January 25, 2015: Mark 1:14-20

A Different Kind of Call

Year B, Epiphany 3                                  

                                                                 

I served on the Commission on Ministry for the diocese for six years.  One of our jobs was to interview people who felt that they were called by God to ordained ministry.  One of the things that we typically asked people to share with us was their call story.  How did they know that they were called by God to ordained ministry?  I think most people, when they imagine a call, think of something really clear like a burning bush or a voice from heaven which would leave someone with no doubt about their call.  Yet in my personal experience, and hearing many many call stories, this is rarely the case.  Usually people perceive a call over a period of time.  It’s more like a debate with God as opposed to a call.  Yet what I learned while serving on the Commission on Ministry was that even the people who were experiencing this call seemed to think that this extended call process was unique to them.   They were all expecting something like a lightning bolt…that moment when they would drop the proverbial net and follow Jesus.  

There is a good reason why people expect this kind of call. That is how it worked in the Bible.  There was no period of discernment in the Bible. People did not take time to get to know Jesus before joining the disciples.  There was no extended time in thought and prayer.  No disciple responded to the call by saying, “Let me take some time to prayerfully consider this.”  Consider the Gospel reading for today. Jesus was walking along the Sea of Galilee and he saw Simon and Andrew casting nets into the sea, because they were fishermen. He said, ‘"Follow me and I will make you fish for people." And immediately they left their nets and followed him.’ 

He walked on and saw James and John mending their nets with their father.  He summoned them and we don’t even know what he said.  They too immediately left their father with the nets and followed Jesus.  Preachers often use this story to depict the faith of the disciples. They did not need to be convinced.  They did not need to weigh the pros and cons.  They heard the call and they left their old lives behind to follow Jesus.  I have always thought that they were able to do this because there was just something about Jesus.  They knew from seeing him and hearing a few words that this man was worth dropping everything and starting a new life.

And you know what, that’s really not very helpful for most of us.  We cannot imagine doing something that drastic, that irresponsible.  They were giving up their livelihood. They were leaving their families behind just because they sensed there was something special about this person.  What if that was not really how it happened?  What if these men already knew Jesus? I mean, this was not a big city they were in.  They were in a small town where most people knew one another. At this point, Jesus was 30 years old. He hadn’t just moved into the area. This was his hometown.  Also, at least some people had probably heard about his baptism and the heavens splitting open.  John the Baptist had been arrested and one would imagine that people were on the lookout for this person that John the Baptist had prophesized about.  

It does not say anywhere that this was the first time that they had seen or encountered Jesus.  We have just assumed that.  So let’s consider for the sake of this conversation, an alternative.  What if these potential disciples already knew Jesus? Perhaps they had already spoken with him.  He had planted the seed and they were thinking as they went about their day fishing and mending nets that maybe, just maybe there was something more to this Jesus of Nazareth.  It could have been days, weeks, years, who knows how long they had been watching Jesus and wondering if he would call on them one day.

It would seem that Jesus too had been waiting for a specific moment.  In all of the Gospels, there is only one mention of Jesus’ life between infancy and the beginning of his ministry at age 30.  Surely, things had happened during that time that built up to this moment when he would call his disciples and begin his public ministry. The first line from the Gospel reading is: “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’"  It would appear that even for Jesus, there was a moment where things changed and that moment was now. 

I still remember the exact moment when I realized I had to leave the Catholic Church and seek ordination.  I usually don’t even include it in my call story because it is so very unremarkable.  It was after my 2^nd year in seminary. I was swimming laps at the gym and I realized that I was writing a letter in my head to the Episcopal priest whose church I had interned at.  I was writing about how I had made my decision and how excited I was to finally know.  And that was it. I knew I had decided.  There had been dramatic things that led to that moment.  There was prayer, conversation, arguments, tears, endless hours of studying.  Yet it was there in the monotony of counting laps that I knew.

