Sermon 6th February 2022 – 5th Sunday after Epiphany Text: Luke 5:1-11 – A broken spirit renewed by God

 Sermon 6^th February 2022 – 5^th Sunday after Epiphany

Text: Luke 5:1-11 – A broken spirit renewed by God

 

We have an interesting set of readings for today. Usually there is a thread running between them that creates a common theme. On one level that theme is being called to serve God. In our Old Testament it is the calling of Isaiah: Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I; send me!"

 

In our 2nd reading it is the calling of St Paul: By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you,

 

And finally it is the calling of Jesus’ first disciple in Peter - Then Jesus said to Simon (also know as Peter), "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people." When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed Jesus.

 

But what is extraordinary in these callings by God is the preparation. Before I was a Pastor I was a manager of a large multi-national Company and there was no expense spared in preparing me and other managers in pumping us up with self-confidence with no room at all for seconding guessing ourselves or showing any kind of weakness. When you were negotiating with customers you had to show them why they could trust you and have confidence in your abilities. But what we see here, in these 3 callings is a breaking down of that human spirit in order to allow God’s power of the Holy Spirit to be the driving force.

 

Let’s look at each of these 3 and what leads up to their calling by God. Isaiah, considered to be a major prophet of God;

He was privileged enough to see the Lord Almighty in all his glory and the angels attending him. So majestic was his experience that the pivots of the temple shook. But in preparation for his calling God breaks down his human spirit: Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!

 

St Paul, a leading Pharisee of his time. In Acts 22 Paul talks about his credentials when he was the Pharisee Saul: “I am a Jew. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished. But Paul now testifies that he considers that all rubbish in receiving his calling from God to follow Jesus: He says: Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

 

And finally Peter and his calling: A successful fisherman he has a bad night on the sea. Jesus calls him to cast his net again even though his previous attempts were futile. At the large catch of fish at Jesus’ request he realizes that his human efforts were nothing compared to the calling of Jesus and he realizes his own unworthisness: When Simon Peter saw the large catch of fish, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!

 

Isn’t it amazing that our human nature, when receiving a call from God, submits to the power and authority of Jesus rather than becoming boastful. They all admit their sinfulness rather than denying it or justifying it. We get a further glimpse in Paul when he is given the extraordinary privilege of having a glimpse of Paradise when called into Heaven while still alive. God breaks Paul’s human spirit to allow his Holy Spirit to be the driving force in his life: Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.

 

So often we might look at ourselves when called to a position of service and decide – NO. I don’t have the gifts or abilities to fulfill that role. But we need to understand that a call from God is different to a call to serve in a human establishment.

Calls into human establishments are usually skills based or based on experience that you’ve had in other roles.

But God searches the heart when it comes to serve him. And that’s exactly what Paul discovers and points out in 1 Corinthians chapter 1. He says: Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.

 

This sense of weakness and unworthiness affects us all and can create a sense of giving up: It is perhaps a feeling we can all identify with as this pandemic continues.  Many are or have been close to giving up on ourselves We’re starting to believe that getting back to the way things were just over 2 years ago is not really possible. We’re starting to believe our efforts are futile.

 

This is the situation in our 3 bible readings – and there are many many more, and this is all too often the situation in our lives.  This sense of uselessness can affect our faith but Jesus renews our faith and strength. This is quite evident in Peter.

He and his companions have been out all night fishing and have caught nothing. They will have nothing to eat that day and nothing to sell that day. They also may be doubting their skills and capability as fishermen. But Jesus comes into the situation, and everything changes‘  Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.

 

It is easy to give up when we are focused on our human efforts and this will plague Peter and the other disciples in the 3 years they spend with Jesus. How can we feed 5,000 with just 5 loaves and 2 fish. Lord don’t you care if we drown in this storm. And Peter, when he focuses away from Jesus and to his own abilities while walking on the water – help me Lord, I’m drowning. Just as Peter and the other fishermen were directed to cast their nets into the deep water – so too, as we face the challenges we face in life we too have to dig deep into our faith.

