Tag: mission

Don’t Be An Absent Thomas

On By Rev. Dr. Jarrett BanksIn EasterLeave a comment

John 20:19-31

It can be difficult to relate to the ancient characters of scriptures. They walked this earth so long ago, that we sometimes wonder if we share anything in common.

However, most of us can easily relate to the disciples who were cowering behind locked doors on that first Easter evening. It’s been 2,000 years, but today, we can feel their anxiety, we know their grief.

Jesus had been rejected by the religious and political culture. People had chosen the way of a violent insurrectionist, and condemned the way of nonviolent, universal, unconditional love for all people.

Disappointment, disillusionment, and despair overwhelmed the disciples, as it seemed that love was defeated and hope was lost.

We can imagine their regret and guilt, as we wonder what we might have done differently. And we can sense their fear, as we wonder today if there is any path forward, if the world can be any better.

The disciples did the only thing that they knew to do. They gathered together.

You might say, they went to church, as the Greek word for church, ecclesia, literally means a gathering or an assembly.

That’s all it means— not an institution; not an establishment; not even an organization. Just a gathering, an assembly. It means community.

When all seemed to be falling apart around them, they gathered together in community.

And it was while they were together, in community, that something miraculous happened, that something that we call Easter. Somehow, someway, the Risen Christ showed up and a peace beyond all understanding came over them.

Together, in community, they received the good news that love cannot be defeated, that love never ends. When all seems to be lost, love remains. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love always wins.

And the anxiety and fear of the disciples were suddenly transformed into rejoicing, as a path forward began to emerge. They suddenly felt empowered and sent into the world to share hope with all who are despairing, speaking the truth to the powers of darkness, standing up for mercy, defending the defenseless, and to breaking down every wall that divides and every barrier that excludes.

The story of the way the disciples first encounter Easter this speaks volumes about the power of community— Community is where we experience love and grace. Community is how we experience hope and peace. Community is where fear is transformed into rejoicing. Community is when the Risen Christ shows up and Easter happens. Community is how love wins, death is defeated, and light overcomes the darkness.

This is the power of church. This is why church is needed today. This is why it is good to join a church, to be a church together.

However, in the middle the rejoicing, we get our first inkling that something is wrong. It is here we read that sometimes dreaded conjunction: “but.”

“But Thomas, who was one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.”  All of the disciples were gathered together in community, and all experienced the hope of Easter—all of them, except Thomas.

We can only guess where he was— Somewhere out on his own; someplace withdrawn; somewhere isolated; in some private sanctuary. We just know he was not where he should have been. He was not in church. Thomas was absent from community.

Later, when the disciples find Thomas and tell him that they had experienced the Risen Lord, Thomas responds with those infamous words that has given him the nickname, “Doubting Thomas.” “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in his side, I will not believe.”

We like to call him “Doubting Thomas,” because, all of us, if we are honest, have our doubts. And we like to be able to relate to these disciples, even if it is 2,000 years later. However, when you think about it, that is really an unfair designation, because Thomas is really no different from the other disciples. Thomas is not asking for anything more than the other disciples received on that first Easter.

The only thing that makes Thomas different from the others is that Thomas had skipped church. Thomas was not present in community. He’s not so much a “doubting Thomas” as he is an “absent Thomas.” All the other disciples had gathered together in community. The Risen Christ showed up. And absent Thomas missed it all!

No, we really don’t know why Thomas was absent on that Sunday. But those of us who have been a part of the church could certainly guess, couldn’t we?

For how many times have we been tempted to stay home on Sunday mornings. How often have we thought to ourselves: “You know, I don’t need those people down at the church! After all, there are people there who have hurt my feelings. There are some people there who get on my nerves. I am better off sitting my back porch, taking a walk in a park, or watching the sun rise all by myself..”

Maybe Thomas was just tired of people. As United Methodist Bishop William Willimon once said, “Being a pastor would be a great profession, if it weren’t for the people.”