I wonder if something similar happened with Simon, Andrew, James and John.  I believe that they had known Jesus for some time.  They saw him around town with his mother.  They were friendly but not close.  Slowly, so slowly they did not even see it coming…they started to believe, they felt a pull towards Jesus.  And it was when they were doing something monotonous like mending nets or counting fish that they heard the call clearly and dropped what they were doing to follow.  

It’s easier for all of us if we read the Bible as a book full of people who lived a long time ago, a book full of people who we could not possibly identify with.  But what if the Bible is more than that?  The Bible is a living document. What makes it holy is not merely who it is about or  the people who wrote it, but the people who read it now.  We are meant to see ourselves in these pages.  Perhaps you are like Jonah and when God calls, you run as far as you can and jump in a boat to avoid the call of God.  Or maybe you are Paul, and you really did have a dramatic conversion experience.  Perhaps you are like the disciples who knew Jesus all your life and woke up one day to realize that he was more than you ever realized.

It is not just the ordained who are called to ministry.  We are all called by God to a ministry.  But more importantly, we are all called to be disciples of Christ, to continually seek a deeper knowledge of God.  Don’t wait for a spectacular moment when your faith will solidify and you will never doubt again.  That probably won’t happen.  Instead, prepare for that moment and search for that moment of clarity.  You might find that the moment passed.  It might have passed a dozen times because you were too preoccupied to notice. But God will always give you a second chance.  God will never stop calling you.

Video from Jan 11th

I'm a little behind on posting videos.  Instead of catching up, I decided to just start with last week and move from there.  So here is my sermon from last week.  It was exciting because I got Episcopalians to talk to one another and participate in the sermon. Wild.
Sermon from Jan 11th, 2015

Jan. 18, 2015: John 1:43-51

You too can evangelize like the disciples!

Year B, Epiphany 3                                           

                                                         

            I am a pretty big fan of church humor.  I have a bumper sticker collection devoted to such humor in my office. It’s not making fun of God.  It’s occasionally poking fun at the silly things we do as Christians.  As you can imagine, I love seeing those billboards on the highway with quotes signed by God.  There is a black background with white letters.  Among my favorites are: "That "Love Thy Neighbor" Thing, I Meant It." or "Keep Using My Name in Vain And I'll Make Rush Hour Longer."  Of course there are some that are less about making you laugh and more about making a point.  One just says: “I love you. I love you. I love you.”   What is interesting about these signs is that they are not attributed to anyone.  No one takes credit for them.  There is no web address under them to direct you to a page where they ask for money.  Nothing.  I find that admirable for numerous reasons.  

However, there is one billboard that I feel needs additional information.  It just says, “Follow me.”  As a Christian, we might look at that and consider it to be a good reminder.  But if you are not a Christian, it would make no sense and probably not have any effect at all.  It makes a little more sense on a bumper sticker when it says, “Follow me to St. John’s’,” but then I always worry that some person will follow someone and find they are just going home.  That could get weird. 

            Yet I wonder sometimes if we are just as vague in the Episcopal Church.  We put out signs that say, “The Episcopal Church welcomes you!”  Underneath is the Episcopal shield and the name of the church.  First of all, what are we welcoming people to? Are we welcoming them to a church, worship, prayer, volunteer work?  And what is up with the shield?  If you are not an Episcopalian the first question you might have is, “Why does a church need a shield?”  Most Episcopalians don’t even know what it means. 

            Both of these things are attempts at evangelism and I would agree that any attempt is a good one; but the big flaw is that they lack follow up.  Episcopalians respond to the word evangelism the same way they do to a flying object about to hit them…duck and cover. Evangelism is sharing God’s love with others.  That’s really not that scary.   I know that it’s harder than it seems. Only 77% of Americans identify as Christians and many of those do not engage with their faith.   People are faced with many alternatives, many different ways to spend their time.  Even some people who identify as Christians don’t go to church or pray regularly. It is no longer safe to assume that if someone is not in church it’s because they haven’t found one they like.

