Jesus Preaches Repentance

The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time, saying,  ² “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.”  ³ So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across.  ⁴ Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”  ⁵ And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth. ¹⁰ When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it. – Jonah 3:1-5, 10

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Psalm 62:5-12  ⁵ For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him.  ⁶ He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.  ⁷ On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.  ⁸ Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah  ⁹ Those of low estate are but a breath, those of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath.  ¹⁰ Put no confidence in extortion, and set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, do not set your heart on them.  ¹¹ Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God,  ¹² and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord. For you repay to all according to their work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mark 1:14-20   ¹⁴ Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God,  ¹⁵ and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”  ¹⁶As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea — for they were fishermen.  ¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.”  ¹⁸ And immediately they left their nets and followed him.  ¹⁹ As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets.  ²⁰ Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our scripture readings this morning present us with a subject that is not easy to talk about or to hear about. The overarching theme of our scripture readings today is repentance.

It’s unfortunate that when we hear the word ‘repent’, so often what comes to mind is those old-time hellfire-and-brimstone preachers whose sermons would scare the hell out of people, but only temporarily. It seems too often turning over a new leaf in that particular way didn’t last long.

We have better examples to look at in today’s scriptures; but before we turn to our readings, I thought it might be helpful to hear what a more contemporary preacher might say about repentance. Inspired by the fact that last Monday was the day we celebrate the life and memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, I went out to the internet and asked Google: “did Martin Luther King Jr ever preach on repentance?”

He sure did! So I’d like to start today by sharing a couple of the things he wrote. The first is a quote from his Letter from a Birmingham Jail. Dr. King wrote:

“We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people.”

That’s a prophetic word if ever there was one. It’s also a great example of how to speak a prophetic word into our culture today.  King makes no apologies; he doesn’t soften his point; he confronts evil head-on.  And he includes all of us in his call to repentance – because sins committed by groups need to be repented of by groups.

The second thing I found that Dr. King wrote about repentance comes from one of his sermons. This was not a famous sermon; it’s just part of the archives that are available today. Here’s what he said (and I wish I could speak this in his voice! When I was reading it on the internet I was imagining his voice – but work your imaginations.) Dr. King said:

“This morning I want to talk to you about the meaning of sin. This sermon is only addressed to those persons who are conscious of moral wrongdoing. If you have no uneasy stirrings of conscience… then this sermon does not apply to you.

“But before you conclude that this sermon does not apply to you… be certain [of what] we mean by “sin”. Usually when we think of sin we think of… of gross iniquities — murder, robbery, adultery, drunkenness. But we must add to this category at least three other categories:

• There are sins of temperament — vindictiveness, stubbornness, jealously, bad temper, malicious gossip…
• There are sins of social attitude
• There are the sins of neglect

It is not alone the things that we do, but the things we have left undone that haunt us — the letters we did not write, the words we did not speak, the opportunity we did not take. How often Jesus stressed this sin. What was wrong with that… man who buried his talent? What did he do? That was the trouble—he did nothing; he missed his chance.

So here they are—sins of passion, sins of temperament, sins of social attitude, sins of neglect. I suspect that every one here fits into one of these categories: So stay with us; you too need forgiveness.”[1]

I feel like I should just say “Amen” and sit down!

Dr. King is right – there is not a single person in this room who is not a sinner. According to the latest statistics, in a random group of any thirty Americans (on average) four are hooked on pornography; eleven use prescription drugs in wrong ways; three drink too much; and more than one in four have experienced either physical violence or stalking in a romantic relationship.

Once we know we need forgiveness, and that God is a God of mercy, it becomes possible to confess our sins to God – usually in private prayer, just between us and God; but sometimes also in public worship. And when we do this, we also become willing to leave those sins behind.

That’s where repentance begins.

What repentance actually looks like will be different for each one of us; but in general, repentance includes a change of direction. Repentance does not mean – as some of those old-time preachers used to lead us to think – that we are low-down, dirty rotten scoundrels.

Rather repentance means being honest with God about where we are in our lives, where our shortcomings are, and being willing to be in a better place doing better things. It’s kind of like, when my cell phone is giving me directions while I’m driving, and I make a wrong turn, and phone says “recalibrating, recalibrating…”. The phone is figuring out a new set of directions to get me back headed the right way. That’s what repentance is like – recalibrating. Getting back on the right road.

Our scripture readings for today talk about repentance from different angles, so I’d like to take a quick look at each, starting with Jonah.

Jonah’s story is unique in history, I think. Jonah is probably the most reluctant prophet that ever lived!  God commanded Jonah to go preach a message of repentance to the people of Nineveh. In those days, Nineveh was a very large and extremely corrupt city – badly in need of repentance – and it was also Israel’s arch-enemy at the time. Jonah had no reason to want them to repent; in fact he would rather see God’s judgement fall on those scoundrels!  So Jonah went and traveled in the opposite direction.

God persuaded Jonah to change his mind by sending a whale – and after Jonah spent some time thinking things over in the belly of a whale, he was willing to go. I imagine Jonah probably looked a little strange after being in those digestive juices for a day or two – strange enough to convince the Ninevites that this prophet was for real!

God then repeats his command to Jonah: go preach to Nineveh. And God’s message is: “forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown”. That’s it. Nothing else.

The people of Nineveh believed God, and repented with fasting and sackcloth.

There are two very unusual things that happen in this story: First, God’s call to repentance is going out to Gentiles. This was almost unheard-of in the Old Testament. The Old Testament is mostly about God’s relationship with Israel; and the people of Israel are frequently warned not to mix with Gentiles, because they’ll end up worshipping Gentile gods (which happened far too often).

