Pentecost
12/Yr. C
Luke 13:22-30
August 22, 2004
The Rev. Karen Siegfriedt
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino,
CA
In today's gospel, someone asked Jesus: "Lord, will only a few be saved?" [Lk. 13] This is a very interesting question. The answer to this question varies depending upon whom you ask. For the rabbis of 1st century Palestine, the stock answer was straight forward: "It will be the people of Israel who will have a place in the future kingdom of God with the exception of the tax collectors and other sinners." For the fundamentalists of the United States, the stock answer is: "Only those who declare Jesus as Lord and Savior will be saved." For Episcopalians, the stock answer is: "Oh, everyone. Salvation is not something we need to be overly concerned about as long as we are nice." But in today's reading from the gospel of Luke, Jesus challenges all of these answers with: "Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able."
Are you saved? Do you want to be saved? Do you care about salvation? Most Episcopalians get very nervous when asked these questions. And I don't blame them. These questions have often been asked by self-righteous, so-called Christians as a litmus test of who is in and who is out. According to these people, they know exactly who will be saved and who will not. I find that pretty arrogant. This kind of arrogance was present during Jesus' time. Jesus addressed this kind of arrogance by warning self-satisfied people that there will be many surprises to the traditional ways of thinking about who is in and who is out. "Indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last."
What I would like to talk about today is the topic of salvation.
The word salvation has been hijacked by many different groups of Christians in recent years. It has been misinterpreted, used as a weapon for submission or control, and has basically lost its vitality and power to keep us on the road to abundant life. While there are many interpretations of salvation in the Bible, I would like to define salvation using modern terms and thinking. Salvation is the healing of the human race; the process by which we are transformed into the likeness of Christ. Salvation comes from the Latin word, salve, which has the meaning of healing. So instead of making you nervous by asking you if you are saved, I would like to ask you this instead. Are you healed? Are you whole? Is the human race healed and whole? And if you and the human race are not healed and whole, then what must you do in order to experience true healing?
While I see some bright lights shining in the world (and give thanks for this light), it appears that the human race as a whole is very troubled. Much of the time, the human race seems unconscious, ego-driven, not in control of its passions, selfish, and sometimes, outright cruel. Even those who have prosperity and comfort (as has never been experienced before) seem to be a little unhappy, somewhat cynical, or downright depressed. While the suffering and disorientation of the human race is enormous, our response to the brokenness of the human family does not seem to be as urgent as it needs to be. Could it be that we are not really interested in the healing or salvation of the human race? Or is it that we do not have the internal, mental and spiritual resources to respond to this brokenness. My hunch is that it is the latter. Perhaps you have a few ideas about what it will take for us to experience healing and become the people that God wills for us to be. Here are a few of my thoughts.
1. The first issue is this: We often don't know what we don't know. The world is an open field. In spite of all the information that is around us, it is hard to decide the right course of action. We have so many choices, so much more freedom than we used to have, and no real social restrictions to guide our choices. The choices are endless (at least they are in the United States). For instance, have you ever had to buy some cooking oil at the grocery store? Oil comes in many varieties. There is corn oil, sunflower oil, almond oil, sesame seed oil, and olive oil (just to name a few). If you do decide to buy olive oil, then you have to determine whether you want first pressed, extra virgin, or just plain-old virgin oil. Then you have to decide if you want the oil to be heavy or light. And once you have narrowed down the specific kind of olive oil, then you need to decide on the brand. In one grocery store that I visited, there were over 20 brands of olive oil. No wonder it can be so difficult to make an informed choice. And to add insult to injury, post-modern culture and thought has told us that there is no absolute truth; that truth is subjective; that what is true for you is not necessarily true for me. No wonder we wander around, unsure of what path to take in order to be healthy and whole.
When I first came to California, I took my dog on a walk through the hills of the Livermore Valley. Posted signs warned us to stay on the path. But it was hot and I decided to wander off the path and sit under the shade of a tree. Being new to the west coast, I did not think about poison oak, so I was oblivious to its presence around me. After walking through some ground cover, I sat under a tree and played with my dog. The next day, I was covered from head to foot with a poison oak rash. It lasted two whole months and I suffered dearly. Because I was unaware of the prevalence of poison oak in this part of the world and its painful effects, I made a bad choice. I had thought that the signs (which told me to stay on the path) were written by authoritarians who wanted to spoil my fun. In other words, I didn't know what I didn't know, and thus made a bad decision. You can be sure that now, whenever I take a walk in nature, I not only identify where the poison oak is, but I carefully stay on the path.
Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. Come, follow me." Much of the trouble with the human race is that we follow the desires of our wounded egos, our passions, our preferences. These choices impact the health and wellbeing of ourselves and of the human race. Suffering and death is often the result. The good news is this. There is a path that leads to abundant life. It is the path of unconditional love that guides us and teaches us how to treat others, how to use our resources, how to think and act.
Using different images, all of the biblical passages that were read today advise us to stay on this path of unconditional love. Jesus said: "Strive to enter through the narrow door." Isaiah said: "God is laying in Zion a foundation stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation...I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plummet." Psalm 46 says: "God is our refuge and strength." Hebrews refers to "a kingdom that can not be shaken." In other words, the path of salvation, the path of healing and wholeness, is a life lived in God. Remember, a life of faith is not about doing mental gymnastics in order to be theologically correct. A life of faith is an orientation of our heart, mind, body, and soul towards God is Christ. This orientation is the path that leads to abundant life.
2. The second issue in regards to the healing of the human race has to do with equipping ourselves with the internal, mental and spiritual resources to a) want to get better and b) to become agents of healing for others who are broken. I am always interested in what people strive for in order to achieve their idea of a great life. In Cupertino, many, many students strive for good grades. The competition is fierce but the impact and fallout is serious. Other people strive for a beautiful body. The gyms are filled with people trying to lose weight and buff up. The Atkins' diet is the new fad. People are spending an enormous amount of time and resources getting face lifts, chin tucks, eye jobs, hair implants, breast enlargements, and botox injections in order to look beautiful. Still there are others who move heaven and earth to find the right job that pays the right amount of money so that they can buy a lot of stuff. How different this world would be if instead of striving for grades, good looks, and prosperity, we strove to be faithful disciples of Christ. Instead of worrying about our children being successful, how about focusing on our children being faithful? Our broken world needs faithful disciples.
The reason why our mental and spiritual internal resources, are not as strong as they need to be for healing, is that we spend most of our time and effort on things that are perishable; things that do not ultimately lead to healing. And in the busyness of our day, we have little time left to focus on healing. Jesus said: "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." [Mt. 6:19-20]
I don't have the answers on how to solve the problems of the Middle East, nor the economic savvy to improve the plight of the poor, nor the political excellence to improve governments around the world. But I do know of a path that leads to healing, wholeness, and abundant life. It is the path of unconditional love. It is the path of Christ. I highly recommend this path to you. My prayer is that all of us will make a commitment to spend our primary time and energy striving to enter this narrow door.
| Updated 9/5/04 |
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