Can they do that Mark 9:38-50

Dear Friends,

Grace and Peace from God our Father and Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Slide 1) John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.”

Jesus' friends often have a very different visions for the Church and for doing God's will in our world than Jesus has in mind. Jesus friend John met such a situation head on.

John told Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.”

Let's get the facts straight. Jesus friends saw a man casting out demons in Jesus name. The man they saw exorcising evil spirits was not one of the 12 apostles and he wasn't even “Following them”. This didn't add up in John's mind. This man, who they didn't know, could cast out daemons in Jesus' name. Jesus' friends told their teacher what they'd seen and that they tried to stop it.

Slide 2) Are we on God's side?

I like to assume individually that I'm always on God's side. But I know better. I know that I'm a sinner and that in my sin I have fought with full force against God and God's will. That's what it means to be sinner who is desperate need of a savior. I believe that most Christians want to be on God's side. I believe most of Jesus followers want their church to be faithful to God and God's Word. But we who try to be faithful are all sinners. We, both individually and collectively, fight against God and God's will.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran executed for his roll in a plot to kill Hitler, once said it something like this. If you board the wrong train that's heading in the wrong direction it does you no good to run down the corridor of the train in the opposite direction. At some point you've got to get off the train and start walking in the right direction. Jesus friends have been learning this one lesson over and over for years.

Slide 3) Who is on God's side.

John and the rest of Jesus' friends expected rewards for setting the situation straight. John expected Jesus, at the very least, to give him and the other disciples a pat on the back and maybe say, “That a boy, way to go.” They believed they had stopped someone from misusing Jesus' name. They thought it was worthy of praise. And Jesus told them to leave the man alone.

The differences, which are sometimes quite small and sometimes quite big, between God's plans and our plans come out at surprising times. We see it sometimes in our ministry in everyday lives when we think that we are following God's will and then realize later on, some times much later on, that we aren't following in God's way at all.

Slide 4) Can they do that?

Throughout Christian history there's been a drive, among Jesus' followers, to be the closest to God in every possible way. We want to be Jesus' best followers and to be recognized and acknowledged by God and other people as the very best. If you believe in Jesus and commit your life to following him why wouldn't you want to excel? Why wouldn't you want to excel in following God as no one else ever has before you or will ever do after you?

The drive to be the very best as Jesus' followers has been here from the earliest days of following Jesus. Even before the cross Jesus' friends all wanted to be the best and to be closest to God. Martin Luther King knew about this drive. He called it the “Drum major instinct” Dr. King said,

And there is deep down within all of us an instinct. It's a kind of drum major instinct—a desire to be out front, a desire to lead the parade, a desire to be first. And it is something that runs the whole gamut of life.

And so before we condemn them, let us see that we all have the drum major instinct. We all want to be important, to surpass others, to achieve distinction, to lead the parade.

I thought about just reading Dr. King's sermon today instead of writing my own; but it took him nearly 40 minutes to preach and I don't think that most people here today are used to that kind of preaching.

Slide 5) What does Jesus see us doing as his followers?

We as Jesus' followers try to out do one another as Jesus' super-disciples. 50 years back, in Neenah, Wisconsin, a union worker, in a paper-mill in town, always tried to out do the managers in giving to his church. I learned years later how disappointed he was when church offerings were no longer made public. He loved to point out all the union workers who out did management in their giving.

Christians always want to honor God; but somehow our desire to honor God can and does turn inside of us into a desire to be honored too. Instead of just trying to bring honor to God we think that we deserve to be honored by God. Dr. King said God really wants us to be first and that God really wants us to be great. God wants us to be first in service to one another and greatest in our love for Him and for the people of the whole world.

Slide 6) Who is on God's side?

Jesus’ power can't and won't be contained in the boundaries we humans make for God. Jesus love for God the Father and for all of us is so total it won't just exist in the walls of this congregation or in congregations that look, think, believe, or act exactly like us. Jesus was passionate about the whole world. He couldn’t stand by and watch his friends try and limit the use of his name against the forces of his real enemy and our real enemy.

Jesus called them together saying,

“Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40Whoever is not against us is for us. 41For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.

42“If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea.

