God, You Can’t Make Me!

Sermon Jonah 3:1-5, 10 January 25, 2015

God, You Can’t Make Me!

So friends here we are in the middle of the whale tale that we heard as children. We have heard the Scriptures tell us this morning that the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time… “Go to Ninevah…and proclaim the message I told you”.

Jonah is a fabulous tale of the human response to God’s grace. We all imagine ourselves as wonderful followers of God and as ones who appreciate God’s grace in all circumstances and for all creation.

Yet, Jonah puts some comical truth to our own responses, should we be the ones to live in his shoes.

Jonah demonstrates his reaction to serving God with great exaggeration

through flight from reality,

the holding of himself and others hostage in his anxiety,

and his resistance to the fullness of grace and love.

Jonah is called by God to get on a ship to Ninevah to cry out to them that God is aware of their wickedness.

Well, Jonah is no fool.

The Ninevites are the worst enemy of the people of Israel.

He would be putting his life on the line.

He would be walking into a death trap and would probably be burned alive, as these Ninevites were in the habit of doing.

To help us understand his position, who are the people we imagine as our worst enemy?

Who is the person we cannot fathom ever showing love to?

This story is so unlike the stories of the disciples who jump out of their boats and come running to Jesus when he calls them to a life of discipleship.

That is the idea we hold in our minds and hearts when we think of responding to God’s call.

But here in the story of Jonah we discover the raw reality of fear.

 And the rapid response of running away.

In psychology this is known as the flight or fight response in the presence of danger.

And for Jonah the presentation of his call to be a prophet in a foreign land puts him in the face of danger.

He responds with a defiant, “God, you can’t make me go!”

And seriously folks don’t you think our first reaction to this idea of following God or even believing in God is more like Jonah than Peter?

 Because this turn around new way of living for God can either catch us by surprise with a falling down on our knees in awe of our maker or it can scare the bergeebers out of us.

SO in the face of what was before him Jonah decided that his best solution was to go in the opposite direction. He rushes down to Joppa and jumps on the first cruise line headed to the Spanish coast. The Tarshish beaches are most appealing and so is the scenery in that part of the Mediterranean. Can you see him already kicked back on a beach chair soaking in the warm rays of the sun?

He has no idea that his flight away from his troubles does not free him from danger but puts him and now others in the direct path of disaster. His actions have caused others to become hostages to his anxiety. The storm rages and the waves crash across the deck of the boat. The ship is tossed in all directions and is taking on water and it appears that it will sink unless some of the cargo is tossed overboard to distribute the weight and keep it afloat. Jonah who has carefully kept himself hidden from the crew recognizes that God is the one who has sent the storm.

The crew fear God and don’t want to throw Jonah overboard even though he insists. Finally they relent and do as he asks and immediately the storm stops. The crew fall on their knees in awe of God and believe. Jonah becomes the instrument of God’s salvation. They are no longer held hostage by Jonah’s fears.

But God now holds Jonah captive in the belly of the fish that swallowed him up after he was hurled into the sea.

There he is in a three day, dark, damp, smelly, time out set by God for him to have a ‘think it over again’ opportunity.

Now the Scriptures say that he repented and that he sang hymns and psalms and prayed and raised his voice in thanksgiving knowing that God is the One who saves.

It would appear as we arrive at our text for today that Jonah was now in full swing of God’s claim on him.

The fish has spit him out just one days journey from Ninevah.

How convenient.

He will go and do what God has called him to do.

He enters the city of Ninevah and with a loud voice calls out to the people, “Forty days more and Ninevah will be overthrown.”

Wow!

That felt good.

Just one sentence is all it took.

He didn’t have to fear so much after all.

He yelled out the doom and gloom God told him to do and that was it.

Perhaps he could still go back to his people and bring grand news of the end of a wicked people. ‘Ok, God,’ he thinks, ‘perhaps you can make me do it if this is all it takes.’

I know for a fact in my own life, even with profound faith in God and earnest prayers to God I have prayed for God’s justice to prevail on people who I knew and still believe are wicked. But much to my dismay and especially to my serious frustration, God has not honored my prophecy of destruction.

