Fishing for People

January 22, 2023
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois

Matthew 4:12-23[1]

What is the one thing Jesus talks about most? The kingdom of Heaven or the kingdom of God. What we sometimes get wrong is what that means. I believe that when Jesus talks about the kingdom of God, he is talking about what God is doing in this world, with these people, not a heavenly world yet to come or a kingdom of the afterlife. Now, that does not mean that Jesus did not believe in a heavenly world. He certainly did, and talked about that as well, but when Jesus taught or preached the kingdom of Heaven, he was talking about God’s will being done on earth. The kingdom of heaven has come near is about God’s will being done on earth as it is in heaven.

The focus of Jesus’ ministry is the rule of God in this world, the will of God being realized on this earth in the lives and relationships of people, in the structures, systems, organizations, and institutions of society, and in all creation. The kingdom of God is ultimately about the health and well-being of us in the here-and-now, in this life, among these people. Heaven may be really nice, but Jesus didn’t come to take us all to Heaven, but rather to bring Heaven here.

Jesus called the disciples to follow him and fish for people. As modern day disciples of Jesus, we too are called to share his passion and work, his love of God and of people, his concern for the poor and the marginalized, his commitment to peace and justice. In the water of Baptism, we symbolically die and rise again to life, dying to the false self so the true self can flourish, ending the life of sin and rising to the life of faith.

The call to repent is a call to change the direction of our lives. Instead of living for honor, glory, power, or fulfillment for ourselves, we decide to live for the honor and glory of God, to love God and love our neighbor and work for a just world. The call to repent and be a disciple of Jesus is a call to change the focus of our lives so that we are centered in God’s rule and God’s will for life on earth, a life focused on the well-being of others.

For some folk, the invitation to repentance is understood as trying to make amends for all the bad stuff we’ve done before we get in trouble. It is based on fear and avoiding doom rather than learning how to love and being transformed. Fear of punishment, especially eternal punishment, may motivate us to modify our behavior, but fear cannot redeem us at the core of our being. As the author of 1 John wrote: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.”[2] Fear is not God’s tool for transformation.

It is not fear, but love and the hope of redemption that is transforming. If we walk along the road of life but do not fall in love with God and find ourselves compelled by Jesus’ vision of a just world for all, we will not be truly changed. We might become religious, we might alter certain behaviors, we might join a church and become part of a faith community, but unless we fall in love with God and learn how to truly love others, we will not be transformed.

“As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, [Jesus] saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.’”[3] They respond “immediately” and leave everything behind. Peter, Andrew, James, and John jump at the chance to change, to seek a life beyond subsistence and drudgery, a life pursuing a better world. This is Capernaum, land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, where the people have sat in darkness, in the region and shadow of death. Jesus’s arrival is like the light of dawn breaking forth.

For these fishermen, the power of Rome asserted control over the land, their production, and the transportation and marketing of their catch with contracts and taxes. That they jump at the chance for something new is not surprising. What is surprising is that, even when it became clear this mission might be dangerous, they stuck with it. John had already been imprisoned; he would soon be executed. Jesus doesn’t just heal people, but teaches them a way of life that defies the empire and its fear-based power. They will catch people, who will be transformed, and an entire world will be turned upside down. Yet, even when the one who called them was taken to the cross, they stayed the course.

They weren’t particularly qualified to be change-makers. They had no training in sociology or psychology. They may have known the scriptures, and heard stories of a Messiah, but who were they to be partners in transforming the world with love? Yet, they were chosen. Just some ordinary fishermen, but Jesus called them to follow him. It would be a big change. It would be hard. It would be dangerous at times. But it would also be wonderful, amazing, transformative.

The call is being issued today, to us, to you and me, just us ordinary folk without much in the way of training in transforming the world. But we are being called, not by a figure on the seashore, but by the living Christ in our midst, in this very room with us.

Follow me, Jesus says, and shine some light into the darkness. Follow me and spread some good news to people who need to hear it. Learn from me how to gather people into a force for transforming the world with love. Follow me, says Christ, and discover what it means to be fully human.

But, be warned. The kingdom of Heaven means a world that is changed. It means defying empire. It means dreaming new dreams. It means pursuing peace. It means standing for justice with the marginalized and the poor. It means forgiving and loving enemies. It means making God’s vision our vision, and serving God’s will rather than our self-interest. It means loving others and helping them to love as well. And like a great light dawning in a world of shadows, it will be glorious.  Amen.

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[1] The scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.

[2] 1 John 4:18.

[3] Matthew 4:18-19.