There's an old story about a man who arrived in heaven after dying. As he was being shown around heaven by Saint Peter and some of the angels he noticed a huge hedge surrounding one part of heaven. The was a quiet please sign placed right along side of the hedge. The man turned to Peter and the Angels and asked, “What's with the big hedge?” Peter turned back to him and smiled, “That's where the Lutherans go, they think that they are all alone up here.” I've heard that old joke with so many other denominations from Baptist and Pentecostal to Missouri Synod and Catholic in the punch line.

You can change the punch line over the years and I still think it really makes the point. We like to assume we are on God's side. And that's a very dangerous assumption. It's dangerous when we are having debates with other believers over sensitive subjects that won't go away. It's dangerous to believe that one group, or one historic denomination alone is faithful to God in the world today.

John didn't get a pat on the back like he expected after telling the man to stop casting our daemons. So what about us. What do we expect God to say about our ministry and the ways we treat other believers; even the ones we disagree with over major issues. Many Christians are debating issues of human sexuality both in public and in private today. How we treat one another in this debate speaks volumes, especially to the vast majority of young people of our nation who are estranged from God's Word and church. They are learning what we believe about the cross, and sin, and redemption by what we do beyond these walls. We need humility today in church regardless of denomination or position on difficult and controversial issues. Coming to God takes humility; treating other people who call Jesus Lords as blood bought brothers and sisters, even when we vehemently disagree, takes humility. We treat God's saving death too casually if we have forgotten that Jesus died for others too.

Slide 7) It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Hebrews 10:31 NRSV

The writer of Hebrews gives us a clue about what it's like to come face to face with God when he said, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Hebrews 10:31 NRSV. The real God is often, as Martin Luther said, a hidden God. He is hidden from us in layers of mystery that we sinners can't comprehend. There are so many dimension to God's work that we shouldn't even pretend to understand. God's not a buddy who is always on our side.

This story about Jesus' friends reveals a dimension to Jesus' work in the world that is tough to accept if you are convinced your church and your church alone is the only right way straight to heaven.

We follow a God who will not be mocked; who sent a Son to die and rise in order that you and I might be saved. If you think that you are doing God a favor by serving him you have forgotten what he has already done for you. Jesus came to save the sick and not to be saved by all of us. When we think our particular church alone is worthy of being called Christian or faithful we have forgotten the Holy God who came to earth. He came as a man who died for us and the world.

500 years ago the pope and the Vatican told each believer in Western Europe what to think and what was true. War and threats of personal violence were used to enforce one particular version of truth. I grew up in a Roman Catholic Church and have chosen to be a Lutheran precisely because of Luther's great belief in the power of Jesus Christ alone to save. I believe that God's Word alone reveals Christ to us and that each individual Christian has a place before God as a member of the priesthood of all believers.

Today, thank God, we have no such institution with coercive power to tell us what to believe and do. Instead we individually are called to come together as the church of God in Christ. We each listen to Scripture and test the Spirit. Our Lutheran heritage only has a future if we as individuals are attentive to God's word. Our Heritage as the church that is built on God's Word is in greatest danger right now because our culture has stopped reading and only debates God's Word. God's Word challenges us, who disagree strongly with what others are saying or doing, to be faithful to God’s Word to be angry, but not to fall into sin in our anger. We are called to ready, sturdy and pray about the word and to give space for others to try and do the same.

Slide 8) Keep Jesus first in your mind and in your life

Us real sinners get overwhelmed by our sins. Our inability to save ourselves proves that we still fight against God and God’s will revealed in scripture. All our struggles to escape sin lead us further in to the mess. Jesus came not for those who have it all together. He came because we need a savior.

I have often wondered what Jesus would do if he walked in to a church (regardless of denomination) today in Minnesota and the rest of the United States.

Would he shake his head or silently weep while watching most congregations get older and most younger people walk away from church (except for a few notable exceptions like weddings and baptisms)? Would he cry over the crimes and sins of clergy and church leaders? Would he get in the face of today’s fathers and mothers who have not told their own children about God’s love for them and for the whole world?

Would Jesus rejoice when congregations send out teams to places like Mississippi or New Orleans to help people get their lives back together after hurricanes while serving in his name? Would he celebrate when families study his Word together and pray together in their homes? Would he come dressed as a pastor or a millionaire or as a homeless person looking for help?