Maybe he was tired of all the self-absorbed arguments about who was going to be seated where in the Kingdom of Heaven. Maybe he was simply sick of being around people who were constantly disappointing Jesus—people who could never follow through with their commitments, keep their promises, fulfill their obligations. Maybe he was tired of all of the passive aggressiveness, resentment, and jealousy.

Maybe he had just given up on the hope that the world could be a better place. Maybe he had acquiesced to the belief that love can never and will never win, that the moral arc of the universe actually does not bend towards justice.

So, when Sunday came around, Thomas stayed home. Thomas decided that he’d be better off on his back porch with a cup of coffee. And who could blame him?

But here’s the problem.

In staying home on Sunday, in avoiding community, in missing church, Thomas missed the miraculous transforming presence of the risen Christ.

And here’s the thing. We read in verse 26 that Thomas had to wait “a week later” to experience Easter.

Think about that. A whole week later. Thomas, the only disciple who missed seeing Jesus, the only one who missed the transforming power of Easter, the only one not to experience love winning, did not receive a personal, private visit from Jesus on Monday morning. He didn’t get a phone call on Tuesday, or a card in the mail from Jesus on Wednesday letting him know he was missed. There was no text message on Thursday, no email on Friday and no Facebook message or Instagram on Saturday.

Thomas had to wait an entire week—until when? When the disciples were again gathered together in community.

Listen again to verse 26. “A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them.” I bet he was!

And just like the week before with the other disciples, Jesus gives Thomas what he needs to experience the fullness of his transforming presence. Jesus says to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt, but believe.” And this time, not so much because Thomas had stopped questioning, stopped doubting, but because Thomas was present, because he was in community, the risen Lord gave Thomas what he needed to exclaim: “My Lord and my God.”

I believe one of the biggest problems with the church today is not doubt, but a belief that love can win, justice can come, Easter can happen, faith can be lived, without community, without ecclesia, without gathering.

Faith today has been reduced to a private, personal transaction between the individual and God. The love-wining, community-organizing, campaign-building, forward-marching, culture-challenging, justice-doing movement of Jesus that has the power transform the world and all its troubles…has been reduced to an individual’s personal ticket to leave this world and its troubles behind.

Our faith has become more about meditating to be in a personal relationship with Jesus and less about collaborating to be on a public mission led by Jesus. It has become more about worshiping Jesus in the heart and less about following the way of Jesus in the world.

It was Jesus who defined our faith by saying:

“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…” (Luke 4:18).

As disciples, this is our mission. And there’s is just no we can accomplish this mission alone, by ourselves, watching the sunrise or walking our dog in the park. It is talks community, collaboration and cooperation.

Because the gospel of Jesus is not good news to the individual. It is good news to the poor.

The gospel of Jesus is not about the release of an individual’s soul. It is about speaking out to release all who are held captive—physically, systemically, and spiritually.

The gospel of Jesus is not about an individual closing their eyes in thoughts and prayers to the troubles of this world. It is about possessing eyes that are wide-open to the world’s problems and having the power to come together to do something about it.

The gospel of Jesus is not about individual freedom. It is about coming together, side by side, shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand, leaning on one another and on God, while working for the liberty and justice of all.

Our faith in the risen Christ is personal, but it is never private. It is only by coming together as a community that we become who we were created to be as human beings and called to be as disciples of Christ. It is through our coming together, that we experience the fullness of the presence of the risen Lord and are given the power transform the world.

The church is far from perfect. There can be accusations, denials, and desertion. There’s apathy, jealousy, resentment, and failure. There’s cowardice, compromise, manipulation, and selfishness. This is the way it has always been, even with the first group of disciples.

However, when we come together in the name of Christ, something miraculous happens that we call Easter. Despite all our imperfections, the risen Christ shows up. And we are given what we need to believe, to hope, to move forward, to be justice-doers, and peacemakers. In community, we are transformed in love, so we can transform the world with love. Amen.

