In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
There is a lot of talk these days about the perils of distracted driving. Talking on the phone, eating, texting, fiddling with many and various gadgets. These are ever-increasing problems, and can cause serious, even fatal, accidents. But they are just today's variation on a problem that has plagued man since time past memory.
Before the cell phone, there was the introduction of the radio and the tape deck into cars. Before that was the age-old problem that has plagued drivers ever since there were things to drive – noisy kids and car-mates. Even alone in a quiet car, there can be distractions, emanating from our own minds, as we cruise along alone with our thoughts, and soon we become engrossed in our own little world.
In today's gospel lesson, Jesus says, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Straight rows are important to proper farming. But if you look away from the land ahead of you, it is hard to keep things going in a straight line. This was especially true before mechanical equipment, when the farmer had to constantly be guiding the horse or ox through the field and make sure the plow-blade was following in a straight line.
In this gospel lesson, Jesus uses an analogy, comparing the work of His Kingdom to that of a farmer. He calls us to work in His fields, planting the seed of His Word, to tend and care for it, and to bring the fruits to Him at the proper time. Our job, then, is to follow His call and to do the work given us to do.
But so often we get distracted. There are so many things that look more pressing, more interesting, more fun, easier than the Lord's work. Sometimes, we just don't want to.
One man came to Jesus in our lesson and wanted to follow Jesus, but he was discouraged because he would have to give up the riches of the world. Money speaks very loudly in this world. You have heard it said “money is power”. Money holds the promise of happiness. To be sure, money can bring great joy if used wisely. However, money can bring great heartache and anxiety when it becomes the driving force in a person's life. Money often keeps people from doing God's work, because there is no promise of wealth and prosperity in the Truth of Christ. We are often tempted to withhold from the work of the Lord because it endangers our economic security.
Jesus called another, but he needed to go and bury his dead parents first. Jesus told him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” How often and how easily family becomes a distraction from proclaiming the Word of God. The children who seem always to act up in the middle of the sermon. The spouse who refuses to come to church. The cousins who want you to go to the lake. Those with the closest ties often exert the greatest force against us. And so we are tempted to compromise. Maybe we don't have to go to church every week. Maybe church on TV is good enough. Maybe we can just enjoy God's creation while we spend time with family.
It seems these days that you cannot turn on the news or open the paper without hearing about some catastrophe. The oil disaster in the Gulf Coast is causing untold harm to the ecosystem and the economy of so many communities. People are faced with losing everything they know because of it. War in Iraq and Afghanistan continues, and lives are lost everyday, some from as close as Lime Springs. Earthquakes devastate already suffering countries. Floods and tornadoes threaten our own homes and livelihoods. All these things can tempt us to wonder what God is doing in all this mess. Is He really giving us all we need to support this body and life? Is He really working for the good of those who love Him?
Sometimes we do not even need to look outside of ourselves to find distractions from God. That fateful bad choice made so many years ago that still haunts you. That broken relationship that makes things uncomfortable. That sin committed that still seems to separate you from God's love. That division between members of God's family that plagues the Body of Christ. Repent.
God is doing a new thing here. In today's gospel lesson, we hear the first notice that Jesus set himself on the path to Calvary. St. Luke says, “When the days drew near for Him to be taken up, He set His face to go to Jerusalem.” This is the turning-point in the Gospel account, when Jesus leaves Galilee to head for Jerusalem, knowing what lay ahead. Many distractions lay in front of Him. People would not receive Him. Disciples would waver in their faith in Him. Friends would die. His own mother would have to watch Him endure a brutal death. He would have to bear the sins of the whole world.
But He made it to Jerusalem. He completed His journey, and fulfilled the Father's plan of salvation. Ignoring all the distractions this world and the forces of Satan could throw up, Jesus took the sins of the whole world – even of you and me – upon Himself, and on the cross He received the wrath of God due upon those sins. Dying to sin, He rose again in glory, and now lives and reigns to all eternity. His life guarantees your life, because you have been buried with Him in Holy Baptism, and have risen from those waters in newness of life. Your sin, your guilt, your haunted past, your broken relationships – all these are healed by the blood of the Lamb who was slain but Who now reigns. Rejoice, rejoice, believers!
God is doing a new thing here. Here, in this place, in this assembly, He gives us His Word of forgiveness. Here He gives us water joined with His saving Word to wash away our sins and join us to Himself. Here He gives us His very Body and Blood upon our tongues to take away our sins as often as we eat this bread and drink this cup. Here He works through the power of the Holy Spirit to knit us together into one mystical Body of Christ, uniting us in the bonds of love.
You have taken a great step of faith by answering the Lord's call to you and calling me to be your pastor. Let us put our hands to the plow and see what may come of the labor our Lord gives us. Let us work together in the fields to bring a harvest according to the Lord's bidding. Let us rejoice together in our successes, be they small or great. Let us forgive one another as God in Christ forgives us. Let us set our faces toward the prize – that we might one day rejoice together in heaven, gathered around the throne of God and the Lamb.
Lord of glory, You have bought us
With Your lifeblood as the price,
Never grudging for the lost ones
That tremendous sacrifice.
Give us faith to trust You boldly,
Hope, to stay our souls on You;
But, oh, best of all Your graces,
With Your love our love renew. (LSB 851:4).
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Rev. Ryan McDermott
St Peter Lutheran Church
Elma, IA
Proper 8C – 27 June 2010
Text: Luke 9:51-62
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