January 24, 2021 Pastor Pat's Sermon Notes ...Great commissioning
Some times when I think of the notion of God’s calling, I can’t help but think of Moses and the burning bush. First thought: Don’t you wish you had such an obvious experience of God’s direction in your life as Moses got that day?! And maybe not! But look at what happens with Moses. He gets into a debate with God about just how capable he felt he was at accomplishing what God was sending him to do. Moses objects to God’s call first on the basis of his lack of ability: “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11) His next objection is that he lacks authority: “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” (3:13) His third objection is that of veracity: “What if they don’t believe me or listen to me?” (4:1) Finally he gets practical: “O Lord, I have never been eloquent… I am slow of speech and tongue.” He seems to be saying, “But Lord, I st,st,stutter!” (4:10)
Inevitably it seems the answer Moses attempts to give to get out of his Great Commission is, “Here I am, Lord, send Aaron!” “O Lord, please, send someone else to do it!” he says in Exodus 4:13. God equips Moses for his work; first he gives Moses 2 assurances: “I am with you, and you and the Israelites will make it back to this mountain alive to worship me.” (Exodus 3:12), presence and promise; then he gives him a name to proclaim: “I am who I am; I am has sent me to you”; and finally an angry rebuff: “Okay, take Aaron, but you’ll put the words in his mouth!” (4:14-15)
Predictably, Moses accepts the call, lives out his great commission, and God uses him to rescue and deliver Israel from slavery and lead them to the doorstep of nationhood in the Promised Land, 40 years later.
God calls, and people respond in many different ways. I’ve always wondered, hypothetically of course, if others were approached along the way to be a part of God’s great plan but turned him down, and their names were thus never recorded in scripture. Of course, I think God knows who will respond to his call and so there’s no wasted motion in the process. But still, I don’t think my idea is without precedent.
There is a strong contrast in how one responds to God’s great commission in our lessons today. First, take a look at Jonah.
In the mid-eighth century the once powerful Assyria is suffering through a time of decline. Its capital city is Nineveh, and for many centuries this nation has been the despised enemy of Israel. Jonah is called to be sent as a prophet of impending doom to them, and, to be honest, he’s one of the reasons I think about those whose names are not known by us, because he did exactly what I was thinking about. He chose not to do what God asked and actually fled in the opposite direction. Assyria was to the north and east of Israel; the Mediterranean is due west. Catching the first boat out of there, Jonah tries to get away from God. Stormy seas, a sinking boat, and superstitious but willing sailors throwing him overboard finds our buddy floundering like a flounder in the mouth of a great fish for three days and nights. Jonah actually praises God from the innards of that fish because it has saved him from sinking to Davy Jones locker. Unwilling before his chastisement, Jonah repents and goes to Nineveh. He declares their doom and then sits back and gleefully awaits the fireworks. But, Nineveh repents. Jonah’s less than gracious prophecy has just the effect God wanted, and sadly, Jonah is not pleased.
A couple of points here. First of all, notice that God’s grace is shown to people outside of Israel here - God cares for ALL people, wanting all of them to know his salvation and mercy. Remember, Jesus came to seek and to save the lost among all of humankind, because God so loved the world. Then don’t miss the fact that the same message Jonah carried to Nineveh of their destruction if they were unwilling to repent was given to the people of the Northern Kingdom of Israel in this same time frame… and they refused to repent, thus dooming themselves to the Diaspora, where they are carried off into the uttermost parts of the world, never to be heard from again, AT THE HANDS OF THE ASSYRIANS in 722 BC!
How’s that for irony!
And then there’s the gospel…
Can I just say at the beginning that I’ve always found this passage to be both an inspiration and troublesome. I’m inspired by how quickly the four fishermen respond. One of Mark’s favorite words pops up twice, in verses 18 and 20: immediately. At once, instantly, without any intervening time or space, these four leave their nets, climb out of their boat, “and followed him.” There’s decisiveness in their response that I hope I would emulate in the same circumstances.
But I’m also troubled by their response because it seems to set the bar so high: leaving everything behind to follow this previously unknown itinerant preacher into… what? Honestly, knowing what I know now, I would jump at the chance; knowing how little they knew then, I find it hard to imagine doing what they did; possibly you might feel the same.
Perhaps that’s the point. We might consider this morning if we can imagine picking up and leaving everything to follow Jesus. Take an honest look at this. How do we stack up in the call-and-response nature of this event? Perhaps most of us would find it very hard to leave everything behind, family, friends, occupation, and all the rest to venture out on an unknown and uncertain path with this guy… Does that mean we’re less faithful than Andrew and Peter, James and John? And is that the reason, the purpose that Mark offers this story in the first place, to set an example for us to follow? And if not to do exactly the same thing, what kind of example might he be intending?
I think we are meant to be inspired by the example of these four faithful fishermen, willing to follow immediately. Yet I’m certain Mark doesn’t mean for us all to ditch our everyday lives in quite the same way. Mark’s writing 20-25 years after Jesus walked the earth, so the possibility of physically following the Master in the same way is readily not accessible to his readers and to us. That time has come and gone. But following is certainly important enough for Mark to tell the story. So perhaps his message is more about following Jesus in general than in the specific way that these four did.
