COME AND FOLLOW ME!

A sermon for the third Sunday after Epiphany

by Pastor Laura Gentry

Jonah 3:1-10 • Mark 1:14-20

Crabby people. They tend to be crabby about most everything. “It’s a sunny day!” You say to them and they retort with an irritated response like, “It’s too bright.” Well, that’s Jonah. I would say he’s among the Bible’s most crabby people.

So crabby was Jonah, that when God called him and gave him a special mission to go preach to the Ninevites, he ran away and ended up getting thrown overboard in a storm and eaten by a very big fish. See where crabbiness gets you? But that’s Jonah.

And in today’s passage, he has been spit up by Mr. Fish and God gives him a second chance to go preach the Word to the Ninevites. He does it. He appears to do it quite halfheartedly but it works, nevertheless. It really works! The entire city turns around. They repent and believe. They fast and put on sackcloth to demonstrate their sorrow for their sin. And I don’t mean just a few—the entire city puts on sackcloth, even the animals. Imagine the sight of that! So God looks upon their repentance and changes his mind. There will be no destruction of Ninevah, God will spare them. Mission accomplished.

Jonah’s preaching has saved this entire city—a city large enough that it takes three days to walk through. So is he pleased with this positive result? Oh no! He huffs off and sulks like a spoiled, over-dramatic child. Now do you see why I name him among the Bible’s most crabby?

But for all his faults, Jonah understands something that not just everyone understands. He knows the incredible power of the Word of God. He knows that God’s Word has untold power—power to activate, to radically transform. And that’s why he doesn’t want to proclaim it to the people of Ninevah. That’s why he ran away in the first place. He knows that the moment it springs forth from his lips, God’s word unleashes a title wave force that cannot be controlled. Not by Jonah. Not by anyone.

Surely this is why Jesus was able to call those four fishermen with such ease. I mean here comes Jesus along the shores of the Galilee. He’s nothing but an itinerant preacher. He’s got no credentials, no financing, not even a home to call his own. And he has the audacity to invite them to “Come!” He says, “Follow me.” And they do.

In Mark’s gospel, we hear that Simon and Andrew, then James and John immediately leave their nets and follow Jesus. They don’t even stop to ask questions like: is Jesus offering them a health care plan along with that job or at least a nice 401K so they can retire comfortably? They don’t seem to have a clue who Jesus really is or what he is asking of them. Yet immediately, they leave their lucrative careers, their homes and even their families and get whisked away by this Jesus fellow to begin new lives.

That, my friends, is the power of God’s Word! It is active and alive. It changes things. It changes people. We see examples of this throughout scripture where people encounter the living Word of God and nothing is ever the same. The effects are immediate.

Do we know what crabby Jonah knows? Do we perceive what the fishermen perceived? God’s Word is calling us too. It is calling us to come and follow, to leave our nets behind and be wholly God’s own.

In our own time and place, do we even know what that means? What is God calling us to do? How will we know when we hear God’s voice? Last week during the adult Bible study after worship, we had an interesting conversation about this. It is not always easy to sense where God is leading us and even if we know, it is not always easy to follow these instructions. But that is the exciting thing!

You see, Jesus ushers in a new day—a day of compassion, reconciliation and justice. We pray in the Lord’s Prayer that we want God’s kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven. On earth as it is in heaven. How thrilling! Our faith frees us to see the world as God wants it to be, rather than the way it is. This time we live in—this time of hatred and bloodshed, of corruption and exploitation, of injustice and starvation—is coming to an end. The Word of God pushes forward like a mighty plow, overthrowing the old order and bringing in the new, where earth will live in peace and joy as heaven already does.

That’s our calling—to be part of this radical transformation process. Jesus walks along the shores of our lives day in and day out, calling us to come and follow. We are called to believe in the power of the Word of God. We are called to be transformed by it ourselves so that we embrace the joy and freedom given to us, even as we live in this world of pain and woe. And we are called to join the disciples in being fishers of folks—ever about the business of calling others to join us in this great spiritual adventure.

Today, God is calling you. No more excuses, no more putting it off, no more being crabby and running away like Jonah. The Word of God is alive and ready to work through you. Do you perceive it? Are you open to it? Imagine what will happen when you set the Word of God free to change you. Imagine how our world will change as we work together in the Spirit’s power to bring heaven’s reality to earth. There is nothing more important than this calling, no endeavor more life-giving. So “Come,” Jesus says to you today, “Don’t even worry about what you’ve got to leave behind to do it. Come and follow me!” Amen.