            Yet imagine how difficult evangelism was in Jesus’ day.  There were two main faiths in the place where Jesus was living.  There was the faith of the Hebrew people, Judaism, and whatever god the Romans were worshipping.  There were smaller variations, but those were the main faith traditions.  Because of that, it was pretty risky to move beyond those two options. It was not like now when we have over 10,000 denominations to choose from.   If you want something different, just create your own church and you can do whatever you want.

            When Jesus called his disciples, he was not calling them to a new religion.  We often consider the disciples or even Jesus to be Christian, but that word did not even exist until many years after Jesus died.  These men were all devoted Jews.  Jesus was not trying to convert them.  He was simply asking them to follow him. First he had to find the people. 

Jesus, being all knowing did not have to consult demographics or send out postcards inviting people to hear about this new great thing.  In the Gospel of John, Jesus’ first disciples come from John the Baptist’s group of disciples.  John the Baptist was with a couple of his disciples when Jesus passed. He told them, “Look there is the Lamb of God.”  That was all these two men needed.  They followed Jesus.  Jesus turned around and asked them what they were looking for.   They answered by asking where he was staying. He simply said, “Come and follow me.”  They followed him to his home and stayed with him.  The next day, one of the new disciples (Andrew) went to his brother and said, “We have found the Messiah.” Then he immediately brought his brother to Jesus. 

            So far the disciples have found Jesus with the help of others.  In the next story, Jesus finds Philip and simply says, “Follow me.” (I guess when you are Jesus, you don’t need to explain.)  After spending some time with Jesus, Phillip finds his friend Nathanial and tells him, “We have found the one Moses spoke of in the law-the prophets too-Jesus, son of Joseph from Nazareth.”  Here Philip is meeting Nathanial where he is.  He’s Jewish and knows all about Moses and the prophets.  This is a pretty compelling reason to at least listen to Philip.  Nathanial needs a little more and questions Philip.  Philip realizes that he could tell him all that he has seen and heard or he could introduce him to the man himself.  So he replies the same way Jesus did when he was questioned by John’s disciples.  He  said “Come and see.”

            What we have here are four examples of evangelism.  The first two men to follow Jesus are encouraged by someone they trust, someone who knows a lot about God, someone who has proved himself to be an honest and faithful man.  Andrew then calls the next disciple, his brother Peter.  Since he was his brother, someone he knew intimately, he didn’t have to say much….just enough to get his interest.  Andrew brought him immediately to meet Jesus.  The next example is an invitation from Jesus himself.  The last one is a friend sharing with another friend and then asking him to come and see.   That is how it all began for Jesus’ disciples and inevitably for Christianity itself.

            Some of you may know that the number one reason that people visit a church is because they have been invited by a friend. That seems deceivingly simple.  It is and it isn’t.  In all of these examples with the disciples the men were offering both a reason and an invitation.  Jesus was the only one who got away with “follow me.” The others needed to tell the person why they should come and see.  Not only did they provide information and an invitation, they went with the person to find Jesus.  

            No, it’s not as simple as inviting someone.  You need to consider your relationship with that person.  If it’s a good friend, you might be able to say, “Hey, I really love my church and I think you might too.”  If it’s more of an acquaintance, you might have to talk to them about why you go to church.  That is one of the reasons I have asked people to write about their reasons and submit them to the bulletin.  Today, you can read why Bill Saunders attends.  Then after you have invited them, you need to take the next step and say something like, “It’s kind of hard to find the parking lot, perhaps I can pick you up or meet you somewhere convenient.” Then that person is accountable to you and they don’t have to walk in alone.  They are guaranteed that they will know at least one person and that is a huge comfort for people. 

