Let's Go Anyway

Sermon 3 Epiphany B-Jan. 22, 2012

O Lord, we pray, speak in this place, in the calming of our minds and in the longing of our hearts, by the words of my lips and in the thoughts that we form. Speak, O Lord, for your servants listen. Amen.

Mark 1:14-20- Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God,and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen.And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.”And immediately they left their nets and followed him.As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets.Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.
People are always asking me, “What’s your favorite gospel?” I usually say, “well, Luke has the best stories.” But I love the gospel of Mark. Mark was the first gospel written, it’s not nearly as polished as Luke, not even close to being as theological and clever as Matthew, and nowhere near as beautiful or poetic as John. Mark’s gospel is raw and rough, the shortest, and the most poorly constructed. In the gospel of Mark there is an word that is repeated 40 times that says more about Mark’s Jesus than anything else. The word is “immediately”. Mark uses it 40 times in 16 chapters to describe what’s going on. 40 times. What do you get from that? Twice in this morning’s story. There is an urgency in Mark’s Jesus that you never get in the other gospels. Jesus is on a mission, there is no doubt, and everyone who meets him is called to decision. “18And immediately they left their nets and followed him.” 20”Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.”
David Lose asks this question, “What would make you drop everything and pursue an entirely new life? A great job offer? A marriage proposal? The chance to make a huge difference in another part of the world?”
That’s what happens in Mark’s gospel-people see life as a decision, a choice, a chance to make a difference. In the Gospel of Mark people respond-dramatically, powerfully-sometimes even stupidly. But they lead with their faith.
Alyce Mackenzie tells the story about being a young assistant in a large church. And every Sunday the ministry team would line up in the narthex preparing to process in. Every week before the service she, the young assistant would look at the senior pastor who was looking around with a distracted air, and she would say to him, “Paul, it’s 10:55. Are you ready?” He sort of snapped to attention, looked at her and said, "No, but let's go in anyway."
That’s the Gospel of Mark. We may not be ready, but we go anyway. You’re going to hear the Gospel of Mark in the year to come. Listen for people being challenged to make a decision. Listen for people being pushed to make a choice. Listen for the word, “immediately”. And think about what you would make you drop everything and move? We always have a million reasons not to act, not to choose, not to decide, not to do anything. But, let’s go in anyway. Amen.

Look At My Face

Sermon 2 Epiphany B-Jan. 15, 2012
O Lord, we pray, speak in this place, in the calming of our minds and in the longing of our hearts, by the words of my lips and in the thoughts that we form. Speak, O Lord, for your servants listen. Amen.
John 1:43-51The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth." Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, "Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!" Nathanael asked him, "Where did you get to know me?" Jesus answered, "I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you." Nathanael replied, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" Jesus answered, "Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these." And he said to him, "Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."

Last week we didn’t have a sermon at the 10:30 service because we heard the story of “The Other Wiseman”. But at the 8am I told a story about a book written a year ago. A year ago this month a part-time actress, Elise Ballard, published a book entitled, “Epiphany: True Stories of Sudden Insight to Inspire, Encourage and Transform”. Ballard went around and interviewed 50 well known people and asked them if they had ever had an epiphany, “a moment of great sudden revelation; an intuitive grasp of reality through something usually simple and striking; an illuminating discovery, realization or disclosure”.
Ballard discovered that everyone of them had had an epiphany-and easily remembered it. And afterwards every single person changed their life, they all went home by a different way as the magi did. There was one more thing she learned. “After people began to take action on their epiphanies, circumstances [in their lives] seemed to fall into place so that they could take the next steps.”
Every story that you will hear in Epiphany season in church will be about someone who encountered Jesus and went home by a different way, in other words, they went away changed, they became different people. When did you meet someone and become someone else? When was your epiphany? How were you different afterwards? Think about the wise men, the magi, astrologers from the east who follow a star-and leave precious gifts in a barn. They have their “sudden intuitive leap of understanding” and their lives are never the same.”
This is the 2nd Sunday after the Epiphany, and today we hear a story from the Gospel of John about Jesus calling Philip, and Philip inviting Nathaniel: “Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth. Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."
Every time I hear the story of Philip inviting Nathaniel I think about an episode from the West Wing. Josh Lyman is a professional political operative. He goes around hiring out to whatever candidate will pay him. But he yearns for a chance to back someone who is a good person, someone who is better than the rest. Josh wants to work for someone who is worth his life. He goes to visit his old friend, Sam Seaborn. Sam says, “who are you working for now, Hoynes? He’s going to win the nomination isn’t he? “ Then he look at Josh and says, “is Hoynes the real deal?” Josh starts hemming and hawing, because he knows that Hoynes isn’t. So Josh tells Sam that he’s going on to New Hampshire to see a little known candidate, Jed Bartlett. Josh says to Sam “do you want me to come back and tell you if Bartlett is the real deal? And Sam says, “you won’t have to tell me, you have a terrible poker face.” In the next episode Sam, the lawyer, is in a multi-billion dollar conference with a client when Josh pounds on the window outside the conference. Same looks up, and all Josh does is this (points to his face which is smiling). That’s how Josh recruited Sam to work for this no name candidate running for president-he let him see his face and it was obvious that Bartlett was the real deal.
Philip says to Nathaniel, “come and see.” And he just as easily could have done this (pointed at his face and smiled). It means, I have found the one-this is the real deal.
One pastor I read about instead of preaching a sermon after reading this gospel had everyone in the congregation sit in small groups and talk about what kind of toothpaste they used. The week after that he had them talk about the car they drove, the next week the team they rooted for. And finally after several weeks of talking in small groups about their lives, he had them talk about their faith and what they thought of Jesus. The point is, he wanted to get them comfortable talking about what they thought, and how they felt about things in their lives before they got to the big one-talking about their faith.
Today we heard the shortest sermon in the gospels-“Come and see.” It’s the story of someone who had an epiphany, “a moment of great sudden revelation; an intuitive grasp of reality through something usually simple and striking; an illuminating discovery, realization or disclosure”.-and it’s the story of that epiphany changing their lives.
That’s our calling as Christians-to be so filled with conviction, and grace that all we have to say to someone is, “look at my face” and God will do the rest.