We are a culture of lost sheep and we need to come back to the one true shepherd. We need Jesus today in our lives as moms and dads trying to raise our kids. We need Jesus as brothers and sisters redeemed through Christ's blood. We need to open up his word not to win arguments with other Christians but to come into his presence.

One of my great hopes for Grace and all congregations is that we not be distracted from our primary mission: preaching Jesus Christ crucified and risen for sinners. Our primary calling as Jesus followers has not and will not change. We are first to love God with all our hearts and second to love our neighbors as ourselves. No Christian is my enemy, even if I disagree with them, they are my blood bought brother or sister. The Devil would like it very much if we forgot that he is our enemy and that we were fighting against each other rather than him. Give thanks for Jesus who died that all who believe might live.

Leave no room for the Devil Ephesians 4:27

Dear Friends Grace and Peace from God Our Father and Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

slide 1 ...make no room for the Devil.

I've been pondering this verse since Monday and I'd like you to think about this little snippet of scripture too today. This verse comes from a letter to the church in Ephesus. The origins of this letter have been debated by scholars for years; but the point of this letter is especially clear for me today.

This letter is full of directions for the young church in Ephesus about how to live together. I've been thinking this week this advice is good for all of us too. When you became part of a congregation like Grace as a church you became part of something bigger than anyone individual. At our very best the church is always greater than the sum of all our individual gifts. At our very best we see one another as sisters and brothers adopted sons and daughters of God the Father who are together seeking ways to love God and to go into the world to love our neighbors. But the Devil doesn't like that at all. The enemy wants to exploit every crack between us so that he can drive in wedges to separate us from one another.

Slide 2 Basilica in the trees

Much of the time we think that our spirituality is a private and personal matter. Maybe you think this way. Many people in our culture don't believe in the church. When asked most people say they believe in God and many of them pray; but many don't believe in the church. Couples who want to get married in a church come looking to use the facility here, but they have no intention of being part of the church. Many never have been part of the church or have been part of a church only on the periphery. To many people in our culture and to many of us as individuals how you and I connect with God is a private matter between you and me as individuals and with the gods of our own invention.

Slide 3 Chicago

We don't live in a spiritually neutral world and we aren't spiritually neutral either. We're sinners who live in a world with both good and evil forces present and active. As Christians we know that God is real and that he loves us enough to die for us. We learn the hard way about our enemy who is intent on doing as much damage as possible.

Our God loves us enough to die for us; but he has not made us into robots. Through Jesus' blood you are freed from sin. You are free to serve God or the Devil. Jesus cross took away sin but it did not take away your freedom. God wants us to love him freely and openly. And because God wants love that is freely given you and I can choose how we treat God and how we treat one another.

Slide 4 ...and make no room for the Devil

We have an enemy who will exploit our free will. He's looking for any opening he can find. He will drive enormous wedges between us to break up everything that matters by using our freedom against us. We're free to choose church or not. We are free to read scripture or not. We are free to pray or not. We are free to say a kind word to another person or not. We are free to help as sister or brother in need or not. We are free to participate in evil or not. What God wants is for us to seek him out in worship, scripture, service, and prayer. What God wants is for us to love our neighbors as ourselves. We are free to live as God intends or to choose not to live as God intends.

Many people think connecting with God is easy if you just go on your own. That's what we sinners like to believe. We sinners like connecting with our own individual gods one on one without anyone or anything to challenge us. That's what the Devil wants. He wants us to be isolated, out on islands with gods of our own making, surrounded by our own self-righteousness. The devil's the expert at this. He's been at this for thousands of years.

Slide 5 How do you imagine the devil?

How we imagine the Devil often blinds us to all the ways that evil is at work in the world today.

Our cultures two most favorite decorating holidays, based on total sales of decorations and their effect on the retail economy, are Christmas and Halloween. This nation is infatuated by the polar opposites of good and evil, innocence and guilt that these two days represent. Keep in mind that the image that we have of the Devil at Halloween is only part of our enemy in the world today. The devil most likely wants us to imagine him as a beast with horns, fiery red flesh, a forked tail, and a pitchfork.