But the people of Nineveh were uncircumcised Gentile idol-worshippers, and were the enemies of Israel – yet God called them to repentance. And when they did repent, God showed them mercy. This was the first time, but will not be the last time, that God calls groups of non-Jewish people to repentance.

The second thing that’s unusual is that when the Ninevites repent, they do not sacrifice any animals – which is how repentance was done in the Jewish faith in the Old Testament. This introduces the idea that it’s possible to repent and be saved apart from animal sacrifice. The prophet Samuel once said: “to obey is better than sacrifice” – and the Ninevites learned this first-hand. Atonement for Nineveh was by faith alone in God’s word alone.

Next we come to Psalm 62. The word ‘repent’ doesn’t appear in this psalm. The psalm was written by King David and was probably written to be used in public worship. But the words describe the mindset – and the heart-set – of a person who repents well; a person who makes course corrections daily by keeping a focus on God and who God is.

David says: God alone is my rock. God alone is my salvation. God is my fortress – and back then fortresses were not only used for battle but they also included places to eat and places to rest – literally everything a person needed. God is my fortress.

David also says “I trust God; I am open and honest with God.” That’s a scary thought in a lot of ways. I think most of us kind of instinctively want to be on our best behavior for God – because God is perfect and holy, and God is pure goodness and pure love, and God is so much greater than we are. The last thing we want to do is to say, “God, I messed up again.”

But there’s no point in trying to fool God. In fact God knows a lot more about us than we know about ourselves, so we might as well be honest.

David says that poverty or riches count for nothing. He says the poor are a breath, and riches are a delusion. But power and steadfast love belong to God; and God loves us more than we can imagine.

Finally in the Gospel of Mark, at the beginning of the reading, John the Baptist has just been arrested. His voice in the wilderness – calling the people to repentance and to prepare the way of the Lord – has been silenced.

Jesus takes up the ministry where John left off. John has indeed prepared the way for the Lord, and the people are ready to hear, so Jesus begins.

Jesus’ first, and most important message is:

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

Or to say it in more contemporary language: The time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Turn around, believe, and change course.

Jesus calls us to disentangle ourselves from the cares of this world – NOT ignoring the needs of the world (not at all!), but realizing our lives are short; we keep our focus on God, we follow God’s lead, and we trust in God’s loving care.

Jesus then calls his first disciples to follow him and become ‘fishers of people’. What was it that motivated those lifelong fishermen to drop their nets and walk away from everything they had known? Was it a chance to try something new and different? Was it a chance to start again? Was it an opportunity to be part of what God is doing in the world? I imagine the answer would be different for each disciple.

Jesus says: “The reign of God – the kingdom of God – is now here” – and who wouldn’t want to be part of that?

So to sum all this up for us living here in the 21^st century –

First, we need to look back at the history of our faith. One Jewish scholar says: “Repentance is as old as time itself.”[2]  And even in the Old Testament, repentance is universal – it’s for everybody, not just the people of Israel. I find it interesting that even today, our Jewish brothers and sisters read the story of Jonah every year on Yom Kippur, which is their day of fasting and repentance.

But we don’t need a special event to repent: repentance can be done by anybody on any day. So how is it done? The Ninevites repented on both an emotional level and a physical level. They let God turn their hearts, and they let God change the way they lived.

Looking at the history of the Jewish people also reminds me of the way they often begin prayers. They often start their prayers with the words: “Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe…” and then add more after this. For example:

• “Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who brings snow in its time and rain in its time and the green of spring in its time…” (and then after that they might pray for those who are facing inclement or difficult weather)
• OR “Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who places us in families and gives us the gift of children and grandchildren…” (and then they might go on to pray for families)
• OR “Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who has placed us in this church and in this community…” (and then go on to pray for the church and the community)

I love that prayer because it puts everything in focus: “Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe…” That’s where we begin.

Second, repentance means trusting God. God is not ‘up there’ in heaven waiting for us to make mistakes so God can get on our case. No; God is like a loving father who wants the very best for us. God wants to hear from us, just like we like to hear from our kids.

Third, in the book of Corinthians, Paul says “the time is short” and he advises the Corinthians to “be ready”. This is not a comment on the end times; it’s a reminder to stay on the path of faith… to keep making those course corrections as we journey through life.

An old Jewish rabbi was once asked by his disciples: “When should we repent?”

The rabbi answered: “On the day before you die.”

Which of course reminds us we never know when that day will be. So we prepare for our future with God by making course corrections every day – checking to see that we’re still moving in God’s direction. As Shakespeare’s Hamlet once famously said, “The readiness is all.”

The Greek word for repentance – metanoeite (which I think is a very nice-sounding word, much nicer-sounding than ‘repent’) metanoeite includes in its meaning continuous action. It’s not something that is done just once, and it’s not something we do only on Sundays. It is an ongoing state of daily change and faithfulness. When we make a daily practice of checking in with God, and steering in God’s direction, the course corrections fall into place.

So Jesus’ call to us – as it was to the disciples – is a call to companionship and closeness and growth and learning as we journey together towards God’s kingdom.  “The time is here, the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe the good news.”  AMEN.

