Reverend Ref +

PENTECOST 10 - PROPER 14 - YEAR C

Luke tells a great story. From the Annunciation, Magnificat, and birth story, through healings and parables to radical interpretations of the law, and up to the arrest, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, Luke writes an incredible story; and does so in very detailed fashion. Combine his gospel with his other book, Acts, and Luke writes more of the NT than any other author.

These are not simply a collection of "Jesus stories": Jesus did this, Jesus went there, Jesus said that. Rather, Luke writes an "orderly account" of the life and events surrounding Jesus. This orderly account has a beginning, middle and end. It's a story with plot development and fulfillment unlike any of the other three gospels.

For Luke, the epicenter of this story is Jerusalem. As a young boy, Jesus' parents took him to Jersualem for the rite of purification; and his parents made a pilgrimage every year to Jerusalem throughtout his childhood. As an adult, Jesus ends up in Jerusalem for his final confrontation, death and vicotyr. Fully one-third of Luke's gospel is Jesus' movement towards Jerusalem.

"And why is all of this important?" you ask. Because Year C, which we are currently in, is the year in which the majority of ur gospel readings come from Luke. Because if you don't understand, or are unaware of, this, the gospel lessons are no more than individualy-wrapped snippets that have no coherence whatsover. Moving from Sunday to Sunday without seeing the connection, we run the risk of failing to see the forest for the trees.

Luke is taking us on a journey. It's a journey that reveals the Kingdom of God. It's a journey that moves Jesus from prophet to Son of God. It's a journey that, if you are paying attention, becomes more explicit, dangerous and exclusionary with each passing week.

And speaking of danger, here's a dangerous question for any preacher to ask: do you remember the gospel reading my first Sunday on the job? Or the sermon I preached?

(**One person in Sheridan did, nobody in VC did -- note to self, "make sermons more memorable")

The first gospel text and sermon were on the good Samaritan. "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" the lawyer asked Jesus. Here we begin to see Jesus' views regarding the kingdom. He answered the lawyer, "Be a good neighbor. Serve others without regard to their status."

The following week was Mary and Martha. This time Martha, the servant, was rebuked in favor of quiet Mary. After that came the "Ask, seek, knock" passage. Jesus telling us to be active in our faith and relationship with God. And then came the request of Jesus to play judge and the parable of the rich fool, with the warning to guard against all kinds of greed; the upshot being that this life is uncertain, so plan for an eternal life.

The gospel this week is similar to that of last week: money, or things, don't last forever. Last week, life was uncertain and subject to an untimely death. This week, Jesus is saying that the accumulation of possessions is uncertain; thieves will steal them and moths will eat them. Your job is to work towards storing up treasures in heaven. And like the rich fool didn't know when he would die, neither do we know when the Son of Man will come.

Consequently, we are living in an in-between time; between the already and the not yet. The already of the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, and the not yet of the unknown second coming. It's a sort of perpetual Advent. The difference being that during the Season of Advent, we know when Jesus is coming; this time, we don't. God is the master of the wedding banquet. We are the slaves who have been left in charge during his absence. We don't know when he will return, but return he will; and blessed be those slaves who are awake and alert when the master comes back. You can extrapolate that if the alert slaves are blessed, then those who are caught sleeping are doomed.

And this is where Luke starts to get explicit, dangerous and exclusionary. Explicit because Jesus is telling you exactly what you need to do: be a good neighbor to everyone, listen to God, pray regularly, and focus on the treasure of heaven not earth.

Dangerous because Jesus starts laying out a plan for being part of the Kingdom of God. We are in danger of being lulled into a false sense of security during this in-between time. It's hard work to remain constantly vigilant. And as Luke continues, we are told about having to hate your father and mother, that being attached to possessions results in the same fate as Lot's wife, that houses will be divided -- father against son, mother against daughter, and that war, desolation and lawlessness are just around the corner. It's dangerous work to follow God in favor of society.

Exclusionary because Jesus seems to be limiting who will enter the Kingdom of God. Those who know about God but don't do what is asked will be severely punished. Those people who don't use their God-given gifts will be thrown out. Only a few people will actually be able to enter through the narrow door, and righteousness doesn't necessarily guarantee salvation.

These aren't the usual happy scenarios that we are accustomed to thinking about. What are we to do? First, I think it is imperative that we look at the big picture. What is happening in the entirety of the gospel, gospels, NT, and Bible? Too often, it seems, people become fixated on one particular passage and then use that to define God, or brow-beat people with different opinions.

One of the reasons that God seems so complicated, so hard to define, is because God is a LIVING God. You can't base the entirety of a person's life on a few sound bites here and there. Neither can you hope to understand God by focusing on a few passages here and there. Therefore, your responsibility to God, your family and yourself, is to become familar with everything pertaining to God; which means familiarizing yourself with scripture every day.

And finally, we have a responsibility to be servants of God. This doesn't mean only on Sundays, or saying grace at Thanksgiving. It means being ready every day to serve God. It means being ready every day to be at odds with society. It means living every day as if God were returning tomorrow.

Yes, it's hard work to remain constantly vigilant; but it's apparently better than the alternative.