1 Kings 19:9b-21 Psalm 16 Galatians 5:1, 13-25 Luke 9:51-62<\/p>\n 51<\/sup>When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52<\/sup>And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; 53<\/sup>but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54<\/sup>When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, \u201cLord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?\u201d 55<\/sup>But he turned and rebuked them. 56<\/sup>Then they went on to another village.57<\/sup>As they were going along the road, someone said to him, \u201cI will follow you wherever you go.\u201d 58<\/sup>And Jesus said to him, \u201cFoxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.\u201d 59<\/sup>To another he said, \u201cFollow me.\u201d But he said, \u201cLord, first let me go and bury my father.\u201d 60<\/sup>But Jesus said to him, \u201cLet the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.\u201d 61<\/sup>Another said, \u201cI will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.\u201d 62<\/sup>Jesus said to him, \u201cNo one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.\u201d<\/p>\n Homily<\/p>\n \u201cThe Real<\/em> World\u201d \u2026 How many of you have heard folks (usually „responsible adult“ folks, like teachers or parents or such; how many of you have heard folks) say and use the expression, \u201cWait and see what it\u2019s like \u2018in the real<\/em> world’\u201d? Or they say, \u201cWell \u2013 it ain\u2019t like that in the real world<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n I have heard that expression quite a bit (especially during the days I worked at a university campus). It is sometimes used by teachers \u2013 but more often, it is said among students themselves<\/em> \u2013 as a way of contrast<\/em>: a contrast between what the students‘ \u00a0life is like now<\/em> in contrast to \u201cthe real world,\u201d an experience they expect to have later. And the contrast usually is this: as they experience the world now<\/em>, it is somehow an easier world, or, it is friendlier, or it is more forgiving, it is more caring; and that is contrasted to something else that\u2019s \u201cout there,\u201d something different, which is allegedly \u201cthe Real<\/em>World,\u201d something that is harsher, less<\/u><\/em> forgiving, or even UN-forgiving, less friendly, less caring.<\/p>\n Allow me, please, to pose the question: What<\/em> is \u2018real\u2019? Is God real? \u201cOf course,\u201d we claim; here we sit in church, worshiping God! And according to ancient Greek philosophy, followed by western medieval philosophy and beyond, God is the ground of all being; God is the most real <\/em>of all; God is the creator and source of all, of anything that IS \u2018real.\u2019 Is God \u201creal world\u201d? \u201cWell, yes,\u201d we respond.<\/p>\n And, is God \u2013 as we know of God \u00a0in the Christian tradition \u2013 forgiving, or unforgiving; harsh, or kind; loving, or unloving? The Bible (the first letter of St. John, chapter 4) and the Church in Christian tradition, states, \u201cGod is love.\u201d Thus, if God is love, and if God is the foundation of all being and the most real of all things that are real, then \u201cReal\u201d is love; the so-called \u201creal world\u201d is where there is kindness, forgiveness, and caring \u2026 that is, love. And what we find out there in the alleged, so-called \u201creal world,\u201d \u00a0what some parents and professors and employers refer to as \u201creal world,\u201d is actually less than<\/em> real; it is less than God. God is what you experience with your best friends and family who care<\/em>for you: „Real<\/em>\u201d is joy, Real is caring, Real is understanding of human brokenness and frailty and fear; Real is forgiveness, Real is acceptance of a person, faults and all, for the purpose of encouraging that person to become more. When we encounter this<\/em> kind of environment: THAT is actually \u201cthe Real<\/em>world.\u201d<\/p>\n Can we point at <\/em>or point to <\/em>God as something \u201creal\u201d? Can we point at love? Can we point at Joy? Not really. We can point to instances of joy; we can point to instances of love. We can point to effects<\/em> or results<\/em> of the presence and the work of God. But, in and of himself, God is \u201cSpirit\u201d\u2019; in and of itself, Love is Spirit. Sometimes, realities of the Spirit are considered less real, because we cannot see them, or measure them.<\/p>\n Today we hear a reading from a portion of St. Paul\u2019s letter to the Christians in Galatia. St. Paul knew that matters of the spirit \u2013 God\u2019s <\/em>spirit, but also in that \u201creal world,\u201d OUR spirits \u2013 (matters of the spirit) are real. And that is one of the concerns of St. \u00a0Paul, and the whole Christian tradition: to support Christians (to support you<\/em>!) in knowing that many of the most important things in this world \u00a0and in this life are things that we do not see, that we cannot scientifically measure. There are realities in this world besides those things many teachers and parents and politicians refer to as the real world<\/em>(that is, for example, harshness, unkindness).<\/p>\n Yes, there are certain realities in and of this world that we have to deal with: rent, groceries, a job, making good grades, doctors and drug stores, taxes, annoying people, etc. And the presence of God<\/em> is just as much a reality, just as much as these visible, challenging, sometimes painful experiences in this world.<\/p>\n Among the „Real“ realities in this world are the signs and effects of the presence of God, where God has been, where God is; such signs are: \u201clove, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control\u201d (the fruit of the Spirit, as we hear of St. Paul writing to the Galatians today). \u00a0These are realities to which, in and of themselves, we cannot point, but we know them to be real. Similarly, today, we can point to another reality among\u00a0 us: the presence of God in Christ with, in, and under bread and wine.