Sermon preached by the Reverend John E.
Kitagawa at the Celebration of the Holy Eucharist on Sunday, 27 June 2010 (The Fifth
Sunday after Pentecost) at St. Philip’s In The Hills Parish, Tucson, Arizona
A DIFFERENT
KIND OF COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS
II Kings 2: 1-2, 6-14;
Galatians 5: 1, 13-25; Luke 9: 51-62
Three weeks ago, we celebrated the Holy
Eucharist in a side garden of the Church of the Beatitudes, overlooking the Sea of Galilee. Instead
of a sermon, I asked participants in the Interfaith Journey to the Holy Land to share reflections on their
experiences to that point. I was
surprised by the depth of their experiences after only three days on the
ground. One member had observed and been
touched by the diversity of Christian people coming from around the world to
strengthen their relationships with Jesus Christ, and to deepen their
faith. He said, “Just think of how much
good could be accomplished if we could harness all that spiritual energy and
power to work together!” This comment
came to mind frequently during the tour.
The Church of Pater Noster is located on the Mount of Olives, east of Old Jerusalem. It is believed this is where Jesus taught the
disciples to pray the Lord’s Prayer. On
the garden and cloister walls is the Lord’s Prayer in 50 or more languages. As we waited our turn to get into a small
chapel, we could hear group after group praying the Lord’s Prayer in their own
languages.
Yardinet is the designated Baptismal site on
the Jordan River.
It far from where it is believed John baptized Jesus. Here, Christians in our group renewed our
Baptismal vows. A few feet from us was
another group, perhaps from south Asia,
was doing the same thing. Our approaches
were different. We, in true Episcopal
fashion, took off our shoes and socks, rolled up our pants and waded into the Jordan, shin deep, and after appropriate prayers,
sprinkled a little water on one another.
The other group waded in waste deep, then proceeded to fully immerse one
another in the Jordan.
Two different approaches, but we shared the joy in renewing our
commitment to discipleship, and knowing the blessings bestowed on us in such
service in Christ’s name.
For me, the power and meaning of diverse
Christian disciples was manifest at other sites, like the Church of the
Multiplication (dedicated to the miracle of Jesus feeding the multitudes), the
Church of the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, or walking down the Mount of Olives on the Palm Sunday Road. I was particularly aware of fellow Christians
on the Via Dolorosa, the Way of Sorrow, the walking of the fourteen Stations of
the Cross. It is a very personal,
powerful and sobering experience to walk and pray with Jesus the journey from
condemnation to crucifixion. Being aware
of the diversity of peoples in pilgrimage groups walking the path before and
after us gave me a sense of spiritual kinship, and thus deepened the meaning of
the experience.
I must note that you will have an
opportunity to hear the reflections of some of the other participants of the
Interfaith Journey on Sunday, 18 July 2010, at a 10:15 am Forum. I know your hearts will be touched by their
witnesses.
As you know this was an Interfaith Journey,
so we had a number of Jewish experiences, including one of my personal highlights. On Friday, 11 June 2010, by special arrangement, we o welcomed
Shabbatt, the Sabbath, within the Jerusalem Archeological Park.
This means we were at the Western Wall of Temple Mount, one of the most
sacred places in Judaism. Rabbi David
Wilfond from Hebrew Union College began by blowing the shofar, the ram’s
horn, and then proceeded to explain and lead us in worship. Following the service, we walked on the
excavated pavement that Jesus would have walked on as he visited the Temple.
We walked past the ruins of the money-changers’ stalls where Jesus
overturned tables in his anger. At the
Southwest corner of the Wall, we saw the replica of a rock that had fallen when
the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE. On it is an inscription noting the place
where the shofar had been blown back in the Temple era.
Two aspects of the experience live within me
in powerful ways. First, I had a sense
of spiritual continuity as we participated in ancient Jewish ritual and
worship. We were not praying to someone
else’s God, or to a foreign God. As
clearly as ever, I understood that there is one God, who we worship through our
different traditions. So, just as the
journey renewed my sense of relationship and one-ness with fellow Christians,
the journey gave me the same senses with fellow Jews. Secondly, the only word I can find for
Friday evening’s experience is mystical.
