CHOICES
2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14 Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20 Galatians 5:1,13-25 Luke 9:51-62
One of the more onerous tasks associated with change is that of
clearing out accumulated stuff - those things that have been put back
for another time, another use, another visit. But when we find
them again, they seem foreign to us as if they never belonged.
Most often we wonder, Why did I keep that? - and into the trash bin
it goes. But every now and then, we find a pearl amongst the
accumulated junk, a treasure that speaks, perhaps in a new and deeper
way than it did originally.
I mention this because that happened to me this week. On my
computer. I happened to be sifting through some really old files
well they were things I had collected years ago that mostly seem more
fitting to years ago than now. But in the context of today's
lessons as I reflected on them in my mind and heart this week, one
thing seemed to speak afresh to the context of our becoming, in the
words of our collect for today, a holy temple, a place where God can
dwell among his people and they can touch him with their needs, can
receive his grace, his mercy, his blessing.
That is of course, what Elisha wanted from Elijah to have that
presence with God that would enable him to continue to prophecy as had
this one whom he had left home and family to follow. Elijah did
not make it easy but he did make it possible. God doesn't make
it easy but he does make
a way. To achieve his heart's desire, to fulfill the calling to
which he had been called, Elisha had to be present present in place, present in time present as Elijah was taken up into a higher kingdom.
There are always choices to be made in life. Some of the most
important ones are often made with little attention as to consequences
I immediately think of the incapacitated driver who gets behind the
wheel of an auto with the end that an innocent family is devastated by
the death of a child or a parent. Others, which in the end are
perhaps of less significance, we agonize over and refuse to decide
until refusing to decide becomes the decision.
But in a way, all life is about our choices. Like a flowing
stream, the small droplets, the little things of today soon become a
rivulet, gathering yet more little droplets until a river, a life is
formed and a fate is cast.
Paul writes of choices choosing to be steadfast in our freedom,
choosing to be slaves to all, choosing to eat from the fruit of the
tree of life rather than the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Presence, commitment, and a sense of freedom from the limitations of
our upbringing and our own sense of guilt and shame are essential
ingredients to making the choices that will enable us to fulfill the
promise of our lives as pilgrims on a journey.
The meditation I found was from a time I was examining my call to serve
in ordained ministry. Often we think of that as achievement but
in fact it is only finding and living into the purpose for which one
was created as is all our callings to whatever ministry we are shaped.
Ordained ministry changes the way you are seen by others, it actually
limits your freedom in ministry and if that sounds strange, think of
how often Jesus had to flee to escape the public expectations so he
might have time with his Heavenly Father. But all ministry, all
the ways in which we serve our Lord, in which we become Jesus to
those whom we meet, costs us. To serve means to choose life, new
life.
The meditation I mentions reflects the springtime of new life emerging:
Soaring clouds fly toward the sun as the dry
leaves of fall make their final trek across the greening ground.
Moistened by spring rains, the freshly livened soil bears forth small
blossoms to wave in the breezes. Little birds call with twitters
of love to potential mates as nest building duties stir in their
breasts. In the cycles of life, every living creature responds to
its unique call with unrelenting drive. But amongst the
predictable and certain fulfillment of the grand design, there walks
one being with deep and abiding questions about calling and fulfillment.
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."
(Luke 9:58) Since Adam and Eve left the Garden, man has wandered
about on the face of Earth, seeking a home. Even the Christ who
came to seek that which was lost could find no safe haven in the
substance of that which was created by His hand. Calling and
fulfillment cannot be about finding a place of comfort and rest in this
world.
Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of
God was coming, and he answered, "The kingdom of God is not coming with
things that can be observed; nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or
'There it is!' For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you." (Luke
17:20-21)
In seeking, we fail to find because we look past what is
right before our eyes. In restlessness, we fail to recognize that
there is no there; rather, there is here -- and now. How
much time is wasted, opportunities forever lost, challenges unmet,
because our focus is on the future -- on the letter that should arrive
tomorrow, the end of a study so we can begin to live in the "real
world", the change of job or location that will give us the chance to
be who we are called to be. And all the while, we are being or
failing to be in the present moment and circumstance.
God deliver us from that restless searching and open our
eyes and hearts to the Kingdom that is among us. Let us serve in
that Kingdom and give us the sense to release the future that exists
only in our minds and dreams. Show us that by living in the
kingdom among us, the future reality is fulfilled in the present.
I think that if we are to make choices that lead to holy
a word that literally means healthy, uninjured, intact that lead to
holy lives, we need to be present to the moment, committed to our
faith, and know that God's grace is larger than all our mistakes, that
we ARE acceptable to him through Jesus Christ.
The words of the psalmist offer sound advice:
I will meditate on all your acts and ponder
your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy; who is so great a
god as our God? You are the God who works wonders and have
declared your power among the peoples. By your strength you have
redeemed your people.
Meditate on his acts, ponder his mighty deeds, walk as one who is redeemed.
The
Rev. John Dryden Burton
St.
James Episcopal Church
Springfield,
Missouri
27 June 2010