            I hear from a lot of people that we want to grow the church.  I understand that and agree.  But what we are really looking for is disciples of Christ.  We don’t just want numbers to sit in the pews and turn in their pledge on time.  We want disciples.  People come to church for all kinds of different reasons and I encourage you to talk to people about that.  But as a community, I think we need to consider why we want people in our church, more important why we want people in God’s church.  Let’s consider that in the context of the Gospel we heard today.  Jesus wanted people to know him and follow him.  So how are we, as St. John’s Episcopal Church going to help people know Jesus and be disciples of Jesus? If we can talk about that, then evangelism won’t seem nearly as frightening. 

January 10, 2015: Mark 1:4-11

You are a beloved child of God

Year B, Epiphany 2                     

            When I was still in my first year of ordained ministry I told my boss that one of the things I missed most from seminary was the feedback that I received.   Not all of the feedback was glowing, nor was all of it particularly helpful, but most was.   Soon after I told him this I asked him to look over a newsletter article that I wrote.  When he returned it to me, there was an “A” with “Good Job!” right next to it…all in red ink. Even though I knew it was a bit of a joke, I also felt a certain amount of affirmation.  I could see it right there on the paper.  I still had it.  All that said, one of the things I do not miss is the idea that the grades I was getting were somehow defining me.  If I did not get an A, then clearly I wasn’t very smart and possibly not meant to be ordained.  That is a horrible feeling to have and I imagine one that most students have experienced at some point or another.  In those moments when I was experiencing that angst, I was reminded of a quote from one of my seminary professors, “Your work is not your worth.” 

            Of course that begs the question: what is your worth?  A lot of people think it is in what you own, what you wear, who you know, who knows you, how many followers/friends/fans you have, etc etc.  None of those things are what define your worth.  It’s not even about what defines your worth, but who defines your worth.  And the only person worthy of that power to define worth is really not a person at all, but God.

            Until Jesus’ baptism, he was perceived as just the son of a carpenter living in Nazareth.  Mark seemed to think that Jesus’ early years were so inconsequential that he did not have to bother including them in his Gospel. He didn’t even tell the story of how Jesus was born and we love that story.   I imagine there were some pretty interesting things that happened in Jesus’ early years.  Yet even if Jesus had turned water into wine at age 10, I am not sure that would have been critical to the story, not as far as Mark was concerned.  For Mark, Jesus’ life began when he was washed in the waters of baptism.  It was at that moment when he went from being just a nice guy with an interesting family history to the son of God.  That was when his public ministry began.

            This does not mean that he was not special before that.  Clearly he was always the Son of God….fully God and full human, sinless…the whole shebang.  But something changed at the moment of his baptism.  It was something pretty dramatic.  The Baptism itself wasn’t very dramatic.  There are very few details describing the baptism.  It was what happened after the baptism that was remarkable.  The text reads, “And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heaven torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him.  And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” 

Now let’s just back up for a second.  We hear things like this in the Bible so often, we stop visualizing things, imagining what it would be like to have the heavens torn apart.  That would be quite a scene.  It reminds me of one of those end-of-the world movies where everyone is waiting for the aliens to take over. The sky turns some supernatural color and then a gaping hole materializes.  Big scary ships with scary people descend to earth ready to obliterate us all.  We can be pretty sure there were no space ships or aliens in this story, but having the heavens torn apart must still have been quite a sight.  Instead of enemy aircraft coming through the break in the heavens, a voice came.   A voice is not nearly as impressive as aliens, but in an age before microphones and any kind of amplification system, hearing a voice from the sky must have sounded pretty crazy to the people below.  With all of these special effects, God made it clear that this was a big moment and his words carried weight.  What were those words? “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

            You might be thinking, well of course God was well pleased.  This was Jesus.  He is literally the model child. Yet in the Gospel of Mark, this was the first thing that Jesus did. He hadn’t done any miracles. He had not healed anyone, preached amazing and inspiring words.  This was it.  That is what makes God’s words so incredibly loving.  He wasn’t telling Jesus he was beloved because he was perfect.  He wasn’t saying that he pleased him because he had followed all the commandments.   There were no qualifications for this statement.  It was just because he was his child.  He tore the heavens in two so he could tell Jesus that he loved him. 