[1] https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/meaning-forgiveness

[2] CMJ

Read Full Post »

Jesus Calls Us

Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD under Eli. The word of the LORD was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.  ² At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room;  ³ the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was.  ⁴ Then the LORD called, “Samuel! Samuel!” and he said, “Here I am!”  ⁵ and ran to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down.  ⁶ The LORD called again, “Samuel!” Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.”  ⁷ Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.  ⁸ The LORD called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the LORD was calling the boy.  ⁹ Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.'” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.  ¹⁰ Now the LORD came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

¹¹ Then the LORD said to Samuel, “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle.  ¹² On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end.  ¹³ For I have told him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them.  ¹⁴ Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering forever.”  ¹⁵ Samuel lay there until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the LORD. Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli.  ¹⁶ But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” He said, “Here I am.”  ¹⁷ Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.”  ¹⁸ So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. Then he said, “It is the LORD; let him do what seems good to him.”  ¹⁹ As Samuel grew up, the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.  ²⁰ And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the LORD. – 1 Samuel 3:1-20

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To the leader. Of David. A Psalm

O LORD, you have searched me and known me.  ² You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away.  ³ You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.  ⁴ Even before a word is on my tongue, O LORD, you know it completely.  ⁵ You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.  ⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it.

⁷ Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?  ⁸ If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.  ⁹ If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,  ¹⁰ even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast.  ¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night,”  ¹² even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.

¹³ For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  ¹⁴ I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.  ¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.  ¹⁶ Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed.  ¹⁷ How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!  ¹⁸ I try to count them– they are more than the sand; I come to the end– I am still with you.  ¹⁹ O that you would kill the wicked, O God, and that the bloodthirsty would depart from me–  ²⁰ those who speak of you maliciously, and lift themselves up against you for evil!  ²¹ Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?  ²² I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies.  ²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts.  ²⁴ See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. – Psalm 139:1-24

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”  ⁴⁴ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.  ⁴⁵ Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.”  ⁴⁶ Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”  ⁴⁷ When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!”  ⁴⁸ Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.”  ⁴⁹ Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”  ⁵⁰ Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.”  ⁵¹ And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” – John 1:43-51  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There’s a place in the British Isles I’ve always wanted to go but I haven’t gotten there yet. It is a stunning place: wind-blown countryside and quaint seaside villages and a history that goes back a thousand years or more.

The place is home to a special ministry called the Iona Community. They are, in their own words, “an international, ecumenical Christian movement working for justice and peace, the rebuilding of community, and the renewal of worship.” And as I just discovered this past week, members of the Community are also responsible for creating one of my favorite Facebook groups: Clergy With Cats!

The reason I’ve never gotten there yet is because it’s so tough to get there. The Iona Community has an office in Glasgow, but their facilities are on a couple of wind-swept islands off the west coast of Scotland. Getting there takes at least an eight-hour drive from London, plus a ferry ride to an island, and then a bit more driving. The Abbey is on the Isle of Iona (not a monastery, it’s a large church with dwellings nearby), and their retreat centre is on the Island of Mull. (Those of you my age or older may have heard of Mull because Paul McCartney wrote a song about it: “Mull of Kintyre, oh mist rolling in from the sea…”). This is a part of the world so remote that a Beatle can live there undisturbed!

Anyway the folks at Iona, apart from worship and teaching and promoting justice and peace… they also write songs. We have sung at least one of their songs, which I think you’ll recognize – it’s called The Summons, and it goes like this:

Will you come and follow me
If I but call your name?
Will you go where you don’t know
And never be the same?

It’s familiar, yes?

I was reminded of this song as I was looking at today’s scriptures, because I think the song summarizes our scripture readings better than just about anything. And the location in which it was written – that ancient place of natural beauty – gives us the right ‘feel’ of being in God’s country. The song lyrics to The Summons continue:

Will you come and follow me
If I but call your name?
Will you go where you don’t know
And never be the same?
Will you let my love be shown,
Will you let my name be known,
Will you let my life be grown
In you and you in me?

Will you love the ‘you’ you hide
If I but call your name?
Will you quell the fear inside
And never be the same?
Will you use the faith you’ve found
To reshape the world around,
Through my sight and touch and sound
In you and you in me?

The song is a meditation on God’s call, and that’s what we’re talking about today: God’s call to each of us.

This is not the same thing as the sermon series last year about ‘discerning God’s call on your life’. That’s more along the lines of asking ‘what did God create each of us to do or to be?’; figuring out what gifts God has given us that we can use to grow God’s kingdom. These things are important, but that’s a different kind of calling.

The call we’re talking about here is God’s invitation to each of us to belong to God, or as Jesus put it, to “follow me”.

This call only comes when God makes Godself known to us. And as Methodists we believe God makes Godself known to each one of us, as individuals, when God knows the time is right. God calls each one of us in a way that we can respond in faith. God speaks to each one of us and calls each one of us, one at a time, not as a group. And if there’s anyone here who has not experienced that call, or has doubts about it, please feel free to speak to me after the service and ask any questions you have.

So that’s the foundation for today’s message. As we turn to the scriptures, we are at the beginning of the season of Epiphany; and the word ‘epiphany’ means ‘showing forth’. In other words, God has shown forth in our world the salvation God planned since the beginning of creation. God has shown us Jesus, and continues to show us Jesus… and as God does so, things change… people change… and history changes.

The Old Testament shows that God’s call is not unique to Christians. Long before Christians came along, God called the Jewish nation: Jewish kings and Jewish prophets. The Jewish faith is the foundation of our own Christian faith – without Judaism there is no Christianity.

In fact, in the Old Testament, there are times when God makes Godself known to people of other nations – the Egyptians or the Babylonians for example, using Israel as the means to reach them. God chose Israel to show God’s truth and God’s glory to the world; and God’s desire is for all people everywhere to know and trust the perfect truth and perfect love that is God.

