The Unauthorized Homily

By Bill Dunn

A commentary on the Scripture readings from the Sunday Lectionary

(Scripture readings for Sunday, September 9th: Wisdom 9:13-18; Philemon 9-10, 12-17; Luke 14:25-33)

JESUS’ MESSAGE IS RADICAL

The overall message of Scripture is comforting. Our divine Creator loves us, forgives our sins, and offers the gift of eternal life. This certainly should take away a lot of the fear and anxiety so prevalent in our cold, cruel world—especially at those times when it seems our lives have no meaning or when we’re confronted by our mortality.

But sometimes the specific words of Jesus can be downright unnerving. For almost two months now, the Sunday readings from Luke’s gospel have offered some very uncomforting lessons. (And I hope you’ve been paying attention and not looking at the church bulletin while the gospel was being proclaimed.)

Back in mid-summer Jesus said, “Though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.”

The next week He said, “Sell your belongings and give [to the poor].”

The week after that He said, “Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.”

One week later Jesus said, “Some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

Last Sunday He said, “Every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

And finally this week Jesus offers these two statements: “If anyone comes to me without hating his [family]…and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple,” and “Anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.”

Comforting words? Hardly.

It’s ironic that in today’s culture Christians are often labeled as conservative and staid. Followers of Christ are commonly associated with traditional values and old fashioned views. However, Jesus Christ is the most radical, bomb-throwing revolutionary ever to walk the earth.

Jesus takes the most widely accepted human beliefs and practices—the “traditional” ways of looking at things—and turns them completely upside-down. For example:

People strive to be successful and accumulate possessions, but Jesus comes along and says, Forget about it! Possessions are meaningless!

People work hard to be noticed and receive praise from others, but Jesus says, Waste of time! You have to be completely unnoticed to be exalted!

People toil night and day to win the rat race, but Jesus says, Stop! If you win the rat race, you’re still a rat! Only losers can win!

This is radical stuff. This is the kind of thinking that gets you labeled a wacko and occasionally thrown into prison.

Throughout history, whenever Christians were considered wackos by mainstream society—and often thrown into prison, or worse—the church was most vibrant and alive. During other times, when being a Christian was commonplace and respectable in society, the church became fat and lazy and did little to inspire vibrant faith.

Here in America, during the first decade of the 21st century, we are undoubtedly living in a post-Christian culture. Secular unbelievers are firmly in control of all the major societal institutions: government, business, the media, education, and yes, religious organizations. (Beware: religious “professionals” are often the most agnostic people you’ll ever meet.)

It’s no longer mainstream to be a follower of Christ. We are officially on the fringe of modern society. We are routinely labeled “extremist,” “intolerant,” and “dangerous” because we believe:

• perversion is perverse
   
• butchering babies in not a wonderful thing
   
• children do not have a constitutional right to view Internet pornography in public libraries
   
• children do have a constitutional right to utter the word “Jesus” during graduation ceremonies

All this does not bode well for the future of the good ol’ U.S. of A., but it is an opportunity for the church’s faith to become vibrant and alive. We can shine the light of Truth in a dark and dying world.

Since believing in Jesus is once again subversive, we can stop worrying about being accepted and “fitting in.” We can drop all the pretenses and stop playing the silly games. We can be liberated by the knowledge that we’ll never fit it (unless, of course, we deny our Lord).

When we try to “fit in” to secular society—keeping up with the Jones’, working overtime to pay for things we’re too tired to enjoy, accumulating a mountain of debt, gulping down antacids and sedatives like M&Ms—then the words of Jesus offer very little comfort.

But when we renounce the idolatry of our modern age, consumerism—the lust for more and more stuff—and instead put our faith and hope in God, then Jesus’ words will bring comfort.

So let’s be radicals. Let’s rebel against society. Let’s live our faith outwardly. Let’s talk about Jesus (gasp!) publicly. Let’s store up treasure in Heaven rather than scrambling to accumulate things on earth.

©2007