There we were, worshipping in a manner Jesus Christ would have
recognized, in a language he would have understood, in a place that he knew
intimately. At one level, I feel
spiritually and emotionally closer to Jesus, and that is important. Perhaps of greater significance, however, is
a renewed sense of openness and dedication to learn what Jesus was all about, and
to work as hard as I can to do his work in the world.
The Gospel for my first sermon after
returning from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1996 was a
gift, a softball, a way to connect with integrity to the pilgrimage. That Gospel was Jesus’ invitation to
Matthew: “Follow me” (Matthew 9: 9), and
Matthew “got up and followed him”. So,
I was curious about which Gospel passage the lectionary would give me to preach
on today. This Gospel is not what I
would call a softball, but upon reflection, it ties in very nicely, at least
with my experience of the Interfaith Journey.
Just a few moments ago, I spoke of “a renewed sense of openness and dedication to learn what
Jesus was all about, and to work as hard as I can to do his work in the
world. I could, and you could, metaphorically
speaking, be one of the three individuals that Jesus encounters in today’s
Gospel, or perhaps a fourth or fifth person Luke does not feature in his story.
In Luke’s
Gospel, these stories come in the context of Jesus “turning his face to Jerusalem” (Luke 9: 51), which
follows Peter’s Confession that Jesus “is the Messiah of God” (Luke 5: 20; see also Matthew 16: 16; Mark 8: 29). Peter’s
Confession took place in Caesarea Philippi, a holy site on the itinerary of the
Interfaith Journey.
Let us see
how these encounters speak to us today.
The first man says to Jesus, "I will follow you wherever you go"
Luke 9: 57). One might characterize
Jesus’ response as less than pastoral: "Foxes have holes, and birds of the
air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head" (Luke 9: 58). In other words, "Have
you counted the cost? If you follow me, the Kingdom
of God is now your home. And the journey is more important than
the destination. What we do as we walk along beside one another will be more important
than the destination. For all your enthusiasm, have you counted the cost?"
The second man also does not receive a
sympathetic or welcoming response from Jesus. If anyone ever had a good excuse to delay
discipleship, this man seemed to have it. In Jewish tradition, burying a parent was a
duty of great importance (Luke 9: 59). This
falls under the commandment to honor one's father and mother. In fact, in
Judaism all other normal religious obligations could be set aside in order for
a person to bury the dead. Luke tells us
Jesus would have none of it. "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for
you, go and proclaim the Kingdom
of God" (Luke 9: 60).
In other words, the preaching of the Kingdom
of God takes precedence over familial relationship and obligations.
The third wannabe disciple displays
good family values and says to Jesus, "Let me first say farewell to those
at my home" (Luke 9: 61). To which
Jesus responds: "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is
fit for the kingdom of God" (Luke 9: 62). In other words, "Leave the past behind."
"Following me means new life. You
can't plow a field with your eyes looking behind you. Leave the old for the new"[1].
Luke does not tell us whether any or all of
the would-be disciples became followers, or whether they went away disappointed
or disillusioned. Perhaps they followed
at a distance, hanging around the edges of the community, but never making the
life-changing, transforming “all-in” commitment to put Jesus and the kingdom of God at the core of
their lives, and to make these the driving forces of their activities.
Jesus’ responses seem more extreme than
necessary. They are harsh, unfeeling and
confrontational, but one cannot miss the point.
Discipleship is about conversion and commitment. However these happen in our lives, excuses
and delays seem to fade. It is where we
find courage and creative ways to overcome obstacles, and to meet challenges
that once daunted or scared us.
Conversion and commitment are sources of motivation and energy that keep
us learning what Jesus was
all about, and working as hard as possible to do his work in the world. Conversion and commitment lead to faithful
living becoming central motivating forces, not just in our Church lives, but through
our whole lives. Jesus asked the first
man whether he had considered the cost of discipleship. I believe another question has to be
asked. Have we counted the cost when we
do not commit to discipleship? Who
suffers, and who does not experience healing or reconciliation? Who will not be touched by the affirming and
transforming love of God? I think it is
legitimate to once again place before you the observation of the Interfaith
Journey participant:
Just think of how much good could be
accomplished if we could harness all that spiritual energy and power to work
together!
AMEN.