© 2009 Laura Gentry

YOU CALLED ME

A Sermon for the second Sunday after Epiphany

by Pastor Laura Gentry 

1 Samuel 3:1-10 • Psalm 139 • John 1:43-51

It was back in 1973 that Motorola unveiled the prototype of the world's first portable cellular telephone. Portable, of course, is a debatable claim as the phone weighed almost two pounds and spanned a foot in length. Oh, and did I mention that it cost $3,995?

It wasn’t until 1983 that cell phones became commercially available. At first, they were just for wealthy dignitaries and drug dealers. No one ever thought they’d catch on with the rest of the population. Why would normal people want to be accessible at all times? That sounded absurd.

But today, over 260 million Americans have cell phone service—that’s more people than have land lines—and they spend, on average, seven hours a month talking on them. These wireless devices keep changing to keep up with the demand. Nowadays, you are considered prehistoric if your phone doesn’t include a video camera and allow you to surf the web.

We are more “connected” than ever before. Our friends and family members can reach us just about any time any where. We have the technology that makes communication more convenient than we could have imagined 35 years ago when the first cell phone debuted. But are we really more connected? Are we really listening to each other? Are we really listening to God?

Today’s scripture lessons contain stories of call. No, not cell phone calls, but divine calls. God reaches out and calls people to action.

From the Old Testament lesson, comes the call story of little Samuel. This boy is a miracle baby. His parents waited so long for him, wondering if he’d ever show up. When he does, they are so pleased with God’s gift that they dedicate him to service in the Temple. It is here, in the Temple, that Samuel hears God’s voice.

God calls him by name: “Samuel, Samuel!”

The boy replies, “Here I am. You called me.” But what the child does not realize, at first, is that the voice is God’s. He thinks it is the voice of his sleeping mentor, Eli. I’m sure it would take you by surprise, too, if you heard God calling your name in the night. It is not always easy to discern the voice of God.

Eli helps Samuel to understand that this quiet, persistent call is coming from God. Here in this dark place, God has chosen to show up and to stir Samuel to action—action that will renew the whole nation.

Then in the Gospel lesson, we hear the call of Nathaniel. Philip invites him to follow the one from Nazareth.

“Nazareth?” Nathaniel protests, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Again, the divine call does not meet with people’s expectations. Nathaniel has all kinds of prejudices against Nazareth and is unable to believe that the Savior could be hiding out in such a loathsome town. Fortunately, Philip presses him to check it out anyway.

“Come and see!” he urges.

And sure enough, Nathaniel comes and sees and is transformed by the call of Jesus.

So the question for us to look at upon hearing these stories, is how might God be calling you and me? This call is not ordinarily as obvious as a cell phone call or the callings Samuel and Nathaniel experienced. But as baptized children of God, we can be sure the call is being issued nevertheless. In a still, small voice, God is calling us to an important mission.

The Psalmist understands this intimately. In today’s reading, we heard these amazing words:

“O LORD, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, O LORD, you know it completely. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me…. For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.” (Psalm 139:1-5, 13-14, NRSV)

During my sister’s first pregnancy, I read that the ancients used to acknowledge the sacred state of maternity by giving pregnant women amulets to wear—little pendants with important verses of scripture. They believed in the importance of keeping scripture ever a part of their lives by having it physically manifest on their person, especially when the miracle of new life was happening within. So I went to the mall and picked out a silver pendant for my sister, upon which I had them engrave part of verse 14: “You knit me together in my mother’s womb.” Kathy wore it throughout both of her pregnancies as a constant reminder of the incredible work that God was doing to create her children.

Do we recognize just how fearfully and wonderfully each one of us was made? Do we perceive the ever present hand of God in our lives—who was with us from the time before we were born? No matter what we are going through, we can be assured of the powerful presence of the Lord. We can hold fast to the knowledge that we are a wonderful work of God who is loved more than we could ever fathom.

And this God calls to us. When we sit down and when we rise up, when we go to the grocery store and when we shovel the walk, when we watch tv and even when we do a crossword puzzle. Wherever we go, whatever we do, regardless of how mundane it may seem, God is with us and every moment is sacred.

