Matthew 4:12-23 Freedom in Following Christ, we are not the moon!

Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the lake, 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."

From that time Jesus began to proclaim, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."

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 lake--for they were fishermen. And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fish for people." Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 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. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

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.

In this message of good news, Jesus is walking alongside the Sea of Galilee (his new home) and he spies a few fishermen. We know men who fished for a living in Jesus’ day were on the low rungs of the social ladder. So Peter, Andrew, James, and John (those we consider today pillars of our faith) began ministry the same way Jesus did: in lowly estate. They didn’t expect to even be noticed, let alone chosen. But what did we learn last week? Everyone’s chosen! When God has the work of transformation in mind, God chooses us (no matter our social status) to do the hard work of ministry. I bet these fishermen knew something of hard work.

I’ll also bet they had NO IDEA what they were getting themselves into, following Jesus. Probably they were curious about this language of repentance. Repent from what? Yet as they thrust their nets aside to follow Jesus, these lowly fishermen answered their own question.

Repentance means turning a new direction, toward the truth that we actually need God. A lot of human misery centers on how much we think about ourselves all the time. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near!” Jesus invites us to think about a calling greater than our own needs. A calling Peter, Andrew, James, and John fulfilled so we might too. I like to sit in wonder about what those first disciples must have felt. Whatever it was that compelled them to leave their nets and their families, to walk alongside this strange itinerant preacher and healer, whatever power Christ embodied, they felt it- and knew they needed his lead. “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."

We need church, but not for the sake of church; we need church because church reminds us that we need to follow the light. A UCC devotional this week by Matthew Laney caught my attention. He says, Zen Buddhism has many wonderful sayings such as, “The finger that points to the moon is not the moon.” In Zen, the “finger” is whatever points to the truth of existence. If you focus on the pointers, you will miss the truth to which they point.

This distinction is an important reminder for Christians, he says: The Bible that points to God is not God. The theology that points to God is not God. The church that points to God is not God. The pastor who points to God is not God.

My first sermon here as your pastor, I preached on this same “fishing for people” story, that time from John’s gospel. I admitted in my first week here, that I wasn’t always sure what fishing among you in Christ’s name would look like. What I promised then is still true today: I will do my best to point in the direction of the one who does. “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light.” That’s us! We are not the light, or as the saying goes, “we are not the moon,” we just get to point ourselves (maybe even one another) toward the light. And the more we point, the closer we align with the light, and the deeper we feel the radiance of Jesus our Christ. That’s freedom- the ability to worship someone other than ourselves. We all come into God’s presence with equal merit, none of us the moon, all of us needing God’s light. Amen!

Isaiah 49: 1-7 The Invitational Church: Shifting from ‘God is for me’ to ‘God is for all’

Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations: Before I was born the Lord called me; from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name. ² He made my mouth like a sharpened sword; in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver. ³ He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.” But I said, “I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing at all.
Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand, and my reward is with my God.”

⁵ And now the Lord says, he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself,
for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord and my God has been my strength—
⁶ he says: “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob
    and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” ⁷ This is what the Lord says—the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel—
to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation,
    to the servant of rulers: “Kings will see you and stand up, princes will see and bow down,
because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

Beginning with God’s promise to Abraham and Sarah, through generations of child-bearing and story-telling, in both human misery and God’s ability to transform lives, we became chosen people. Growing up, I never liked that word much, ‘CHOSEN,’ because it somehow meant there might be people who weren’t.

At least that’s what the world has taught us. Like some people get invited to the birthday party, but not everyone. Or like that feeling when you walk into a room and people fake-smile at you, because you’re not a part of that conversation. Like when you get picked last for the kickball team, every time. Like when you’re forced to fit yourself into a political two-party system. You’re this or you’re that. You’re in or you’re out! Here’s the question I’ve long wrestled with: Does being chosen have to be exclusive?

It’s not just the world telling us that being chosen is exclusive. I grew up in a church very proud of the idea that we were chosen at the expense of others, but it was always hard for me to stomach. Thankfully, a whole new Christian landscape opened for me in college when I first discovered Henri Nouwen’s work; he, among other theologians, helped me re-envision what it means to be among God’s chosen. He begins by saying ‘Don’t listen to the lies the world tells,’

“To be chosen as the Beloved of God is something radically different. Instead of excluding others, it includes others. Instead of rejecting others as less valuable, it accepts others in their own uniqueness. It is not a competitive, but a compassionate choice. […] You must hold onto the truth that you are the chosen. That truth is the bedrock on which you can build a life as the Beloved.” The world around you and voices inside you will tell you all the reasons you don’t deserve love- and God says none of that’s true. You deserve the highest of all- divine love.

Being chosen is appropriate on New Member Sunday, because in many ways, church membership is a bit mystifying in an era that places less value on a certificate of membership. Why publicly profess a choice to join this faith community? And does choosing this church mean being exclusive of other places of belonging? The short answer is, of course not. Jesus Christ calls us to remember him in community, yes, to embody his love together, yes, but Jesus never asked us to be exclusive. In fact it’s quite the opposite. Even before Jesus’ arrival on earth, we get a glimpse of how profoundly inclusive God’s love truly is.

Isaiah speaks God’s message of broader acceptance within people of God, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the survivors of Israel: I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” God says quite clearly that being chosen DOES NOT mean being exclusive. Rather it means bearing a light that is invitational in nature. God has been calling us, God’s people, since the beginning of time to bear light in every generation. We have been chosen as ambassadors of a new way of living that is inherently inclusive, despite how we’ve diluted that truth with a history of religious formulas, even religious oppression.

