Isaiah 9:1-4
1 Corinthians 1:10-18
Matthew 4:12-23
Audio sermon link: https://fileresource.sitepro.com/filemanager/74/filecollections/422/F9897C35-6F6D-AC9A-6088-1E2A56C9DD99.mp3
Pastor Johnson reminds us that like the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali who took a whoopin’ at the hands of the Assyrians, it is in those times when an army called Katrina shows up and hits our neighbor, when we see suffering like that, we are in a peculiar place. The Bible reminds us that when people of faith are crushed down, pushed down, in utter despair, in that place where what we have worked so hard to accomplish has been taken away from us – in these moments we are closest to God. When we are in moments of despair in our lives, we need to listen for God is very near. There is the Persian proverb that says:
"Only when it's dark enough can you see the stars"
God says, “I know what you are feeling, believe me …. From you Naphtali and Zebulun will come a light that will allow people to no longer walk in darkness, and that light will come from you”
It is easy to get caught up in the despair and suffering in our lives and it is easy to imagine that is all we have then. If we think that we can fix this and try to control the situation, then that is all we have. At these moments, God is certainly trying to intervene, but God’s efforts will go unheard if we don’t stop and listen.
It is even harder when someone else is in their dark moment and you are called to listen for God and assure them that they will get through this.
Lesson #1: How do you listen for God’s voice? You listen at all times and especially in times of despair.
Lesson #2: How do you keep from arguing with one another? We don’t have time for discord – there’s way too much to do. We haven’t time to jocky for position and status, to listen to our own ringing voices. This discord blocks out the sound of God’s voice speaking to us.
And then Matthew pens a tale …“Once upon a time, a man named Jesus came to Capernaum …” … what a ride, and the lesson?
You can’t respond to God’s voice if you insist on living your life business as usual, same-old-same-old, if you’re not willing to step outside of your lives into the realm of possibilities!
Zebedee finds too much comfort in his daily routine. Although sometimes he’s bored and he ekes out a living, it’s what he knows and he will not leave his comfort zone. There is part of us, too, that does not want to step outside of what we know. We like control, having our expectations, our day planners. That does not mean we are not disciples nor stop us from being worshipful, but it might … it just might impede us from hearing an invitation to what’s possible – from hearing a voice calling us into a place that will take us on the ride of our lives. In the poetry of The Rubaiyat, Omar Khayyam asks:
Why ponder thus the future to foresee,
And jade thy brain to vain perplexity?
Cast off thy care, leave Allah's plans to him -
He formed them all without consulting thee.
There is something in the voice of Jesus that can wake us up to “a different life”, a different dimension called Jesus Land that is scary and unknown. Now how do we hear this voice? Everyone hears it a different way – some in the majesty of the Eucharist, some in service to another, some in a moment of kindness and sacrifice by someone else toward us…. a moment of realization that Jesus died for me and I have to do something about that.
We’re talking about more than politeness. This is what a life in Christ is like. It’s service without credit, humility so deep your kindnesses are almost invisible, and THAT’S a step into another dimension ... because we ALL want to be noticed.
It’s bringing peace where there’s discord, bringing kindness where there is meanness, always putting the best possible light on people’s behavior, believing in the impossible.
I have read some 7 volumes of mountaineering chronicles, of adventurers who have climbed all of the world’s elite 8000 meter peaks. And Pastor Johnson is coolly correct about this – these climbers are all intimately self-involved. You would think you almost have to be just to survive the conditions (except the Sherpa people tell us a very different tale). In his book Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortensen, who has just failed his attempted summit of K2, the second highest of the great 8000 meter peaks, shorter only (but harder to summit) than Everest, gets lost descending down the mountain and stumbles into a village in Northern Pakistan. And the local natives take him in. He is so taken by their complete hospitality that he vows to return to build a school for the village’s poor children. The villager’s listen, but do not expect him to ever return. But somehow, he manages to raise enough money to build a school for the children. Fast forward and he has continued this work and has, to date, built some 57 such schools.
What can I do about this problem or that, about problems so large and daunting and overwhelming that one person cannot possibly put a dent in them? When we think that very thought, this story of a "failure" turned majestic can convince us of what is possible. As the poem from the Rubaiyat reminds us ... to "cast off our cares .. for Allah made his plans without consulting us". We are called to cast off our personal cares and take the plunge into "Thy will be done" land.
And when we think that's not realistic, that we can't make a difference, that we are too small, too insignificant, we are reminded that ....
All we have to do is say we’ve had enough. Because when we’ve had enough of children going hungry, when we’ve had enough of people having no heat, when we’ve had enough racism, when we've had enough inequality, when we've had enough of people not being able to see a doctor, when we;ve had enough of poverty amidst wealth, illiteracy amidst ivory towers,when we’ve had enough of kids going to school with no backpacks, When we’ve had enough of it all?????? Like Howard Beal, the self-professed network anchor turned modern day prophet in the movie Network, we can go to our windows and open them up , and shout “We’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take this anymore”!!
At these moments we can step up, step out, step away from our fishing nets, we CAN "casy away our cares" and walk away from business as usual, we can step into the Jesus dimension and there ... there will be enough. Jesus will make it enough. Enough to feed 5000, enough schools to teach thousands upon thousands ...
You have NO IDEA what will happen when you step into the Jesus dimension. But you must listen for God’s voice calling you.
Finally there is the line in scripture: Repent for the Kingdom is near. We too often use repent as a punitive word. It does not really mean “to punish” as much as it means “to change”. The Irish speak of “the thin places” where you find God. The thin places are not on mountaintops, in sanctuaries. They are found in those unbelievable moments when you realize something’s different right now; that’s the moment God is calling your name, calling you from business as usual, calling you to walk into another dimension, reminding you that you are not alone,
… assuring you … yes, assuring you that you’re up to the task –
that all the things you thought you couldn’t do, will be done
that all the people you thought you could never be, you’ll be
that all the differences you thought you couldn’t make, you will make
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