Saying 'No' and Saying 'Yes'

March 1, 2020

St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois

Matthew 4:1-11

One of the first words we learn to speak as small children is “No.” It is a powerful word, giving a growing person agency, control over their life. It is also a source of considerable frustration for parents.

“Please eat your green beans.” “No!”
“It’s time to get ready for bed.” “No!”
“Did you knock over the lamp?” “No!”
“Please get off the computer” “No!”

We start out making great use of “No!” even if it doesn’t always get the result we seek. As we grow older, however, it can get harder to say “No.” We learn that we more often get what we want if we say “Yes.” People like us more when we say “Yes.” We take on more responsibility and we learn to feel guilty when we say “No,” so we say “Yes” more often.

“I know you worked all day, made dinner, and have a meeting tonight, but would you help me with my homework?” “Yes.”

“I know you’re already working on the update for the client, but would you prepare the PowerPoint for the budget meeting at 4:00?” “Yes.”

“I know you’re already singing in the choir this morning, and reading scripture, but we need someone to run teach Sunday School. Would you please do that?” “Yes.”

We become so good at saying “Yes” and so hesitant to say “No” that we are exhausted, overworked, burned-out, and spiritually depleted. God is still speaking, but how can I listen when there is already so much to do? Who really has time for prayer and reflection, let alone studying scripture? But I feel so guilty saying no to God.

Maybe what we need is to regain the ability to say “No,” not selfishly like we did as a child, not saying “No” to everything, but thoughtfully and intentionally. Perhaps I wouldn’t feel so guilty saying “No” if I’ve already committed to something else. I shouldn’t say “No” just because I don’t want to do something hard, or new, or out of my comfort zone, but I should practice saying “No” to this because I have already said “Yes” to that.

In this story from Matthew’s Gospel, the focus is usually on temptation. Jesus is tempted to use his power in selfish ways, to feed his hunger, to show off, to gain power. But we can also look at how Jesus says “No” to one thing because he has said “Yes” to another.

“If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”

“If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down” off the pinnacle of the temple.

“All these [kingdoms] I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”

Each time Jesus says “No” because he has already said “Yes!” to God.

“Yes, I will trust God to provide what I really need.”

“Yes, I will trust God to care for me.”

“Yes, I will serve and worship God alone.”

In Matthew’s Gospel, the conflict between the kingdom of this world and the kingdom of God is the major emphasis. The temptations that are presented to Jesus in the wilderness are about having power and authority in this world. If he uses his divine power selfishly, he can gain all that he might desire. He could rule in place of the Roman emperor, he could enforce peace and pronounce judgment from the throne, but it would be the throne of this world. Instead, Jesus stays true to the kingdom of God, to trust and serve God alone, to pray for God’s kingdom to come. In a sense, he has said “Yes” to God and stays true to that commitment.

Now, I doubt any of us will be asked to rule the kingdoms of this world, or be tempted to test God’s ability to provide for us. We will, however, be faced with choices and temptations of our own. We will have to choose how to best use our limited resources of time, money, and energy. We will have to choose when to say “No,” because we have already made other commitments. As followers of Jesus, I hope that we are able to say “Yes” to love of God, love of our neighbors, and love for ourselves before we have to say “No” to something else.

As we journey through Lent, we can practice saying “Yes” to what matters most. Jesus said “Yes” to trusting the word of God, to trusting in the care of God, and to serve and worship God alone. Perhaps we can say “Yes” to faithfulness, kindness, and generosity. Maybe we can say “Yes” to family, friends, and time alone.

Having already said “Yes” to the kingdom of God, Jesus was strengthened when he had to say “No” to the kingdom of the world. By choosing to hunger for God’s word, Jesus was able to resist filling the emptiness with anything less. By seeking to serve God with humility, Jesus was able to resist being lifted up until he was lifted up onto the cross. By accepting his role in God’s kingdom of grace and peace, Jesus was able to resist the lure of ruling through force, and rule instead through the power of love.

When we have already said “Yes” to those commitments that really matter, we will have the power to say “No” when temptation pulls at us. When we have said “Yes” to God we are able to say “No” to all that is not God. When we follow Jesus, we will be tempted to turn aside, yet we will be able to keep walking, even if it means taking up our own cross, because we are headed for the kingdom of God.  Amen.

The Voice

January 26, 2020

St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois

Matthew 4:12-23

Did you ever watch the TV show “Wild Kingdom” or some other nature show? The BBC show “Planet Earth” or the new one, “Seven Worlds, One Planet,” offer us a view into a world that we rarely see. Along with the amazing wonders of creation, the creatures of every description, and the fascinating glimpse into the natural world, we see the behavior of animals. Sometimes frightening, sometimes heart-rending, or thrilling, or awe-inspiring, the behavior of animals can sometimes give us insight into the behavior of the human animal.

