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THE THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST June 29, 2025 Pastor Tom Steers Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Our Opening Hymn is: “O Christ, Our True and Only Light” Lutheran Service Book 839 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITcK0kBrrHg Confession and Absolution Page 184-185 The Introit – (Psalm 85:8-10, 13; antiphon verse 7) Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation. Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly. Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other. Righteousness will go before him and make his footsteps a way. Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation. Our Collect Prayer: Lord of all power and might, author and giver of all good things, graft into our hearts the love of Your name and nourish us with Your goodness that we may love and serve our neighbour; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Our Bible Readings Old Testament:1st Kings 19:9b-21 Psalm 16 Epistle – Galatians 5:1,13-25 The Verse: Alleluia. When the days drew near for Him to be taken up, He set His face to go to Jerusalem. Alleluia. (Luke 9:51) Gospel – Luke 9:51-62 The Apostles’ Creed – I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. Our Hymn of the Day: “My Song Is Love Unknown” Lutheran Service Book 430 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbmsJYoJSqI&list=RDdbmsJYoJSqI&start_radio=1 The Sermon – Brothers and sisters, peace, grace and mercy be to you in the name of our Risen Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen. Christ makes a radical claim on the lives of believers. In today’s Gospel, the Apostle Luke tells us Jesus is heading to Jerusalem to die. Christ’s sacrifice means that when He claims us, He is not just requesting our Sunday mornings, but our lives, hearts, and minds. His claim includes the very best and worst of us. He claims our failings and sins as much or more than our successes or accomplishments. And He does this out of pure, undeserved love. In climbing that brutal hill outside Jerusalem with a cross on His back, Christ has taken His place at the top of the whole universe. He has become our one, eternal rescuer. Rescuer is the right word. We often use “Saviour,” and Jesus is that. But when we visualize rescue, we think of someone saving us now, today, from a fire, traffic accident, or drowning. We get the immediate, real-life meaning of what Christ has done through dying in our place. Except, He doesn’t just save us from a one–time death, but an eternal, forever death too terrible to consider. In our Old Testament reading, we see the Prophet Elijah. He’s faithfully served the Lord, yet doesn’t seem to be making lasting progress. The Prophet successfully prayed for the destruction of some 800 idolatrous followers of the evil, false gods Baal and Asherah. Despite calling down flames from Heaven, demonstrating the power of God, the hearts of the people are just as far away as ever. So, Elijah is sad, he’s despondent. We know the feeling. But is this Biblical account really a cautionary tale? Is it a warning to us that power doesn’t alter the hearts of some people? The Old Testament account in First Kings, Chapter 19 explains that displays of power were only able to coerce an obedience of fear from people, at best. Like the child who obeys out of fear, once the mother’s back is turned the sound of the cookie jar lid can be heard. The Bible explains what good parents know – fear is a poor motivator. Martin Luther once said, “The Law ultimately changes nothing, it shows us our sins, only the Gospel really changes things.” Love does what fear never could. It was only love, the love of Christ which truly moved people to want to act, think, and be different. To change hearts, God doesn’t use flashy power, nor does He harangue or constantly belittle us. Those things don’t work. It’s the small voice of God, the loving whisper that Elijah hears that catches his attention, that he remembers and touches him. It’s a parent talking lovingly to a child, or one friend to another, perhaps even a stranger who speaks in a considerate caring way, that conveys the Gospel. Not force. We don’t always want to follow where God’s voice leads, however. The Bible is full of similar people, we’re not alone. We see the world as human beings. We have our own agenda and concerns. Whether you’re Elisha with a farm to tend, or a potential disciple who approaches Jesus to enlist, our humanity often shows through. There are things in our lives that make demands on us, tie us down, physically or emotionally. But Jesus is there saying there is a journey to take, and work, His work, to be done. Christ wants us to answer His call, not out of fear or obligation, but out of love for Him and the people we see around us. In our Gospel today, Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem. He sets His face toward the city where He will die as the sacrifice for the sins of the world. Christ was in Galilee. Between Him and Jerusalem lay the region of Samaria. Normally, Jews, who despised Samaritans, would go around the area rather than risk defilement or violence by contact with what they considered flawed imitators of the Jewish faith. Jews would rather speak to a Roman than a Samaritan, but Jesus takes the direct route, right through the middle of the territory. The Samaritans often returned the hatred of Jews with a similar loathing. In reality, the Samaritan religion had similarities with Judaism, but we often reserve our deepest resentments for those we’re closest to. When some Samaritans hear that Jesus is heading toward Jerusalem, they won’t receive Him. So, the disciples, James and John, offer to call down fire on the village. But Jesus doesn’t go for that. He rebukes James and John, and for those who wonder what that word means in the New Testament, rebuke comes from the Greek, ‘epitimao.’ The word doesn't just mean to admonish, it also means “to forbid.” On the ‘casting down of fire’ idea, Jesus is saying to James and John: that isn’t evangelism. Hatred and retaliation against those we have a problem with isn’t acceptable to Jesus. The slash and burn technique is not what Christ is looking for from them, but love and self-sacrifice that mirrors Him. So, they head to another village instead. Luke then tells the story of three potential disciples. The first man appears willing to follow Jesus, but Christ warns him of the difficulties. The second man, before following Christ, wants to return and bury his parents. This is a good and honourable thing to do. But it’s probable that considering Jewish law they aren’t dead yet, or he would already be at their funeral. The real situation, most likely, is they’re aged, and he wants to be around them. The third man, when invited by Christ to follow Him, says he wants to return to bid farewell to family and loved ones. Jesus takes back the offer. What are we to make of this? Let’s see all of this through the lens of our Old Testament teaching. James and John have zeal, but not sacrificial love at this point. Calling down heavenly fire on inhospitable people is not an evangelism plan. The first potential follower we hear of seems to have failed the kingdom test for desiring comfort and security. The second man is obedient to the Law, but not the Gospel. The third discipleship applicant wants to honour family relationships and put them before the Son of God. In our Old Testament account, we see Elijah throw his cloak over Elisha. It was both an ordination and installation from one of God’s greatest prophets. But Elisha’s response is: “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I’ll follow you.” Elijah sets Elisha straight, and reminds the younger man of God’s priorities, and the First Commandment by saying, “Go back again? For what have I done to you?” Elisha, soon to be another great prophet, not only understands, but lives that understanding. He slaughters his oxen. He makes a meal of them to strengthen him for the work, God’s work, that he’s setting out on. All the people Luke tells us about in today’s reading seem to stumble because they miss the point that Jesus, God, is first. He’s taken a claim over us that transcends what we think are our best moments and motives. God came to redeem us from our supposed ‘virtues,’ which are really vices. Just as sin no longer separates us from God because of the sacrifice of Christ, our virtues or ‘good deeds’ do not bring us closer to Him. As believers, we like to think we distinguish ourselves from some people we know because we, at least, get a few things right. But these fellows in Luke’s Gospel all do things that could be called virtues. James and John have zeal, but Jesus rebukes them. Their zeal isn’t really for Him, but about repaying what they see as an insult to Jesus’ and their own dignity. With the first man Jesus seems to send away, Christ perceives he’s looking for a form of earthly comfort and security. That too can be a form of idolatry. There’s not much earthly comfort where Jesus is going. Even foxes in the field have worldly homes more permanent. The next two men Jesus turns down have feelings of duty to family, but Christ dismisses them because they’re missing the point. It’s Jesus, God in human flesh, who’s calling them. He transcends all earthly things. This isn’t to say that one should abandon duty to parents. The Bible is clear we shouldn’t. Jesus isn’t overturning the Fourth Commandment. He’s explaining that obedience to the Fourth commandment doesn’t allow us to ignore the First commandment, where the obligation is to God. And if we’re ever tempted to feel Jesus is being a little too plain spoken with these men, we have to remember where Jesus is heading when all this takes place. He’s headed to the cross. And on that journey, He’s making and training disciples. There are Ministry lessons here. Luke is the longest of the four Gospel accounts. The Apostle spends almost half His Gospel describing the events and words of Jesus along the way to the cross. It’s the travel narrative that explains the path to salvation through Jesus, the passage from His crucifixion and death to our eternal life. Through the Bible’s description of Christ’s journey, we also see the trajectory of our Christian life, through pain, trouble, even death in this world, to resurrection and new life with Christ in Heaven. Along the way there are doubts and trials for us as well. There are times we feel we have no security, no comfort, and death, either of loved ones or our own, surrounds us. But when we get lost on this road of life, we have Christ who says, look to me, I will get you and others out of this. For all of you in the world, with whatever gifts or opportunities I’ve given you, Jesus says there’s work to be done. Become my labourers in the field. Help bring in the harvest of souls wandering around on the road of life, lost. Show them My way. They’ll be difficult times, Christ warns, so stay connected to me in prayer, Word, and Sacrament. Ask for help, for yourselves and others, so you’ll fulfill the job I want you to do. It could be sharing the Word of God to a child, parent, neighbour, or stranger. It might be through an e-mail or the internet. But in all you face in this world Christ says, remember I am your loving Creator, your loving Saviour, your hope and home in eternity. Jesus said: I am the beginning and the end. The way of God’s kingdom, the way of life, is often a reversal of what we think as human beings is the way go. The comforts and luxuries of this world won’t last. Nor does a preoccupation with death or loss of things help us. What helps us through the journey, what gets us and those we care about back to our true home, Heaven, is Jesus. The job of spiritual road guide isn’t easy. Christ cautions that He’s sending us out as lambs among wolves. But today, let’s remember the comfort we have in the One who gave His life for us, so we could live. In the words of Psalm 16: “I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.” Let that peace and true security of God, which is beyond our understanding, keep your hearts and minds in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy) Page 195 The Lord’s Prayer – Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen. The Words of Institution Page 197 The Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) – Page 198 The Distribution – Page 199 The Nunc Dimittis (Song of Simeon) Page 199 The Post Communion Collect (Right-hand column) Page 201 The Benediction – The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen. Our Closing Hymn: “In Thee Is Gladness” Lutheran Service Book 818 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC1ixVXQ9PY