It’s Advent, and the Church Has Been Put on Alert

On By Rev. Dr. Jarrett BanksIn Advent and Christmas, Sermons Year CLeave a comment

On this First Sunday of Advent, the lectionary gospel lesson puts the church on alert. If Luke was working with Homeland Security, the watch condition would be raised to the color, red, as the times in which we are living are severe. If there has ever been a time for the church to be prepared, wide awake, and paying attention it is now.

And what are we looking for? What are we making preparations for? For Jesus to show up of course!

The problem for some of us, including your pastor, is that sounds absolutely terrifying!

For that is how I was certainly introduced to this topic raised in a church where there was no shortage of end-of-the-world Sunday School lessons and doomsday sermons. In the sixth grade, I had a Sunday School teacher who talked about the imminent appearance of Christ every Sunday for an entire year. She clouded my head with charts and graphs, all indicating that Jesus was to appear in the clouds before my high school graduation.

In seventh grade, our youth minister took us to see the movie The Late Great Planet Earth that depicted people disappearing in the rapture. Planes, trains, and automobiles were suddenly without drivers. I watched in horror as planes crashed into crowded cities, trains derailed, and automobiles collided on every street.

And if this was not enough to permanently scar me for life, it seems like every revival preacher I heard preached that they were certain that the Lord was going to show up in their lifetime. This especially bothered me since most of those revival preachers were retired pastors, and to me, looked like they only had only one, maybe two good years left.

Today, we can find preachers all over the internet who are still preaching the imminent coming of Christ in this manner. They point to world events like Russia’s war with Ukraine and Israel’s war with Hamas, the involvement of North Korea and Iran—all signs that Jesus will soon be appearing.

And they’ll use scripture passages like our gospel lesson this morning to admonish Christians to stay alert, to be on guard watching for signs in the sun, moon, and stars. So, every eclipse, solar flare, supermoon, and shooting star is a sign that we are getting ready to meet Jesus! There will be distress among the nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. So, every tsunami, hurricane, or the threat from melting ice caps, becomes signs that we are about to meet Jesus.

So, we are to be always on guard. Everyday, we must be on alert and prepared to stand before Jesus, because we don’t want to Jesus to come back unexpectedly, like a trap.

Thus, when I was a teen, this was the scripture my mom would use to discourage me from watching R-rated movies, drinking a beer, and smoking cigarettes:

“Jarrett, you need to know that the Lord could show up anytime. And if he catches you doing anything you are not supposed to do, he may not take you back to heaven with him.”

Although she probably didn’t realize it, my mom was using scripture the way the church has used it for 2,000 years, to control people with fear.

How sad and ironic is thar when it could be said that the greatest challenge our world faces today is fear.

From Pharaoh in the first chapter of Exodus (v. 8-10) to the fascist tyrants of our day, fear is used to turn those who are in some way different from us into the enemy. Fear causes us to be selfish. Fear is what makes us want to shout: “America first.” Fear causes us to horde, believing we will never have enough for ourselves if we continue to allow others to pour into our country. Fear drives wedges of distrust into our communities and makes any form of compassion or kindness seem dangerous.

Fear causes us to define ourselves and those around us not by what we share, but by what makes us different. Fear creates an “either/or” and “us/them” mentality that makes it nearly impossible to find any common ground, let alone see one another empathetically. Fear drives us inward. It hardens our hearts, darkens our vision, and makes us miserable.

Perhaps fear has always been our greatest problem as human beings, part of our evolutionary DNA. Maybe that is why the most common command in Scripture is: “Do not fear,” spoken 120 times by some angel, some priest or prophet or by an ordinary person.

I believe this is why I am drawn to the words of hope in verse 28 of our gospel lesson this morning. While many will faint in fear when they see bad things happening in the world, Jesus says: “Now when these things begin to take place, [we can] stand up and raise [our] heads, because [our] redemption is drawing near” (21:28).

