3^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

January 27, 2008

Omaha, NE

Rev. Steven W. Plank

“Called to…”

Text: Matthew 4:23 – “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching… and proclaiming the good news… and curing…”

Scripture Lessons: Psalm 27:1, 4-9

Matthew 4:12-23

Proposition: When Jesus called the first disciples, they responded with a sense of urgency. They followed as Jesus went about teaching and proclaiming good news and curing those in need. How do we respond to the things to which Jesus calls us?

Prayer for Illumination: O God, by your Spirit tell us what we need to hear, and show us what we ought to do, to obey Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

How do you respond to things that happen? I don’t know about you, but I absolutely cannot watch home videos of roller-blading accidents! You know the ones. You see some young person – almost always a male – who is gathering speed to jump onto a staircase railing outside, you know they are going to fall, and I just can’t watch it. It’s like every cell of my being cringes and withdraws… I can’t bear to see them come up with teeth missing, or fingers bent in odd ways, or kneecaps rearranged, or even just arms skinned raw. Now, I can watch shows about surgery. I was with my last dog when the veterinarian, who was a good family friend, spayed her. I was the chaplain of a volunteer Fire Department for five years and saw more than my share of people involved in all sorts of accidents… but don’t make me watch someone on roller blades who’s about to execute a jump of some kind! Go figure!

There are strange things that happen in the world, aren’t there? I’ve learned over the years that it’s not so much what happens to us in life that defines who we are; it’s how we respond to the things that happen to us in life that gives us definition, that forges our character, that motivates us to do the things we know need to be done.

Our New Testament lesson gives us a vivid picture of how Jesus responds to what must have been an incredibly powerful and traumatic event. His cousin, John the Baptist, had just been arrested by King Herod. Even though Jesus didn’t know at the time the exact nature of what would become of John, as we know… even though Jesus might not have imagined the brutal and savage way in which John soon would be executed, at the whim of a ego-maniacal petty dictator who simply got carried away one night at a party in his house… Jesus still knew that it was not good. Years ago, when people in El Salvador disappeared, their families knew that nothing good would come out of what was happening. Soon, mothers of those who had been arrested or otherwise had been disappeared – who called themselves las madres de desaparecidos – began to hold placards and to demonstrate in the streets, demanding to find out what happened to their husband or their son or their daughter or their grandchild. Still today, families of “the disappeared” have tried to speak out in countries all over the world: in Argentina, in Mexico, in Iraq, in Afghanistan.

Faced with the disappearance of one of his own family members, Jesus withdrew into the wilderness to be by himself for a while. This was not easy for him to do, because in Matthew’s Gospel Jesus had just returned from spending 40 days in the desert during his great temptation, done just before the beginning of his public ministry. Jesus once again went into the wilderness alone, to try to cope with what had happened to his cousin… his cousin who had leapt in his mother’s womb at the news of Mary’s pregnancy… his cousin who had baptized him in the Jordan River… his cousin who had pointed others to follow him, knowing that meant the ultimate finish of his own ministry.

How did Jesus respond? He understandably could have tried to renegotiate his call, which he had so carefully honed during his long days of trial and temptation. He could simply have turned in his proverbial letter of resignation to God, saying, “No thanks! You want me to save these people… these lunatics… these barbarians… these people who can be so unimaginably cruel and heartless in their treatment of each other? I’ll pass.” But, as we know, that’s not how Jesus responded.

Matthew tells us that Jesus was walking alongside of the Sea of Galilee one day and he apparently decided that it was time to end his isolation, his withdrawal from the pain and fear he had felt about what was going to happen to John. He was not going to let himself remain isolated in his grief or in despair. It was time to get up… to move on… to resume the things he knew he was supposed to do, the person he was destined to be! So, walking by the sea, he called his first four disciples: Peter and his brother Andrew, and James and his brother John. For whatever reasons – because we don’t know what had been going on in their lives right before this first encounter with Jesus the Messiah – these two sets of brothers each felt a sense of urgency deep within the core of their beings. Matthew makes a point of saying that they “immediately” followed Jesus… they “immediately” left their nets… they “immediately” gave up what they were doing and went in a new direction with this itinerant rabbi.

