One of the innovations in bible publishing that has crept into new translations, is the desire to give titles to each section of the Bible. The Good News Bible was the first to add these subtitles, and then others followed suit. And I always find it interesting to note the particular "subtitles" the different scholars and Biblical translations give to our bible passages. Sometimes, they just confuse us, considering the fact that different translations view passages in completely different ways. Since the original biblical writers didn't add sub-headings to their works, the process of adding these to sections of the bible is completely subjective. It's always good to remember that when you're reading the Bible. Read each section for it's content and message--don't rely on the titles, alone, to confirm or suggest the meaning and purpose of any particular passage. The headings for today's Gospel lesson, for example, is different, depending on the translation or scholar you're reading. The part of our lesson, for example, about following--one translation introduces as being about "would-be followers of Jesus". Another translation uses the heading, "The Demands of God's Kingdom". And I suppose either of those fit--but they sure aim at different things in our Gospel reading. On the one hand, our gospel account does present a picture of some very different ideas about following Jesus. First, you have James and John, referred to in Scripture as Boanerges, or the "Sons of Thunder", who conclude that being followers of Jesus means you can call down fire from heaven to consume those who won't welcome you! Then, you have others who think following is something that can be attended to, after you've attended to family responsibilities--as we hear the one wanting to go bury his father, before coming to follow, and another who wants to have a farewell party before he will come follow. And then, you have Jesus' understanding of following--which, in this passage, appears to be immediate, complete, and at the least, without the usual creaturely comforts, as Jesus tells his "would-be followers"--this is how it will be, when you're with me--"foxes have their holes, and birds have their nests, but the Son of Man? The Son of Man has no where to lay his head." Which would suggest, neither will those who follow the Son of Man! On the one hand, there are indeed, differing ideas about what it means to follow Jesus. On the other--following Jesus does, indeed, seem to carry with it, some specific demands.

     In our society, in our time, talking about the "demands" of following Jesus, isn't really "kosher". It doesn't fit most of our genteel religious sensibilities to talk about Jesus making "demands" of us. Of course, we mainline Christians today prefer to quote Paul, in our second lesson in Galatians. "For freedom Christ has set us free....for you were called to freedom..." St. Paul writes. We like to quote Paul when he talks about being set free. For that matter, we like to quote Martin Luther, and all that "saved by grace, through faith" stuff! No demands for following there--no conditions for salvation. "Hey, man, we're saved by grace; we're set free by the Gospel, for freedom! Now, there's nothing required or expected of us. We can live boldly, as the free people we are."

     Which is true--in a sense. It's just that here, as often is the case, we're grabbing hold, only of partial truth. We're hearing only what we want to hear. We hear St. Paul say, "for you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters...", but we turn Paul off, when he continues, "only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence." We listen with open ears when Luther writes, in his Commentary on Galatians, "We conclude therefore with Paul, 'that we are justified/saved by faith only in Christ, without the law--without good works." We close the book quickly, before Luther continues, saying, "now after a man is justified and possesseth Christ by faith, doubtless he will not be idle, but as a good tree, he will bring forth good fruits--for the believing man has the Holy Ghost, and the Holy Ghost...stirreth him up to all exercises of piety and godliness, and of true religion, to the love of God, to the patient suffering of afflictions, to prayer, to thanksgiving, to the exercise of charity towards all men." We church-people today like to hear Jesus offering us the gift of salvation, saying, "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed!" When Jesus calls us to come, follow--we find all kinds of other things to distract us, to keep us from acknowledging or meeting, the "demands" of following Jesus. And what we might ask are these "demands"? If we would open ourselves to the fullness of what it means to follow Jesus--what might that mean for us?

     Clearly, the call to follow Jesus involves self-denial. The mistake we Christians often make, is that we think the freedom of the Gospel means freedom to do what we want. This, St. Paul cautions us, is to use freedom, as an opportunity for self-indulgence. That's why, even among Christians, there is rampant adultery, lying, gossip, dissension, drunkenness and carousing. To abuse our freedom in the Gospel, is to use it as an opportunity for indulging ourselves--to use it as an excuse to gratify our every appetite and desire. This, Paul says, is to gratify the desires of the flesh--and following Jesus, living by the Holy Spirit, means we Christians will not do these things! Paul says we should not need the commandments of the law to keep us from these things, because living in the Spirit and by the Spirit, followers of Jesus should know better. We are now, to be freed from, these desires of the flesh--freed for--the desires of the Spirit. As followers of Jesus, following Jesus means--we deny ourselves the works of the flesh, which Paul says are obvious: fornication--which is sexual intercourse outside male-female marriage; impurity; licentiousness, which means unrestrained sexual behavior; idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. Paul says to engage in such pursuits is to indulge our fleshly desires--and he warns us against these--saying those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God! Jesus says, "When I call you to follow me, following will mean, self-denial--denying yourself, and coming after me--not putting a hand to the plow and looking back--not trying to live with one foot in God's kingdom, and the other in a world of your own making!" Following Jesus means taking up your cross and denying self--it means living in the Spirit and by the Spirit, which makes no room for the desires of the flesh. By contrast, then, living in the Spirit and by the Spirit means--living lives of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. This is what it looks like to be a follower of Jesus--there is denial of the worldly self, denial of the desires of the flesh that lead to impurity and destruction; and fulfillment of the spiritual self, which comes from union--communion with, God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Self-indulgence leads to sin, broken relationships, failed marriages, destruction of self, and ultimately, destruction of society. Fulfillment of the spiritual self, leads to true worship of God, unity with the Body of Christ, redemption of the individual, and ultimately, redemption of the society and the world, as Christ becomes all in all, and all things subject themselves to His dominion. Following Jesus, means, simply put, denial of the flesh, and fulfillment of the spiritual self. Following Jesus includes demands, as well as freedom. In other words, following Jesus involves both the Law, and the Gospel--the right hand and the left hand of God--both judgement and grace. And the true follower of Jesus, will never accept one without the other. As Paul writes, those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Those who belong to Christ Jesus, and want to be his followers, WANT their fleshly passions and desires to be crucified--because we want to be freed from, our sexual impurity and immorality, our self-ishness and greed, our addictive/abusive behaviors and patterns. If we live by the Spirit, we want, also, to be guided by the Spirit. And that is what following Jesus, offers, brings, provides to us--when we, indeed, follow. Following Jesus will lead us to the cross, where we will learn denial of our worldly selves. And following Jesus will lead us to the cross, where we will learn spiritual self-fulfillment--love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Which is why, Jesus' call to "come, follow me", is both, a command, and an invitation. Because some, will choose not to respond to his command, his invitation, because some, are not willing to deny their worldly, fleshly, sinful selves. Some are not willing to forgo rampant, unrestrained self-indulgence. And just so, these are willing to forgo, as well, spiritual self-fulfillment. I hope and pray, we are not those who are unwilling to follow Jesus. I hope and pray, that we are those who are responding to Jesus' command, ready to leave past, and self, and sinful broken-ness behind, to follow Jesus into the exciting, obedient, disciplined future, God has prepared for us, in Jesus Christ. I hope and pray that we are both--followers of Jesus, and those who are concerned to fulfill the demands of the Kingdom of God!

     In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.