 

It’s particularly interesting in our Gospel reading that Peter having been downcast on the verge of defeat listens to Jesus and finds success. But notice what happens next. There are so many fish that his boat is about to sink. But unlike when walking on the water or rowing into a storm he doesn’t panic. He signals for help: They caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them.

 

When facing adversity and challenges we can often feel we are alone in this. So when we have this sense that we are in over our head with everything – we call for help. When our faith is failing we call for help from our brothers and sisters in the faith. No one is going to think lesser of you when you’re not coping. But we tell ourselves that. That’s why Jesus called to himself 12 disciples. That’s why when Jesus sent his 72 followers out he sent them out in pairs – not by themselves. He regularly took along with him Peter, James and John when going into a difficult situation.

 

When we rely only on our own strength we’re going to end up like our characters in our readings today: Woe to me, like Isaiah who thought he was going to die because of his sinfulness, Or Paul who thought he was the least of the Apostles and not worthy of being called an Apostle. Or Peter who did not feel worthy in the presence of Jesus – away from Lord.

We are to rely on God’s grace and acceptance despite our sense of unworthiness by human standards. And when we feel helpless, useless, out of our depth, let us remember who we are – and whose we are. In your Baptism you became a child of God – have you thought about that recently? When you come to Holy Communion you receive in your hand the fullness of God Almighty – the same God Almighty that shook the pivots of the temple and from which Isaiah thought he was going to die. You won’t die – in fact you will find life.

 

Don’t ever think less of yourself because you will be thinking less about God in whose image you were created.

And even Paul, the least of the Apostles and the worst of sinners discovered through Jesus - that by the grace of God I am what I am, And what I am – what you are – is a child of God, loved by God and one for whom Jesus Christ died.

Sermon 30th January 2022 – 4th Sunday after Epiphany - Text: Luke 4:21-30 – God’s “unfair” love

 Sermon 30^th January 2022 – Epiphany 4

Text: Luke 4:21-30 – God’s “unfair” love

 

It was supposed to be a homecoming welcome when Jesus arrives at Nazareth, his home town. Local boy makes good. We get very excited and proud when one of our own makes it to the stage. Like when Ash Barty wins a tennis competition.

We even don’t mind if Tomic and Kygrios win despite their brattish behaviour. But something triggers a reaction in the people of Nazareth that want to hurl Jesus over a cliff. It didn’t start that way. No, after he read the passage from Isaiah and made a comment about it they all spoke proudly about him. All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. What changed?

 

What did Jesus do or say that triggered this angry mob that filled them with rage. Well, you see, it was because Jesus suddenly didn’t seem as loyal to the cause as they were. All of a sudden he seemed to suggest that God seemed more favourable to foreigners than his own people. That even though there were many widows in the land of Israel during the drought and famine of Elijah’s time he went and supported a foreigner – the widow of Zarephath from the land of Sidon.

And even though there were many lepers in the land of Israel during the time of Elisha, God healed the foreigner Namaan – a Syrian.

 

Wait a minute. We were the ones who slaved in Egypt for 400 years. We were the ones who wandered the wilderness for  40 years. We were the ones who built then rebuilt God’s temple. Maybe at times you’ve felt that way. I’ve given my life to God and he rewards me with suffering. I go to church every Sunday and what do I get for it? Yes I know that God makes the sun to shine on the righteous and the unrighteous – but what I don’t understand is when God makes the sun to shine on the unrighteous and I get nothing. That’s what Jesus was highlighting had happened.

 

There were many widows in Israel and God blesses the widow of Zarephath. There were many lepers in the land of Israel and God heals Namaan. This attack on Jesus will continue when he begins to associate with the sinners and tax collectors  rather than the religious leaders who thought they were the privileged ones. When tax collector Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law complained, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”  Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” This is not to say that once Jesus has us believing him that he just ignores us and goes looking for new recruits. But sometimes it seems like we should at least have some privileges.

