June 29, 2025 ☩ The Third Sunday after Pentecost
on
2 Kings 2:1-2,6-14; Galatians 5:1,13-25; & Luke 9:51-62
“To Be Resolute”
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In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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Now that Summer is underway, and the hot weather has arrived, those of us who are blessed enough to be able to cool themselves off in a lake, the ocean, a pool, or even a sprinkler, know that there are two kinds of people.
The first type of person is the one who needs to slowly adjust to the water. Their feet enter with the quick cringe of cold water striking them. Each inch further in which they sink into the water revives and relives the same feeling of shock. Sometimes this process goes on for an hour. Occasionally, that person gives up and stops at waist or knee depth and leaves the water. The second type of person runs, jumps, pinches there nose, yells some joyful words of excitement, and makes a messy splash. This type of person fully adjusts their body to the water and savors the joy of frolicking in the water for some time before exiting.
We have two dispositions: one of hesitation/reservation/caution, and the other of absolute resolve.
Today’s readings are about the second type of person – to be a person of committed resolve in our faith, just as Jesus ‘set his face to go to Jerusalem.’ [Lk 9:51] We are called to be the child running, even if it is wobbly, headstrong to our God. We are encouraged to embrace our calling as a people of faith, as a community of believers, and as The Body of Christ.
It might be a bit of a culture shock to stick our toes into faith, but Jesus desires we jump right into the entirety of the culture and ministry of the holy, universal Church.
Likewise, discipleship can be difficult. It calls us away from the comforts we know to enter a new path. Luke’s Gospel has many points of connection and allusions to the reading from the Second Book of Kings regarding Elisha taking up Elijah’s mantle. The heart of the message is clear, Jesus is emphasizing the depth of difficulty one might find in this new path.
We do not, as Christians, take up our calling to follow Christ because it is the easy path. Even though Jesus welcomed the Samaritans, uplifted the people of this land, and worked miracles among them, they were not welcomed as Jesus undertook the most intense part of His ministry – the path toward the cross. Jesus knew now the suffering that was to lie ahead of Him, and even in the self-sacrifice, He did not readily find support.
Our path in life will also hold challenges. Like the cold ocean or pool water, it is most uncomfortable when our focus is solely on the water’s temperature in the first few moments. As we get accustomed to the new path, the new waters we tread, our eyes become, like Jesus, fixed upon the treasured goal far ahead of us in glory everlasting.
May we live by the Spirit and be guided by the Spirit [cf. Gal. 5:25] with such boldness that keeps us steadfast to the path of faith.
Concluding with Paul’s words to the Hebrews: “Let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.” [Heb. 12:1c-2a]
Amen.
