Luke 9:51-62 on June 29nd, 2025
Above is audio of the sermon pulled from the video and amplified.
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This past week I was surrounded by nearly 100 teenagers at Lutheridge, a Lutheran camp near Asheville. And aside from the typical camp activities of pool, crafts, hiking, and singing about papayas, our for confirmation campers also took a deep dive into baptism. Each day a different body of water gave them a glimpse into what baptism means. Connection, nourishment, rest, wonder, empowerment. They learned what our grown up minds sometimes forget. That being baptized isn't just about something that happened one day a long, long time ago. It's about who we are right now. Baptism reminds us who we are, and it also shows us the kind of life that we are called to live, both individually and as a community. And if we're honest, that life is not always easy. And that's where our Lutheran language of law and gospel helps us name both the challenge and the promise.
The Bible is full of passages that call us to task and that show us that grace. There are pieces that judge us and those that forgive us. And some people think the Old Testament is the mean law, and the New Testament is the nice gospel. But it's not that way. There's law in gospel in every part of the Bible, and in the story of the flood, in the Psalms, that Jesus is parables, Paul's letters, and even in today's gospel story from Luke.
The law in Lutheran Lingo is God's way of showing us the truth. And sometimes when the truth is named, it can feel judgy. And when things feel judgy, we don't really like it. Either we take a, well, what do you know about my life approach or we don't really think it applies to us. We don't need the law. We might even have a little bit of self-justification thinking that maybe we are good enough or we could be good enough, or at least we're better than that person over there. But the law isn't here to shame us. It's here to wake us up. Again, it's God's way of showing us the truth, and the truth is we all fall short. We all are broken, we all fail in keeping God's law. We can't do it on our own.
And in today's lesson from Luke, there are a few hard wake-up calls. When the disciples feel rejected by a Samaritan village, they want to call down fire. When someone offers to follow Jesus, he warns them. I have no place to lay my head, no safety, no security, no possessions. Others want to follow, but only after tying up some loose family ends. Very the dead. Say goodbye. Set their affairs in order. And Jesus says, no one who puts a hand to a plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God. That is not an easy word. It is not soft or sentimental. No one has that cross stitched and hanging in their house. That is law. Those are hard words for those disciples and their hard words for us too, because we do the same thing. We lash out when people reject us, mirroring a world wired for retaliation. We cling to comfort, and there's always something new that promises the easy life. We delay hard decisions, keeping ourselves safe in shallow, unfulfilling places. We prioritize appearances over discipleship. We want the kingdom, but only if it comes on our terms.
The law shows us the gap between what is and what should be between our lives and what God is calling us to do in be. And yet Jesus sets his face toward Jerusalem. Despite the disciples' failings, despite others' hesitancies, despite our excuses, despite it all, Jesus did not turn back. He walked toward the cross. And that's gospel. That the only person who ever fully lived for the kingdom of God gave that life for us. He bore the weight of the law so that we wouldn't be crushed by it. His resurrection means the judgey law doesn't get the last word. The grace of the gospel does. And that is the good news for us. That is where God works, and that is where baptism connects in. Because baptism is our visible, tangible reminder that we don't have to earn this. We don't have to be perfect. We belong to God always and forever.
This week at Lutheridge, the kids got to experience baptism, not just as a memory, but as something that impacts our way of life right now. Through baptism we are connected. Connected to God and connected to each other, much like creeks, streams, and rivers all connected and flow into each other. Through baptism we are nourished, like rain that falls on hard, parched ground, our hearts soften. Through baptism we find rest. Like at a lake we rest. Not because we finished everything, but because we are loved even in our unfinishedness. Through baptism it's okay to wonder and ask questions. Much like the mysteries of the deep wide ocean, there are things we don't quite understand about God, but God is big enough for us to ask. Through baptism we are empowered to love and serve. Like a waterfall has power that the spirit pushes us into the world to love our neighbor. We can't keep love and service to ourselves.
It was a ton of fun watching the hesitancy of our campers get washed away through song, through community, through French toast, through being active and involved in so many ways that connect us to God. Through counselors and friends and small groups, the gospel was made visible. God was breaking in. We are a community formed in baptism. Jesus turned his face towards Jerusalem toward the cross and now we are marked with that cross forever. We are forever acclaimed by God for life eternal. But as we know, because of baptism that eternal life starts now. We are forgiven, but we are also sent. We are set free, but we are also called. We are saved, but we also turn our faces toward God's kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
We are washed and we are fed. And in so many ways Christ comes to us. Not just to judge, but to forgive. Not just to guide, but to empower. Not just to comfort, but to call us into the work of the kingdom. And because of the gospel we are redeemed. And as we live out our everyday lives, may we carry with us the truth that baptism is not just a moment in our past. It is a calling for our present. And just as our young people were immersed this week in waters that connect to nourish and renew. So too daily are we drawn into that deep grace of God. We are people marked by the cross and sealed by the spirit sent to live with courage, compassion and hope. So may you always remember who you are. Baptized, beloved, broken and blessed. Jesus set his face toward the cross so that we could turn our lives toward the kingdom. And that kingdom begins now. In us among us and through us for the sake of the world. Amen.