 

Jesus once told a parable about a landowner who needed workers in his vineyard. He offered a group of people a day’s salary to work at his vineyard. They were overjoyed – a fair reward for a day’s work. It meant they could feed their families that night. But throughout the day the land owner realized he needed more workers so he went out again and again right up to the last hour looking for workers. When it came time to pay them he paid the ones who worked only an hour a full day’s salary. Those who had worked the entire day in the heat thought they would get paid more or at least some sort of bonus.

But the land owner paid them exactly the same. If he hadn’t hired the later workers then they wouldn’t have grumbled because they received a day’s salary. It was fair reward for their work. But because people worked less but received the same pay they grumbled. It now seemed unfair.

 

But what they need to understand is that from the start of the day they knew they would be able to feed their family whereas those who only worked an hour had for the entire day not lived with the comfort of knowing if there would be a meal for their family that night. So it wasn’t a case of not receiving what was fair but that God treated others more than they deserved.

And what happens then is that we disregard all the blessings that God has showered on us – including the assurance of eternal life – while God is working hard to convert others who have rejected him. The workers who once were overjoyed at receiving a day’s salary for a day’s work now grumbled at what they once considered to be a blessing because others received it for much less work.

 

God loves everyone and wants all people to be saved. So if God blesses someone whom we believe is not deserving – firstly we need to remember that none of us are deserving. But secondly that God is working hard in their lives to turn them back to him.

As Jesus said, he came to call sinners to repentance. So when Paul explains what God’s love looks like it looks somewhat different: He says:

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable; love keeps no record of wrongs; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

 

So sometimes in showing this love it might seem unfair to us but not to God. We want God to punish evil, not love them – that’s what seems fair. Whereas God wants to forgive – that can seem unfair to some people. And sometimes God goes the extra mile, just as he has asked us to do. Jesus reminds his hometown people that God works in mysterious ways.  That God’s power is often focused on strangers – those outside our communities of faith.  Not because he loves them more but because they don’t know how much God loves them and has sacrificed for them. They don’t have the assurance of salvation as we do. And during those times we go through suffering, remember Paul’s statement – I consider that our present suffering is not worth comparing to the glory that awaits. Imagine suffering without that knowledge of salvation.

So many times I have heard people when going through difficult times including the death of a loved one – I don’t know how people without faith cope in times like this.

 

That was the difference between the workers who worked a full day and those that worked only in the last hour. God has always looked out for those in need beyond the community of faith, beyond the boundaries of our towns, our countries – our own congregation.  Jesus reveals that God is not a God who lives only in Israel. And neither does God only live in the Christian tradition, in our denomination, in our parish, or whatever boundaries we wish to set.  God is not ours. Jesus is not ours. We are his.  And we are to go beyond the boundaries we set just as Elijah and Elisha, and Jesus did.

And so did Paul when he found that the Jews did not appreciate God’s blessings he declares – from now on I will go to the Gentiles.

 

Maybe, like the Jews of Paul’s time, we have become complacent of just how much God has done for us. Jesus, Paul and all those who have truly heard the Word of God in their hearing, in their hearts, want all people to experience those  blessings. As Jesus said last week - The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor – to ALL people. God calls us to work where and when God pleases.

Jeremiah didn’t want to go but God reassures him: You shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you, Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you,

 

So we need to let go of all notions that Jesus, the hometown kid, is ours, and discover what it means that “we are his” rather than He belongs to us. Jesus belongs to ALL people but sadly not all people know him. God has a special claim on us, not we on him. And remember that God knew you well before you knew him. He knew all people while they were still in their mother’s womb as Jeremiah reminds us today. So we can understand why God sometimes goes after people that we would not. And that’s what the people of Nazareth did not understand from Jesus today. Do we?

 

Our cups are overflowing with God’s blessings but what happens to that overflow? Will it be like rain that falls and goes down the storm water drain with no use – or will it flow to others including those that we might think don’t deserve it.

God loves all people and wants all people to be saved. If we think there are some who don’t deserved to be saved then let us remember that it was while WE were yet sinners that Christ died for us.