<\/p>\n Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Andrew Weisner<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Pentecost 3 | 26.06.2022 | Luke 9: 51-62 and others | Andrew Weisner | 1 Kings 19:9b-21 At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the\u00a0Lord\u00a0came to him, saying, \u201cWhat are you doing here, Elijah?\u201d\u00a010He answered, \u201cI have been very zealous for the\u00a0Lord, the God of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7304,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,845,157,108,110,226,3,109],"tags":[],"beitragende":[],"predigtform":[],"predigtreihe":[],"bibelstelle":[],"class_list":["post-8500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lukas","category-andrew-f-weisner","category-beitragende","category-current","category-engl","category-kapitel-09-chapter-09","category-nt","category-predigten"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8500"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8500\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8504,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8500\/revisions\/8504"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8500"},{"taxonomy":"beitragende","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/beitragende?post=8500"},{"taxonomy":"predigtform","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/predigtform?post=8500"},{"taxonomy":"predigtreihe","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/predigtreihe?post=8500"},{"taxonomy":"bibelstelle","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bibelstelle?post=8500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nAt that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the\u00a0Lord\u00a0came to him, saying, \u201cWhat are you doing here, Elijah?\u201d\u00a010<\/sup>He answered, \u201cI have been very zealous for the\u00a0Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.\u201d\u00a011<\/sup>He said, \u201cGo out and stand on the mountain before the\u00a0Lord, for the\u00a0Lord\u00a0is about to pass by.\u201d Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the\u00a0Lord, but the\u00a0Lord\u00a0was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the\u00a0Lord\u00a0was not in the earthquake;\u00a012<\/sup>and after the earthquake a fire, but the\u00a0Lord\u00a0was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.\u00a013<\/sup>When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, \u201cWhat are you doing here, Elijah?\u201d\u00a014<\/sup>He answered, \u201cI have been very zealous for the\u00a0Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.\u201d\u00a015<\/sup>Then the\u00a0Lord\u00a0said to him, \u201cGo, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram.\u00a016<\/sup>Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place.\u00a017<\/sup>Whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall kill; and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall kill.\u00a018<\/sup>Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.\u201d 19<\/sup>So he set out from there, and found Elisha son of Shaphat, who was plowing. There were twelve yoke of oxen ahead of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle over him.\u00a020<\/sup>He left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, \u201cLet me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.\u201d Then Elijah said to him, \u201cGo back again; for what have I done to you?\u201d\u00a021<\/sup>He returned from following him, took the yoke of oxen, and slaughtered them; using the equipment from the oxen, he boiled their flesh, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out and followed Elijah, and became his servant.<\/p>\n
\n1<\/sup>Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.2<\/sup>I say to the Lord, \u201cYou are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.\u201d3<\/sup>As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble, in whom is all my delight.4<\/sup>Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names upon my lips.5<\/sup>The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.6<\/sup>The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage.7<\/sup>I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.8<\/sup>I keep the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.9<\/sup>Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure.10<\/sup>For you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your faithful one see the Pit.11<\/sup>You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.<\/p>\n
\nFor freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.13<\/sup>For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. 14<\/sup>For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, \u201cYou shall love your neighbor as yourself.\u201d 15<\/sup>If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. 16<\/sup>Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17<\/sup>For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. 18<\/sup>But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. 19<\/sup>Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 20<\/sup>idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, 21<\/sup>envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22<\/sup>By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23<\/sup>gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. 24<\/sup>And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25<\/sup>If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.<\/p>\n