Yet we toss this sacredness aside when we fail to listen to God’s call. We cannot afford to do this because God has plans for our lives—exciting plans to give our lives meaning and purpose. At the end of Jesus’ conversation with Nathaniel, he says “you will see heaven open and God’s angels ascending and descending.”

This truth is artistically depicted on the front of the cathedral of Bath, England. I was so impressed by it when I saw it my junior year of college. There are stone carvings of two giant ladders that stretch from the top of the front doors to the roof. There are angels all over the ladder. At first glance they look very heavenly and serious, but upon closer inspection you can see some humorous variations. Some are contentiously climbing upward, while others are tenuously looking over their shoulder as if looking for reassurance that they’re doing it right. And there are some who look downright lost, discombobulated, upside down and barely hanging on to the ladder by their toes.

You see, those angels ascending and descending that Jesus talks about are you and me. We are the ones called to be the bridge—to bring the joys of heaven to earth by our Spirit-filled living. That’s our calling. God wants us to be like Philip and bring others to Christ. We are expected to say “come and see,” not just with our words but with all of our lives.

But like the angels on the Bath cathedral, we don’t always get it right. Some days we don’t feel like we’re good mentor for others—we feel like we’re just hanging on to the Christian life by our toes. Still, God continues to call us to this mission. We are fearfully and wonderfully made and not only that, we are assisted by the Holy Spirit. We CAN do it! We ARE connected. God calls us day and night—and this is a call we don’t even need battery power to receive.

And so as we hear God's call today, may we answer enthusiastically answer with Samuel, “Here I am. You called me.”

© 2009 Rev. Laura E. Gentry

MARKED TO MAKE OUR MARK

A Sermon for the Baptism of Our Lord
January 13, 2008
Pastor Laura Gentry


Matthew 3:13-17
Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." (NRSV)

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The astronaut stepped onto the Moon's surface. As he put his left foot down, he proclaimed: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Many of you, I’m sure, remember watching it on TV in 1969 when Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon. Armstrong and his colleague Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin collected data and performed various exercises - including jumping across the landscape - before planting the Stars and Stripes flag on the Moon’s surface. They also unveiled a plaque bearing President Nixon's signature and an inscription reading: "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon July 1969 AD. We came in peace for all mankind."

Those astronauts and the country who sent them there certainly made their mark upon the Moon. Their footprints, the American flag and the plaque all bear witness to the fact human beings found a way to reach the moon. We left our mark.

As Christians, we have to ask ourselves about the mark we leave. No, we’re not doing exotic space missions but we’re doing something with the lives we’ve been given. We’re doing our thing, living our lives, taking care of our families, working our jobs, being who we are. And as we do these things, we wonder: is there anything that will leave a lasting impact?

At the beginning of this new year, as we hear about the beginning of the ministry of our Lord at his baptism. We are here in the brand new year of 2008. What’s going to happen this year? Will we do anything important? Will your and my life make a mark on the surface of this world? What will we be remembered for?

The occasion today—the day on which we see Jesus begin public ministry—gives us an important insight into what it means to have purpose in life, how we can contribute, be meaningful to this world, have an genuine sense that we have in some way fulfilled what we were put into this world for.

Jesus came from the northern county called Galilee down toward the city of Jerusalem, and to the Jordan River. It is a small but world famous river. When God's people, the twelve tribes came out of Egypt and were about to enter the "promised land," they had to cross this river, from east to west. It miraculously parted so they could go through on dry land. Only through water, as once before they came through the Red Sea out of Egypt, could they enter the Promised Land.

Now there is John the Baptist, a rather eccentric man for a good number of reasons, and he is doing something weird at this river. He is telling people in no uncertain terms: "Change!” He declares. You’d think he was running for President with that mantra. But he’s not talking about political change, he’s taking about personal change. “Get a new attitude! “ He says, “Turn away from your sin. Get ready for God’s coming!" As a sign that people were willing to change meaningless routines of life, to turn toward God instead, they were dunked by this John in the River Jordan. This was a clear sign that they had repented and were now eagerly awaiting the coming Messiah.

Jesus comes to John at the Jordan to get himself baptized. John knows this Jesus is the one he has been preparing people to meet. “What in the world does he need baptism for?” John must be thinking. He is the perfect one, without sin. He has the power to straighten every crooked aspect of life. He sure doesn’t need to repent, he’s already going God’s way.

