OVER & OVER IN THE BIBLE WE HAVE NUMEROUS STORIES ABOUT GOD’S CALL… THIS WEEK & NEXT WEEK AS WELL WE WILL CONSIDER EXAMPLES OF CALL STORIES…
TODAY WE HEAR HOW JESUS 1ST REVEALS HIS CALL FROM GOD TO THE FAITHFUL FOLKS OF HIS HOMETOWN…
WE WATCH AS JESUS GETS UP TO READ FROM THE TORAH IN THE TEMPLE ON THE SABBATH… HE READS THE WORDS OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH…THEN JESUS CLAIMS THOSE WORDS AS HIS OWN WHEN HE SAYS,
I AM THE ONE ANOINTED BY GOD… GOD HAS CALLED ME TO DO THIS WORK THAT THE PROPHET ISAIAH TOLD US ABOUT… GOD HAS CALLED ME TO “PREACH GOOD NEWS TO THE POOR, TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THOSE WHO ARE BLIND.” I AM THE ONE SENT BY GOD “TO SET AT LIBERTY THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED...”WE HEAR JESUS DECLARE THAT GOD HAS CALLED HIM TO BE THE LONG AWAITED MESSIAH… AND THE HOMETOWN FOLKS SEEM A BIT SURPRISED AT FIRST, REFLECTING THAT THIS IS JOSEPH’S SON, THE ONE WE’VE KNOWN SINCE HE WAS JUST A KID…
BUT JESUS DOESN’T JUST STOP TALKING… HE CONTIUES... AND IT’S WHEN HE CONTINUES TO EXPLAIN THAT HE REVEALS WHAT GOD’S CALL REALLY MEANS TO HIM & TO THE PEOPLE LISTENING….
JESUS ESSENTIALLY SAYS,
“OH, BY THE WAY, GOD HAS CALLED ME TO BRING THIS GOOD NEWS TO ALL THE PEOPLE EVERYWHERE… I’M NOT JUST THE MESSIAH FOR YOU, MY GOOD JEWISH FAMILY, FRIENDS, & NEIGHBORS… I AM CALLED BY GOD TO BRING THE GOOD NEWS TO ALL – EVEN THOSE WE CONSIDER ‘OUTSIDERS’, EVEN THOSE WE CALL ‘STRANGERS’. GOD CALLS ME TO BRING THE GOOD NEWS TO ALL PEOPLE!!WELL - THAT NEWS WAS REALLY STARTLING TO THE HOMETOWN FOLKS!
THE JEWISH PEOPLE HAD ALWAYS PRESUMED THAT GOD WOULD BRING THE MESSIAH TO THEM ALONE! WHEN JESUS REVEALS THAT GOD HAS CALLED HIM TO BRING GOOD NEWS TO ALL PEOPLE, THEY SUDDENLY LOSE THEIR HOMETOWN ADVANTAGE…
JESUS DECLARES:
“I BELONG TO GOD… YES, I MAY BE THE KID WHO GREW UP HERE IN NAZARETH… YES I AM THE SAME KID BORN TO JOSEPH & MARY… AND GOD CALLS ME TO PREACH SOMETHING NEW! GOD CALLS ME TO A MINISTRY THAT WILL CERTAINLY SHAKE THINGS UP!JESUS KNEW THAT THIS WAS NOT WHAT THE FAITHFUL FOLK OR ANY OF THE FAITHFUL JEWS OF ISRAEL WERE EXPECTING… AS SOON AS JESUS DECLARES THAT GOD CALLS HIM TO BRING GOOD NEWS TO ALL PEOPLE THEY BECOME ANGRY & OUTRAGED… THESE PEOPLE HAD CERTAIN EXPECTATIONS ABOUT THE WAY GOD WAS “SUPPOSED” TO WORK… THEY HAD BEEN AWAITING THE MESSIAH FOR A VERY LONG TIME! THE MESSIAH THEY THOUGHT GOD WOULD PROVIDE WAS SUPPOSED TO TELL THEM THAT GOD LOVED THEM BEST OF ALL! IT WAS OUTRAGEOUS/IT WAS PREPOSTEROUS TO THINK THAT GOD LOVED EVERYBODY EVERYWHERE – THE POOR, THE OUTCAST, THE OPPRESSED, THE DOWN & OUT, THE SICK & DYING! THE PEOPLE MUST HAVE THOUGHT:
“WHO DOES THIS JESUS THINK HE IS! HE MUST BE CRAZY! EVERYONE KNOWS THAT THERE ARE THOSE WHO ARE “IN” & THOSE WHO ARE “OUT”! AND WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN TOLD THAT WE ARE THE “IN” PEOPLE! GOD LOVES US BEST! WHO DOES JESUS THINK HE IS!”IN SPITE OF HIS BEING A FAMILIAR FACE IN THE PRESENCE OF HIS “FRIENDS & NEIGHBORS” JESUS IS IMMEDIATELY PERCEIVED AS A HUGE THREAT… THE TOWNS PEOPLE BECOME AN ANGRY MOB WHO DRIVE JESUS OUT OF TOWN & EVEN TRY TO HURL HIM OFF A CLIFF!
