I have to admit that at first I found the headline article on the following page a both jarring and confusing. “Complete break with worldly matters.”
What does that mean? I wondered. It sounded like an extremely harsh demand.
The phrase “worldly matters” refers
to the practical, physical, and material concerns of everyday life – money,
property, household possessions, social status – as opposed to a spiritual
life. Is Dad suggesting that people give
up their newly purchased televisions – the Nelson were still without at this
time – as well as their radios, appliances, cars, etc. Certainly not, but the use of the phrase
“complete break” seems to advocate for an ascetic lifestyle.in
the case of the Great Falls Tribune article.
I decided to go to the source.
Chapter 9, which contains one of the
Bible’s best-known passages, is one of the longest chapters in Luke, clocking
in at 62 verses. The Bible Gateway helpfully divides it into 9 sections:
1. Jesus sends out the twelve (verses 1-9)
2. Jesus feeds the five thousand (verses
10-17)
3. Peter declares that Jesus is the
Messiah (verses 18-20)
4. Jesus predicts his death (verses
21-27)
5. The Transfiguration (verses 28-36)
6. Jesus heals a demon-possessed boy (verses 36-43)
7. Jesus predicts his death a second time
(verses 44-50)
8. Samaritan opposition (verses 51-56)
9. The cost of following Jesus (verses 57-62)
So, yeah, Luke packs a lot
of stuff into this chapter.
Jesus’ directive to his 12 disciples fits in well with the theme of Dad’s sermon:
“Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt. Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. 5If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”
“Take
nothing for the journey.” That sounds
like the ultimate break with world matters.
The closest I came to this was the first time I hitchhiked to California
during the summer of 1971.
The meat of Dad’s message, and to
what the reporter devotes half of his article, is derived from the final t6
verses of Luke 9. The final verse is Jesus’ advice to all who
wish to follow him.
Jesus replied [to the man who wanted to go back and say goodbye to his family], “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
In other words, there is no looking back. A plowman needs to keep his eyes forward to keep the row even. Just as Christians need to be their eyes on the Kingdom of Heaven.
As for me – and I mean this as no
offense to Dad – I’ll take my gospel from opening lyrics of the opening track
on Iris DeMent’s acclaimed 1992 debut album, Infamous Angel. Along with Jeff Buckley’s Grace and
Lindsay Buckinghams’ Out of the Cradle, it is one of my favorite albums
from the 1990s.
Everybody is wondering what and where they all came from
Everybody is worrying 'bout
Where they're gonna go when the whole thing's done
But no one knows for certain and so it's all the same to me
I think I'll just let the mystery be
Some say once you're gone you're gone forever
And some say you're gonna come back
Some say you rest in the arms of the Savior if in sinful ways you lack
Some say that they're coming back in a garden
Bunch of carrots and little sweet peas
I think I'll just let the mystery be
JoAnna and I had the good fortune to
see Iris Dement in concert at the Stoughton Opera House. She has a very direct, no-frills Americana
musical style. Anyone who grew up in a
place like Warren PA will experience shivers of recognition while listening to
“Our Town”, another cut on her debut album.
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