So, of course, John tries talk Jesus out of Baptism. But Jesus explains that he has come to fulfill all righteousness! He has come to make everything right. The only way he can make everything right is by taking that which is "un-right" upon himself. He who knew no sin became sin for us, so that we might have this rightness with God. He is stating that from this moment on he will do right, be right, and amend all that is bad in the lives of people.

And as Jesus comes up out of the water, heaven opens. It is hard to imagine just what the author means by saying that the “heavens open” but it certainly must have been amazing. Many artists have attempted to illustrate this scene simply because it sounds so compelling.

Then Spirit of God, appearing like a dove, rests on Jesus! This dove is not simply a symbol of peace, as often the dove symbol is used. The dove is the symbol to God's people of the Spirit that hovered over the face of the deep chaos and darkness at the beginning of time. A new creation is taking place! Now this Spirit is upon Jesus. He will be the light of the world! He will be the Sun of righteousness. He will be the end to darkness, to despair, to that which lurks in the dark shadows of the heart.

And then the voice. The voice is speaking to the crowds around John, to us who crowd around Jesus today. The voice from heaven says, "This is my Son, whom I love."

Until this time, these people known as Israelites, Jews, the people of Israel were called God's Son, God's children. You had to belong to "them" in order to be part of God's family. Now, Jesus is called, God's Son! He is a new beginning of "God's people." From now on, all who are part of his family are in God's family. The old barriers are gone. By getting united with Jesus in baptism, you and I join God's family. As God’s children, we just might make our mark in history after all!

God’s voice from heaven says, "with him I am well pleased." These words are reminiscent of the prophet Isaiah’s words about the coming of the "Son of God". In Isaiah’s prophesy, he says that the Messiah will be a servant. He comes not to show off how powerful he is, but to serve. He has come to give us the righteousness we need to be in God's family.

This Jesus makes his mark, not by flying do the moon or doing anything big and lofty, but by serving people. Here already at his baptism, he begins his serving us by putting himself under the law—he who is above all laws. He will do all we do not do in serving others. He will take the consequences of our failure to trust God's ways are the only ways. It will get him nailed–nailed to a cross. There he will be a servant to the end. Even when taunted to show that he is really the God he claimed to be, he will remain true to his mission—royally and divinely to serve you and me so that we could be in God's family, righteous before the heavenly Father.

Jesus begins at his baptism to serve; we begin to be his family and serve from our baptisms. We are adopted into God’s family when the waters of our baptism flood over us and we are washed clean of impurity, dying once for all to the old loyalties to self, world, and evil. And God marks us. In our baptisms, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.

Will we make our mark in this world? I don't know. I do know that every time we serve others, as God in Jesus served us, we fulfill the law of Jesus. Theologians like to call this our “baptismal vocation”. The root of the word vocation comes from the word voice and means a summons or strong inclination to a particular state or course of action. In our baptism, God calls us to a particular course of action: to a life of love—a countercultural life that includes and cares for all of God’s people. This is quite a vocation we’ve been given! We don’t have to go to the moon but God expects us to make our mark!

Loving and serving others means we are aware of our failures. We must be aware that we stand before the perfect God. We must accept our baptismal vocation and follow the lead of Jesus—to forgive others as we have been forgiven. Living out this calling means that we do so in the Spirit’s power, as Jesus did, asking for help at every step of the way, for our human nature will always want to get in the way and keep us from following God’s will. Martin Luther explained that baptism is something that is done in church one day but that takes the rest of our lives to complete.

Jesus today reminds us by being baptized, that we too are baptized, that we have been marked with his cross and called to a whole new way of life. We have been marked in order that we may leave a mark by doing God’s will.

What mark will you leave on this world? How does being marked with the cross of Christ make a difference in your life? How will you fulfill your baptismal vocation to live a life of love? How exciting to remember, as we enter this new year, that we have been marked by the cross of Christ and we are full empowered to make our mark! Amen.

Now, may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

© 2008 Laura E. Gentry

SHINE YOUR LIGHT!

A Sermon for Epiphany
January 6, 2008
Pastor Laura Gentry

Matthew 2:1-12
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’” Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.”
When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.(NRSV)

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

We have just celebrated the birth of the Christ child—of God becoming flesh to live with us, to love us and to save us. We’ve delighted in the joy of Christ being born in us today, making Christmas an ever-unfolding miracle.