JESUS LEARNED PRETTY QUICKLY THAT GOD’S CALL FOR HIM WAS NOT GOING TO BE AN EASY ONE! GOD’S CALL TO JESUS TO BRING GOOD NEWS TO EVERYONE DIDN’T MATCH FOLKS’ EXPECTATIONS… THE PEOPLE JUST DIDN’T WANT TO HEAR THAT GOD’S CALL TO JESUS MIGHT ASK THEM TO CHANGE…
I IMAGINE WE CAN IMAGINE HOW THE TOWNSPEOPLE MIGHT HAVE FELT…
NO ONE IN THE 1ST OR THE 21ST CENTURY LIKES TO HEAR THAT CHANGE IS NECESSARY… NONE OF US REALLY ENJOYS HEARING THAT THINGS WILL CHANGE… NONE OF US YEARNS FOR WORD THAT CHANGE IS INEVITABLE & MAY CHALLENGE OUR COMFORT LEVEL… SO… PERHAPS YOU CAN GUESS THAT I’M GOING TO TALK ABOUT THIS CHURCH & CHANGE IN THIS TIME BETWEEN SETTLED PASTORS… TODAY’S SERMON TITLE: “WHERE IS GOD CALLING THIS CONGREGATION?” DOES GIVE YOU A HEADS UP…
PART OF MY WORK AS YOUR INTERIM PASTOR IS TO REMIND YOU THAT GOD SOMETIMES CALLS US WHERE WE DON’T REALLY WANT TO GO…
PART OF MY WORK AS YOUR INTERIM PASTOR IS TO SUGGEST THAT THINGS MAY HAVE TO CHANGE BEFORE THIS CONGREGATION IS TRULY READY TO SEEK AND OR TO ACCEPT A NEW SENIOR PASTOR…
PART OF MY WORK DURING THE TIME BETWEEN SETTLED PASTORS IS TO ENCOURAGE THIS CONGREGATION TO CONSIDER WHAT HABITS, WHAT TRADITIONS, WHAT ASSUMPTIONS, & WHAT PATTERNS MIGHT NEED TO CHANGE SO THAT THIS CHURCH CAN MOVE INTO THE FUTURE…
INTERIM TIMES SOMETIMES SET PEOPLE ON EDGE… SOMETIMES PEOPLE GET ANGRY AT MY ASKING QUESTIONS, PERTURBED AT MY RAISING CONCERNS, & FRUSTRATED WITH MY PROBING ABOUT WHY CERTAIN THINGS CONTINUE TO HAPPEN IN OLD & FAMILIAR WAYS… SOMETIMES, THE HOMETOWN CROWD DOES NOT WANT TO HEAR ANY OF THIS NEWS!
