Here's the link to the first draft of my sermon for September 9, 2007 -- Strange Demands of Jesus' Disciples, from Luke 14:25-33. This is subject to change, revision, or complete scrapping, but here it is for now.
The story of Naaman reminds us that outsiders are not our enemies. They are fellow travelers, fellow sufferers, fellow seekers, equally loved by God. And in God’s economy, they are not just recipients of grace, they are sometimes the ones who lead us to it.
Think about the mentors in your own life. Possibly they were teachers, coaches, pastors, family members, or friends who saw something in you before you saw it yourself. What did they pass on to you? What part of their spirit still lives in you today?
Elijah’s story reminds us that God meets us in the cavern of our own despair and discouragement and changes everything.
The word Trinity never appears in Scripture, and yet the whole arc of the Bible bends toward this deep wonder: God is not solitary. God is relational. God is love.