Readings for the Day:
Sermon:
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A friend of mine, we'll call him "Arthur", once told his story of journey into ministry. He started out working in finance, fully focused on that life. He'd grown up in the Anglican Communion, but had drifted away from his faith over time. At this point in his life, faith wasn't just unimportant, it was non-existent.
And then 9-11 happened, and although he wasn't directly connected in any way with that tragedy, he was deeply affected by the event. He saw the effect of his job on his life, and he new he needed something more. He knew he needed to get out.
He did the stereotypical thing one does in Western culture during a crisis of faith: he turned to the East. He spent a lot of time traveling, trying to find answers to his questions. The best part is that this search for faith led him back to his Anglican roots. He returned to life in the church and became involved in serious outreach work. Eventually he went into training to become a priest, and has now been ordained.
When he felt that call to do more, Arthur answered it. When he realized that call was from God, he dedicated himself more and more. Through his dedication he realized where his ministry in the church was, which just happened to be ordained ministry, although that is not the case for all.
What is the case for all, which we can find in the Outline of Faith in our Prayer Book as I recently mentioned, can be summed up by saying that when God calls us, we are called to listen. We are called to follow God fully, without looking back.
We have examples in the positive and examples of the negative in our lessons this morning. In 2 Kings, we see Elisha walking with Elijah during the last of Elijah's days. Elijah continues to give Elisha an out, but there's a pull Elisha feels towards the work of ministry as a prophet. Time and time again Elisha tells Elijah he will follow him to the end, and he does. And he comes out of it with a double share in Elijah's spirit.
In the Gospel, we hear many examples of those who aren't quite ready in their call to follow Jesus. To the first, Jesus says that to follow Jesus means to have no home because there is no place to rest. There's still so much work to do!
To the second, Jesus personally calls him to follow, but this man asks time to bury his father. Jesus' response may sound harsh to our ears. There's actually a thought that this man's father is not dead yet, a stark reminder that our call to serve God doesn't get to be put on hold so our life can be lived out as we want it.
The third says he will follow, but only after saying farewell to those at home. Jesus again appears harsh, saying that to serve God you must always look forward, not behind.
For the harshness in Jesus' words, there is a chance for us to stop and think. It's not that Jesus is saying we abandon all relationships in our lives, for we can continue to serve God through these connections at times. What these words are is a reminder for us to reflect on what really is important to us- what is the focus of our lives- because sometimes we need to rethink and refocus to make sure our relationship with God is at the front and center of our attention.
We sometimes need that reminder that to serve God, to follow our Lord, in this world requires some effort on our part. We are not called to just go our own way. Instead, we are called to follow in the way of the Spirit. We are called, even, to follow in the ways of the fruits of the Spirit as Paul lays them out in Galatians. Those fruits of the spirit are the same we have etched in the stone path of our own memorial garden here at Resurrection.
Ultimately, we must remind ourselves of what we hear in the psalm this morning. There we hear that God is our protection in times of trouble. There we hear that it is a joy and delight to be among the godly, that is those who follow in that path, just as Elisha did. God is our help and our strength and so, as the psalm says, we set our path towards Him, towards our Lord Jesus.
We are all called to follow after our Lord, wherever that might take us. That is not a role just for the ordained, but for all in the church. Sometimes that means leaving our old ways and life behind, as was the case with my friend Arthur. Sometimes that means going down a path we may have never expected. What this all certainly means for us is that we are called always to stop, listen, and reflect on what God is saying to us. There are times when we all have to turn back to follow the path of the Lord before us. The trick for us is to be ready to make that move when and if we need to.