Jewish teaching and tradition says that ALL people everywhere are called to tikun olam – to use what God gives us to repair our own little part of the world, to bring health and healing to whatever part of the world we may have influence over.

The apostle Paul builds on this belief when he says “the gifts and calling of the Lord are irrevocable”. God makes no mistakes when God calls people. And if we don’t understand God’s call right away, or if we miss it at first, that’s ok – we’re human, and we’re imperfect, and God knows that.

Our first scripture reading for today, from I Samuel, gives an example of what God does when someone doesn’t understand the call right away.

Samuel’s story takes place at a time in Israel’s history when, much like our own time, “the word of the Lord was rare”. (And by ‘the word of the Lord’ I mean true prophecy… there are lots of people in our world today claiming they speak for God… that’s not the same thing.) But in Israel of that time, saying ‘the word of the Lord was rare’ was a sad commentary, because the Tabernacle was up and running, and regular worship was happening, and there was a functioning priesthood.

But Eli, the head priest, was old – the Bible says “his eyesight had grown dim”. And Eli’s sons were taking advantage of the people who came to worship – stealing animal sacrifices for their own dinner tables, or making advances to the women worshipers. The effect of this back then (just like today) is it left God’s people feeling wronged and disillusioned, and uncertain of what to believe in or who to trust.

God will not leave things this way. The author of Samuel says, “the lamp of God had not yet gone out” – and I believe the same is true today. The author of Samuel says God saw what was going on and got involved. We should pray for this to happen in our time as well. As we pray for the world, and as we pray for our nation, ask God to shine the lamp of godly truth into the lives of the people, as he did at the time of Samuel.

Back to Samuel’s story: at the time of this writing, Samuel was a young boy, apprenticed to the prophet Eli – he was Eli’s assistant in the tabernacle. Samuel had been the answer to his mother’s prayer: his mother Hannah, who – when she discovered she was pregnant – sang a song a lot like the one Jesus’ mother Mary sang. Hannah sang:

“the Lord is a God who knows,
and by him deeds are weighed.”

“The bows of the warriors are broken,
but those who stumbled are armed with strength.
Those who were full… hire themselves out for food,
but those who were hungry are hungry no more.”

That’s just part of the song that Hannah sings. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

Samuel was an answer to her prayers, and he was dedicated to God by his mother to be God’s servant for his entire life. In our scripture reading for today, God is now calling Samuel directly, but because God’s voice was not known in those days, Samuel thought it was Eli calling. It took a little while – with repeated calls from God – before Eli and Samuel figured who the voice belonged to.

This gives me hope! If I’ve ever missed God’s call – or if any of us has ever missed God’s call – God will keep calling until we ‘get it’!  It’s true God won’t keep calling forever; but if we really don’t understand, if we’re confused or uncertain, God will keep reaching out until we do understand.

And the words Eli gives Samuel to say to God are words we can use ourselves: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” How much easier life would be if we said this every morning! Or at the beginning of every church service or every church meeting!  “Speak, Lord, for your servants are listening.”

Samuel said this to God, and God set Samuel on the path to becoming one of the most trusted prophets in Israel’s history – someone the people depended on to give them God’s word straight up. Samuel ended up anointing both King Saul and King David and being an advisor to both kings as they ruled. All because Samuel said “speak Lord, your servant is listening.”

Turning then to today’s psalm, Psalm 139, we see King David himself moved to sing as a result of God’s call. He sings: “O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away… it was you who formed my inward parts… I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”

Even though David’s life was far from perfect, God still called him to be God’s person, and God forgave him, and David trusted God. I find this encouraging, that even someone who made big mistakes is still remembered as a great king, and the ancestor of Jesus, who is called the “Son of David”.

And we also are fearfully and wonderfully made! Every one of us: made by God; known by God; every detail… fearfully and wonderfully made.

Then, in John’s Gospel, we are witnesses as Jesus calls Nathanael to follow.  In the verses just before our reading, Jesus called Andrew and his brother Simon to be disciples, and he had given Simon the new name of Peter, and Jesus had also called Philip. Philip goes and tells Nathanael about Jesus, but Nathanael has his doubts. Some scholars think Nathanael had some religious training, and knew the prophecies of the Messiah, and knew that the prophecies said nothing about a connection between the Messiah and Nazareth where Jesus was from (or so people thought. It seems Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, while it wasn’t a secret, was not widely known thirty years later).

At any rate Philip’s response to Nathanael’s skepticism is a good one, one we can use ourselves if the opportunity arises: he says, “Come and see”. The power of first-hand experience supersedes arguments.[1]  And Jesus himself often encouraged people to ‘come and see’. As did Mother Teresa, whenever people asked her about her ministry in Calcutta: she wouldn’t talk about it, she would just say ‘come and see’.  When God is on the move, seeing really is believing. So what are some of the things we might invite people to ‘come and see’? A Living Stones dinner, perhaps? Or Vacation Bible School? Places like that where God’s word comes alive.

In Nathanael’s case, Jesus knows Nathanael’s character even though they’ve never met – which moves Nathanael to say, “You are the Son of God and the King of Israel!”

Jesus replies by saying that Nathanael will “see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”  This saying is kind of a head-scratcher. What is Jesus talking about here?

Again, Jewish scholars may give us some insight. According to the Jewish faith, not all angels live in heaven. Angels often begin their missions on earth and then return to heaven. Our own tradition of having a ‘guardian angel’ is actually rooted in Judaism.  The Jewish belief is that the spiritual realm is very close to the physical realm – almost like a parallel universe – and that angels are very present here on earth. As it says in the book of Hebrews [13:2]:

“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so some have entertained angels without knowing it.”

Jesus’ comment about ‘ascending and descending angels’ also refers to the Old Testament, to a vision that Jacob had, of angels on a ladder ascending and descending from heaven. Jesus is saying that he himself is now the ladder; he himself is now the way between heaven and earth, earth and heaven. And when Jesus says “you will see” the word “you” is plural – which means all of us. Everyone will see.

To pull it all together: all of us are called by God. God’s calling is sometimes in the sense of a vocation, but on a more basic level, God’s call is first and foremost to faith: to believe in Jesus and follow Jesus. Sometimes that call may lead us to ‘get our bearings’ – or to recalibrate – especially in confusing times like the ones we live in now.

The question then becomes: how can we be sure it’s God we’re hearing?

One way, as it was with Samuel, is by repetition: God’s call comes again and again until we respond. Another way is to do what Eli suggests: be quiet and pray, “speak, Lord; your servant is listening” and then see what happens. For some of us, our call is to be present and helpful while other people are being called, to help direct them to God, the God who loves them. At places like the Living Stones dinners, for example, where un-churched people often come, we may have the opportunity to answer a few questions about faith or about God, or to say to someone – as Philip said – “Come and See”.

The last verse of the Iona song says:

Lord, your summons echoes true
When you but call [our] name.
Let [us] turn and follow you
And never be the same.
In your company [we’ll] go
Where your love and footsteps show.
Thus [we’ll] move and live and grow
In you and you in me.

AMEN

[1] SALT

Read Full Post »

“Our Hears Were On Fire”

Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem,  ¹⁴ and talking with each other about all these things that had happened.  ¹⁵ While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them,  ¹⁶ but their eyes were kept from recognizing him.  ¹⁷ And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad.  ¹⁸ Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?”  ¹⁹ He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,  ²⁰ and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him.  ²¹ But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place.  ²² Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning,  ²³ and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive.  ²⁴ Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.”  ²⁵ Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared!  ²⁶ Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?”  ²⁷ Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.

          ²⁸ As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on.  ²⁹ But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them.  ³⁰ When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.  ³¹ Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight.  ³² They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?”

          ³³ That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together.  ³⁴ They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!”  ³⁵ Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread. — Luke 24:13-35

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today begins Week Three of Easter, and even though we still have a few more weeks left in the Easter season, this is the last week that our scripture readings will actually be talking about the resurrection. Starting next week we get back into Jesus’ teachings, and we’ll continue with that up until Ascension and Pentecost.

Today I’d like to focus on our reading from Luke: the story of the disciples’ conversation on the road to Emmaus. And I particularly want to point out… and shine light on… what the disciples said about hearing Jesus talk about and explain the scriptures. They said, in verse 32, “our hearts were on fire.”

Our hearts were on fire.

Further on in the book of Acts, we will hear that this feeling of being ‘on fire’ is related to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. There is something about hearing God’s truth that lights a flame in the hearts of people who love God.

If we think about it: when have we had the feeling of our hearts being on fire? When I ask Google this question, I get a whole list of love songs. Maybe falling in love is the first experience most of us have with our hearts feeling like they’re on fire; but it’s not quite the same thing that we feel about the word of God.

I remember back in the late 1960s something that set peoples’ hearts on fire was watching the Moon Landing. “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” – those words touched millions of hearts. I knew a number of people, including my own brother, who chose careers in science because they were so moved by that moment.

When hearts are on fire, lives change. People get a sense of direction; a passion to live by. So where do we start with Jesus?

One contemporary theologian says, “the resurrection is more than just an event – it is a person.” Jesus himself said, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Our future in the Kingdom of God will be with Jesus, not only because of what Jesus has done, but because of who Jesus is.

Therefore our response to Jesus needs to be in the form of a relationship, one that involves heart as well as mind. We need hearts full of praise. As we heard in Psalm 116 this morning: “I love the Lord because he has heard my voice…”; “I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord!” (v. 13)

As we approach the events on the road to Emmaus – which is happening on Easter Day (we’re still on that first Easter!) – let this first Easter touch our hearts deeply.

Early Easter morning, Mary had gone to the tomb and found it empty, and she saw an angel, and then she spoke with Jesus briefly, and he sent her to tell the rest of the disciples that he was alive. Shortly afterward, two disciples – one named Cleopas and the other whose name we don’t know – who had been with the group that morning and had heard Mary’s story – decided to walk home to Emmaus (which was about seven miles, about a two hour walk). These two disciples were probably two of the 70 disciples Jesus had sent out to do ministry back in Luke chapter 10.

As they were walking along the road, they were talking about the events of the past three days. The road they were on was not heavily traveled, but they were overheard by another traveler, who came up and asked what they were talking about. The two disciples mistook this man for a visitor – in verse 18 the word “stranger” could also be translated “visitor”: somebody who was not from around there.

They ask him: “Are you the only visitor in Jerusalem who doesn’t know what has happened?” And they go on to tell him all about Jesus – “a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people” who they had hoped was the Messiah, the redeemer of Israel, but the chief priests had had him crucified. And now, three days later, Mary had come back from his tomb early in the morning saying that he was alive!

The newcomer to the conversation replies with words that sound harsh: “how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe…”  On closer study, I think a better translation might be something along the lines of, “boy are you guys slow on the uptake!” It was meant to be more teasing than insulting.

