Proper 9, Year C

Don’t Be Surprised at Where Faith Turns Up

Readings: 1 Kgs. 18:20-39; Ps 96; Gal. 1:1-12; Luke 7:1-10

My parish before I retired was in Mississauga, perhaps one of the most diverse communities in Canada. The parish was wonderfully diverse. As well as those of us born in Canada including one First Nations family, there were people from the West Indies, South America, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India, China, Iran, and Great Britain. Pot lucks, as you can imagine, were amazing. Within walking distance of our church were several Christian denominations, a mosque, a synagogue and a Buddhist temple. It was nothing to see people in our mall wearing saris, African dress, or the hijab. It was a wonderful place to experience other cultures and religions and to learn to have a sense of tolerance. Not that it always happened! As for my own journey, I found myself being constantly surprised at where God showed up. The readings today help to underpin our need to open ourselves up to the possibility that God reaches out to people of every faith and every culture.

Those who have a preconceived notion about who is saved and who is not, about who is in and who is out in terms of God’s reign of Shalom, who is righteous and who is not, will have problems with the readings. They will likely gravitate to the Old Testament lesson.

In it Elijah decides to bring the ongoing conflict between those who support the god Baal and those who support Yahweh to a head. It is the climax to a long struggle for supremacy between two very different approaches to faith. He challenges Baal’s prophets, all four hundred and fifty of them, to a contest to find whose god is the most powerful. Both sides are to choose a bull, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but not set fire to it. Then they are to call on their god to answer by lighting the fire. The outcome will indicate who is the one, true God. When nothing happens for the prophets of Baal Elijah mocks them. They cut themselves with swords and lances. They rave on, but their god remains silent.

Elijah’s turn comes. With great flourish he adds to the difficulty of the contest. In a drought torn country he has gallons of water poured on the sacrifice. He prays, and God answers. The people turn to God whose power has been declared.

What we did not read this morning is that Elijah then ordered the execution of the prophets of Baal. No doubt that part of the story was left out because in today’s world we are appalled when religion is used as an excuse for terror and atrocity. In the ancient world it was not so clear. Religion was the core of human life. Everything fell under the authority of the gods. Everything was sacred. So it is in this story of the competition between Elijah and the prophets of Baal. There is no grey area. God is good; Baal is evil. God is pure; Baal is reviled.

We do hope in our culture to find common ground. The other two readings are ones that help us to understand that faith can turn up even in those we consider to be our enemies.

Paul’s life journey is certainly one in which he learns about inclusion. He recounts the story of his conversion as a time when he began to see God as the God of everyone. He loves to share the story of his Christian experience. Understandably so! It had such a profound effect on him. It totally transformed his life. He had been violently opposed to the Christian faith and had been zealous in his persecution of Christians. God called him “through grace,” he says, to reveal Jesus to him “so that he might proclaim him among the Gentiles.”

Paul never lost sight of that new beginning, of the new chapter in his life, his new life in Christ. His ministry took him beyond the borders of Judea into Syria and Cilicia. So when his opponents began to undermine his ministry to the gentile world, disputing his credentials and authority and instead trying to impose an understanding of faith based on strict observance of biblical laws, he refused to allow himself to be drawn into the debate. He knew that the most important thing was the free grace given by God to those who believe. He went on in his letter to speak of love not as a reason to keep rules, but as a fruit of the Spirit. He learned not be surprised at where faith turns up.

And so did Jesus in healing the Centurion’s Servant! The Roman Empire was widespread. Its personnel were posted out to the very edge of the known world. There was no system of returning a soldier to his home. People would stay for years, perhaps their wholes lives, in a small community in a foreign country, responsible for keeping law and order and reporting back to headquarters every once in a while. Such people often became part of the community, making friends and adapting to local customs despite their official function. Such must have been the case with the Centurion. His slave, whom he regards with some esteem, is ill. The Roman knows that Jesus is a healer and a Jew. He sends for some Jewish friends to make the connection for him. He knows that his request may make life difficult for Jesus. It could alienate him from the Jewish community. For Jesus to enter his home would mean defilement. And so he pays Jesus a compliment. “I am not worthy,” he says, “to have you come into my home. Just speak the word and let my servant be healed.”

Jesus’ response is one of amazement at the man’s faith. Grace is given to a non-Jew opening up the way for the Christian faith to be available to the Gentile world.

So often Christians are under the illusion that peoples’ problems, that the world situation, could be solved by simply preaching the Gospel and having them turn to Christ. For such folk it is about “Air Miles”. They believe that our commission as Christians is to talk about Jesus, to witness to the faith so that others will benefit in the after life. The early Christians did not differentiate between the social and the spiritual. They stood for justice for everyone. Jesus gave authority to the disciples to do what he did and greater. That is our authority as well. When we are truly committed to Jesus Christ both the spiritual and social needs of others become our concern. We need to learn that God is not just with Christians, but with all of humanity in so many different ways. We need not to be surprised at where faith turns up.

So let us ask ourselves, how do we react when we discover that people of other faiths walk with God? Do we seek common ground? Do we look for the face of Christ in everyone we meet? Amen