Sermon for July 1st 2007

Canada Day !!

Our Lectionary reading this morning focused on the Samaritan Village and the comments Jesus had about discipleship. But this week as I read over the texts I realized the importance of backing up and placing these two stories in a broader context of what was happening in Jesus’ ministry, and the kinds of things he was saying in the days leading up to his journey to Jerusalem …

First we encounter Jesus taking a child and placing her in the midst of his disciples and saying to them, and to us – “who ever welcomes a child in my name welcomes me, for the the least among you shall be the greatest …”

Then the disciples come back to Jesus and say they found someone casting out demons and performing miracles in Jesus’ name, but they didn’t recognize him, so they told him to stop … But Jesus replies – “if you aren’t against us, you are for us …”

Then Jesus and his disciples are rejected by the Samaritan Village. The disciples want to reign fire down on their inhospitable heads, but Jesus just turns his face to Jerusalem and seeks out a place that WILL welcome him.

Then likely as they walked, perhaps as they passed a fox crouched on the side of the road, or perhaps it was even a foxwarren dug into the sand in a ditch along the way, Jesus offers a profound lesson on discipleship – “even a fox has somewhere to lie his head, but not the son of Man …” Two would be disciples come to join the entourage, but both are rejected – one because he has to go home and bury his father – the second because he simply wants to run home and say “good bye”. Both are rejected because they aren’t ready to go now – they are still attached to home, they are still attached to what was, rather than committing to what will be.

It’s about making faithful choices. It’s about following a path that is different and that calls us to proclaim the Kingdom of God …

The path begins with seeing the world in a bold and radical new way. Putting children – non-people – is a complete inversion of thinking and of the way things are. Children never came first in anything in Jesus’ world … yet, here he is putting a child first and foremost.

Next we encounter the strength of Jesus’ ministry. Others are joining the parade and preaching and performing miracles in Jesus’ name. This speaks to the impact and power Jesus had in Galilea … others who were non-connected were trying to cash in, perhaps even literally.

Then Jesus sets his face to Jerusalem and all that it entails and demands that his disciples set their faces and NO LONGER look back. Today is about choosing to face and embrace the future and leave the past behind. Today is about proclaiming the Kingdom of God.

Jesus and his disciples face a moment not unlike our reading of Elijah and Elisha from 2nd Kings.

Our Hebrew Scripture reading represents a moment where Elijah’s leadership is drawing to a close, and Elisha’s is beginning its ascendancy. The prophets of both Bethel and Jericho try to stop Elijah from continuing on his journey to no avail. Elijah has made his choice … Elisha makes his choice.

Elijah urges Elisha to abandon him, but each time Elisha refuses until he is left standing watching as the great prophet is taken up in a fiery chariot to heaven, leaving behind the mantle of leadership for Elisha to find and take and wear … this story ultimately is about choices. Elisha faces many choices – he could stop and turn back, he could abandon his friend, he could simply leave – but instead he perseveres and claims for the mantle of leadership …

Ultimately, these moments of choices are moments of transition, where what was no longer applies, and what will be – that is the Kingdom of God comes to the fore and we as people of faith face choices …

Moments of transition are never easy – they are fraught with challenges and most of all, they represent change – sometimes on an epic scale.

This week I read the story of the Golden Spruce that used to stand on Haida Gwaii (the Queen Charlottes) – the subtheme of the book, beyond the story of its tragic and senseless loss, was that of how incredibly senseless modern logging practices are. Repeatedly throughout the book the author cites loggers who KNOW that their logging practices are unsustainable, and will ultimately eliminate the very forests they are dependent upong.

BUT, they are simply powerless to do anything about it … a job, money, a lifestyle – those things have become too important. They resent cutting down in 25 minutes a tree that took a thousand years to grow, and they resent the loss of something intangible to all of us – but they can not make the choice to say – “no”. Because there will always be someone to take their place in the woods – they need the money – they need the work – and they want to provide for their families … So they continue to log and clear cut and destroy an ancient eco-system …

In moments of transition – it is always easier to DO NOTHING, than it is to act boldly and make a choice that may be neither comfortable nor easy … the simple and safe path is to look backwards and focus on what has been rather than what could be …

That’s the issue central to our readings this morning … making the choice to move forward, or making the choice to stay where we are focused on what once was – trying desperately to keep things the same as they have been …

The disciples wanted to stop someone preaching and performing miracles in Jesus’ name because they didn’t recognize him … Jesus said – “let him be, if he is doing it in my name it will be okay …”

The Prophets of Bethel and Jericho wanted to stop Elijah from achieving his destiny – but neither Elisha nor Elijah himself was willing to make a choice that opposed God’s plan …
The unknown village in Samaria rejected Jesus, yet he continued in his ministry and on his journey …

Those who approached Jesus and wanted to join in his ministry were given a simple choice – join us, or not … They needed to wrap up loose ends and were rejected. There was no room for looking back. There is no place for pining for what was. There is only room to look ahead and journey on …

Now, I’m not a farmer. But I have enough farm connections in my life to know a few things about farming … enough to know I would never make a good farmer … but I do know that when you’re ploughing beyond the occasional look behind to see that the plough is working properly, you want to watch ahead to ensure your furrow rows are straight. If you look behind you, even with big modern machinery you tend to waver … So, Jesus used a commonplace example when he said – keep your eyes focused on what’s ahead, not on what’s behind …

So too in our community … we need to look at what is and can be not, what once was … So too in the forests of BC … we need to focuse on what is and what can be, not what once was … So too in the Church … we need to focus on what is and what can be, not what once was.

Choices face us all the time. We can try to stop what will be … we can choose to look backwards rather than forwards … we can fight the future and the changes it represents … OR, we can make a choice and face the future …

Today is Canada Day. The Day that we recognize 140 years of common history as a nation. But our history as a people stretches much farther back – wave after wave of immigrants have come to this land and against overwhelming odds, build new lives for themselves in both field and forest. Today as we celebrate, it is a good day to pause and reflect that had our forebearers arrived in the thick forests of Southern Ontario, or on the vast undulating plains of the prairies and said – “forget it, its too much work …” our nation would never have come into being. But instead our ancestors – our forebearers looked to the future and set to work …

In faith, we are called to do likewise … As a Church we are called to face the uncertainties of the future and to not only embrace the unknown, but to work to build the Kingdom of God in our midst …

And the Kingdom of God begins to stir when we have the courage to see things in bold new ways and no longer look over our shoulder … The last shall be first …

May we have the courage and the faith to journey on …
May it be so – thanks be to God.

Let us pray …