And then Jesus – who was still unrecognized at this point – proceeded to explain to them all the things in the Old Testament that talk about himself – starting with Moses and moving through all the prophets. Wouldn’t you love to have listened in on that conversation?

—Side note—

These two disciples had spent months with Jesus. So why did they not recognize him? It seems that Jesus’ resurrected body was somehow different from his original body.

In all of the resurrection events in the New Testament, Jesus is not immediately recognized even by the people who knew him best. Mary, in the garden on Easter morning, mistook him for the gardener. When the disciples met Jesus in Galilee they didn’t recognize him right away. Something about Jesus’ resurrected body was different.

His body still had the scars from the nails though; and the disciples recognized him because of those scars. Jesus’ resurrected body was also able to walk into locked rooms without opening the door. So his resurrection body was not the usual human body!

As a lifelong science fiction fan, my imagination is tempted to have a field day with this. Imagine the possibilities! But bringing it down to reality, there is definitely something different… something… not entirely of Earth… about Jesus’ resurrection body.

Jesus says in John 12:24 “unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Those of us who are planting gardens right now understand that. But the seed that is planted doesn’t look like the plant that grows. The human bodies that we see and live in – in a lot of ways – are like seeds. And what Jesus has become is like the plant that grows from the seed. And we will share that future someday. But on the road to Emmaus, when the full-grown resurrected plant meets a couple of un-resurrected seeds (so to speak) it’s understandable that they did not recognize him.

—End of side note—

At the end of the journey to Emmaus, they went into the home of one of the disciples, and invited the visitor to stay because it was getting dark. (Middle Eastern hospitality would have insisted that a stranger not be left alone at night.) As everyone settles down to dinner, and they recline at table, Jesus takes bread and breaks it just as he did at Passover three nights before – and they recognized him!  And then Jesus vanished!

They don’t know it yet, but a few moments later Jesus will show up in Jerusalem. (These resurrection bodies have some really cool features!)

Meanwhile the two disciples look at each other and say, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” They immediately get up and walked back to Jerusalem, to the tell the disciples they have seen Jesus. The others reply “We know! Simon has seen him too!” ~And there was much rejoicing~

I want to go back to that moment when they said: “were not our hearts burning within us as he opened the scriptures?” If only they had written down what Jesus said! It would be wonderful to know how Jesus put it all together. But, taking what we have from the Old Testament, I’ll make an attempt to reconstruct at least a part of the conversation.

Jesus would have begun at the beginning…

• God promises Abram: “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3)
• Years later, Abraham prophesies: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet….” (Genesis 49:10)
• Years after that, a prophet named Balaam prophecies over Israel: “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near – a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel” (Numbers 24:17)
• In the book of psalms we find these words:
  • …the LORD… said to me, “You are my son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.” (Psalm 2:7-8)
  • The LORD says to my lord, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.” (Psalm 110:1)
  • The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” (Psalm 110:4)
• Also in the Psalms can be found descriptions of crucifixion… written 1000 years before crucifixion was invented. For example:
  • “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1)
  • “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint;
    my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast” (Psalm 22:14)
  • “All who see me mock at me; they make mouths at me, they shake their heads…” (Psalm 22:7)
  • “…they divide my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.” (Psalm 22:18)
• Years after that, the prophet Isaiah writes:
  • In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. 2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness — on them light has shined. (Isaiah 9:1-2)
  • the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)
  • For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)
• And Isaiah also foresees a violent death. He writes:
  • I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I did not hide my face from insult and spitting. (Isaiah 50:6)
  • By a perversion of justice he was taken away. Who could have imagined his future? For he was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people. 9 They made his grave with the wicked and his tomb with the rich, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. (Isaiah 53:8-9)
  • The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:11b-12)
• And finally the end result of his suffering, from the prophet Daniel, who writes:
  • As I watched in the night visions, I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him. 14 To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed. (Daniel 7:13-14)

Who can hear these words of God and not be moved?

In our reading from Acts earlier today, the apostle Peter preached a sermon based on these prophecies, and he ended with the words, “Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.” (Acts 2:36) The people who heard Peter believed and were baptized that same day, around 3000 of them.

Two thousand years later, this is still our message, and our calling: to carry these words to all who will listen. May God bless our hearts, our understanding, and our speaking. AMEN.

Preached at Fairhaven and Spencer United Methodist Churches, 4/23/23

Read Full Post »

Epiphany – Unveiling Jesus

But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.  ² The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness– on them light has shined.  ³ You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder.  ⁴ For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.  – Isaiah 9:1-4

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?  4 One thing I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple.  5 For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock.  6 Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the LORD.  7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me!  8 “Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!” Your face, LORD, do I seek.  9 Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn your servant away in anger, you who have been my help. Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation! – Psalm 27:1, 4-9

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee.  13 He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali,  14 so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:  15 “Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles–  16 the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.”  17 From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”  18 As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea– for they were fishermen.  19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.”  20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him.  21 As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them.  22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.  23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. – Matthew 4:12-23

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, here we are, on the other side of Christmas: shopping all done for another year, decorations put away (maybe?)  We are now in the season of Epiphany, and we will be in Epiphany until Lent starts on February 22, which is only a month away!

So what exactly is Epiphany all about? The word epiphany comes from Greek – it means ‘unveiling’ or ‘revealing’ – and it’s that time of year when God makes Godself known to the world through Jesus. Jesus was born at Christmas, but we get to know him in Epiphany.