We All Have Epiphanies!

Sermon-1 Epiphany B-Jan. 8, 2012

O Lord, we pray, speak in this place, in the calming of our minds and in the longing of our hearts, by the words of my lips and in the thoughts that we form. Speak, O Lord, for your servants listen. Amen.

Every season of Advent and every season of Epiphany we hear the story of John the Baptist. I have preached on John over 60 times in my career, or you might say, you have had to listen to my sermons about John many many times. So, I thought rather than subject you to yet another sermon about John the Baptist I would try to give you, THE BIG PICTURE.
Epiphany is the season immediately following the 12 days of Christmas. The length of Epiphany varies, from 5 weeks to 9, and ends at Ash Wednesday. The word Epiphany means unveiling or revealing or manifestation. And we usually talk about it as a surprise, or as it’s defined: “a sudden intuitive leap of understanding, especially through an ordinary but striking occurrence” .There are four stories that are associated with the season of Epiphany-the first one is the coming of the magi, the wise men. We always hear that one on Jan. 6. The first Sunday (today) after the Epiphany we always hear the story of John the Baptist baptizing Jesus. When Jesus comes up out of the water we hear God say: ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” This is an epiphany, a sudden intuitive leap of understanding for all the people standing around him at the Jordan. The 3rd story that is associated with the season of Epiphany is Jesus turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana. We only hear this story once every 3 years but it’s only read I Epiphany. And the last story is always read on the last Sunday after Epiphany-it’s the story of the Transfiguration-Jesus on the mountaintop being transformed into a glowing figure.
All of the stories told in Epiphany every year have to do with Jesus being revealed as the Christ to people who weren’t expecting it, or prepared for it. Epiphany is the season of surprises, of revelations, of the unexpected. There is one phrase that I love that I always associate with Epiphany, and it gets lost so easily. But whenever I hear this expression it always makes me stop and think about my own life.
The magi were wandering, unsure where to go, uncertain what they were looking for. They had lots of distractions on their journey. And then they found a child, and they left the burdens that they had been carrying at the manger. And the story ends with this phrase, “and they went home by another way.” And every time I hear that story, those few words jump out at me- they went home by another way.
Because whenever I hear those words I think, “that’s what Epiphany is all about-an event, an experience that changes our direction, changes our life.” Think back for a moment. Think about people in your life who have touched you, changed you, redirected you. You were going along on your life, and then you met someone, and your life was never the same-because you were never the same.
A year ago this month a part-time actress, Elise Ballard, published a book entitled, “Epiphany: True Stories of Sudden Insight to Inspire, Encourage and Transform”. Ballard went around and interviewed 50 well known people and asked them if they had ever had an epiphany, “a moment of great sudden revelation; an intuitive grasp of reality through something usually simple and striking; an illuminating discovery, realization or disclosure”.
She discovered that everyone one of them had had an epiphany-and easily remembered it. And afterwards every single person changed their life, they all went home by a different way. There was one more thing she learned. “After people began to take action on their epiphanies, circumstances seemed to fall into place so that they could take the next steps.”
Every story that you will hear in Epiphany season in church will be about someone who encountered Jesus and went home by a different way, in other words, they went away changed, they became different people. When did you meet someone and become someone else? When was your epiphany? How were you different afterwards? Think about the wise men, the magi, astrologers from the east who follow a star-and leave precious gifts in a barn. They have their “sudden intuitive leap of understanding” and their lives are never the same.
This season of Epiphany listen for the next 6 weeks, especially as you hear the stories of all the people who are transformed as they meet Jesus. Listen as disciples are called, people are healed, lives are changed. Listen as we hear stories of how people have , a sudden intuitive leap of understanding. And as you hear these old familiar stories, begin thinking about the epiphanies in your own life-the ways you have been redirected, challenged, changed. This is a season when we watch ordinary people going through their lives-when they meet God-and they are never the same.
This is the Epiphany season, a time when people follow stars and dream dreams. It is a good time for us to think about our own journey, our own pilgrimage in life. Listen to the stories of this season and start to wonder, am I ready to go home by a different way?