 

 

 

Sermon 23rd January 2022 – 3rd Sunday after Epiphany Text: Luke 4:14-21 - Mission Statements

 Sermon 23^rd January 2022 – 3^rd Sunday after Epiphany

Text: Luke 4:14-21 - Mission Statements

Mission statements are used by Churches to help them to define who they are. Both of our congregations have a mission statement to which we continue to check ourselves against so we remember who we are.

At Ringwood our Mission Statement is “Living the Word – A people formed by God to be his presence to those around us”.

At Knox our Mission statement is “Called to worship- chosen to serve”.

Notice that in both of these Mission Statements the focus includes both who we are and what our purpose is.

At Ringwood – who we are – A people formed by God.

At Knox – Called to worship.

But then the Mission Statement also includes our purpose:

At Ringwood – to be God’s presence to those around us.

At Knox – Chosen to serve.

Who we are is just as important as our purpose because we don’t exist just for ourselves. Jesus made that quite clear in the Mission Statement that he gave to his Apostles. Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. This was Jesus’ Mission Statement which we know as the Great Commission.

In our Gospel reading we hear Jesus Mission Statement more defined – The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

So as we see Jesus’ mission statement is not about himself but about reaching out to others – that’s what mission is. John the Baptist struggles with his understanding of Jesus’ mission because he has been arrested by Herod and thrown into jail. John is struggling with Jesus’ mission because he is suffering because of his support of Jesus. So he sends a delegation to Jesus just to double check. Matthew 11 says - When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

Maybe John was thinking that someone else would get him out of prison and start real action against the Romans. That’s what he thought was the purpose of the Messiah. But Jesus will send John’s disciples back to John with the very passage he read out today: “Go back and report to John what you hear and see:  The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Jesus purpose was not about a rebellion but about bringing hope.

It is very easy in difficult times to become like John and forget our outreach and focus on ourselves. That’s when churches go from what we call Mission Ministry to Maintenance Ministry. When we look at how we can preserve ourselves which often results in looking for ways to cut back on things including our outreach ministry. That’s when we become very individualistic – very me focused like John who thought Jesus wasn’t doing the work he thought he should be doing otherwise he wouldn’t be in jail.

This is what Paul is also describing in our 2nd reading when he speaks about the parts of the body that begin to look after themselves only. He says, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot would say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear would say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body.

In fact Paul says that our mission is to look out for those parts of the body – those parts of society that need our help. He says -  the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect;

That is very much in line with what Jesus said: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

As the body of Christ, we are the continuing presence of Jesus in the world. The Church is the means by which Christ remains active in the world.  That’s what our Mission Statements say: At Ringwood – we are God’s presence to those around us. What does it mean to be God’s presence? Well, Jesus outlined that by reaching out to those around. If we see someone hungry – we feed them. If we see someone thirsty – we give them something to drink. It is an active presence. As James says in chapter 2 of his letter - Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? As Jesus says – as much as you did or didn’t do it for the least of these you did or didn’t do it to me.

And again, if we take Knox’s purpose – chosen to serve. What does it mean to serve? Well, again, we look at Paul’s explanation of Jesus coming to serve. In Philippians 2, Paul talks about the example of Jesus’ servanthood: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a human, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!

Jesus servanthood NEVER turned to maintenance ministry. He was tempted in the Garden of Gethsemane – take this cup from me – by not MY WILL be done but YOUR WILL be done. Jesus continued to serve us right to his very last breath when he cried out to his Father – forgiven them Father for they know not what they are doing.

Mission statements are an important part of helping us to determine and remember who we are and our purpose in God’s mission. But they are more than just words which they are in a danger of becoming if we focus away from mission ministry to maintenance ministry. Each of us has a vital part to play in God’s mission and the mission of our church. Whether it’s a hand or a foot, an ear or an eye – or even a little toe – Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered - every part is vital and every part has its role to play in achieving the Great Commission of Christ. And as Jesus has said, even a cup of cold water will not go unrewarded.

So whatever God has called you to do – wherever it is that God has placed you in his body, the Church, may God bless you as you play your part which to you may sometimes seem insignificant but to God it is indispensable.