            What is interesting is that there is no indication that the heavens were sewn back together.  God didn’t make that one statement and then remove himself again.  Something critical had changed.  Jesus had claimed his place in the world as the Son of God, the one chosen to share God’s love with all he encountered.  That meant that God was no longer far off as he had once been.  He was now among the people, declaring his love for them. 

            We continue this practice in our baptismal rite as Episcopalians.  Baptism is the one time where we recognize people not because they got married, ordained, confirmed or did a lot of volunteer work.  We baptize people because they have asked to be part of the Christian community.  They have either asked on their own behalf, or on behalf of their children.  And our response to that is always, “You are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ’s own forever.”  You are marked as Christ’s own. 

You are a beloved child of God. That is your worth.  Your worth is not in your bank account.  It’s not even your family.  Your worth is that you are loved by God.  So I can tell each one of you unequivocally that you are worth so much more than you can possibly imagine.  You are worth so much that God tore the heavens apart to tell you.   Now it is up to you to live into that love, to return that love to God and to others.  Go with confidence knowing that you are loved.  But also know that you won’t be able to fully appreciate that love, or even really experience it until you have shared it with others. 

If you don’t experience the love of God, it’s not because it’s not there.  You need to work at a relationship with God to really experience the depth of his love.  You have to love God back.  We are going to end with a little participation.[1]  I want you all to say the following: “I am a beloved child of God and God is well pleased with me.”  Then turn to someone next to you and say, “You are a beloved child of God and God is well pleased with you.” Make sure that everyone hears it from one other person.  Even if you have to go across the whole church to find that person, you do that.  God tore apart the heavens.  We can cross the aisle.  ”You are a beloved child of God and God is well pleased with you.”  Find that person and share the good news. 

 

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[1] This idea of having people tell one another that they are beloved child of God comes from David Lose in this blog post:  http://www.davidlose.net/2015/01/baptism-of-our-lord-b/

 

January 4, 2015: Matthew 2:1-12

At the End of the Rainbow

Year B, Epiphany                                                      

                                               

            There are a couple of negative aspects of my commute across the HRBT (which I affectionately call Herbert).  However, there are a lot of beautiful things as well.  There have been amazing sunsets and sunrises.  There have been helicopters hovering with men suspended in the air below.  But by far, my favorite thing is the rainbows.  I have seen two and they have been spectacular.  This last one was so vivid that it seemed as though I could see where it ended.  It appeared to be right on the edge of Ocean View, which is on my route home.  I know there is no pot of gold nor leprechauns (those are all in Ireland).  However, I was giddy at the prospect of seeing the end of the rainbow.  But as I drove on, it seemed as though it was moving and when I got to the place where it should have ended, the rainbow was no longer visible.  I know it sounds a bit foolish for an adult to think she could find the end of the rainbow, but in that moment, it seemed possible. 

            I imagine it would sound just as crazy if I told you that I was trying to follow a star and messages that came to me in a dream.  Anyone who followed a star or messages sent to them in a dream would be considered a little odd today.  Yet we never question this story in the Gospel about wise men from the East.  There was a recent study by the Pew Research forum.  Adults were asked about their beliefs and feelings related to Christmas.  75% of those questioned believed that there were wise men who followed a star and brought gifts to Jesus.[1]  Given the overwhelming skepticism of religious beliefs today, I find this absolutely astounding.

So who were these wise men foolish enough to follow a star? The Greek word that is translated to wise men is magi.  That word can be interpreted in several ways, but the most viable translation is astrologer.  They were experts in the stars…interpreters of the night sky.  They observed this rising star and they followed it.  I bet even in that time when following dreams and stars was a lot more common, this was probably rather risky.

