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Text: Luke 9:51-62
Liturgical Date: Pentecost 3, Proper 8 C
Calendar Date: June 29, 2025
Location: Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church in Door County; 316 W Main St, Forestville, WI 54213; 920-856-6420
Preacher: Rev. Dr. Christopher D. Jackson
Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church in Door County serves Northeast Wisconsin communities like Sturgeon Bay.
TRANSCRIPT
Opening Prayer and Introduction
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Our gospel lesson today centers on the theme of blessing people on their way to heaven. About 23 or 24 years ago, I found myself with a couple of friends in a small West Texas diner at 5:00 a.m. It was a quintessential West Texas scene: ranchers and cowboys in Stetson hats and tight-fitting blue jeans gathered around the breakfast table. They looked like they had been awake long before dawn and still had a long day ahead. As we ate our breakfast, on our way back east from a backpacking trip in the Gila Mountains of southern New Mexico, one of the cowboys at a nearby table looked over and asked, “You boys from Australia?” It was clear we didn’t belong. We replied, “No, sir, we’re from Indiana.” Close enough. Our speech, haircuts, clothes, and car made it evident we weren’t West Texas boys.
Jesus as a Stranger
Jesus Christ, our Lord, was also a stranger in a strange land. He walked this earth for our sake, yet He was not of this world. His true home was heaven, making Him a sojourner here. Because of this, He could bless us in a way only an outsider could. As Christians, brothers and sisters in Christ, we share this calling. Our true citizenship is in the kingdom of God, and in this world, we too are strangers. Praise be to God, for through this, the Lord blesses others through us, just as He blessed the world through Christ Jesus.
Turning Point in Jesus’ Ministry
Today’s gospel marks a turning point in Jesus’ life and ministry. Commentators on the Gospel of Luke, from ancient times to today, note that Luke 9:51 draws a bright line in the narrative. Here, Jesus sets His face toward Jerusalem, initiating the journey that will lead to the cross, the tomb, the resurrection, and ultimately, His ascension, which is mentioned in this very verse. Jesus, a Galilean from the north, centered around the Sea of Galilee, turns His back on His homeland. You’ve heard the saying, “You can never go back home.” That’s what’s happening here. Jesus leaves the region of His early ministry in Galilee and heads south to Judea.
The Journey Through Samaria
To reach Judea, He must pass through Samaria, a region inhabited by Samaritans. The Samaritans and Jews differed significantly, particularly in their views on worship. Jews believed God was rightly worshiped only in Jerusalem, at the temple on Mount Zion, the center of their religious life, no matter where they lived. Samaritans, however, worshiped the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in their own land. When they saw Jesus’ face set toward Jerusalem, not their land, they rejected Him. He didn’t belong.
Rejection in Jerusalem
Jesus was a stranger not only in Samaria but also in Jerusalem. Though He was welcomed with fanfare upon entering the city, the cries of “Hosanna, save us!” soon turned to “Crucify Him!” Instead of being embraced, He was cast out and crucified outside the city gates—an ultimate act of rejection. Jesus didn’t belong in Galilee, Samaria, or even Jerusalem. His true home was heaven. Luke 9:51 notes that “the days drew near for Him to be taken up.” When a man approached and said, “Jesus, I will follow you wherever you go,” Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” He was a stranger on this earth.
Salvation Through Christ
Praise be to God for this. Because Jesus didn’t fit in, He brought what only someone from the heavenly kingdom could: salvation. This world is captive to sin, which, as Romans describes, is enmity against God—opposition to His will. Jesus, however, loved the Father with His whole heart, soul, strength, and mind. He trusted the Father even to the point of death, commending His spirit into His Father’s hands. The wages of sin is death, for turning away from the Giver of Life leads to destruction, chaos, and darkness. But Jesus, through His absolute love, faith, and service in His death, conquered death. It had no hold on Him. This world, consumed by sin, is marked by death and chaos, but the brilliant light of the empty tomb testifies that Christ has defeated these forces.
Christ’s Ascension and Intercession
Because Jesus was not at home in this world, He ascended to the right hand of the Father, where He belongs. As the writer of Hebrews says, we have a sympathetic High Priest who bears our prayers to the Father, interceding for us even when we falter. Reigning with all authority, Christ works all things for the good of those who love Him, as St. Paul assures us. He has sent His Holy Spirit to kindle faith in our hearts, granting us forgiveness, righteousness, and eternal life in the kingdom of God—where we truly belong, reigning alongside our brother, Christ Jesus.
Christians as Strangers
Like Jesus, we Christians are strangers in this world. Around the same time as my West Texas experience, I studied abroad in Greece and took a whirlwind trip through Turkey. Athens, at that time, was considered the terrorism capital of the world. The U.S. ambassador to Greece spoke to us with a massive security detail—machine guns, an armored vehicle—because every ambassador before him for nearly two decades had been assassinated. Many of my fellow students sewed Canadian flags on their backpacks to avoid being singled out as Americans. I knew I couldn’t pass as anything but a “cornfed Middle American boy.” My clothes, speech, and demeanor gave me away. Vendors in Athens and Turkey would call out, “American!” and even guess where in the U.S. I was from. I didn’t fit in.
Facing Rejection
As Christians, this should be true of us as well. We may face rejection, just as Christ did. In Galatians, St. Paul writes, “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh.” He lists the works of the flesh: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, and orgies. In our time, particularly after a month like June, where some demand not just approval but celebration of immorality, we who uphold what is good and true may feel like Elijah, as if the whole world stands against God. Yet, just as there were faithful people in Elijah’s time, there are faithful people now.
The Challenge of Idolatry and Immorality
Still, the pressure to conform is strong. If we don’t celebrate the world’s values, we may be singled out or even persecuted. Idolatry and sorcery, surprisingly, are growing issues. In the upper Midwest, for example, Norse paganism—worship of gods like Thor, Odin, and Freya—is one of the fastest-growing religious movements. Military chaplains report encountering Norse pagans frequently, and social media promotes these ideas widely. Occult practices, like astrology and crystal use, are also prevalent, especially among women. As Christians, we remain faithful to the one true God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—rejecting these practices, which may lead to our rejection by the world.
The World’s Division
The world fosters division, envy, and unchecked desires, urging us to indulge every impulse, whether through sexuality, substance abuse, or materialism. Marketers fuel envy to drive us into debt, while others seek to divide us. As Christians, however, we exercise self-control, living differently and sometimes facing rejection as a result. Yet, praise be to God, our citizenship is in the kingdom to come, not this world.
The Fruit of the Spirit
Through Christ, who came from heaven, God blessed the world. Likewise, through Christians, who belong to heaven, Christ continues to bless others. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Love sacrifices for others, joy lifts those around us, and peace fosters unity. Patience and kindness counter the world’s divisiveness and wrath, while goodness and faithfulness build trust. Gentleness and self-control align us with God’s will, not the flesh.
Blessing Others
Imagine the blessings if we lived fully by these fruits of the Spirit—in our homes, congregations, schools, workplaces, and neighborhoods. As we journey through this world toward the heavenly courts, God desires that we bless others, just as Christ has blessed us. Praise be to God that we do not belong to this world, and praise be to God that Christ, who belongs to the world to come, is this world’s only hope.