Epiphany begins with the baptism of Jesus, and then Jesus begins to travel and minister and call people to himself. And when people are called, they (and we) are also chosen by God for a reason. So in a sense the season of Epiphany reveals us too – reveals something of who we are, and what we are called to be in God’s kingdom.

This week we have three scripture passages to consider, all of which have something to say about this revealing of Jesus and of us.

Starting from a big-picture standpoint: what we have in today’s readings is King David setting the stage in his Psalm; Isaiah giving us a detailed prophecy of what is to come; and Matthew, telling us about the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, and showing us how Isaiah’s prophecy is being fulfilled.

The Psalm

King David sets the stage by saying “the Lord is my light, my salvation, and my stronghold.” This was true for David around 3000 years ago, and it was true for Jesus, and it’s true for us today. God is light, salvation, and stronghold. No matter what happens in our lives, no matter what we see around us, God protects and saves and sheds light on our path.

David continues with a prayer:“

One thing I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple.”

This prayer is not just for this life but for the next life as well. In this life we come to God’s house, we worship, we pray, and it is beautiful. When we arrive in God’s kingdom, it will be even more beautiful: we will ‘live in God’s house forever’ as Jesus promised. Jesus said:

“In my Father’s house are many mansions… and I go to prepare a place for you…” (John 14:2)

If we are faithful to Jesus in this life, we will have a place in God’s house, forever, where we will be able to wake up every morning and open our eyes to the beauty of God the Father, surrounded by God’s love and God’s perfect creation, unharmed by human sin. We will be able to go into God’s temple, and ask questions, and learn, and experience things we can’t even begin to imagine right now. This is where we will spend eternity. This is our destiny. This is the one thing David asks of God. It’s our one request too, isn’t it – for us and our loved ones to be with God forever?

Isaiah’s Prophecy

The stage is set. Next comes the prophecy. Isaiah’s prophecy involves God’s answer to David’s prayer: God is making a way for us to live in God’s house and be with God forever.

Our passage from Isaiah takes us back to Advent for a moment. This passage is quoted in Advent scriptures, as well as in Handel’s Messiah.  But there’s more than just Advent here. First off, there’s a back story. The Northern Kingdom of Israel had been captured by Assyria. The people were terrified and powerless, and many of them forced into slavery, and many more had had everything they owned taken away.

So Isaiah’s first message is to them. He says help is on the way. The “day of Midian” he refers to looks back to an unusual military victory in Israel’s past, when Gideon and a ragtag bunch of neighbors got together and, in God’s power, defeated the troops of Midian. Isaiah’s words hint that there’s a parallel between that victory over Midian and Israel’s current situation with Assyria. In other words, the tables are about to turn.

Isaiah’s second message has a double meaning: one for the Northern Kingdom back then, and one for us today. Isaiah talks about “the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali” who would witness “a great light”. These two tribes, Zebulun and Naphtali, were the least of Israel’s people. They had settled around the region of Galilee but never really conquered it; so the people of Israel and the Gentiles lived together. The region became known to the Southern Kingdom as “Galilee of the Gentiles.”  There was an intermixing of faiths, which got them into spiritual trouble, and which made the Northern Kingdom easy to defeat when Assyria came.

But there’s a side note to this Biblical history that will become very important during the lifetime of Jesus. Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah almost always talked about the Messiah coming from the Southern Kingdom: the Messiah would be descended from the line of King David, who ruled in Jerusalem in the South; the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, which was in the South. There was no doubt about these things – the prophecies were very clear.

So when Jesus appeared coming (so it seemed) from the region of Galilee, in the north, all the religious scholars said “No way. No major prophet comes from Galilee.”

But they were mistaken. Back in the law of Moses, in the book of Leviticus, in an obscure old regulation, the priests were told to offer their sacrifices “on the north side of the altar.” This led Jewish scholars (for many hundreds of years) to believe that God’s redeeming process would begin in the North. Isaiah confirms this by mentioning Zebulun and Naphtali in context of the Messiah’s coming.

By the time Jesus got here, most people had forgotten about all this; so when Jesus arrived, the Jewish leaders said ‘the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem’ – and in John chapter 7 we find them making fun of the idea that any spiritual leader could come from Galilee.

Looping back to Isaiah’s prophecy: Isaiah’s words give us that marvelous verse from the Advent/Christmas story that points us straight to Jesus:

“the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light: those who lived in a land of deep darkness, on them light has shined.”

What we don’t hear again in today’s reading are the verses that come immediately after. This is one of my favorite verses in the Christmas season:

“For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire.”

Someday every war will be over. Someday every gun will be silenced. Someday there will be no more bombs, no more shootings, no more murders – all the instruments of violence will be burned. Don’t we long for that day? This is the promise of the Messiah. Why?

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Jesus will establish eternal peace.

This Messiah is a direct challenge to any and all earthly powers that keep people down or lock people into conflict. Jesus is a King above all other kings, above any president, dictator, czar, whatever. Jesus is not elected. He is born king.

Matthew’s Gospel

Which brings us to Matthew. In Matthew’s gospel we see Isaiah’s prophecies of the Messiah beginning to come true, one day at a time, one moment at a time, one person at a time.

Jesus waits until John the Baptist is arrested before starting his own public ministry. Matthew doesn’t say why; but God gave John a job to do, to prepare the people for the Messiah’s arrival, and John needed to finish that job before Jesus started his ministry. And in fact Jesus built on John’s ministry so much that many people thought Jesus was John reincarnated.

Matthew starts out by quoting our reading from Isaiah.

“[Jesus] left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles – the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.” (Matt 4:13-16)

It was in this exact region that Jesus began teaching; and his message was “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Jesus was basically contrasting two kingdoms: the kingdom of Heaven, and the kingdoms of earth, and he was saying people need to make a choice: which are they going to be loyal to?

At that point in time the choice would have been between God’s kingdom or the Roman Empire.  For those of us in the 21^st century, it’s not quite as simple a question. The human race has had thousands of years of history, confusing and conflating the kingdom of God with the kingdoms of men. To give just a few examples, think of the Holy Roman Empire – which elevated both the Emperor and the Pope to positions of leadership, and didn’t teach much practical difference between the two. Or think of modern-day Britain, where the King is both the head of the government and the head of the Church. Or think of some of the political movements here in America in the past few years that run religion and politics together until you can’t quite separate the two.

Fusing secular leadership with religious leadership creates superpowers – which are never of God.  Jesus calls people everywhere to “repent” and give to God what belongs to God.

Sadly even the word ‘repent’ has become a triggering word in our time, so I need to give us a working definition. The word ‘repent’ in Greek is metanoieo. It means “to undergo a change in frame of mind or feeling”. It’s a combination of two Greek words: meta (meaning ‘with’) and noieo (meaning ‘to understand’). So it’s ‘with understanding’ – to come to a new way of thinking. Jesus is inviting people, including you and me, into new understandings and new insights.

Therefore the word ‘repent’ has absolutely nothing to do with fire and brimstone. It is not a threat; it is never meant to be spoken in anger. It is an invitation, given in love, to see and understand the world in a new way, and then move in a new direction.

I had a little bit of a metanoieo myself last summer when I was traveling overseas. Travel – especially outside the country – has a way of changing how we see things. We are exposed to different cultures and different people.  The traveler who comes home isn’t the same person who left. That’s really the definition of repentance – to perceive and understand differently, and to change how we live because of it.

The new understanding and the new direction that Jesus is giving, is in the direction of God’s kingdom. Once more we turn to the Greek: the word for kingdom is basileia, which can mean things like reigning, or ruling, or having great power. For those familiar with the Harry Potter series, it was no mistake that the great snake in the second Harry Potter movie is called a basilisk. Same root word, meaning something very powerful, and supposedly undefeatable.

One of the differences between human kingdoms and how they exercise power, and God’s kingdom and how it exercises power, is that human kingdoms assume the right to colonize. Think how our nation got started all those years ago: the kingdom of Britain made a colony, and they claimed rights to our land and our people. In God’s kingdom the purpose is not to colonize; it is to liberate, to set God’s people free. Total opposite purpose. Total different direction.

As Jesus preaches, he invites people to follow him. We don’t read about all the people he invited – in fact we don’t read about most of them, but we read about some. Jesus says to the fishermen, “Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of people.”

Jesus does not start out by saying “believe what I believe” or “come sign on to the cause”. He simply says “follow Me”. No platform, no list of rules, just a call to companionship: to live together, to walk in God’s kingdom together.

When Jesus and the disciples do start to preach God’s Kingdom, there are a few things to notice about that.  The message is for all of Israel, not just Galilee; and Jesus is not interested in being governor or emperor, because God’s kingdom is not of this world. And along with this teaching comes power to heal: diseases, sicknesses, weaknesses, physical infirmities.

So where does all this prophecy and history lead us today? Four things to consider:

First and most important: God is still working.  God is working to make Jesus known to the people of this world; to bring truth to those who are lost in lies; to bring freedom to those who are imprisoned; to bring vision to those who can’t see; to bring healing and wholeness to those who are sick and in pain. Just as in the days of the disciples, Jesus invites us to be part of this ministry, as he leads.

Second, God is still breaking into human history. God is unmasking the world’s powers, bringing light into darkness.

Think for a moment what it’s like to be in a room when the power goes out. We can’t see, we may become tense or frightened. We stop what we’re doing and carefully try to find some light.

The spiritual darkness in our world is similar. People can’t see what’s ahead. They feel tense and maybe even hopeless, and they’re not sure where they left the candles and matches. Jesus invites us to share His light. Jesus said, “no one lights a lamp and puts it under a bushel basket. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” The glory goes to God because the light is God’s – we let God shine through us, and we become the light-bearers.

Third, we are called to communicate the good news by the way we live. God’s kingdom brings freedom, joy, light, love, friendship, compassion – even while our world is lost in hatred, violence, war, greed, pain, and sorrow. “Jesus said: “by this everyone will know that you are my disciples, by the love you have for each other.”  What an appropriate message this is for the week in which we remembered Martin Luther King Jr! The arc of history is indeed long, but it bends towards justice. We share good news in and by our life together in Jesus.

Last but not least: Just as Jesus called the disciples into partnership with himself, Jesus also calls us. What is it, then, that Jesus is calling us to do and be… as individuals? as a congregation? Do we need a bit of an epiphany ourselves, an unveiling of God’s plan for us?

I hope the small group ministry starting this year will lead to answers to some of these questions, both on a faith level and on a ministry level.

For now I’ll just leave us with this: God’s call on our lives is not a one-time thing; it is an ongoing adventure. Wherever God leads, God has created us and prepared us for this time and place. And I believe this church is already on the path, we just need to continue to discern and follow.

So when we hear Jesus call: “Follow me” – like the fishermen, let’s drop our nets and follow! AMEN.

Preached at Carnegie United Methodist Church and Hill Top United Methodist Church, 1/22/23

Read Full Post »