One episode of a nature show from some time ago told about the elephant seals of Argentina.[1] The show focused on a mother and her seal pup, who had just been born. Soon after birthing her baby, the mother, now famished, abandoned the pup on the shore so she could go feed in the rich waters off the coast. After feeding, she returned to a different part of the beach and began to call for her baby. Other mothers had done the same, and all had returned at a similar time. Would they ever find one another?

The mother called to her pup and listened for the response. Following each other’s voices and scents, soon the mother and pup were reunited. From the moment of birth, the sound and scent of the pup are imprinted in the mother’s memory, and the sound and scent of the mother are imprinted in the pup’s memory.

Rodger Nishioka, a professor at Columbia, recalls that after watching that show, his father turned to him and said, “You know, that’s how it is with God. We are imprinted with a memory of God, and God is imprinted with a memory of us, and even if it takes a lifetime, we will find each other.” God knows us, and seeks for us, even through all the other noises around us. And whether we realize it or not, we know God, and seek for that voice, that scent, that pull toward the one who loves us most.

“As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea.” Being a fisherman was a common and respectable vocation for a resident of Galilee. Their ancestors had undoubtedly fished those same waters for generations, and they surely expected to as well. But Jesus walked by, called out, and “immediately they left their nets and followed him.” They dropped everything, walked away from all they had known, as if they had been waiting for just this moment to appear. “Follow me” was spoken by the voice imprinted in them, in their memories, in their hearts, and they found what they may not even have known they were looking for.

It wasn’t so easy for me. My calling was more complicated, and took a lot more time. There were a lot of other elephant seals on the beach, and the voice and the scent of the One calling to me were not so easy to discern. Maybe it’s that way for a lot of people. There sure are a lot of other voices. Everywhere we turn there is another voice offering us better, bigger, faster, more. “The world’s thinnest HDTV. The best picture ever!” “The Super-Duty truck – built stronger, tougher, better.” “We make every aspect of rolling over your 401k as simple as possible. Make the smart choice.” “The ultimate, collectible, special edition – available for a limited time!” The volume keeps getting louder and louder, and we begin to start listening to the voices.

“Maybe if I buy a bigger TV, I’ll be happier.” “One more promotion and I’ll finally get to do what I want.”  If I wear right jeans, maybe she’ll notice me.” We start to listen, and we begin to follow those voices.  They are very seductive, and they sound so sincere. And then we really lose our way, because those voices confuse us. They don’t come from a place of love and community. Some of them even claim to be the voice of God, and we chase after them, and we don’t know how to tell anymore if the voice comes from God.

That’s where the end of the reading from Matthew is important. We get a clue about how to discern whether the voice we hear is truly coming from God. When they left their nets and followed, the fishermen watched what he did. “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.” This person who had called to them did and said what they knew from scripture that God was about. The person who spoke with the voice of God was consistent in what he said and did with what they knew of God in their hearts.

How do we know the voice that we hear is really the voice of God? How can we know that the voices that seek to lead us to our destruction are not the voice of God? We start with what we know to be true about God, that God loves us. From Jeremiah, “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.”[2] “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have continued my faithfulness to you.”[3] And from John, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”[4]

We also know that God wants us to love others. From Matthew, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”[5] “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.”[6] And from John: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.”[7]

We also know what God wants us to do. From Micah: “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”[8] And from Matthew: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.”[9]

The voice of God can be heard through all the din of other voices that call out to us. When we listen with our hearts, when we listen in truth, those other voices are diminished, or at least we can hear their discordance and dissonance and we can tune it out. When the mother seal calls out, we know her voice, we can distinguish her call from all the others and seek out the one who loves us most. We are able to discern which voices are consistent with God who created us, loves us, and wants us to love, who redeems us and sustains us, and who knows us best. Just as Simon and Andrew, James and John, left their nets when they heard that voice, we too can follow the teacher who speaks with the voice of God.

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[1] Story borrowed from Rodger Y. Nishioka, Pastoral Perspective on Matthew 4:12-23 in Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year A, Vol. 1, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, General Editors (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010), p. 284, f.

[2] Jeremiah 29:11. The scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.

[3] Jeremiah 31:3.

[4] John 3:16.

[5] Matthew 22:37-39.

[6] Matthew 5:43-45.

[7] John 13:34.

[8] Micah 6:8.

[9] Matthew 25:35-36.