Proper 8
:: I Kings 19: 1–16, 19–21; Psalm 16; Galatians
5: 1, 13–25; Luke 9: 51–62
This is a
homily by Fr. Gene Tucker, given at St. John's Church in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania
on Sunday, June 26, 2016.
“TOTAL DEDICATION TO GOD’S
CALL”
(Homily texts: I Kings 19: 15–16, 19–21 & Luke 9: 51-62)
It’s not often that the Old Testament reading and the Gospel text which
are appointed to be read and heard this morning are so well matched, one to the
other. But we are blessed to hear the accounts of two individuals who
singularly followed God’s call: The
prophet Elisha and the Lord Jesus.
In a sense, the events that came into their lives marked a division
point between what had been before, and what followed afterward. Elisha’s call
from the prophet Elijah caused him to destroy his teams of oxen and the
plowshares he’d been using before Elijah called him and laid his mantle upon
him. The destruction of the plows and the teams meant that there was no going
back to the way things had been before Elijah’s voice called him into service
for God. In much the same way, Luke tells us that Jesus “set his face”[1] to
go to Jerusalem, where He will confront the powers-that-were in His day, where
He will suffer, die and be raised again on the third day. Jesus’ decision to
resolutely head to Jerusalem marks a point-of-decision, making what follows
quite different from what had been before.
It occurs to me that one way to describe these points-of-decision is to
look at what happens when a person takes the oath of enlistment and becomes a
member of the armed services of our country. And – it so happens – that this
coming Friday, July 1st, marks the day that (many years ago) I began
my U. S. Army basic training at Ft. Dix, New Jersey, so these memories are
quite fresh in my mind.
Allow me to use the image of enlisting in the service as a vehicle to
describe our Christian response to God’s call.
The beginning of my introduction to Army life began as so all others do,
with an oath of enlistment. Then, all of us who’d taken that oath were shipped
off to our basic training location.
Like many others, I’d made the mistake of bringing some books with me
to basic training. Those books, as well as all other personal items, disappeared,
never to be seen again. Even our eyeglasses were changed from civilian-looking
ones into acceptable (ugly!) Army-issue ones. It seems to me that this
transforming process is a lot like Elisha’s getting rid of every aspect of his
old life before God called him into service.
Then, there was that Army-issue haircut, one of the fastest and ugliest
I’ve ever had. (I hate to admit it, but I have ridge down the middle of my
head, and that Army haircut exposed that defect in my appearance for all to
see….photos taken of me in that timeframe are truly dorky!). But getting that
haircut was just another part of setting my former life aside. I was a soldier
now, property of the U. S. Government, genuine Government Issue (GI). In fact,
we often called one another “GI”. The drill sergeants called us “Trainee” (and
some other names that my profession does not allow me to repeat!)
As this division point between my former, civilian life and my new life
as a soldier got underway, I had to shed every trace of my former, civilian
life (possessions, eyeglasses, haircut, e.g.). So, as I face this new life and
the challenges that lay ahead, it seemed to me that the best way to get through
basic training would be to resolve to master every task and hardship that came
along. “Just make the determination to get through this, and to do everything
as best you can,” I told myself.
Jesus did the very same thing, setting His face to go to Jerusalem,
knowing what would happen there. His determination meant that he would have to
steadfastly face all the hardships that would await Him there.
Being a soldier meant that this new identity would be the main,
governing one for the remainder of my time on active duty. Oh, yes, I did
continue to have other things in my life, things like a family and friends, for
example. But the call to military duty surpassed all those other
considerations.
Jesus, as he made His way to Jerusalem, didn’t set aside His friends as
the time of His ordeal in Jerusalem drew near, for He spent time with Mary and Martha
and their brother, Lazarus, in the village of Bethany, which is southeast of
Jerusalem as He made His way to the Holy City.
Some Christians are on active duty, for they have taken a vow to
totally dedicate themselves to God’s service. Monks and nuns are examples of
such a total dedication to God.
But most Christians are not in fulltime, totally-dedicated ministry.
They are like members of the reserves of the armed forces or perhaps the
National Guard, persons whose lives have a military part and a civilian part.
And therein lies a challenge, for being in part-time ministry to God
means that we must balance our dedication to God with the other demands and
challenges of life. Yes, we, like those full-time, totally dedicated Christians
(like monks and nuns) have taken the oath of enlistment to follow God at our
baptisms. But we are called to live out our lives in the everyday world. We are
called to “proclaim by Word and example the Good News of God in Christ”, as our
Baptismal Covenant states, in the communities in which we live and among the
people we rub elbows with.
The challenge for us part-timers is to bring total dedication to our
baptismal identity, allowing that new identity (like having a new identity as a
soldier) to color every act and every task that comes our way.
May the Lord assist us in that challenge, that we may be “soldiers for
God” in the world around us.
AMEN.