It’s a promise that may be difficult to believe, because “these things” refers to foreboding signs in the earth and heavens, catastrophe and chaos among the nations, the powers of the day being shaken, and the coming of the apocalyptic “son of man” in power and glory.

So, how can we courageously stand up, and fearlessly keep our heads up, when the whole universe is burning down? How do we live in these days and in the coming days and not fear?

This is why I am glad that Luke is not the only gospel writer to write such apocalyptic narratives. A couple of weeks ago, we heard a hopeful word from Mark who said that such bad things happening just means that something beautiful is about to be born.

Matthew also wrote about Jesus talking about “the son of man coming in glory.” It is in Matthew 25 that we read:

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, (notice that he uses the same language as Luke) and all the angels with him…All the nations will be gathered before him…Then the king will say…“Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.

I believe this passage in which we read Matthew’s description of the Son of Man coming in glory, helps explains why the church should be put on alert, be prepared and on watch today. We need to stay awake and pay attention for opportunities today to see Jesus in the chaos, catastrophe, and calamity of our world. Where? In the eyes of someone who is hungry and needs something to eat, or in the eyes of someone who is thirsty and needs something to drink. We need to stay on constant watch for opportunities to support organizations like Park View Mission, Meals on Wheels, or Lynchburg Daily Bread.

In these perilous days as missiles fall from the sky in Kyiv, bombs are denotated in Gaza, and fascists all over the world are stoking the fires of fear and division, the church is in a red alert situation to be on watch for opportunities to see Jesus in the eyes of a stranger, a foreigner, an immigrant, or a refugee who desperately needs a safe place of welcome, acceptance and hospitality. We need to be on watch for opportunities we may have to provide sanctuary.

In a world where politics is not only force that is more extreme these days, but extreme weather wreaks havoc on us all, especially those who are poor and vulnerable, the church needs to be woke enough to see Jesus the eyes of anyone who needs a safe and dry place to be and comfortable warm clothes to wear. We need to be on watch for opportunities to support warming shelters or places like Miriam’s House and Rush Homes.

In a world where sickness and disease is big business and access to affordable healthcare is tenuous, the church needs to be on watch for those who are sick or experiencing pain and be prepared support health providers such like Johnson Health Center, Community Access Network, or the Free Clinic.

During this time when tyrants seem to have the upper hand, when fear of marginalized groups is used to win elections, the church needs to be placed on full alert, on guard to see Jesus in the anxiety of someone living in some form of confinement, facing some sort of oppression, far from thriving, barely surviving. We need to be on watch for those opportunities we have to compassionately show up in solidarity.

Want to see Jesus this Advent Season? In these times of chaos, calamity, and catastrophe, we certainly need to be wide awake and watchful, hyper-vigilant and keenly aware of opportunities to see his imminent appearance. But don’t look up in fear. Look down with love. Look down and do justice.

Though signs may appear in the heavens like a shining star over Bethlehem, Jesus will not be found in the skies above. Though the capital city shakes, Jesus will not be seen in places of power. If we want to see the one who came into the world as a brown-skinned, middle eastern, undocumented refugee born in a lowly stable, we need to look for him down in the places we least expect to find him, suffering and crying among the least.

So, although the times in which we are living are severe, and the world around us seems to be falling apart, we can courageously keep standing, and fearlessly keep our heads up, because, as Luke says, our redemption is drawing near. Because when Jesus appears before us as we are being vigilant in caring for the least of these among us, it means that we are loving this world as we were created and called to love this world, with a just and equitable love that has the power to redeem, bringing wholeness to all of creation.

For God So Loves the World

On By Rev. Dr. Jarrett BanksIn Sermons Year CLeave a comment

earth_heart

Luke 21:5-19 NRSV

Since the presidential election, I have heard many predict the end of the world. And before the election, TV evangelist Jim Bakker even said that if Hillary Clinton won, next month we would be celebrating our very last Christmas. I have heard Rev. Billy Graham say more times than I can count that he believed the end of the world was coming in his “lifetime.” That’s rather scary coming from a man who celebrated his 98th birthday this past Monday!

Even before this nasty presidential campaign, the Barna group found 4 in 10 Americans, and 77 percent of evangelical Christians, believe “the world is now in so called “biblical end times.”[i]

So, in spite of what we may think about this subject, this morning, perhaps more than ever, we need to hear what Jesus has to say about the end of days.

About “the destruction of it all,” in verse 7, we read where they ask Jesus: “When will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?”

In verse 8 we read Jesus’ answer: “Beware that you are not led astray.”

Then Jesus specifically warns us to stay away from those who claim to be holy and say, “The time is near.” Jesus says, “Do not go after them.” Do not follow them. Do not listen to them. Do not pay them any attention!

Well, glory halleluiah! Because with all the troubles in this world, I really don’t want to preach about the Zombie Apocalypse today. So, Amen Jesus! Let’s move on to some more pleasant things!  Let’s get onto a happier, more cheerful subject! Enough of all this gloom and doom, misery and woe!

Ok, now let’s listen to what Jesus has to say next! Hopefully, it will be something much more uplifting than World War III! If it’s not the end of the world, perhaps he still has something to say that will turn our eyes, if just for fifteen minutes, away from the suffering of this world.

“But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you. They will bring you before synagogues and governors.”  “You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; you will be hated by all because of my name; and they will put some of you to death.”

Come on, Jesus! Are you serious?

But I guess if we have been reading and listening to Luke, we should not be that surprised. It is as if Jesus is saying:

“Do not worry so much about the tribulations that will come with the end of the world; because, if you are following me, if you are faithfully living as my disciple, if you have fully committed yourself to carrying a cross, if you are truly serving those I call you to serve, if you are working to build my kingdom on this earth by building safe communities that preach good news to the poor, and speak truth to power while defending the powerless and standing up for rights of the marginalized, welcome the foreigner while respecting other faiths, provide quality and equitable education for children so they can one day earn a fair wage, take care of the sick and advocate for those with exceptional needs, if you are working for my justice and my wholeness in this fragmented world, then there is no need for you to fret over the end of days. . . because you are going to stir up plenty of trouble to worry about today!”

“Because you are truly living for me by loving this broken and suffering world as much as I love this world, you will sacrifice much. People will try to break you, and you will suffer. Organized religion will resist you. The state might arrest you, and you will certainly be hated. You will be defriended by friends and disowned by family.”

Matthew remembers Jesus saying on another occasion: ‘So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today (Matthew 6:34).

Then Jesus adds: “But this will give you an opportunity to testify.”

Jesus seems to be saying here: “Don’t focus so much on the end days. Don’t dwell on the impending doom and demise of it all, but instead, focus on the opportunities that you have today in this hurting world ‘to testify,’ to selflessly and sacrificially serve me by serving others.”

I believe Jesus is saying: “It might be ok to think and dream about leaving this troubled world behind one day. It is fine to have the hope that someday, somehow, some way there’s going to be no more evil to fight. It is wonderful to know a time is coming when there is going to be no more mourning, crying, pain, presidential elections, and death. However, if avoiding Hell is the only reason you are Christians, then you have missed the whole point of who I am and who you are called to be as my disciples.”

I believe Jesus is saying to us today: “Don’t go to church looking to avoid a suffering world. Go and be church bearing the sufferings of this world. Don’t go to church looking for some fire insurance. Go and be church allowing me lead you into the fire! Don’t go to church to escape a world going to Hell. Go and be church committed to loving the Hell out of this world, even if it gets you killed.”

This is exactly why I believe so many Christians are tempted “go after” those who love to preach about the end of days, especially those who say that it is coming in our lifetimes. For it is far easier to believe that God has already given up on this world.

It is much easier to look at the nastiness of this past election and believe that it is all a part of God’s divine plan, a preview of things to come! It is easier to believe that earthquakes and hurricanes and tornadoes and poverty and war, political corruption and terrorism, amplified racism and sexism, a divided country, are all part of God’s apocalyptic will; it is easier to accept that God has already given up on the world, so we might as well give up too; than it is to believe that God calls us to selflessly suffer alongside those who are suffering.

It would be much easier to believe that Christianity is only about getting a ticket to heaven to escape this troubled world and its problems, than it is to believe that our faith is about serving those who are troubled in this world.

British scholar Lesslie Newbigin comments: “In an age of impending ecological crises,” with the “threat of nuclear war and a biological holocaust” Christians everywhere have “sounded the trumpet of retreat.” They have thrown their hands u and have given up on the world. Their faith in Jesus has become merely a private, spiritual matter. Faith is only something they possess, something they hold on to, to insulate them from the sufferings of this world and to someday use as their ticket out here.

In the meantime, they withdraw into safe sanctuaries looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth. And they listen to angry sermons by angry preachers condemning the current world to Hell in a hand basket.

And giving up on this world is really nothing new. At the turn of the first century, Jews, called Gnostics, had a similar view of the world. Everything worldly, even the human body itself, was regarded as evil.

And maybe they had some pretty good reasons to believe that way, because regardless of what some may believe, things in the world did not start going bad with this presidential campaign. The truth is: things have been pretty rough in this world ever since that serpent showed up in the garden.

At the turn of the first century, Jews were a conquered, depressed people, occupied the Romans. And they were terrorized daily by a ruthless, pro-Roman King named Herod—a king who would stop at nothing to have his way, even murder of innocent children. The Gnostics looked at the world and their situation and came to the conclusion that they were divine souls trapped in evil bodies living in a very dark, God-forsaken, God-despised world.

However, the good news is that the Sunday after next begins the season of Advent, the season that we remember that it was into a very dark, and seemingly God-forsaken, God-despised world, that something mysterious happened that we call Christmas. A light shone in the darkness proving in the most incredible and inexplicable way that this world is anything but God-forsaken or God-despised!

The good news is God loves this world so much that God emptied God’s self and poured God’s self into the world. God came and affirmed, even our fleshly existence as God, God’s self, became flesh. And God came into the world not to condemn the world, but to save the world. For so God loves the world that God came into the world and died for the world.

Thus, the message that we all need to hear today is not that the end is near as God believes the world is worth destroying, it is that something brand new can happen, a light can still shine in the darkness, because God believes this world is worth saving. God believes this world is still worth praying for, working for, fighting for, suffering for. God still believes that this world is worth dying for.

As the body of Christ in this world, we are not called to retreat from the world and its troubles, but we are called to love this world, to do battle for this world, to even die for this world. We are called to be a selfless community of faith in this broken world. And, no matter the cost, we are called to share this good news “for God so loves this world” with all people.

And the good news is: though we might be arrested by the state and get some push back from organized religion, though we are betrayed by family and friends, though we are hated and could even be put to death, God promises that not a hair on our head will perish, and by our endurance, we will gain our souls. Thanks be God.

[i] Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2013/10/billy-graham-sounds-alarm-for-2nd-coming/#Y8RpIeMpqqHd8uRF.99

[ii] Leslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralistic Society, 113.

When God Calls

On By Rev. Dr. Jarrett BanksIn Sermons Year C1 Comment

called

Jeremiah 1:4-10 NRSV

Almost every Sunday, I stand from a pulpit and say something about the calling of God. I say things like, “God is calling us to use our gifts.” “God is calling us to this mission or that mission.” “God is calling us to catch fire and light up this city.” God is calling.

Oftentimes, I talk about this “calling” when I pray. “God, you have called us to this place.” “God, you call us to be your servants.” “God, you call us to live a self-denying life of discipleship.”

And on many Sundays we even sing about this calling. “Jesus is tenderly calling.” “I can hear my Savior calling.”

It is the kind of language that I use when my North Carolina beach loving friends ask me: “Why did you move from a place that is a little over an hour’s drive from the ocean to land-locked Oklahoma? Do you have family there? Do you have good friends there? Do you owe someone a favor there? Did you lose some kind of bet?”

“No, I am here because I believe God has called me here.” “God called me to go to seminary.” “God called me to be a pastor.” “God called me to serve with the Central Christian Church in Enid.” God called.

But what are we really saying when we speak of God this way? What is this call of God? Why does God call? How do we recognize God’s call? And more importantly, how do we answer God’s call?

I do not believe there is any better place to examine the nature of God’s “calling” than these first few verses of the book of Jeremiah:

Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.’

It should be noted that the very first word of this prophetic book that we call Jeremiah belongs to God. The prophet’s words begin, not with the prophet having some word inside of him that needs to be expressed, but rather with God’s word coming to him. This is what Martin Luther referred to as “the external word,” a word that is not self-derived, but a word that comes as an intrusion, oftentimes a surprise, a gift from the outside, a word from a God who says: “I want to transform the world, and guess who I am calling to help me do it!”

Therefore, it is a misnomer when we speak of this book of the Bible as “The Book of Jeremiah,” as if this book were mostly about the words of one man. It is perhaps better entitled, “The Book of God,” for it is God who begins the conversation.

In the beginning, Jeremiah sets the record straight that the words, the mission, and the direction of Jeremiah’s life was God’s idea before it was Jeremiah’s idea. “I knew you before you knew you,” says the Lord.

I believe this is one of the most important theological concepts that the church needs to recover today. Our worship, our mission, our purpose as a church is not about us. This, what we are doing right here and now is not something that we created for ourselves. Central Christian Church was God’s idea before it was our idea.

William Willimon once put it this way: “[Church] is primarily about learning to suppress some of our self-concern and cultivate more God-concern.” Thus, Sunday worship is a blessed opportunity to look beyond ourselves, to get outside ourselves, to hear and to embrace and to follow the external Word.

But notice how Jeremiah responds to this external word. When he hears it, he has a hard time accepting it and even a more difficult time following it. For his very first words in response to the word of God are words of resistance:

Ah, Lord God!  Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.

Hmmm. If the external Word of God is anything like the way most preachers these days describe it, why in the world would Jeremiah resist it? For who in their right mind turns down some chicken soup for the soul? Who refuses to take a little pick-me-up-feel-good vitamin to help get you through the week? Who says “no” to words that meet needs and fulfill desires? Who rejects a God who is all about making us happy, healthy, comfortable and prosperous?

And Jeremiah is not alone. He’s not the only one in the Biblical witness who has trouble accepting this divine Word. Remember when God called Sarah? She spat out her coffee and laughed out loud: “Ah Lord God, I am much too old for such a calling!” Remember when God called Moses? “Ah, Lord, God, not me! I am not very good at public speaking.” Remember when God Mary: “Ah, Lord, God, not me! How can this be? I am much too young for such a calling!”

Why the resistance? Why do they all try to argue their way out of it?

Could it be that they all knew just enough about God to know that this word, this external Word, this divine Word was not about them, or even for them, thus it was bound to make their lives more difficult.

But notice that God not phased by Jeremiah’s resistance and continues calling, commanding Jeremiah to “go.” But promises that in spite of the persecution that he will no doubt receive for going out, for standing up and for speaking out, God would be there each time to rescue him.

Now, there is no way that I can go into all of the horrible things that happened to Jeremiah along the way and still keep this sermon under twenty minutes. He was scorned by community leaders. He was beaten and bullied by organized religion. He was physically assaulted by his own family. He was put in prison by the government. And he had his life threatened more than once.

And each time, God did come to his rescue. Well, sort of. For each time Jeremiah got knocked down, God came and picked him up, but only to immediately call out to him once more: “Go!  Get up and go young Jeremiah, for:

Today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.

No wonder Jeremiah is continually persecuted! Change is never painless. In order for something to be planted, something must be plucked up. The word that brings new life is also the word that destroys and overthrows. As we’ve learned earlier this month, oftentimes the Word of God comes as fire. Henri Nouwen once wrote that our God is one who is continually calling us to go into “unknown, undesirable and painful places.”

After all, this Word, this external Word, this divine call is not about us. This call is not about meeting our needs; for if it has anything at all to do with our needs, this Word is about rearranging our needs. This call is not about fulfilling our desires; for if it has anything at all to do with our desires, it is about transforming those desires. This call is about what God desires and what God needs from ordinary people like you and me to build God’s kingdom on this earth.

Thus, I believe the church must be very careful when we talk about our ministry and mission.

During our wonderful leadership retreat that Rev. Speidel facilitated a week ago, I heard many say that they desired to come up with some ministries that would bring in new people to Central and fill up this sanctuary.

I believe that is a very good desire. It is my desire. However, I wonder if we are ever going to fill this sanctuary again, one of the first things we might need to stop saying is that we desire to fill this sanctuary. After all, this thing called “church” is not about what we desire. It is first and foremost about being called by an external, divine Word.

Let’s have the very best, the most active and the most theologically sound ministry with children and youth in this city. But not because we want to attract and bring in new young families to our church who will come in and help make our church more exciting. Let’s all use our gifts, selflessly and sacrificially, to build a great ministry with our youth and children because we have been called to do so. Because we have heard an external word, saying that “unless one welcomes little children, they do not welcome me.”

Let us love and respect our neighbors who do not belong to a church, meet them where they are, build relationships with them, earn their trust, care for them, be their friends, rejoice with them, even suffer with them, not because they might start coming to church with us, take our place on some committee or begin putting dollars in the offering plate, but because we have been called to love them. We have heard an external Word to “love our neighbors as ourselves.”

Let us give the poor and the hungry a chicken sandwich, treat a stranger like family, give someone who is cold a new coat, offer assistance to those who have been imprisoned, not because they might pray with us, one day believe like us, worship like us, dress like us and act like us, not because they may one day help us or even help themselves, but because we have been called to do this. We have heard an external word to do it unto the least of these our sisters and brothers.

Let us go an visit residents in the nursing homes. Embrace them. Send cards to them. Visit them. Prepare meal for them. Not because cooking or going to the nursing home makes us happy. Not because being nice to someone in the nursing home might one day get us or the church a special gift, but because we have been called to be family to them. We have heard an external word to take care of widows and all who are lonely and destitute.

You want to bring more people into the church? Then maybe we need to stop saying or even thinking that we want to bring more people into the church.

And just go. Go and selflessly and sacrificially use the gifts God has given us to share the love and grace of Christ with others for no other reason except that is what we have been called to do.

Just go and love one another with a love that is so radical and with a grace that is so socially unacceptable that it will cause people to ridicule us asking:

“Why on earth are you treating them that way? Are they friends of yours? Are they family?  Are you returning a favor? Did you lose a bet? Or do you expect them to reciprocate by doing something for you?”

And we respond: “No, we love them like that, because that is simply what we have been called to do. For each Sunday morning our church gives us this blessed opportunity to look beyond ourselves, to get outside ourselves, so we can hear and embrace and follow the divine, external Word.”

Well, I’ve preached long enough this morning. I realize that at this point this sermon seems to be unfinished. It seems to be lacking something. That’s because it is. This is a sermon that doesn’t have a conclusion—yet. That’s because we are going to write the conclusion.  It’s a sermon that each of us who are being called today are going to have to finish ourselves.

I’ve walked you through the story of Jeremiah’s calling, a story that began with God. Our story also begins with God. God is here and God is calling. How will we respond?