PART OF MY JOB AS YOUR INTERIM PASTOR IS TO PUSH YOU, TO NUDGE YOU, TO OPEN NEW DOORS, & TO POINT OUT NEW DIRECTIONS…SOMETIMES THIS MEANS THAT YOU AREN’T COMFORTABLE… PART OF WHAT GOD CALLS ME TO AS YOUR INTERIM PASTOR IS TO ENCOURAGE & TO INVITE YOU TO CONSIDER DOING THINGS DIFFERENTLY OR TRYING SOMETHING NEW…
PART OF MY WORK AMONG YOU AND WITH YOU IS TO GUIDE YOU IN THINKING ABOUT THE FUTURE...WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE IN FIVE YEARS? WHAT KIND OF A COMMUNITY OF FAITH MIGHT YOU BECOME AS YOU MOVE INTO THE FUTURE? PART OF MY WORK AMONG YOU IS TO IMAGINE THE CHURCH YOU MIGHT WANT TO BECOME…
LIKE THE JEWISH FOLKS IN NAZARETH YOU CAN WISH & HOPE THAT EVERYTHING WILL REMAIN THE SAME, YET WE ALL KNOW THAT IT IS UNLIKELY THAT ALL WILL REMAIN THE SAME…
LIKE THE HOMETOWN FOLKS WHERE JESUS GREW UP YOU CAN WISH THAT THIS LOCAL BODY WILL REMAIN A MUCH BELOVED MEMORY OF WHAT IT ONCE WAS… MOST IMPORTANTLY MY JOB IS TO ENCOURAGE US TO CONSIDER WHERE GOD CALLS THIS CHURCH?
LET US CONSIDER HOW THIS CHURCH IS GUIDED BY GOD… LET US TALK ABOUT WHAT GOD MIGHT HAVE IN MIND FOR THIS CHURCH… LET US WONDER ALOUD ABOUT WHERE GOD IS GUIDING US HERE AT ROCKY HILL CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST…
LET’S THINK ABOUT THAT WORD: GUIDANCE… LET’S THINK ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE GUIDED BY GOD… DOING GOD’S WILL IS LIKE DANCING. WHEN BOTH PARTNERS OF A DANCE TEAM TRY TO LEAD IN A DANCE, NOTHING FEELS OR LOOKS RIGHT… THE MOVEMENT OF A DANCE TEAM DOESN’T FLOW WITH THE MUSIC & THE MOVEMENT OF THE DANCE TEAM IS UNCOMFORTABLE & JERKY IF MORE THAN ONE PARTNER LEADS…
YET WHEN ONE DANCE PARTNER LETS THE OTHER TO LEAD BOTH BODIES FLOW WITH THE MUSIC…. ONE OF THE DANCE PARTNERS GIVES GENTLE CUES – PERHAPS A NUDGE/PERHAPS A LIGHT PRESSURE IN ONE DIRECTION OR ANOTHER… WHEN A DANCE TEAM IS TRULY SUCESSFUL TWO BODIES BECOME AS ONE – MOVING BEAUTIFULLY…. TO BE REALLY GREAT THE DANCE TAKES SURRENDER, WILLINGNESS, & ATTENTIVENESS ON THE PART OF ONE & GENTLE GUIDANCE AND SKILL FROM THE OTHER….
IF WE SAY WE LOOK TO GOD FOR GUIDANCE HERE AT ROCKY HILL CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH THEN LET US CONSIDER THE ACTUAL WORD GUIDANCE…. G U I DANCE – CAN YOU VISUALIZE THE WORD? 1ST WE SEE THAT THE WORD BEGINS WITH “G” FOR GOD NEXT WE SEE THE LETTERS “U” AND “I”… LITERALLY GUIDANCE EQUALS “G” PLUS "U" AND "I" PLUS "DANCE"…
GOD, YOU AND I, + DANCE.
SEEKING GOD’S GUIDANCE IS A DANCE THAT YOU & I LEARN TO DO TOGETHER WITH GOD….
SEEKING GOD’S GUIDANCE IS AN ACT OF TRUST LETTING GOD LEAD US…
SEEKING GOD’S GUIDANCE IS A DANCE OF TRUST FOR THIS CHURCH SO THAT TOGETHER WE MIGHT FIND WHERE GOD LEADS US AS WE MOVE INTO THE FUTURE… AMEN