And now we move on to the next liturgical season: Epiphany. In fact, today is the festival of Epiphany and rarely does it fall on a Sunday. So this is an exciting day for us to celebrate Epiphany together ON Epiphany. But what, you ask, is Epiphany anyway? It is not one of those church seasons like Christmas or Easter that everybody knows about.

An epiphany is a moment of sudden revelation, an “aha” experience. Today, we hear the story of the magi following the light of the star to find the infant Jesus. They are religions advisors who have come from the East—the area of today’s Iran and Iraq—and been on a very very long journey, perhaps giving them a rather nasty case of camel sickness. And there aren’t necessarily three of them like the “We Three Kings” songs declares. There are three different kinds of gifts, yes, but the gospel of Matthew never specifies how many magi there were. And they are not Jewish people, but Gentiles who have heard the good news of the one true God. After overcoming all of the obstacles in their path, the magi see the glory of the child for themselves. It must have been an awesome encounter with the living God in human form, shining even brighter than the star that had lead them to his side.

Beginning in the 3rd century, the Eastern orthodox church celebrated this story as a church feast, to honor the visit of the Magi as well as the baptism of Jesus. Light of the star and water of baptism—these became the guiding symbols to move us deeper into the mystery of these ancient stories.

Light—this is a powerful symbol, especially this time of year. Notice how this season is placed right here after the winter solstice. At last, here in the deep of dark winter, when the sun has it’s lowest arc in the sky, the days are getting longer. Yes, bit by bit, each day grows longer—by about 2 minutes. It is barely perceptible, but yet the sunlight is dawning upon our frozen landscape. The sun’s light is the source of all life upon our planet. Similarly, the Son of God shines a spiritual light upon our world of dark and sin. And so this symbol is most poignant during the time of year when physical light is so precious and we look eagerly forward to more and more light.

Water—this is another powerful symbol. Our bodies are about 70% water. Even our bones are 50% water. It is the lifeline for our physical existence. We need water because we are water. Water is a symbol that figures prominently throughout the holy scriptures. Consider the prayer we hear each time there is a baptism, which mentions various stories of water as symbol of life, cleansing and rebirth. And again, this symbol is powerful this time of year—at least for those of us in a wintery climate—because much of the water is frozen and we await the time when the rivers and streams will flow freely again.

Now back to the story of the magi. They have followed the beacon of light to meet with the baby king. And when they arrive, they open their travel gear and produce amazing gifts to present the holy family: gold, frankincense and myrrh. Expensive gifts, indeed, but they cannot compare with the gift that God has given to them, and to us: the Savior.

Furthermore, it says that they came with a bit of fear and trepidation. They have met with Herod on their way through Jerusalem and he has really shaken them up. The wise men always look so serene in the nativity sets but they were people just like you and me with issues and fears to overcome in their journey to Jesus. Yet they made it and brought him their finest gifts.

They are a great inspiration to us as we look upon this story today. They can help us to consider all kinds of faith questions on this Epiphany celebration.

How does God shine forth divine glory to us in our present time? As Christians we believe that God’s revelation is ongoing. It didn’t stop when the Bible cannon was solidified. It didn’t stop when Jesus ascended to heaven. The Holy Spirit is very much alive and with us, guiding us, inspiring us and giving us God’s infinite wisdom. So what is it that the Spirit is trying to get through to us today?

Are we open, as the magi were, to receive this revelation? Since we know that the Spirit is speaking, we must be eagerly listening. Are we doing this? Do we actually want to hear what God wants for us and for our world and are we willing to respond in the way we ought?

Jesus has shined the spotlight on all the injustices of our world. He announces God’s long-plotted plan for peace—for a world with equality and justice for all with no violence, oppression, poverty or injustice of any kind. That’s a daunting vision. Are we embracing it and working to bring it into reality? We, no doubt, have fears like the magi did.

The prophet Isaiah calls us to “Arise, shine; for your light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. … Lift up your eyes and look around.” We must consider what that means for our daily lives.

We don’t have to let fear or apathy win the day. The glory of the Lord has risen upon us! We are bearers of God’s marvelous light. We have opportunity to shine the light, to be lights burning brightly in the darkness.

As baptized children of God, we are fully capable of doing so. Through water and the word, we have been claimed as God’s own children, forgiven, promised eternal life and given the daily strength and wisdom to shine God’s light.

Now, may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

© 2008 Laura E. Gentry