You new members joining today, let me be clear that your involvement in our faith community is not part of an exclusive religious formula. It’s freedom we celebrate today, you are free to be your best selves as part of Christ’s body. Nouwen says one key to getting in touch with our chosenness is to keep looking for people and places where your truth is spoken and where you are reminded of your deepest identity as a child of the living God.

That’s who we are- a faith body that grounds itself and one another in the knowledge that ALL are welcome at Christ’s table, because ALL have been chosen as God’s beloved. That’s the invitational church that Isaiah calls for among the Israelites, as a light to the nations. And if we want to be an invitational church, that’s our work too. I know it can be hard to articulate a sincere and free invitation for someone to join this faith community, maybe especially people we’ve known a long time. But when we find the courage to do it, it must just surprise us who needed that invitation most. The invitational church is quick to create pathways for the good news of what Christ has already accomplished for all to reach the ears of those who most deserve it: people who haven’t yet had the joy of knowing they too are chosen.

We are not a cult, you are free to come and you are free to leave, and membership is on your terms. What we all might work harder at doing, is finding the courage to let our chosenness inspire others to see their chosenness too. I’d like to practice alongside you today. “Hey friend, I just wanted to let you know I have an awesome church home, and if you’re ever interested in checking it out with me some Sunday- or Messy Church Wednesday- or any one of our special events, I’d love to have you join me!” That’s it! That’s the invitation we are all capable of and called to- as Christ’s light in this world.

God is for me, yes, AND God is for you- because God created us all, chosen and loved.

Matthew 3: 13-17 In Baptism, We Become Co-Creators with Christ

 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."

One of the deepest challenges my vocation affords me is to articulate “why I believe in church” to lots of people. On airplanes, in elevators, at parties, during Uber rides, even waiting in line at Walmart. Now, my usual audience is those who A. have never engaged a faith community OR B. got bored with the whole experience of organized religion, OR the most unfortunate, C. those who’ve been burned by the church or a churchy-person. Now, you are all sitting in a pew on a Sunday morning- so you’re not the most likely crew of folks to receive the “why church” conversation from me. But I suspect you’ve had your doubts too.

Here’s the truth: I have doubts of my own. 3 years ago this January, I found myself ready to give up on organized religion. I was ending my first ministry call to Columbia UCC, I was hurt and exhausted by the experience, disillusioned might be a good word.  As I faced a future with no ministry call in sight, I told AJ I might be done serving a church. In fact I considered taking a full-time faculty position at Presentation College. But here’s the thing, I never felt my call to ministry was over; yet spiritually drained and frustrated by layers of inner-church conflict, I was over organized religion. Or so I thought.

Now if you’re following my timeline in this story, that wasn’t too long before I accepted a call to be your minister. Here’s what happened in the six short months of respite I had from ministry. Even though my feelings told me to be done, I knew in my spirit that I was being called to give church one more chance. To say yes one more time to serving the body of Christ, brokenness and all.

Here’s why: I realized it doesn’t matter that we have baggage, (we all do, every church too); it matters how we manage it. Jesus is calling us all to own our brokenness and to sort it out together. No abandoning the work to someone else. No throwing our hands up and saying “We’re flawed, so we’re not worthy of grace, let’s just quit!” No, we own who we are, baggage and all, SO THAT we might enter into ministry with conviction of our need for Christ.

John the Baptist dismisses his calling because of his baggage too: “But Jesus, I’m flawed, you don’t want me to baptize you.” Jesus says, “Yes I do. I need your partnership; help me fulfill my righteousness on earth.” The big shift in John’s life sounds so subtle, “John consented.” That’s it! When he says YES and baptizes Jesus, the world is forever changed. People like John the Baptist, people like you and me are given the ability to become co-creators with Christ; That’s my answer to “why church,” because I want to say Yes to being part of God’s grand narrative, building a more loving world. Yes! Yes.

Isaiah foreshadows well this new world- and does so by citing how powerful God’s creative force truly is: “Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it: I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations […] See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare!”

Being in worship is the place I’m most convinced that God is at work making me new again. Me, you, the church. We’re not done growing yet! It’s here, following God’s call on my life that I am best able to sort through my baggage and be reminded that God’s love is bigger than any of it. Little by little, as I release my failures in favor of God’s grace, my attempts to co-create a loving community with Christ become more faithful and fruitful. I become more whole.

And you, my friends, are a significant part of my journey. I hope this faith family is significant in your spiritual journey too. As we begin a new year, I wonder: What do you need made new again? What baggage do you need us to carry in prayer? Let’s celebrate that we are people of resurrection hope, and every new beginning is marked by an invitation to co-create a loving community with Christ.

As I think back to how much has changed for me over the past 3 years, I am amazed at the power Christ has to make things new again- like my enthusiasm for serving a church! 😊For real, I’m so excited about what God is doing here, that I now consider it a deep privilege to share why I believe in church with anyone who will listen! 😊

This call, though, this life of ministry is NOT only for those who have “pastor” in front of their name. When you love your neighbor as yourself, when you offer compassion, when you are quick to listen and slow to judge, when you support others through hard times- you too are saying YES to God’s church, where we affirm our baptism as Christ’s beloved siblings, with whom God is well-pleased.

So here’s what I want to know: what are you and I going to co-create with Christ this year? A new outreach ministry? Could we dive deeper into the mysteries of Scripture? Maybe we’ll double-down on feeding the hungry and providing support to those who are facing homelessness. You might personally find a renewed sense of purpose- and decide to pursue that idea right here in this church! I am more committed than ever to church, because I see the growth of spirit at work here. And that’s because of you. Because of us. Because of Christ calling us together as church. And whatever new ways we choose to live into our baptism, I’m 100% in. Let’s co-create something beautiful in 2020, in Jesus name, Amen!