Epiphany 3A; Matthew 4:12-23;
St. Paul’s, 1/22/2017
Jim Melnyk: “Becoming
Jesus Followers”
Like a few Sundays back, I’m beginning today’s sermon with a
bit of show and tell – and again, like before, the piece of artwork I am
holding up was created by Michael Podesta – a well-known calligrapher with a
strong theological leaning. I still
recall the morning I was talking with Michael about his work when one of the
prints on the back wall of his booth caught my eye. It more than caught my eye – it called out to
me. The message it offers – a paraphrase
from today’s gospel lesson having to do with the calling of Simon Peter and his
brother Andrew – is compelling in its simplicity. It reads, “Follow Me.”
Follow me. Two words
that tell us so much about what it means to live the Gospel – to live the Good
News of God in Christ. Follow me –
follow Jesus – well, at one level it’s what being a Christian is all
about. In Matthew’s Gospel account the
call is immediate – immediately Peter and Andrew set aside their nets and turn
to Jesus. Immediately James and John
leave their father’s side – nets left unattended – and answer Jesus’ call. Follow me.
“Stop whatever it is you are doing,” Jesus says to us. “Set aside that which you thought of as ultimate
in your lives – and follow me.” If we
are realistic about it all, we see it’s a whole lot tougher to do than it looks
on the pages of a book, on our bulletin inserts, or on a beautifully framed
matt.
You see, a lot of folks these days think that being a
Christian is all about convincing other people to believe what they believe –
to think the way they think – or to act the way they act. One way we see this lived out today is in our
politics and our faith. Those of us who
would never think of telling a racial joke, or challenging someone on the basis
of their gender, can get pretty hurtful in the way we challenge those whose
politics or theology differ from our own.
We often don’t realize the pain that comes from expecting
someone to believe, think or act the same way we do. Openness to diversity often hits the
proverbial wall when that openness challenges that which we hold dear. It’s true about our reactions to national
elections, party platforms, or public policy; and it’s true about theological
and political debate in the church as well.
But borrowing a phrase from our Presiding Bishop, Michael Curry, I’d
like to believe that as Christians we have a “deeper call” than a call to be
right – we have a call to follow Jesus.
We have a deeper call than the call to win a debate – we have a call to
be a part of the family of God. We have a
call to be the Body of Christ – together – in and with all our imperfections – bringing
with us all the diversity that comes with being human.
Oh, it’s a lot tougher – a much deeper calling than those
two simple words, “follow me,” make it sound.
And any time we engage with others in our communities around us – with
so many folks from so many different places in life – we run the chance of
being reminded of the depth – and the challenges – of our calling to follow
Christ. And St. Paul saw the same challenges - the challenge to respect one another and treat one another with the love of Christ. As a fellow theologian puts it, “The
way will not always be easy, and we will often have questions, doubts, and
reservations. But the same Jesus who calls us will empower us to follow Him day
by day” (Br. John Braught, SSJE, Brother,
Give Us a Word, 1/17/2017).
So, okay, we know following Jesus is challenging. We know it looks something like the Great
Commandment – loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind; and loving our
neighbor like ourselves. We know
following Jesus looks something like our Baptismal Covenant, which most of us
renewed just last Sunday. But we also
know that we’re not a bunch of cookie-cutter Christians - that is, we know that
one size, beyond the basic boundaries or guidelines of covenant and creed, does
not fit all.
Isaiah, the Psalmist, and Matthew all describe faithfulness
to God as a willingness to walk in the light – a willingness to live with an
integrity that bears the scrutiny of the light of day and the light of God; and
we all know that a key aspect to following Jesus has to do with being faithful
to the God who creates us, who loves us, and who lives within us. But again, what does that look like for each
of us?
We need to each ask ourselves, what does this following of
Christ look like for me? What does
following Jesus look like for a bunch of twenty-first century people living a
hemisphere and two millennia away from the quaint villages of Galilee and the
bustling streets of Jerusalem once walked by Jesus?
The Gospel gives us a hint when we see what Jesus does. He goes about teaching – no doubt about the
kingdom of God. Jesus goes about
proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom.
He gets close to God’s people – so close his mission and
ministry includes healing the pain and infirmities that are so common among us
as human beings.
If we think about teaching, it doesn’t have to be in a
Sunday school room or a classroom – though it may well be. We teach others about what we value most in
life by the ways in which we interact and treat others. Are we kind and patient? When others watch us, do they pick up on our
deeply held values of integrity and respect for one another? Do the words and tones of voice we use reveal
that we care for others – especially those who may differ from us whether that
be by religion or race, gender or age, ethnic origins or economic status? Remember how we say children learn more by
watching us than they might by what we tell them? The same is true for adults when it comes to
lessons about our faith! Are we
consistent in living what we say we believe?
When Jesus proclaims the Good News of God’s kingdom, he does
so in things like sermons, parables, and brief, pithy sayings, most definitely. But the Good News comes to life in Jesus in
and through his everyday actions – in the ways he advocates for those in need
whom he encounters, as well as the words he uses to describe how
transformational is the love of God. We
can do likewise. We can also proclaim
the kingdom in the very same ways we just noted about teaching. It goes back to our call as Jesus followers
to live as Jesus “be-ers.” It goes back
to being a part of what Presiding Bishop Michael Curry calls “The Episcopal
Branch of the Jesus Movement.”
The healing ministry Jesus carries out takes many forms in the
Gospel accounts of his life – and feeding the body as well as the soul is an
intricate part of his faith and witness.
At the end of the day when the resurrected Jesus sits beside Peter on
the shore of the lake, he doesn’t ask Peter if he knows the right dress code or
the proper way to pray. Three times Jesus
ask Peter, “Do you love me?” After Peter
replies for the third time – perhaps with a bit of frustration showing in his
tone of voice, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you!” Jesus doesn’t respond by
saying, “Make sure everyone follows the rules,” or, “Make sure they belong to
the synagogue.” Looking at Peter and
loving him, Jesus says, “Then feed my sheep.”
Next Saturday we’ll gather here at St. Paul’s to pack
thousands of meals for Stop Hunger Now and when we do so, we will be
participants in a global healing ministry.
To feed God’s people strengthens bodies and minds, yes – but to feed
God’s people also nourishes their souls.
The meals we package together also carry with them a deep-seated message
of love – the kind of love we learn from following Jesus.
Follow me – two of the toughest words in the Christian
vocabulary. Once in a while in spite of
our anxieties, our fears and our strongest differences of opinion, we get it
right.
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