As a matter of fact often I still remain hostage to my anger, my fear and my anxiety over these things. And rather than being helpful it becomes like the storm that pervaded the ship and affects way too many people, more than I could ever have imagined.

God honor the depths of Jonah’s desire.

As soon as the king hears the news he jumps to action.

He is so repentant and ready to turn to a new way of life he orders the entire city of 120,000 people to put on sack cloth and ashes and turn their hearts to God.

Not only does he want God to know how serious he is about his change of heart and his faith in God he does one more thing.

He makes sure that all the animals all of God’s creation are included in this act of repentance and facing God in love.

So there you have it, cows, sheep, goats, camels, pigeons, and people all covered with soot from head to toe.

An entire city sitting in a heap of ash, and shouting out to God that they will not only believe but will no longer live in wickedness.

The people were not destroyed at all.

God’s mercy rained down on them. God’s grace flooded the city over all of the creatures of the land.

This is where the story of our childhood stops.

This is the point that most sermons stop. Jonah preached God’s word and the people repented and everyone went home and lived happily ever after.

But, Scripture doesn’t make it that simple.

None of the stories are Cinderella fables.

The most important chapter of this book is the fourth chapter. It is the ‘Paul Harvey’ twist to the ‘rest of the story’.

Jonah is MAD! He’s like, “Why’d you even bother with me in the first place-you could have done all this without me-I could have stayed on that sunny beach in Spain and all this love of yours would have happened anyway!”

He’s so mad he tells God to, ‘just let me die!’

His defiant words are his way of saying, ‘God, you can’t make me appreciate your love for others!”

This riptide of resistance is what catches us!

Everything about God’s grace runs counter to Jonah’s intent! God keeps gushing forward with love for the most unlovable and Jonah keeps running up against that love with anger.

But it only gets worse for Jonah.

He stomps out of the city and sits on the hill overlooking it and waits. He still hopes that God will destroy the city!

As he is pouting God provides a plant that brings him shade and comforts him.

But when God causes the plant to die exposing Jonah to the hot sun and a miserable desert wind kicks up, Jonah cries and whines at the loss of this precious plant.

And here is where God leaves Jonah and the story open ended, with the same question God had asked Cain, “Is it right for you to be angry?”

You are upset about your losses, your comfort, your circumstances…and here is an entire city at a loss and where is your mercy?

We can yell at God telling God you can’t make me in the way we live,

the way we treat others,

the way we do church,

the way we work,

the way we share the gospel message,

 but God’s mercy is greater than any riptide that tries to run counter to God’s intent.

Grace wins, it always wins, and it will keep on winning.

In the end, if God calls on us to share the gospel and we decided to run in the other direction,

look out for storms,

big fish and

shriveled plants.

Amen.

“Who Needs Sleep Anyway?”

Sermon 1 Samuel 3:3-10 & 11-18 January 18, 2015

“Who Needs Sleep Anyway?”

Well, it seems clear from our reading this morning that Eli and Samuel have joined the “who needs sleep anyway” club!

Eli, three times in one night is awakened by a noise, by the child he’s trying to train, his imagination, his worries, his impulses, his surroundings interrupting his deep dreams.

We've been there.

All of us.

Perhaps even this week we've all been through a night filled with interruptions.

My daughters have called me and my friends have posted on face book and my mother has emailed me, yes and my mom is 87 and she uses email, go mom.

They were telling me of how the baby, the dogs, the neighbors, the late night phone calls, the snoring of a spouse and the fear of tomorrow have disrupted a perfectly needed good night’s sleep.

God knows we need sleep!

I did some research about sleep and discovered the creatures like bullfrogs and dolphins who we assume do not sleep have some kind of activity that demonstrates that even while they are in motion they sleep.

Humans especially need sleep. A recent study aired on a daytime talk show said we even need naps. They said if we learn something new and then take a nap, we will remember all the details. If we learn something and don’t take a nap the chances of us remembering the details is much less. It’s been proven that sleep improves memory and sleep improves daytime performance and productivity.

Yet, God shows up calling in the night.

God shows up in the middle of dreams and disturbs the night. It makes me wonder why then are we so fascinated with this story even today in the Christian church? It’s one of our favorite stories!

Perhaps it is that on this second Sunday of Epiphany we witness a story about the appearance of God without all the fanfare that occurred at Christmas-no star, no angels voices, no shepherds or wisemen to guide the way.

Here in a bedroom in the middle of the night is

a sound,

a voice,

one that calls out,

‘Samuel, Samuel!’

We have heard our names called out in the night whether it was a wee little one that wanted a glass of water, or a pager calling us to our fire fighter duties, or the dreaded call to let us know the sad circumstances of someone dear, we have heard our name called in the night.

It’s hard to discern those voices when they come.

It’s hard to know in the fuzzy brain state to be clear what we are hearing.

The voice of the Lord was rare in those days of Eli we are told.

And perhaps for the church we feel the same today, perhaps we too sense that the voice of the Lord is rare.

And so, with Eli and Samuel we too wonder what is happening during those untimely interruptions at night.

Not knowing any better, Samuel assumes the only person that would call him would be Eli.

So he runs to him and says, ‘I’m here.’

 Samuel responds out of impulse,

he jumps out of bed,

before he has the time to discern the call of his name.

He does this three times to Eli!!

Poor Eli!!

 He’s old now, he’s blind.

They didn’t have the equipment for cataracts, or macular degeneration back then to aid in the diminishing vision that comes with age.

So, Eli was dependent on Samuel.

He was in a role reversal with this young man who he had raised up to tend to the Temple and to follow the ways of the priests.

Eli was aware that these were troubling times in Israel.

He was aware that his own sons had followed the way of corruption.

It’s hard to discern a voice in the dark. Perhaps Eli was no longer listening for God. He was ingrained in the duties of his job.  Perhaps he had let go of the idea that God was always present.

Are there moments in our lives when we are so caught up in life and the duties surrounding them that we are no longer listening for God?

And then in the middle of the night when we desire our sleep and our rest the most, there comes the interruption.

And all we notice is the fact that we have been disturbed.

It took Eli until the third time before it dawned on him what was happening.

Too bad God doesn’t always come with blaring sirens and clanging cymbals.

God’s voice isn’t always obvious.

God’s presence isn’t always flashy and clear.

Perhaps, that’s part of the reason we gather together on Sundays to seek God’s voice and be in God’s presence even if we are not quite sure what that sounds like or looks like.

If God can be in the midst of normal circumstances and in the midst of troubling times, then that perhaps this God is a God we can believe in.

Eli and Samuel are obedient to God in this moment.

Eli responds to Samuel and guides him with a final word. “When you hear the voice again say, ‘Speak, your servant is listening.’”

And when the voice came again Samuel does what Eli told him.

He hears God’s call and he speaks and God is near in the midnight hour.

That is one of our greatest comforts and consolations as believers; to know that God is near. God is our refuge and our strength. God is our rock and our redeemer.

It is a comfort to know that God calls us by name and grants us a calling to a life of purpose. This is why we love this story.

The trust and faith of Eli to respond to God for the call of Samuel is one of humility before God.

He is able to relinquish his authority to Samuel.

He realizes this is his time to let go and let God.

He becomes the conduit so that God’s work can take place; to relinquish the old guard and respond faithfully to God’s call on Samuel even if it means bad news for him…

how many of us are willing to let go when we need to?

I know I've had trouble letting go and letting my children grow up. I’ve had trouble letting go and letting someone else drive…there are many situations where we can find that our faithful response is to do and sometimes to hand over.

If we stop at verse 10 then this story we love, this story we want to hang on to is a very personal story about me and God and it has an intimate feel to it. While we may want to think of Samuel’s response to God’s call as a personal call to faith and a personal call to transformation, (because that is what we want, a God and me kind of life).

The truth is God’s call to Samuel was one that put him at high risk.

It was a call to bring the nation to social transformation.

It was a call that we read later that put him on the run for his life.

We know that God is the one who gives us life, who knows our name and who provides us with a presence in the very depth of trouble.

But, God also puts us in places of discomfort.

Places where we are called to follow through with obedience even when it isn’t popular.

Pope John Paul II, said in 1993

 “The Christian is called, with the grace of God invoked in prayer, to a sometimes

heroic commitment.~ Veritatis Splendor (The Splendor of Truth)

I think of the founders of our nation were in that situation.  At the time their ideals and their decisions were not popular. People like John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington who did not always agree with each other yet, put those differences aside to work for independence and the creation of these United States of America.

I think of Dietrich Bonhoeffer whose faith in God was so strong that he forsook his safety to stand up against the Nazi regime and to tell the truth about a people who were slaughtering the innocents.

I think of Martin Luther King Jr, who we celebrate tomorrow, who wrote from the Birmingham jail, “The time is always ripe to do right.”

There are those who are called to be prophets to lead a people and transform nations. God places people in positions such as Esther, ‘for such a time as this.’

Yes, we love this story. Yet, Walter Brueggemann said that God’s new thing that is happening in the call of Samuel is not a grand religious act but a fresh invitation to a dangerous social beginning.

And we have all lived long enough now to be witnesses to new social beginnings because of those who responded to the call that came in the night.

The call to respond in a time that was ripe to do right.

Even the disciples answered the call of Jesus. They heard their name and followed him.  After his death they followed through in the most uncomfortable and most difficult circumstances because they believed in the call placed upon them.

As we are here in the church of the 21^st century do we hear God calling us in the night?

Have we heard a voice that we are not sure about?

Are we wondering about the direction of our lives? (We are always   wondering about the direction of our lives)

It might be for parents of children and the church alongside them to stand up to local and state governments for funding for education.

Perhaps it’s equal housing or healthcare or the rights of the elderly.

When we are part of that, “who needs sleep anyway” club,

what disruptions are getting our attention?

Because even if it’s a baby needing to be fed

or

have a diaper changed,

or

if it’s worry about where tomorrow’s food will come from

or

how to pay the mortgage,

even

if it’s just a noise we do not recognize

-perhaps this is just the moment for us to say to God,

‘speak, Lord for your servant is listening.’

Amen.

Tear Open the Heavens and Come Down!

Sermon Mark 1:4-11 January 11, 2015 Baptism of the Lord

Tear Open the Heavens and Come Down!

This week it has been hard to avoid the news of the world.

It has been difficult to pretend that the evil of humanity doesn’t exist.

It has been almost impossible to be unaware of the pain that has pervaded the lives of so many people. 

With the loss of a Charlie Hebdo and many others in France

and

the loss of an entire family from Accomac from an auto accident,

the reality of suffering is at our back door

and

we cannot hide from it!

The world and families are torn apart and God’s Word in the midst of this insanity has a hard time finding its place.

I found myself screaming with the prophet Isaiah (64:1),

“O that you could tear open the heavens and come down!”

I’ve been struggling all week with what to say and how to say things about this madness in the world. I’m lost at how to respond to this insanity of humanity.

And then I turn the page and I find the words of the gospel writer Mark.

I turn to something new.

Something that changed the way of the world then and continues to change the way of the world today.

Mark doesn’t want to waste any time to get us to the heart of the matter of faith and who we are in relationship to God.

We immediately enter into the intentions of God for all people.

There, out there, in the real world is this crazy looking fella named John.

He didn’t dress like most people.

He was dressed in camel’s hair and ate locusts and wild honey.

He was the kind of guy that your momma warned you to steer clear from.

He didn’t fit into the normal Temple going people. He wasn't walking the paved fine high road to the religious Temple to hang out with the fine religious priests and rabbis. He had something those high and mighty religious people didn’t.

And perhaps that’s exactly why others were flocking to him. People were coming from all of ‘out there’, going down dirt trails and dusty paths, narrow and winding to find him at the river.

He was a down to earth man living ‘out there’ where everyone could see him.

He was honest about what people needed.

People needed a fresh start and chance to turn their lives around and begin something new.

John the baptizer didn’t sugar coat or make palatable the needs of humanity.

He put the insanity of human existence in people’s faces!

He was meeting them where they were in the very depths of their despair.

He knew they were anxious to experience a new day. (Kate Huey)

And to be honest I’ve heard a lot of despair this week.

And I have struggled with God to find where this fits and where in the world can we find a new way

and

where will God show us how to do this thing called life day after day?  

And then Jesus shows up.

Jesus joins the line of people to be baptized.

He stands with those who are looking for something new.

He is alongside the human race in the midst of earthly things.

And when he comes up from the water the words of the prophet Isaiah come to life!!

 The heavens are torn apart and God invades the world as God’s Spirit dive bombs into the scene. (Hare)

God IS here!

And in a booming voice, I say booming because nothing in Mark’s gospel is quiet. Everything that Mark writes about Jesus is full of energy and power. The Jesus that Mark writes about casts out demons and sets people on the road of action.

God proclaims Jesus as the Son, the Beloved!!

With the heavens torn open and the Spirit poured out Jesus is declared as God’s own. His identity and power are now clear for all to know that God is in the world.

                       
                               That’s what we believe about our baptism.

We believe that God has given us our identity and poured out the Spirit of power upon us!!

We too can claim that God has declared, with a booming voice, that we are sons and daughters and we are beloved! 

           AND this is what the world needs to hear-God's claim that they are God's own!

In our baptism, as we seek to remember it each day, we invite God’s Spirit to invade our lives. (reference to an Elton Brown comment).

It is in this remembrance that I can face the things that have happened this week.

                       As I recall God’s claim on me, I remember God’s claim on all people.

As I witness the horror of lost lives, I also witness the uniting of a world that refuses to accept violence as a way of life. I hear of people praying for peace and for consolation. I watch neighbors embrace those who have experienced loss to let them know they don’t walk this path alone. I observe others coming to the aid of one who is struggling with relationships.

As we invite God to invade our lives, we invite a turning toward that which provides for a new way.

We are able to be in the presence of this world.

 In this new way we are able to

show up

with power

and courage

to insist that

God IS here.

In the simplicity of the things of the earth, such as water, and bread and wine,

God brings the power of the Spirit.

In the partaking there is belonging and nourishment and sustenance. We are part of God, we are fed and our thirst is quenched.

Baptism is an active act of God.

It is an act that sets us out on the road of life.

It lets us know whose we are and gives us what we need to get about doing the work of God in this world.

We seek to live out our baptism daily until the day our baptism is complete in the arms of Jesus.

In response to God’s claim Jesus sets out immediately to fulfill the calling God has placed on him. He set out to do what he was called to do!

As children of God, sons and daughters, we have a job to do!

One of those jobs is to get out from the walls of the church and get into the world to let people know God IS present.

Our job is to share the love of Christ beyond the walls of this church.

Our job is to be in the faces of our neighbors and our families to let them know they matter and we care.

Our job is to show up at events and to show up in life because

God has called us to be part of a world that needs to hear

there is a way to turn around to something new.

The heavens have been torn apart and God’s Spirit of power is upon us.

Let the waters of our baptism be renewed in us and let us rise and be on our way.

Amen. 

The ‘Aha’ Moment or Starstruck!

Sermon Matthew 2:1-12 January 4, 2015 Epiphany

The ‘Aha’ Moment or Starstruck!

It was only two weeks ago that we sat in the pews and witnessed our children and adults present the story of the birth of Jesus. We were in the midst of pageantry and costumes, we were in the throes of song and cheer, we were in the height of wonder and amazement.

The work of Christmas was at work within us.

A spark,

a light,

the Light of Christ gave birth in our hearts once again and we were renewed

and

touched by the love of God.

Something compels us each year to be drawn to this story. Something attracts our attention to come back to the manger and propels us forward toward the wonder of this miracle of God come to live among us.

What did we see?

What got our attention?

We wonder what drew those magi, those wise men from far away to even consider traveling to claim the babe as king.

Only Matthew’s gospel felt this part of the story worthy of retelling. There was something in the sky that drew their attention. Something in the sky caught their curiosity and drove them to engage with this mystical appearance.

