The Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost: November 16, 2003
The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost: June 19, 2016, Rev. David Ota1 Kings 19:1-15a; Psalm 42 and 43; Galatians 3:23-29; Luke 8:26-39This past week has been extremely dark and sad with the shooting in Orlando, Florida killing and injuring so many. It is only a year after the shooting in Charleston, South Carolina at Mother Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, less than a year since the mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, and three and a half years since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Also, this week, a member of the British Parliament, Ms. Jo Cox, was stabbed, shot and killed.Each of these acts was evil and very dark. These acts were brought to life by people filled with hate. At times like this we are tempted to seek to destroy or at least restrain those who commit such harmful acts of violence, or to protect ourselves by warding them off in places like Guantanamo or prison, or to avoid or run away from the places of conflict. These three responses can be found in our texts for today.Let us begin by looking at today’s gospel lesson in a different way. I want to imagine that any one of the shooters could have been the man possessed with demons. Each person who committed an evil act of violence was also a person who was tormented from within his soul. Jesus the Christ was able to see the man with compassion and someone who was tormented. When Jesus met the man filled with a legion of demons, he cast out the demons from the man and restored him to his right mind. I wonder what would have happened if the shooters were able to be restored to their right mind. Earlier this week I saw Rachel Maddow, a political talk show host on MSNBC interview a young Muslim man from Great Britain. He had formerly been part of an Islamist religious group and had decided to commit a terrorist act. But before he began to implement his plan for terror, something within him told him it was wrong. He then began to explore other writings from Muslims who were not Islamists. And in the process he discovered that one of the reasons he had turned to becoming a terrorist was that it was a way for him to become “holy”, as he had learned self-hatred for having attractions to men. So as he separated himself from this hateful religious perspective, he came to accept that he was a gay man and would not have to prove himself by committing terror for a religious cause.I believe that people who hate others often have a sense of self-hatred which is then projected out onto others.The shooter in the Orlando, Florida has been said to be violent to his ex-wife and others with whom he worked. He came from a family with a very authoritarian father who was homophobic. He is said to have frequented gay bars and one of these became his target. He filled his mind with hateful ideology from terrorist groups. It is quite possible that his self-hatred was projected onto others as violence in an effort cast out his own demons.Unlike Jesus the Christ if I met the man possessed with demons, I might decide to walk away from the man and avoid an encounter with him. Perhaps I would be scared by the violence that he might be capable of doing. And unlike Jesus the Christ we are not able to command the demons to depart, but we can learn to distinguish between the person and the evil acts that are committed. The person still needs to be redeemed and restored. The acts must be prevented. In contrast to Jesus the Christ, the Gerasene people did what we might be tempted to do. At first they tried to restrain him, but were unable to do so. This is what we do with our legal system when we imprison people who do harm to others and are a threat. Our prisons are full with people who pose threats. But do they actually get the help they need to be restored to their right minds?And when the Gerasene people could not contain him, he lived on the margin of their town. We have many people in need of care who don’t receive it. They wind up living on the edges of society “out of sight.” They may need mental health and social services which are not easily provided to them. And so they remain on the margins.Another response can be found in our text from 1 Kings. Elijah who had just conquered and slayed the prophets of Baal was then threatened by Queen Jezebel. And then fear entered into the heart of the prophet Elijah and he ran away. This temptation to run away from our fears is all too common.In Psalm 42 for today, the psalmist says, “Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul? *and why are you so disquieted within me?” When we are afraid our thoughts turn to what might happen. We tend to focus on what we can and cannot do. We begin to limit our attention to ourselves and fall into despair.In the case of Elijah the prophet, I would contend that he was not as afraid of death, as he was afraid of his ministry having no future. At one point in his crying to God, he says, "It is enough; now, O?Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors." When I thought about this, in his darkness he wanted to die to avoid something else. He kept crying to God that he alone was left among the prophets of the LORD, and that if Jezebel killed him, it all would be over. Elijah the prophet had imagined that everything depended upon him. He may have been at his wits end, and could not imagine overcoming the power of Queen Jezebel. And because he limited his focus on what he could and could not do he came to despair.But with the help of the angel, he made that journey like Moses to Mount Horeb (otherwise known as Mount Sinai) and would seek a word from the LORD his God. And when he went out and stood before the LORD God, a wind, an earthquake and a fire, all traditional manifestations of God all passed by him. But God was not present in any these forms. And then there was silence.Elijah needed to have his fears silenced. “Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul? *and why are you so disquieted within me?” And we also need silence when darkness emerges and enters our souls. Like Elijah we need the interior silence to remember that we are servants of God, and the mission belongs to God. Instead of acting as if it is all about us, we are to remember that it is all about God’s mission, and we are a very small, although important part of living it out in our lives.In the end of our lesson from 1 Kings, he was again asked, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He pitied himself like we do when we are in despair. But then he heard and received a word of the LORD to return to Damascus. Commentators say that today’s lesson which is already long, should not end at verse 15a which says, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus." It should have read to verse 18 which include what Elijah should do. He should go and anoint Hazael as King over Aram, and anoint Jehu as King over Israel and anoint Elisha as prophet in your place. And then there will still be 7000 prophets faithful to the LORD in Israel.In other words, Elijah was called to remember that his mission and ministry were always the LORD God’s mission and ministry. It was never all about Elijah. There will be a future, the LORD God’s future, and he played an important albeit small part in it.We would be wise to learn this lesson ourselves whenever we fall into despair.This past week something important happened in the Senate. Chris Murphy, a Senator from Connecticut began a filibuster to get a vote on gun violence following the shooting in Orlando. At the time of the Stony Brook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut three and a half years ago, he was a Congressman representing the district where the shooting was. He got to know intimately the suffering of the families and the community. He was moved by love for the families to begin what is usually a self-defeating move, start a filibuster. Filibusters almost never have a positive outcome. However, eventually several senators began to support him, and the Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell agreed to give the Senate a vote on gun violence resolutions yet to be worked out. It was a small victory for the advocates of gun violence legislation. It required great passion and love as well as humility. Gun violence in our nation will not be resolved swiftly, but it must be addressed. Having the Senate being willing to debate, create legislative solutions and call for a vote is a small victory. But it was the passion and love of one senator that released a body from its inertia and fear.So I invite you not to succumb to your fears or to let hate win the battle. I recently heard a Buddhist saying on NPR, “Hate can’t be conquered by hate, but only by love.” It is like the Christian image that only the light will overcome the darkness. We can never respond to the evil in the world and the evil within our hearts with hate. It must be overcome by love which comes from God.We must protect our hearts from inner darkness. And once we have addressed our hearts, we must learn to remember to separate the evil acts from the person who commits them, and seek the redemption of the person who commits evil.We must remember that the mission to restore the world to God’s dream belongs to God, and that we are privileged to play a small but important part in the redemption of the world.And finally, remember to put your trust in the Lord our God. Amen.I propose to show that when darkness and evil rise we may be tempted to seek to destroy it, ward it off in unseen places, or even retreat into despair. However our texts reveal that God’s love in Jesus the Christ calls us not to confuse the perpetrator of evil acts with evil itself and to put our trust not in our own efforts alone, but to trust in God’s goodness, and that we are called to remain in solidarity with God to redeem those infected with evil thoughts so we may all live in God’s shalom.The CollectO?Lord, make us have perpetual love and reverence for your holy Name, for you never fail to help and govern those whom you have set upon the sure foundation of your lovingkindness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.Old Testament1 Kings 19:1-4, (5-7), 8-15aAhab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow." Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there.But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: "It is enough; now, O?Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors." [Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, "Get up and eat." He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the?Lord?came a second time, touched him, and said, "Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you."] He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there.Then the word of the?Lord?came to him, saying, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" He answered, "I have been very zealous for the?Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away."He said, "Go out and stand on the mountain before the?Lord, for the?Lord?is about to pass by." Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the?Lord, but the?Lord?was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the?Lord?was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but theLord?was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" He answered, "I have been very zealous for the?Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away." Then the?Lord?said to him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus."The ResponsePsalm 42Quemadmodum1?As the deer longs for the water-brooks, *?so longs my soul for you, O God.2 My soul is athirst for God, athirst for the living God; *?when shall I come to appear before the presence of God?3 My tears have been my food day and night, *?while all day long they say to me,?"Where now is your God?"4 I pour out my soul when I think on these things: *?how I went with the multitude and led them into the house of God,5 With the voice of praise and thanksgiving, *?among those who keep holy-day.6 Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul? *?and why are you so disquieted within me?7 Put your trust in God; *?for I will yet give thanks to him,?who is the help of my countenance, and my God.8 My soul is heavy within me; *?therefore I will remember you from the land of Jordan,?and from the peak of Mizar among the heights of Hermon.9 One deep calls to another in the noise of your cataracts; *?all your rapids and floods have gone over me.10 The?Lord?grants his loving-kindness in the daytime; *?in the night season his song is with me,?a prayer to the God of my life.11 I will say to the God of my strength,?"Why have you forgotten me? *?and why do I go so heavily while the enemy oppresses me?"12 While my bones are being broken, *?my enemies mock me to my face;13 All day long they mock me *?and say to me, "Where now is your God?"14 Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul? *?and why are you so disquieted within me?15 Put your trust in God; *?for I will yet give thanks to him,?who is the help of my countenance, and my God.andPsalm 43Judica me, Deus1?Give judgment for me, O God,?and defend my cause against an ungodly people; *?deliver me from the deceitful and the wicked.2 For you are the God of my strength;?why have you put me from you? *?and why do I go so heavily while the enemy oppresses me?3 Send out your light and your truth, that they may lead me, *?and bring me to your holy hill?and to your dwelling;4 That I may go to the altar of God,?to the God of my joy and gladness; *?and on the harp I will give thanks to you, O God my God.5 Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul? *?and why are you so disquieted within me?6 Put your trust in God; *?for I will yet give thanks to him,?who is the help of my countenance, and my God.The EpistleGalatians 3:23-29Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise.The GospelLuke 8:26-39Jesus and his disciples arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me" -- for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) Jesus then asked him, "What is your name?" He said, "Legion"; for many demons had entered him. They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you." So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.In preparation for this coming Sunday’s worship, please pray this coming Sunday’s Collect of the Day and read and reflect on the lessons assigned as printed belowThe Sixth Sunday After Pentecost2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14; Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20; Galatians 5:1, 13-25; Luke 9:51-62The CollectAlmighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.Old Testament2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14When the?Lord?was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; for the?Lord?has sent me as far as Bethel." But Elisha said, "As the?Lord?lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel.Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; for the?Lord?has sent me to the Jordan." But he said, "As the?Lord?lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So the two of them went on. Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you." Elisha said, "Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit." He responded, "You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not." As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha kept watching and crying out, "Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.He picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. He took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, saying, "Where is the?Lord, the God of Elijah?" When he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.The ResponsePsalm 77:1-2, 11-20Voce mea ad Dominum1?I?will cry aloud to God; *I will cry aloud, and he will hear me.2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; *my hands were stretched out by night and did not tire;I refused to be comforted.11 I will remember the works of the?Lord, *and call to mind your wonders of old time.12 I will meditate on all your acts *and ponder your mighty deeds.13 Your way, O God, is holy; *who is so great a god as our God?14 You are the God who works wonders *and have declared your power among the peoples.15 By your strength you have redeemed your people, *the children of Jacob and Joseph.16 The waters saw you, O God;the waters saw you and trembled; *the very depths were shaken.17 The clouds poured out water;the skies thundered; *your arrows flashed to and fro;18 The sound of your thunder was in the whirlwind;your lightnings lit up the world; *the earth trembled and shook.19 Your way was in the sea,and your paths in the great waters, *yet your footsteps were not seen.20 You led your people like a flock *by the hand of Moses and Aaron.The EpistleGalatians 5:1,13-25For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.The GospelLuke 9:51-62When the days drew near for Jesus to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" But he turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to another village.As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." Jesus said to him, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." ................
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