Audrey West, Associate Professor of New Testament, at Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago, commented on this passage: “Jesus calls people as they are, from where they are, being who they are.” What a helpful insight she offers. Jesus didn’t say, “Follow me, and I’ll make you ordained officers in an ecclesiastical structure that will have you go to meetings, figure out budgets, and work in a totally volunteer organization!” How exciting does that sound, after all? No. Jesus says, “So, you’re in the fishing industry? I’ll make you fish for people!” Jesus says to us…

· “So, you’re a teacher? I’ll give you opportunities to open people’s minds to things they never imagined before!”

· “You’re an accountant? I’ll help you show people how to make a difference in the world by their gifts!”

· “You’re a seamstress? I’ll introduce you to people who need clothes and warmth in harsh winter weather!”

· “You’re a lawyer? I’ll open doors for you to make systems work for people in need, to help people who are in difficult situations.”

· “You’re a laborer? I’ll use your gifts to help build and repair things that people need in their everyday lives.”

In the words of Dr. West, Jesus calls us as we are, from where we are, being who we are.

And what does Jesus call us to do, to be? Jesus calls us, as he always does, simply to follow him. Right before launching into the extended narrative of Jesus’ life and ministry, Matthew gives us a summary of what Jesus is about to do: “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.” Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching… and proclaiming the good news… and curing. So just what does this mean, and how do we live out our calling to walk in Jesus’ path and follow in his ways?

Jesus spent time “teaching in their synagogues.” The synagogue in Jesus’ day was a relatively new social phenomenon. The institution probably had its origins in Israel after the Babylonian captivity in the 6^th century B.C. However, it didn’t really catch on until shortly after Jesus’ time. The word, synagogue, comes from two Greek words that literally mean, “to gather together.” The synagogue was where the people were… where they heard the scriptures read… where they offered regular prayers… where they met together to consider issues that were before the community… where the rabbis taught. So, in order to teach the people about the coming realm of God, the Rabbi Jesus went to where the people were: at the synagogues. Where do people gather in our day? In church? A remnant, yes. But the gathering places now are coffee shops, book stores, sandwich and soup restaurants… places where there are comfortable seats, tables around which people can work and write and meet, coffee or tea, and internet access. Do you ever go to any of those kinds of places? Many of us do. Those are the places to which we need to take discussions of faith, Bible studies, book studies… anything we can do that will allow people to overhear conversations about faith and values and moral integrity and social compassion and justice.

Jesus spent time “proclaiming the good news.” Don’t we need a healthy and liberal dose of “good news” in our day? People are tired of hearing about wars that seem impossible to win against enemies that seem too elusive to defeat. We are tired of hearing economists who can’t agree on what’s going on in world markets or what needs to happen to help our own economic outlook. We are tired of political races that seemed to start as far before this fall’s election as so-called “Christmas shopping” which seems to begin in September! And we’re tired of politics that is diatribe instead of debate, invective instead of informative, confrontational instead of conciliatory. We need to hear some good news for a change! And good news doesn’t ignore the challenges we face or the pain and anguish that we feel. It simply helps us see that there is more to this world of ours than bad news. There is love. There is hope. There is compassion. There is God!

Jesus spent time “curing every disease and every sickness among the people.” Jesus was not a sideshow “miracle worker,” dazzling the people with slight of hand or feats of magical prowess. The word used here in the Greek is the root from which we get our word, “therapeutic.” It means to serve, to wait upon, to care for, to treat, to heal. There are many ways in which we are involved in ministries of healing and therapy: the food pantry work we still find ways to do, and we will find ways to do again next Sunday on Youth Sunday… our services of daily prayer for the world and for each other and for the church and for the well-being of us all… offering a Bible study at the Masonic Manor or a worship service at Crown Pointe retirement center… serving food to people on work-release and their families and ex-offenders as our youth and several adults did two Sundays ago… gathering in small groups as we will during Lent to share and pray and study and learn and just be together with each other and with our God… visiting people in the hospital or in nursing homes or caring for people confined in their own homes as so many of our deacons and other church members do.

Here is how I would translate the Greek of the text from St. Matthew’s Gospel: “And (Jesus) went from place to place in the whole of Galilee, teaching people in their synagogues, and making known the good news of God’s reign, and caring for all the illnesses and all the weaknesses of the people.” As God’s people, we are “Called to…” what? We are called to follow in the ways of Jesus Christ our Lord. And we have the model laid out before us.

AMEN!