I do like and appreciate the freedom that is mine as a citizen of the United States of America. I appreciate the courage and sheer desperation that led our forebears to leave their homes and risk all in a journey to a new land. When I consider the audacity of the colonists deciding to stand in opposition to, and then to launch a revolution against the mother country of England, I am awed. Would I have had such courage? Would I ever have found living desperate enough to lead me to risk my life to be free? Even when I dare to admit that the patriots of old were not always of pure motive, I still find myself giving thanks to God for the battles fought and the freedoms won. At its best, I like what this day represents.

Do we have any fans of the show “Survivor” here? Survivor players carry these giant torches, like staffs. “When your fire is out, so are you.” This week’s portion, Korach, has something to do with both staffs and fires.

Parshat Korach

Torah portion Korach is about the rebellion of Korach and his band of 250 followers. Korach criticizes Moses and Aaron, saying: “You have gone too far! For the entire community is holy and the ETERNAL dwells in their midst. Why then do you set yourselves above them?” The name Korach is a play on Kerach – ice. I imagine he looks like Mr. Clean, with a head shiny as ice. But he’s icy in another way: cold and calculating. Korach’s complaint seems fairly reasonable. But many a dema gogue has presented himself as the keeper of liberty -- Korach is not looking out for others. He is using egalitarian language to seek power for himself! Worse, Korach has poisoned the minds of Moses’ allies Dothan and Aviram, who speak longingly of Egypt, not Israel, as “a land flowing with milk and honey” and implicitly accuse Moses of hoodwinking the community.

While studying in Israel last summer, I had a number of exciting, powerful, and often spiritual experiences. Exploring the country known to many as the Holy Land provided a number of unique opportunities, many of which continue to affect me. One of my favorite places in Israel is the Old City area of Jerusalem, where many sites of historical and religious significance can be found. One Friday evening, I, along with several of my friends, ventured to the Old City to see the opening of Shabbat at the Western Wall, or Kotel.

This past Sunday morning, our gospel lesson was Luke 9:51-62. As our pastor had read from both the NSRV and The Message (by Eugene Peterson) he wrapped up his sermon with the challenge: “Seize the Day!” Pondering how I could live by the Holy Spirit's leading, I decided to embrace the challenge. On fire from an excellent sermon, “carpe diem” as the Holy Spirit led was to be my goal this week. But Luke had more to teach me than just living by some catch phrase.