I mean, we do follow him in particular and distinct ways, and they may not be like the first disciples. Our following takes many designs, perhaps as a teacher, a volunteer in the Pantry, or as one who reaches out to the outsider to invite them in. Perhaps our following is doing our jobs in the workaday world to our best ability and to the glory of God. Maybe it’s seen in our generosity of treasure and time, or by listening to those around us and responding with grace and care. You get the idea, I’m sure. There are any number of ways that following Jesus plays out in our world.
Seminary professor David Lose, in his article, “Following Jesus Today” writes
What seems at the heart of the matter is that we can follow Jesus in all of these different situations and circumstances precisely by trying to imitate him – by trying, that is, to treat others with the same regard, love and patience that he did, including all manner of people but especially those who were overlooked by society. This, I think, is at the heart of what it means to be a Christian: to try to live and treat others as Jesus did, embracing the values of inclusiveness, love, forgiveness, and healing that he radiated in word and deed.
But there is still another way that our following is displayed, and it is more important than any of these other ways. It is in how we share the truth about our Lord. Listen to this song by Big Daddy Weave, “This Is What We Live For,” that David turned me on to this past week:
This Is What We Live For
What can I do with this fire on the inside
I'm burnin' up with a truth I can't hide
You're the reason for this hope in my life
I'm gonna let it shine
I have to let it shine
This is what we live for to go where You say go
To let the whole world know
You're light in the darkness oh oh oh
This is what we live for to love the way You love
So God be lifted up
Come be light in the darkness oh oh oh
This is what we live for oh oh oh
This is what we live for oh oh oh
This is what we live for oh oh oh
Oh oh oh
When You breathe even dry bones come alive
When You speak God You shut down every lie
You're the reason for this hope in our lives
I'm gonna testify
I have to testify
Chasing Your Heart and all that You are
We surrender surrender all
Your favor with us Your presence in us
Now Jesus Your name above it all
Whatcha gonna do with this fire on the inside
I said whatcha gonna do with this fire on the inside
This is what we live for oh oh oh
This is what we live for oh oh oh
This is what we live for oh oh oh
Oh oh oh
CCLI Song # 7133641
Jonas Myrin | Matt Redman | Michael Weaver
© 2019 Capitol CMG Paragon (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)
Son of the Lion (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)
Integrity Worship Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing (Integrity Music, David C Cook))
Said And Done Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing (Integrity Music, David C Cook))
Weave Country (Admin. by CURB | Word Music Publishing)
Curb Word Music (Admin. by WC Music Corp.)
For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com
CCLI License # 587498
The song’s lyrics say:
What can I do with this fire on the inside
I'm burnin' up with a truth I can't hide
You're the reason for this hope in my life
I'm gonna let it shine
This is what we live for to go where You say go
To let the whole world know
You're the light in the darkness
The fact is, we each and all have a story to tell, our story of what Jesus has meant in our very own lives. And we each and all have a network with whom we can share this great Good News. And that is our commission, to go and make disciples by telling them our story of how following Jesus has meant peace and hope and service and joy to us.
It’s like the examples we’re given this morning are the two ends of a “spectrum” where Jonah represents one self-involved, unwilling prophet, until threatened, seeing a positive effect from his work, and even then missing the point. And on the other end of the scale are the four fishermen who willingly and “immediately” get out of the boat and answer the call to follow, although their discipleship certainly has its struggles along the way.
And we have a call as well, we have a “Great Commission,” to tell the story as it has come to be known by us. And we find ourselves somewhere along that spectrum of response, where one end of it is the ideal, the other end of it is faulted, but both ends end up doing their part to let God’s will be known. We pray, “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” with the addendum that it come and be done in this place as well, right here, right now.
And then there’s Paul, who invites disciples of Jesus to refocus their agendas, to re-prioritize their lives around the importance of telling the story, “For the world, as we know it, is passing away.” (1 Cor. 7:31b)
In the closing passage of his monumental “The Quest of the Historical Jesus,” Albert Schweitzer – theologian, doctor, Bach scholar – offers a similar insight that I think is still both poignant and relevant. Having come to the conclusion about separating the “real” or “historical” Jesus from the “Christ of faith,” Schweitzer nevertheless discovers that we can come to know Christ Jesus fully and authentically only by following Christ. As he writes,
He comes to us as One unknown, without a name, as of old, by the lake-side, He came to those men who knew Him not. He speaks to us the same word: “Follow thou me!” and sets us to the tasks which He has to fulfill for our time. He commands. And to those who obey Him, whether they be wise or simple, He will reveal Himself in the toils, the conflicts, the sufferings which they shall pass through in His fellowship, and, as an ineffable mystery, they shall learn in their own experience Who He is.
As we learn who he is by walking in his promised presence, we discover that following also means inviting, that discipleship also means sharing, that our commissioning also means showing the way to the One who brings near the fullness of the Kingdom of God. In this process, be aware that “I am” is with you always, that your destination is secure and that your commissioning in baptism includes empowerment for that witness, as the Holy Spirit comes to reside within you, to teach and guide, to give you words to speak, to embolden and inspire your testimony for the One whom we follow, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen