The Places You Will Go in Discipleship
The Very Rev. Tracey Lind
June 26, 2022
Chapel of St. James the Fisherman, Wellfleet
The Third Sunday after Pentecost
2 Kings 2:1-12,6-14 – Luke 9:51-62
In this morning’s gospel reading, we encounter Jesus and his disciples as they enter an inhospitable village of Samaritans on the road to Jerusalem. Our patron James and his brother John, affectionately known as the Sons of Thunder, asked Jesus: “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” Jesus responded: “No, you idiots – Just kick off the dust and keep walking.”
How many times did Jesus have to explain to his disciples that violence was not his way? Jesus would never have endorsed arming teaching in schools as a way of protecting our children. No, Jesus’ approach was counter-cultural and demanding, even for his closest companions. That’s why Dietrich Bonhoeffer spoke of the Christian faith as “costly grace.”