important things you could do
today is pray about whether there is a child you can invite. I can assure you, it is being lovingly
prepared.

Jesus is running up to the church of today, saying “Take the baton of forgiveness. Pass along
mercy and love. And when the way be hilly, don’t disparage of the mission. Remember who
gave you the baton! Remember who gave you the baton!
Amen

   +Pastor Peg Schultz-Akerson, to the glory of God
Faith Lutheran Church, Chico, CA