Today in the Spirit: Proper 18C
From the Proper 18C Gospel reading, Luke 14:25-33, we learn that as Jesus approaches Jerusalem, “great crowds accompanied him” (25). “Accompanied” as opposed to “come after me” (27). Luke uses subtleties of the Greek language to distinguish from Jesus’ words the stark difference between being in the presence of the Son of God and surrendering one’s life to him. So it is that this crowd of hangers-on is challenged to count the cost of truly dedicating their lives to Jesus, first, like a builder who wants to build a tower, and then, a king who wants to go to war.
In our worship, before we contemplate the implied compulsion in the parables of the Gospel reading to surrender one’s life to God, the assigned OT reading out of Deuteronomy 30:15-20 will make the case in the plainest possible language. Moses, speaking to the Israelites east of the Jordan before they enter the promised land, pleads for their obedience to the commands of YHWH: “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live…loving the LORD your God…that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them (19-20).
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The classic Hebrew form of Two-Way wisdom is on display in both the Old Testament and Psalm readings this Sunday. The appointed Psalm 1 presents the contrasting ends of the righteous and the ungodly: “And [the righteous person] shall be like a tree planted by the waterside, that will bring forth his fruit in due season. His leaf also shall not wither; and look, whatever he does, it shall prosper. As for the ungodly, it is not so with them; but they are like the chaff, which the wind scatters away from the face of the earth” (3-5).
With the assigned New Testament reading Philemon (1-3)4-21(22-25) we have the only opportunity in the three-year lectionary to hear an entire book of the Bible in our Sunday worship. This is Paul’s personal letter to a beloved brother, Philemon, regarding the status of his runaway slave, Onesimus, who has made his way to Rome and been converted. Paul appeals to Philemon to receive Onesimus back forever, no longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother (15-16).
Many of the Collects in the BCP are for the strength to persevere in following God faithfully. This week, we have one pleading instead for “grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil.” We note the emphasis on the Lord, “the only God,” in the prayer as if to clarify that “the temptations” must not ever be confused in our minds as gods to whom we should give allegiance.
The Collect
O Lord God, grant your people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil, and with pure hearts and minds to follow you, the only God; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Loving the LORD Your God (Deuteronomy 30:15-20)
15 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. 16 If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 17 But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, 20 loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
The text is Moses’ statement to close his sermon on the occasion of his final covenant renewal with the people of Israel (see 29:1). It is a two-part statement (15-18,19-20), with each part beginning “I have set before you today” (15,19) and repeating similar material. A key difference is that the first part goes to the alternative consequences of obeying and not obeying God. In contrast, the second contains the passionate exhortation “choose life” (19) and holding out the prize, like a gold ring on a carnival ride—”length of days” in the land.
Devotionally, our attention may be drawn profitably to the repetition of the phrase “loving the LORD your God” in each section (15,20). Moses’ injunction is not simply to obey a set of rules and ordinances made by a God who has written them up and exited the scene. No. Moses argues that YHWH intends to live with his people in the land he has set aside for them, that he may be with them, to bless them, keep them, and prosper them.
The incarnation of the Son of God in the land of Israel is the highest fulfillment of the promise for “life.” With Jesus, we have God dwelling not only with us but in us. Until heaven and earth are finally joined, our God will not be closer. So intimate is his love for us that God makes his abode in us through faith in Jesus Christ and the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Thus, Paul teaches, “For in [Christ] the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority” (Col. 2:9-10). Our only required response, as it was for the ancient Israelites, is to love him back, “loving the LORD [our] God.” Just as they were to make the land a hospitable place for YHWH to dwell, so we make our hearts a home worthy of residence for the Son of God.
We need you, Holy Spirit, to aid us in loving you and what you command. Today, we plead with you on this occasion of covenant renewal, which is our Sunday worship, to grant us, in the words of the Collect, “pure hearts and minds to follow you.”
His Leaf Also Shall Not Wither (Psalm 1)
1 Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly,
Psalm 1, New Coverdale Psalter (BCP 2019)
nor stood in the way of sinners, and has not sat in the seat of the scornful;
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law will he meditate day and night.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the waterside,
that will bring forth his fruit in due season.
4 His leaf also shall not wither;
and look, whatever he does, it shall prosper.
5 As for the ungodly, it is not so with them;
but they are like the chaff, which the wind scatters away from the face of the earth.
