July 1, 2001 |
See also: [2007] |
2 Kings
2:1-2, 6-14
Elijah was told to hand over to Elisha.
Elijah seemed reluctant to do so and Elisha seemed unsure that he really
had Elijah's powers. Was Elijah resisting God's plans and was Elisha
really doubting God's word, or were they both just uncomfortable with
taking responsibility for change?
Psalm
77:1-2, 11-2
"What God is so great as our
God?" When seeking comfort the Psalmist asks this question and then
goes on to remember the many great things that God has done in creating
the world in which we live.
Galatians
5:13-25
Paul tells the Galatian community that God
has given them freedom, but with this freedom comes responsibilities.
Luke
9:51-62
Luke tells us that Jesus has accepted his responsibility and now 'sets
his face to go to Jerusalem'. It seems that his disciples and followers
were not so sure as to what their responsibilities were.
I see three main process themes in today's readings: remembering the
past, following God's lure, and the responsibility of freedom.
Remembering the past
It is
good to remember the past and to learn from the past. The past is only one
of the items that influences our decision at any point in time. We should
be careful not to be ruled by the past. Like the Psalmist in today's
reading, we can look to the past to gain comfort from reflecting on the
wonderful things that God has done for us. Reflection can let us say with
the Psalmist, "What god is so great as our God?" When we reflect
on what God has done throughout history, we become more aware of God's
lure for us in the present. However, if we are controlled by the past we
can behave as the disciples did towards the Samaritans and want to
perpetuate the hatred of the past. Does not the disciples' reaction to the
Samaritans sound familiar when we look at what is happening in the Middle
East, Ireland and other world trouble spots where the people seem to be
consumed by a hatred caused by things that happened in the past?
Following God's lure
The
story of Elijah handing over the mantle of being God's chosen and anointed
Prophet is an interesting case of hearing, understanding and following
God's lure. Elijah heard and understood what God wanted him to do. We
could read the passage as Elijah 'testing' Elisha by asking him to stay
behind. However, could it be that at the last stages Elijah was trying to
delay handing over to Elisha? Why would he want to do that? Did Elijah
like the 'trappings' of power'? Did Elijah think that Elisha was not yet
ready to take over, or even not good enough? When Elisha picked up the
mantle it seems that he was not sure that that he taken over Elijah's
powers and asked for God's help. I find it comforting to know that even
the great men of the Scriptures sometimes struggled with following the
lure of God. We can read the whole of the Bible as the story of God's
people struggling to hear, understand, and follow the lure of God. The
stories of Jesus and of Paul tell us that God is luring us towards the
good, the beautiful, and towards harmony. Paul says that following the
lure of God leads to the '"fruits of the Spirit."
Responsibility of freedom
In
process terms our actions are influenced by God's initial aim, the past,
and God's lure to choose the 'best' option. The final decision is ours,
God has given us the freedom to choose what path to take. Far too often we
forget that with the freedom to choose comes the necessity to take
responsibility for our actions. Paul is telling the Galatian Church that
God has given them freedom, but not to abuse that freedom by being
self-indulgent, use it to "love your neighbour as yourself." In
Paul's terms they are free to choose to do the works of the flesh or to do
the works of the Spirit. Paul, in his normal brutally frank way, also
tells them the consequences of their choice. If they choose to follow the
ways of the flesh they not only will not "inherit the kingdom of
God", but they will also be prosecuted under the laws of the land. If
they follow God's lure, and "live by the Spirit" they will live
in love and harmony with their neighbours and the world around them. The
more we follow God's lure the easier it is to hear God's plan for us,
"If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit."
Luke tells us that Jesus was following God's lure,"he set his face to go to Jerusalem." Jesus was not going to be sidetracked by the disciples' desire for punishment of the Samaritans. Jesus could have stayed and talked to the Samaritans, or tried to show the disciples the error of their hatred. Jesus had accepted the responsibility of his decision to do what God wanted him to do, and that meant going to Jerusalem, even if that meant losing his own life. Jesus' disciples and followers did not seem to understand that making decisions carries with it responsibilities. Luke uses three strange aphorisms to show that his followers must also take responsibility for their actions. There is a cost to true discipleship. If you choose to follow Jesus, i.e. follow God's lure, that decision has consequences, some of which we may not particularly like. Luke chose three particularly extreme cases, renouncing personal comfort, renouncing the Jewish law (about burying the dead and honouring your father), and renouncing family ties. We have the freedom to choose our actions but when we make a decision we must also take responsibility for the consequences of that decision.
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