GOD’S CALL AND OUR RESPONSE

HOMILY – June 29/30, 2013

The LORD said to Elijah: “You shall anoint Elisha, as prophet to succeed you.”
Elijah set out and came upon Elisha, he went over to him and threw his cloak over him.

But, Elisha hesitates and wants to delay responding to Elijah call.

“Please, let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, and I will follow you.”

And in the Gospel Jesus asks two of his followers to follow him.

And they, like Elisha, also hesitate, wanting to delay their response to Jesus’ call.

And to another Jesus said, “Follow me.”
Like the others he delays and replies, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.”
And another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home.” 

Also in today’s Gospel, James and John – apostles of Jesus – in an act of revenge -  want to bring fire and destruction down on the people of the Samaritan village.

Jesus turns and rebukes them, not only asking for this, but even thinking of doing such an thing!

WHAT IS GOING ON HERE? 

Are these responses of self-interest and retaliation typical only of the people living at the time these scriptures were written?

No, of course not!

Have you ever felt “called to” -  or perceived a “calling to” some action and hesitated – or even neglected to respond – even though it may have been a call to great cause and worthy of your attention and acceptance?

Have you ever let feelings of uncertainty or the possible risks of accepting a call  - influence and threaten your sense of personal freedom?

I certainly can’t answer those questions for you – but I can say that like the people in the scripture readings – I too have at times have felt reluctant to risk or accept the call – having more concern or fear for myself, then venturing out into the unknown to follow even God’s call to service or forgiveness.

While all calls to growth and service come from God, it doesn't necessarily mean that they have to be a call to something “religious,” it could very well be a calling to grow in some manner, be it advancing your education, or skills, or any activity that would help build the kingdom of God by positively influencing the lives of others.

Why did St. Paul say:

“I do not understand my own actions.

For I do not do what I should do,

but I do the very thing I should not do?”  (Romans 7:14)

Why are we so much like St. Paul, often struggling with doing the “right thing?”

I remember back in the 70’s there was a comedian named Flip Wilson who had a comic routine where he had a character named Geraldine who whenever she was caught making a bad decision would say:  

“The devil made me do it!”

It’s not my intent to minimize or make light of the existence or the actions of the devil in our lives by quoting a comedian - when in fact we have good evidence and verification of the very real existence and presence of the devil recorded in the Bible and also in our liturgy.

He called the twelve . . . and gave them authority

over the unclean spirits.

They cast out many demons. (Mark 6)

There is a prayer of exorcism In the Rite of Baptism for Children:

“Now we pray for these children

who will have to face the world with its temptations,

and fight the devil in all his cunning.

And in the New Testament, 1 John, Chapter 5 verse 19:

We know that we are God’s children,

and that the whole world lives

under the power of the evil one.

Take a moment to use the gift of imagination, and visualize what God looks like.

Now, using that same imagination, visualize what the devil, the ‘unclean spirit,’ looks like.

Regardless what you just imagined - the reality is they both look the same!

You see if the devil really looked like the scary image you just imagined, there would never be a problem of avoiding giving in to the temptations of the devil; we would never have difficulty to rebuke or ignore, or condemn the attempts of the devil to influence or direct our lives.  We would  run as fast as we could from the scary and evil presence of that evil spirit – Satan, the devil.

To be effective, the devil, the “bad spirit” will always present himself as being the good guy, the helper and wise one, the “good” spirit. This is why in 1John 4 it is written:

“: . . .do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits

to see whether they are from God . . .

from this you will know the spirit of truth – and the spirit of error.

The children of the devil are revealed in this way.”

Does the devil really exist in our lives today?

How can we be aware of, and identify, where Satan is active in our world, in our country, in our town, in our church, in our homes, and in our very lives?

THE LITMUS TEST

“TESTING” OF THE SPIRITS:

DEVIL – THE EVIL SPIRIT                 GOD – THE GOOD SPIRIT

The father of lies.                                                      The father of truthfulness.

The one who scatters and destroys.                      The one who gathers and builds.

The one who accuses and criticizes.                     The one who lifts up & affirms.

The promoter of the culture of death.                     The creator and giver of life.

The spirit of error         .                                            The spirit of truth.

The devil pushes us to self-indulgence.                 God encourages our self-sacrificing.

To which “spirit” do we most often feel compelled, forced,or attracted to?  

In the 2^nd Reading of St Paul we heard:

For you were called for freedom,

But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh;

rather, use it to serve one another through love.

Thomas Merton, in his book “No Man is an Island” wrote about freedom:

The essence of freedom is making choices that perfect us

in our own being, making choices that fulfill the deepest

capabilities of our real selves.

In Psalm 16 today we petition God saying:

O Lord, you are my inheritance,

Keep me, O God,

for in you I take refuge;

Let us pray: In you Lord we take protection; it is you who counsels us, you show us the path to life. You will never abandon us; your presence is the fullness of our joy. Help us Lord, to focus on love and on service rather than on our self-indulgence and need for control.  Help us today Jesus to want to follow you with all readiness and willingness.   Amen.  

BONUS MATERIAL - The “Back-Story!”

You didn't want to mess with Elijah and Elisha.  They were “take-no-prisoners” kinds of prophets. According to the Books of Kings, Elijah has 450 prophets of the pagan god Baal killed after publicly humiliating them (1 Kings 18:20-40; 19:1-16); and when a bunch of boys called Elisha “baldy” they were attacked and killed by bears! (2 Kings 2:23-24)

Sunday’s reading only tells a very small part of the story of prophets of Elijah and Elisha – the expanded story is an interesting one!  If you don't read the “back-story” – you miss a lot of the excitement and meaning of knowing about these two prophets. I would recommend that you take the time to read “the rest of the story.”  It is there that we learn of the extreme risks God has asked Elijah to take by his returning to the land of the Israelites, and the strange (or unique) way in which God communicated with Elijah. See the Old Testament readings of Elijah’s triumph over the priests of Baal.