Yes, we have rationalized that they were astronomers and studied the heavens. We say they were men who studied the religions of the world and so were acquainted with the prophecies of the Messiah to come.

Yes, we say they were men who had already traveled far discovering the world and the heavens around them.

But, the power of God was at work as we listen to this story of a star in the sky that guided magi.

It was a star that brought them to their ‘epiphany’, their ‘aha’ moment! It’s okay to say that these men were ‘starstruck’.

The star is a reminder of God’s power in the world to steer nature to point the way to the Savior. As Augustine wrote, “Christ was not born because the star shone forth, but it shone forth because Christ was born.”

Dante wrote, “God is the love that moves the stars.”

Sometimes it takes foreigners, people unacquainted with the faith we speak to point out the very faith we hold in our hearts. Often it is those who walk around without any faith in God who demonstrate the very things of God’s love that we yearn to have in our lives.

Perhaps this story of the magi holding up God’s Word to God’s people to point to the truth of God’s Word taking on flesh is what needs to be heard in every age.

King Herod and his scribes and Biblical scholars feared what the magi told them. 

They couldn't imagine a king, a messiah would come in their lifetime 

and rather than rejoicing they felt threatened by the truth of God.

King Herod felt so threatened by the presence of another king that it caused him to do what he could to rid the world of this child.

The threat of God living and dwelling among humanity continued as Jesus grew. While many flocked to him in faith, many others were afraid and could not, would not believe.

Yet, God is determined to be known and to be found. And so, these unlikely characters become the agent of making God known to all the world. They open the way for all people to know they have a place with God.

Truly it was an insatiable curiosity that brought these men to the manger. The star stopped over the manger. It was a star that guided them all the way to Bethlehem and then it stopped where Jesus was and they were overwhelmed with joy.

When I read this story about their willingness to look to the stars and to seek to understand and to follow them I am reminded of my father. I cannot get past his childlike behavior when it came to the stars.

His insatiable curiosity in the heavens was contagious.

It drew his children into his wonder and amazement at looking up at the sky. He was so enthralled by those twinkling lights that he built his own telescope, he started his own amateur astronomer’s club and built an observatory.

He dragged his children in a blue rambler station wagon from Miami up to Cape Canaveral to watch the Apollo launches. He was caught up with the desire of the nation to launch rockets to reach the stars.

Through his energy and excitement we received our moments of joy and wonder. When he pointed to something that he had not seen before he shared it with us and we gained even more curiosity to learn about these stars in the sky.

What is it that stirs our curiosity? What is it that guides us? Where is our growing edge?

Howard Thurman says, “

Look well to the growing edge. All around us worlds are dying and new worlds are being born; all around us life is dying and life is being born. The fruit ripens on the tree, the roots are silently at work in the darkness of the earth against a time when there shall be new lives, fresh blossoms, green fruit. Such is the growing edge! It is the extra breath from the exhausted lung, the one more thing to try when all else has failed, the upward reach of life when weariness closes in upon all endeavor. This is the basis of hope in moments of despair, the incentive to carry on when times are out of joint and men have lost their reason, the source of confidence when worlds crash and dreams whiten into ash. The birth of a child — life's most dramatic answer to death — this is the growing edge incarnate. Look well to the growing edge!" 

That's the point, isn’t it?

To have a beginner's mind,

and see with the eyes of a child,

but not to be a child, nor a beginner.

But to be able to see a world being born all around us. "wow!" (Andy Parker).

The story of the magi is perhaps then to spark in us the will to look up.

The story is a way to get our attention,

to pay attention to the things of this Christmas season that have created

                                             a new beginning and to see things in a new way.

In this New Year, on this day of epiphany, may we too find our ‘aha’ moment, may we be ‘star-struck’, may we believe God incarnate in Jesus Christ, may we be stirred with curiosity and find our growing edge.

You will be given stars this morning and on them there is a word. (STARWORDS)

You may use it as a guide or a ‘watchword’ for this year. You may use it to guide your prayers, your devotions, your Bible study and your family time. Let us be as open as the magi were to be guided to new conversations and new ways to live with Christ born anew in us.

 Amen.