            We cannot be certain what the meaning of the star was for the magi, because we know so little about them. Something must have motivated them to take such a journey. It is evident that they were from a foreign land and were not familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures or traditions.  So that was not what was guiding them.  A popular belief in the Gentile world at the time was that each person was represented by a star which appeared at his or her birth.[2]  Another belief was that stars could be counterparts or angels of great men.[3]  These wise men, these experts of the stars knew that this star was special, that this star represented no ordinary man.  This star was so magnificent, so unique, that it must have represented someone special enough to be worthy of a long and potentially dangerous journey into a foreign land. 

            However, it is not the motivation that baffles me as much as the actual logistics.  One of the things I have always wondered about this story of the wise men and the star is how you follow a star.  I don’t know a lot about astronomy but it seems as though that would be difficult.  Usually when this story is depicted in movies, the star is simply brighter than the rest and it shines directly like a spotlight onto the nativity scene.  But there is no indication that this is true.  What was unique about this star was that it seemed to move.  Stars rise and set just as we see the sun rise and set. Yet this star never set.   The texts says that it went ahead of them and then stopped. 

There have been a lot of theories about this star over the years.  Some people have hypothesized that it might have been Hailey’s Comet or a close alignment of Jupiter and Saturn which would have caused a bright light to appear for a short time and then disappear.  Yet none of that fits with what the text says.  They couldn’t have followed a comet.  Camels don’t move that fast.  

            This star was guiding them.  It was almost a companion with them on this journey.  They knew that their journey was complete when it stopped.  That was where they found Mary and the baby Jesus. Now, if I was in that group, I would have been a little perplexed, maybe even disappointed.  This long trip in search of a great man, and this is where it ended.  It ended over a peasant family in the middle of an utterly unremarkable place.  They were more open-minded than I would have been.  They were simply overwhelmed with joy and they entered the home and knelt before this seemingly ordinary family. Then they presented precious gifts that were gifts worthy of a king.  

            What was it that gave them the assurance that this was truly where the star had led them?  How did they know that this child would be a king? We can never be sure of those answers, but I have a theory.  They had followed this star for a very long time. They had put their faith and trust in this star.  They were able to do that because of their knowledge of stars and their commitment to the stars.  We no longer follow the stars.  Yet we do follow a great light and that is the light of Jesus Christ.  We are followers of Jesus Christ.  As we move through this journey that is our life, that light should be a constant companion. There might be times when it will seem to be farther away than we would like.  Or it will seem so dim that we will wonder if it is really there anymore.  Yet the more committed we are to that light and following that light, the more we will realize that it is not the light that dims, but our own vision because we have let other things get in the way of that view.  We have stopped trying to see and search. We have stopped trying.

            Recently, I did a little reading about rainbows.  Apparently, there is no way to find the end of a rainbow, because it is actually a circle.  As long as you are on the ground, the end will always be just ahead of you.  In a way, I find that very annoying.  I mean, we all want to find the end and now that is impossible.  It seems that we are kind of preoccupied with endings or beginnings, when what is really important is the quest.  It’s the search and the journey. 

We follow Jesus not because he will lead us to the end of life, but because he leads us on a journey that never truly ends.  That means that we can never get too comfortable or too sure of ourselves.  Like the wise men and their assurance of the star, we can only be sure of Jesus Christ.  The moment we think we have it all figured out—that we have all the answers is the moment when we are the most lost.   Really, it is not the end, the beginning, or even the journey that is the most important.  The most important part is who is at the center of that glorious circle.  Who is at the center of your life?  That –that determines everything. 

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[1] http://www.pewforum.org/2014/12/15/most-say-religious-holiday-displays-should-be-allowed-on-public-property/#majorities-believe-christmas-story-historically-accurate

[2] Jerome Commentary  p. 67

[3] The Interpreters Bible   p. 257