6 Therefore the ungodly shall not be able to stand in the judgment,
neither the sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
7 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Consider, “His leaf also shall not wither” (4). Google AI tells us, “Without sufficient leaves to capture sunlight and perform photosynthesis, the plant would not have the energy resources required to develop a healthy, high-quality fruit.” So the leaves of a tree are critical for creating the environment necessary for ongoing fruit production. The Hebrew word for “wither” (nābēl) connotes a lack of endurance through a life-cycle, like “shrivel,” “fade,” or figuratively “lose heart” (see Ps. 18:45). The emphasis here is on consistency of structure, keeping up the scaffolding necessary for the success of the “righteous” person walking in the ways of the LORD.
As I get older, I worry more about endurance in bearing fruit for the Lord. I do not want to be rendered incapable of making effective service. But what about the leaves on my tree? Jesus, I see here that it is you who are responsible both for nurturing the means by which I produce good works and the works themselves. So continue to keep my leaves from withering. Guard my heart. Keep me constant in devotion to the word, the sacraments, prayer, and the fellowship of the church. Let the light produced by these provide the energy necessary for a good harvest of fruit.
Today, Lord, Holy Spirit, maintain us, stem, lea,f and nut so we do not fade or fall.
Effective for the Full Knowledge of Every Good Thing (Philemon [1-3]4-21[22-25])
4 I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, 5 because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, 6 and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. 7 For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you. 8 Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, 9 yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus— 10 I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment. 11 (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) 12 I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. 13 I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel, 14 but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord. 15 For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, 16 no longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. 17 So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me. 18 If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. 19 I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—to say nothing of your owing me even your own self. 20 Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ. 21 Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.
Philemon 4-21
“I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ” (6). Paul is still in the introductory stage of his letter at this point, but in this line, we see he has already in mind the big request he is going to make to Philemon concerning Onesimus. While the phrase “sharing of your faith” may sound like evangelism to our ears, what Paul wants is for Philemon to take stock of every good thing he has learned about Christ’s love in the “sharing” (“fellowship” NASB, Gk. koinonia) and, thereby, become “effective” for further service. It is on this basis that the apostle will make his appeal for the freedom of Onesimus from slavery.
Beloved, it is good for us too to take stock of the profitable “knowledge” our Lord has given us through our fellowship in worship and ministry in the church. Doing so, says Paul, will make us more effective for the gospel. We need, first, to be in the fellowship of the church to give us the “knowledge” (experiential insight) necessary for maturity in the faith. And, second, we need to pray, like Paul is praying for Philemon, that the knowledge would not come to us in vain–that we would not be dull and obtuse but recognize Christ’s love toward us in the koinonia and move to new heights of service in the Lord’s name.
We had a visitor come to our worship service in New Haven recently. Our inner-city work in the northeast is challenging and yields little in terms of church growth, but this visitor recognized the value of our efforts and encouraged us after the service. His “sharing” was “effective” for giving me “knowledge” of Christ’s goodness, and I was greatly encouraged, not in my case to release a slave in my household, but to be released myself from slavery to despair.
Today, Holy Spirit, help us to stay engaged with the fellowship of believers, and to glean the knowledge of the Son of God necessary to be free to set others free.
He Who Has Ears to Hear, Let Him Hear (Luke 14:25-33)
25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. 34 “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? 35 It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Luke 14:25-33
I would suggest adding the last two verses of this section in Luke to the Gospel reading for this Sunday. They are a continuation of a discourse in which it appears Jesus is doing his level best to separate the followers from the fans among the “great crowds” (25). It would be too much to claim our Lord wants to thin the numbers on purpose, but the intensity of the hard sayings sure makes it seem that way.
Consider just the last phrase, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” It is worth contemplating Jesus’ use of this injunction in the dozen or so distinct episodes where we find it in the Gospels and Revelation. With only slight variations in wording, we observe Jesus making this statement to crowds (Mt. 13:9, Lk. 14:35), to the disciples, his own and John the Baptist’s (Mt. 11:15,13:43, Mk. 4:23), and in the messages from heaven to the seven churches of Asia Minor (Rev. 2-3). In each case, there comes the implied challenge “receive what I say to you as authoritative and act at once.”
Devotionally, this phrase should cause us never to pass by the teaching to which it is attached without purposefully seeking to obey. I say “never” because, now hear this, if the Holy Spirit dwells in you (and he does in every true believer), then we do have “ears to hear.” There is no getting around it. And, if we have ears to hear, the call is to obey (note: Gk. akouō in this passage means “hear” and “listen” and “obey”). Thus, in this reading, we hear our Lord’s teaching on putting him above all other human relationships, and on counting the cost of discipleship and paying it, as nothing less than a command.
Today, in the Spirit, who equips everyone in the church with ears to hear the words of the Father and the Son, give us hearts ready to submit in obedience to his commands for us.
Today in the Spirit
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