The Call to Discipleship

we will hear a series of readings from Mark's gospel, interspersed with reflections and verses from The Summons, in Dandelions and Thistles By Jan Sutch Pickard 

“Follow me”, he said

And I did,

at times, the call to follow is clear

at other times it is as clear as mud.The Call to Discipleship

Look, he says to me.

Look at how people live

see how hurt and hunger stunts people’s lives

how loneliness breeds despair

how isolation breeds anxiety.

“Follow me”, he said

live the abundant life I offer you

Follow me

leave where you are

listen to the overlooked

speak for the silenced

share your life

“Follow me”, he said and I try …

…

“follow me”, he said, not just to one, or a few of us, but to all of us.

follow me and you will fish for people,

follow me and eat with sinners,

follow me and share what you have.

follow me and you will see miracles:

miracles of laughter,

miracles of healing,

miracles of full bellies and full hearts,

miracles of lives transformed.

..

Following Jesus isn’t always easy,

but then Jesus didn’t have an easy life either.

some thought he was a curiosity,

other thought he was dangerous,

others were suspicious:

      what was his motive for forgiving people?

         for healing

         for eating with the wrong people

is he a con merchant?
or a madman?

….

During epiphany, we have seen signs of the kingdom of God in the life of Jesus.

Signs of his divinity, in Baptism and transfiguration.

We have heard the call to a different way of living,
in the beatitudes with the blessing of the poor,

the grieving,
the persecuted and
the peacemakers.

We have heard how we are salt and light,
and the challenge to stand where the light can be seen.

Over the next 6 weeks, we walk with Jesus through Lent,

we will hear familiar stories,

of temptation,

the challenge of choices,

sinners welcomed,

blindness cured,

and new life from death.

All the time Jesus is walking closer to Jerusalem and a clash of cultures.

…

Jesus is calling each one of us
to come and
to follow.

“come”, he says

come and be healed

come and be forgiven

come and know yourself loved.

Come and follow!

Are you prepared to follow?

To surrender

      your way of life

      your identity

      your assets

to follow Jesus.

to follow when it is uncomfortable.

to follow when it is embarrassing

to follow when we don’t know where the path will lead

The call of Jesus: Follow me
is not an easy call to answer.
Just as it wasn’t an easy call for the disciples,
it isn’t an easy call now.         

Prayer: A Hard, Deep Call to Obedience

~ written by Walter Brueggemann, in Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth: Prayers of Walter Brueggemann, (Augsburg Fortress, 2003, p. 90).  

A time of silence, to ponder the call of Jesus.

Transformation

We come to the end of the season of Epiphany, the time we think about the revelation of Jesus – his baptism in the Jordan by John, the calling of the disciples, the sermon on the mount with its radical teaching on forgiveness, love, grace, sharing resources and paying back anger and violence with love.

And next week, we move toward Lent, the journey with Jesus to the cross.

This reading in Matthew, comes much later in the journey of Jesus – he is walking to the cross. And there is a sense of urgency that the disciples are ready for what is about to happen.

There have been healings and the feeding of the multitude, Peter’s declaration that Jesus is the Messiah, then Jesus foretells his death and resurrection, then the passage we heard read this morning. A few more chapters and we have the entry into Jerusalem that we call Palm Sunday.

Mountains have a special place in many religions. in the Scriptures, whenever we read of a Mountain, it is like a flashing neon light – take note, take note.

Here are some other stories in the Bible that include mountains – Moses and the burning bush, Moses and the ten commandments; Moses looking out over the promised land; Elijah defeating the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel [1 Kings 18:13]; Elijah and the still small voice; Jesus and the woman at the well discuss which mountain to worship God on; the sermon on the mount that we have been reading the past few weeks; and many more. Mountains mean something important is happening.

We still talk about a mountain top experience, meaning something wonderful or amazing has happened; something life changing; something remarkable and out of the ordinary.

That the transfiguration happened on a mountain is not surprising.

While Jesus, Peter, James and John were on the mountain, the voice from heaven said “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!”. Earlier, at the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordon, we also are told of a voice speaking from heaven, this time speaking to Jesus, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased."

Now, about to turn his face to Jerusalem, about to walk toward death, again we are reminded of who Jesus is.

As we set out on our Lenten journey, as we sit with Jesus in the wilderness, as we hear from Matthew about the events leading to the garden and arrest and trial …., what do we need to hold onto.

In our struggles, in the joys and struggles of life, what do we hold onto?

It was not unusual for Jesus to go away on his own, or with some, or all, of the disciples. Time to pray, to teach, to rest.

Gospel reading:

Six days later Jesus took Peter and the brothers James and John with him. They went up on a very high mountain where they could be alone. There in front of the disciples, Jesus was completely changed. His face was shining like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.

As we ponder what this image, please stay seated as we sing together

The Mountain

(inspired by Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9:2-9, Luke 9:28-36)

Suggested tune: LONDONDERRY AIR

How bitter-sweet to be here on this mountain,
high up above the troubles of this world;
to leave behind the clamour of the needy crowd;
to be at last alone with our dear Lord!
And God's true light expunges every shadow -
there is no doubt up here in this high place -
we see the glory of our God in Jesus;
see now that holy, holy light upon His face.

We long to stay up here upon this mountain;
How good it is to be here with our Lord.
To bask here in the light of God's great beauty,
kneel at His feet and soak up every word.
O, hear His call: "Come, gather all my faithful!"
Come, let His word shine in your hearts unveiled.
Oh! to go now to heaven like Elijah!
Oh that this holy, holy vision would not pale!

How bitter-sweet to be here on this mountain,
for well we know the valley waits below;
Our fellow trav'lers wait for news from mountain tops,
to share with us the joy that we now know.
They need to know that Jesus is the Saviour,
He is the light that shines for all the world.
and we will serve Him in the darkest valley
We will proclaim, proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord!

—words written by Brenton Prigge © 2006 New Hymn CCLI # 4674104.  He writes,“CCLI license holders may freely use and reproduce these lyrics, provided thatCCLI copyright protocol is followed.” Visit Brenton’s New Hymn website for many other good new hymn texts.  

….

As amazing as this image is, of Jesus shining like sun, with dazzling white clothes, it is an image of a Jesus that many people hold dear.  Jesus in his glory. Yet most of the time Jesus did not have dazzling clothes or a shining face; most of what we hear of Jesus is about travelling with disciples, healing people, including outcasts, teaching, feeding people.

As with many events recorded in the Bible it all sounds a bit strange to our modern ears. But many of you will have had an experience that has taken you to a different place, a time when you were aware of God speaking with you, guiding you in a time of trouble, comforting you in a time of distress. And this passage helps us see those events as part of a larger story. This passage can also help us to remember that these events don’t happen very often, and they happen in God’s timing not in ours.

It is in these moments that we are profoundly changed.

It is in these moments that we are transformed.

Sometimes other people will notice,

sometimes only you will be aware of the calmness in the face of crisis,

of the certainty in a time of fear.

The disciples missed the point.

When we are aware of God with us,

it isn’t time to build a shelter,

it is time to rest in God’s presence,

to listen,

to let the moment infuse our life,

to let the moment change us,

to be transfigured.

Common Epiphanies

~ written by Roddy Hamilton, and posted on Listening to the Stones.http://newkilpatrickblog.typepad.com/nk-blogging/mucky-paws/

Enhancing Life: Salt, Light and Worship

The sermon on the mount continues, after telling people who had been considered “less-than” that they are blessed and children of God, Jesus follows up with saying:

you are like salt

you are like light

These days salt has a bit of a bad reputation, too much salt and it can raise your blood pressure.

Matthew’s community knew that salt was used not only to strengthen flavour and preserve food but in ancient times was rubbed on newborn children, used to seal covenants, sprinkled on sacrifices, and understood as a metaphor for wisdom. Salt is used for lots of things today from soaking stains to polishing silver.

None of these uses for salt are for the salt. Salt helps with cleaning and gives food a different flavour and preserves food. In all these cases salt is there for the benefit of the item being cleaned or flavoured or preserved.

In what way are you like salt?
Do you help preserve someone’s life? Remind them, in practical ways, of God’s love when life is a struggle.
do you make life taste better for people? – a kind word, a listening ear[i]

There are lots of kinds of light – candles, torches, electric lights, spotlights …..

One thing light lets us do, is see what is around us when it is dark. The sun is a light, without the sun it is dark, just like at night. Though with the moon reflecting the sun, some nights are not all that dark.

At worship on Friday evening, we talked about light, and made lighthouses.

Lighthouses help boats and ships with navigation, particularly at night. The light is often a warning of danger.

Here is a lighthouse. [one made by Friday family church]

What happens when I cover it up with this bowl?
Why have a light, and then cover it?
Are we ashamed of being light?
one thing I notice with this lighthouse, is that the cover is clear so the light shines out, for the light to shine I need to be out of the way.

Here is a torch. [shine torch into congregation]

Another kind of light. A torch is portable, a lighthouse is not J
we can use a torch to see the spider webs behind cupboards;
or check the path when we are out camping.

Generally, we don’t look directly into the light, if it is a bright light, it will hurt our eyes. But light allows us to see what is there, right in front of our eyes.

You are light, not so people will look at you and go – AAAHH isn’t that lovely. You are light so that the places of oppression can be seen and noticed.

Jesus said you are like salt, you are like light. ‘You’ is plural, in case you are wondering. You, disciples, are like salt and light.

Not you can be, should be, will be sometime in the future; you are!
you are like salt!
you are like light!

Salt and Light Blessing

In a world that is always asking us

to become something,
someone,
some success story,

..........

~ written by Roddy Hamilton, and posted on Mucky Paws. http://www.nkchurch.org.uk/index.php/mucky-paws

Turning to Isaiah: this passage was written about the time when some of the people who had been deported to Babylon are coming back home to Israel. But there is no longer a King, or a Temple. This was a time of uncertainty and anxiety.[ii]

A time of questioning, how do we worship?

We read of the people complaining to God because they fast, they practice the rituals of the tradition, but God does not respond to their prayers.  Here is part of the Isaiah reading from an Australian Paraphrase:

“Do you want to know why your religious behaviour turns me off?
    Do you want to know why I ignore your fasting and bowing?
I’ll tell you why. You put on a great performance of it all,
    but then you go straight back to feathering your own nest
        and ripping off your workers in the process.

….

“Do you really think this is what I like to see:
    a day of pious misery?
    black clothes, long faces and crocodile tears?
    giving up chocolate and ice-cream?
Do you think that’s worship?
    Do you think that pleases me?
        Give me a break!

“Do you want to know what I’d really like to see?
    Dismantle the structures of injustice;
    take your feet off the throats of the poor;
    stop jailing the victims of unfair laws;
    and quit plundering nature’s resources.

“Do you want to know what else I’d like to see?
    Open your tables to the hungry;
    open your hearts and your homes to the refugees;
    open your wardrobes to those without clothes;
    and don’t go hiding every time you see someone in need.
    …

Do that and our relationship will be healed in an instant![iii]

Worship is about our relationship with God and each other, it isn’t for us to feel better, though often being in worship will have that effect. We worship to be encouraged in our relationship with God,
to be nurtured and sustained,
as we go about being agents of God’s love:
feeding the hungry
providing shelter for the homeless
not turning a blind eye to oppression and injustice.

Jesus said: You are like salt, you are like light.

I wonder how our worship enhances the lives of others.

 ................

in case it is helpful, here is the paragraph I cut:

Then Jesus goes on to teach about the law: “Don’t suppose that I came to do away with the Law and the Prophets. I did not come to do away with them, but to give them their full meaning.”

If you look at the rest of the Sermon on the Mount you will read some examples of Jesus appearing to strengthen the law.
Do not murder becomes do not call your brother a good for nothing;
do not commit adultery becomes do not lust after a woman in your heart;
but….
an eye for an eye becomes don’t take revenge and
love your friends, hate your enemies becomes love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

We are told that Jesus is the fulfilment of the law. I wonder how we might understand that. I mean look at the law on adultery – Jesus says do not even lust after a woman, yet in the Gospel of John, we read the story of a woman is caught in the act of adultery, Jesus does not give the traditional sentence, but allows her to go free.

I encourage you to ponder what might be meant by Jesus came to fulfil the law.  

[i] http://worshipingwithchildren.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/year-fifth-sunday-after-epiphany-fifth.html

[ii] Tyler Mayfield, Working Preacher

[iii] Isaiah 58: 1-8 selected verses http://laughingbird.net/NextSundayIndexes/A15.html

Blessed?

What does it mean to be blessed?

Some translations use the word: happy, others fortunate, most stick with blessed.

Blessed is a word we don’t use very often, especially outside the church.

I even looked up the Greek, and the word translated means: blessed, fortunate or happy.

If we think about the things that make us happy, or times we feel fortunate, what might they be?

Chocolate

Reading a book

Swimming

Being with family or friends

Not having to cook
….
…..

I asked the people on Friday night when were they happy, and someone said he is happy when he gets presents, another when she is singing or dancing, another on his bike.

We all have times in our lives when we are happy.

But while I am happy eating chocolate, I don’t know that I would call that blessed.

A time I remember feeling blessed was a time I was very unhappy. Because of what had been going on in my life, I wondered if God was real, or maybe just distant and disinterested in me. The alternative, that God inflicted this suffering on me was too much to contemplate, even though some people told me that. The blessing came from a Minister, who spoke to me of a God who was holding me and crying with me, rather than judging me or ignoring me.

I was blessed to see a picture of God that was of grace and love and hope. An image of a God who was with me in my struggle and sorrow.
 I still wasn’t happy, but I was blessed.

Do you feel blessed by God?

Maybe you feel you are not worthy?

Or that you are not good enough?

Not rich enough?

Not important enough?

Now, as 2000 years ago, to be blessed meant being successful; that is a good job, housing, food and children.

Yet the people named as blessed
are not the rich, the leaders, the warriors,
but the poor, the humble, the peacemakers.

I wonder if the reason these groups are listed, is because these were people who were of no account in society. People who would not be considered blessed.

Here, as in other parts of the Scriptures, Jesus turns our ideas upside down.

Reflection

He spoke of blessing.

And I stood among the crowd,

in filth and ignorance,

and bristled at his boldness.

He spoke of blessing.

And a rumour spread across

this hill of hopelessness

that he might mean me.

He spoke of blessing.

And I realised he talked

not through impudence or importance

but through experience.

He spoke of blessing.

And in an uninvited, unexpected

moment of madness

I was made holy

in my poverty and weakness,

hallowed in my hunger

and in my humanity,

sanctified in my peace-seeking

and in my persecution.

He spoke of blessing.

And I left there

wearing my rags like the richest finery,

and carrying my burdens

like precious jewels.

Spill the beans

You are blessed.
You are a precious child of God;
God is crazy about you;
and there's nothing anybody can do about that!"  anon – working preacher comment

In Matthew, the blessed are

the poor

the ones who trust God

the grieving

the humble

the merciful

those who obey God

the pure-hearted

the peacemakers and

those who are oppressed or persecuted.

Matthew leads us through the waters of baptism with Jesus, the temptations in the wilderness, the calling of the disciples, and here, a sermon. A sermon that sets the scene for much that follows. A sermon that tells of the presence of God,
the presence of God with the unexpected,
the sorrowing,
the lonely,
the ones who please God
who don’t show off
who seek to bring peace.

This passage is the beginning of the sermon on the mount. But here, at the beginning of this sermon, Jesus makes sure that the disciples know, not only in their heads, but in their whole beings, that they are known and treasured by God. The identity of the disciples as children of God is secure, and always the challenge to follow in the way of Jesus.

God loves you
and wants you to know the blessing
of grace and forgiveness
of hope and peace.

The blessing that sustains in times of turmoil
the blessing that keeps us strong when we are ridiculed for standing alongside the poor
the blessing that nurtures and strengthens us when we despair of the violence and oppression in the world.

The blessing of being known and lived

Secure in our relationship with God

To follow in the footsteps of the one who shows us the face of God.

Reflection time

We are Called to Follow

When I first became a Christian, I was told all I had to do was believe in Jesus as Lord and I would be saved. Then, the only extra thing to do was tell other people to believe in Jesus and be saved.

But as I have read more of the Bible I am aware that Jesus asked people to follow him, just as he asked Simon and Andrew and James and John.

Jesus didn’t ask people to like him,

or to be his best friend

or to be his bodyguard.

In the calling of the disciples,

they are asked,

in the midst of family and work,

to follow.

These were not the spiritual elite or people at worship every day. They were not an intellectual elite or the wealthy.

These were ordinary people, doing ordinary every day things,
and Jesus said to them: Come with me!

One thing I find difficult to understand is how these 4 fishermen, stopped what they were doing, and left to follow Jesus. According to Matthew’s gospel, all Jesus did was ask them to follow, and they immediately left their nets and followed.

These four men, and later other men and women, answered the call to follow Jesus, to be with Jesus as he saved and healed and taught. They were present with Jesus for meals and travelling and stories.

Their lives were disrupted and then transformed, they were called to a different way of living, to create a new community; a community that would be like a light shining in the darkness of Roman ruled Galilee. [i]

The reading from Matthew started with the news of the imprisonment of John the Baptist. Preaching a message of repentance was not going to win Jesus friends in high places.

He knows there will be consequences, real and scary. In spite of this awareness he begins his ministry.[ii]

We are not asked to only believe; “belief alone is not enough, we need action. That’s incarnational, God using us to advance God’s desire for the world….” [iii]

What would it mean for each of us to choose to follow Jesus?
to follow Jesus in speaking with the outcasts
to follow Jesus in offering forgiveness
to follow Jesus in offering inclusion to the disabled

to offer comfort to the ill

What would it mean for us to follow Jesus
in speaking out against injustice,
refusing to repay violence with violence.

What would it mean for us?

The lives of the four fishermen, Andrew, Simon, James and John were disrupted and transformed, when they responded to the call of Jesus: Come with me!

If we decide to follow Jesus, in bringing light to the hidden places of oppression and poverty and injustice, we too will find our lives disrupted and transformed, and possibly uncomfortable and even at risk.

Last week, someone spoke to me of seeing people from the Jehovah Witnesses doorknocking on one of those very hot days.  I am not advocating we go door to door, as some churches do, but this person was wondering out loud, when the last time they had done something for God that was uncomfortable.  

We are called to follow, not to simply bask in the love and grace of God.[iv]

Following Jesus will mean giving something up, we may be uncomfortable, we may lose friends, relationship with family may be strained. Andrew, Simon, James and John gave up fishing and left their families to join Jesus.

I wonder how willing we are to have our lives turned upside down, how willing are we to experience the kind of repentance that turns away from materialism and self-interest. [v]

What has been transformed in your life?

What are you willing to have transformed in your life for Jesus?  

-1 minute silence -

(written from the view of a disciple)

Reflection

Will you follow me

he asked—and we never hesitated

because it was an adventure,

and we never tired of those,

the risk, the randomness, the gamble.

...........

..........

[Spill the Beans]

---

[i] Warren Carter, Working Preacher

[ii] Dani Veenstra, RevGalBlogPals

[iii] Rev Terri C. Pilarski, RevGalsBlogPals 11^th hour Preacher Party

[iv] Kathryn Matthews, UCC SAMUEL

[v] Kathryn Matthews, UCC SAMUEL

Baptism and Identity

this 'sermon' is an introduction to a liturgy for reaffirmation of Baptism. i hope the experience and prayers will speak to people's hearts in ways that words do not always.

In Baptism, the identity and call of Jesus was affirmed. The next chapter of Mathew is about the temptations in the wilderness.

In our baptism, our identity is affirmed, as children of God. That doesn’t mean that until we are baptised we are not known or not loved by God.

Baptism is a sign of grace, a reminder of what already is.

Baptism is not an insurance policy.

Baptism is not armour against temptation, or illness, or difficulty.

Baptism is not a guarantee that we will be better people.

Martin Luther, was one of the leaders of the reformation.  

When Luther himself was hold up in a castle translating the Greek Bible into German so that for the very first time somewhat regular folks could read the Word of God for themselves, well, while he was doing this he struggled mightily with doubt and discouragement from what he understood to be the devil. And he was known to not only throw the occasional ink pots at whatever was tormenting him and causing him to doubt God's promises, but while doing so he could be heard throughout the castle grounds shouting "I am baptized".[i]

Not I was Baptised, but I am Baptised.

Baptism is a sacrament, a sign, a symbol – not a sign of anything we have done, but of what God has done and will continue to do in our lives.

Sometimes it is easy to think of baptism as something that happened, a once off; but just as a wedding marks the beginning of a marriage; baptism marks the beginning of the life of discipleship.

This morning there is the opportunity to reaffirm our baptism, our commitment to being disciples of Jesus Christ.

For you who have not been baptised, I encourage you to think about your relationship with God through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

Also, if you are not baptised, and would like to have a conversation about that, please let me know.

---

[i] Nadia Bolz-Weber, https://sojo.net/articles/how-say-defiantly-i-am-baptized

Matthew 2 Introduction

The first 2 chapters of Matthew set the scene as to the importance of who Jesus is. In chapter one there is the genealogy, which shows Jesus’ place in Jewish culture; he is from the tribe of Judah, born in David’s line. Matthew quotes the prophet Isaiah in naming Jesus Emmanuel.

Matthew also quotes the prophet Micah; Bethlehem is the place the Messiah would be born.

Matthew is writing for a Jewish audience, so the people who first heard this would have connected the dots. Matthew includes lots of quotations from the prophets, lots of connections to the Old Testament.

So far we have that Jesus is from the tribe of Judah, and his birth fits the expectation that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.

The wise men, or Magi or astronomers, come from the East. The East is where typically the enemies of Israel had come from: Assyria, Babylon and Persia.

There are some other connections that the first hearers of this gospel would have made.

·    The political leader Herod, orders the death of all the children under two, which sounds like; Pharaoh ordering the male Hebrew babies to be killed. And who survives; Jesus and Moses.

·    Egypt was a place of slavery, but this was not the first time we have heard of someone going to Egypt to stay alive. Joseph was taken to Egypt, after his brothers decided not to kill him; then years later Joseph brings all the family to Egypt during a time of famine.
Now another Joseph, with Mary and Jesus travel to Egypt looking for safety.

·    Moses led the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, and that is thought to be the birth of the nation; what might this coming out of Egypt bring to birth?

·    Joseph is spoken to in dreams, we have heard of another Joseph who considered a dreamer.

Matthew is saying: look out, something amazing is about to take place. This baby is something special, even more special than Moses. God is doing something new, be prepared to be challenged, to be surprised.