If we insist that the Devil incarnate has horns or breaths fire we won't recognize him when he's at work. But if you and I look around the world long enough you identify him in his work. Hell is real and there are people living in hell on earth today..The Devil is at work subtly trying to destroy everything good and true.

Slide 6 kkk robe

The devil needs no pitchfork. He uses our words and our hands. He uses our self-righteousness. When you refuse to forgive the enemy will use that choice to tear-down and destroy. He uses us to do his dirty work. He uses our ancient prejudices and deeply ingrained biases against both other people and against ourselves. He's been at work for thousands of years trying to undermine everything good and true.

In the movie Oh Brother Where art Thou one of the characters, Tommy sold his soul to the Devil. Another character in the movie Pete asked Tommy, “I've always wondered, what's the devil look like?”

The know it all of the group Everett piped in: “Well, there are all manner of lesser imps and demons, Pete, but the great Satan hisself is red and scaly with a bifurcated tail, and he carries a hay fork.”

Tommy, the one who sold his soul to learn how to play the guitar said: “Oh, no. No, sir. He's white, as white as you folks, with empty eyes and a big hollow voice.” We imagine evil incarnate looking one way. But the enemy has countless disguises. He can even come under the cover of an angle.

Slide 7: the enemy uses our...

The writer of this letter to the Ephesians knew the truth. The Devil will slither into any tiny fissure in our lives where he can find room. He knows our old weaknesses: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride. In church conflict he uses our anger and pride against us every time he can. If one party feels they have been lied to or mistreated the devil cans use that anger.

Slide 8: and make no room for the Devil with list

It's critical to note that Paul warns against falsehood and calls for truth speaking; but he also asked the church to, “Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,” (Ephesians 4:26)

In our families he uses our anger against another against us. The devil rejoices if a fight is separating you from a sister or brother.

In marriages he will try to twist any misplaced word or mistaken glance for something sinister. He will work to undermine fidelity, love, and affection.

He will try to come between friends. He will use all the old tricks. And we will by our free choice freely fall for them.

At work he will use jealousy and acrimony to rip us apart.

Slide 9 ...make no room for the devil

Last week I attended the 125^th anniversary of my internship congregation. I was there as “Vicar John” from August 1997 to August 1998. It was good to see some old friends and hear stories from the church where I came as a student and left better prepared to be a pastor. I say thanks be to God for all that.

As I reminisced I realized how different that church is today then when I came as a seminary student. A few years after I left there was deep conflict. Many left who were once deeply committed to that church. Attendance fell by more than half. A few 20 somethings (who now live other towns) were there, but one of the young man's parents wouldn't come. It was tough to watch, for him, for me and probably for others who remembered the people who weren't there to celebrate.

Our old enemy rejoices when one Christian attacks another. We Lutherans sing about, “Our old satanic foe has sworn to work us woe” as part of A Mighty Fortress. If we will listen, Paul is boldly telling us the real power of the enemy to split and divide us. God's power is greater than the enemies; but we are often the Devil's unwitting accomplices in conflict.

Slide 10 and be kind...

The enemy uses and manipulates us in all kinds of places (not just the church) to try and pull down the good. Paul's challenge to Christians who are taking up sides against one another is real.

and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 4:31-5:2)

The old enemy wants us divided; but the Lord of Hosts can use us the most when we are united. We often mistakenly seek out ways to make others “just like us” assuming that uniformity is unity; and God instead makes us one in the Spirit, in the sacraments, and in his love.

For that Amazing Grace I give thanks. AMEN.

A Sermon for Our Saviors Lutheran Church Neenah WI

Good Evening--I am honored to be here tonight for a time of reflection and celebration. I've heard a lot of excitement from Kelly, Kristy, and Karl about what's going on at Our Saviors. You're dreaming right now and I am honored tonight to come and speak with you about dreams. God give us dreams and he puts our faith in action.

The prophet Joel put it this way.

...it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all
flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream
dreams, your young men shall see visions. Joel 2:23

I'm not sure if I'm the young man or the old man any more. My kids tell me that I'm sort of old and the confirmation kids tell me that too. They don't use words to say that though; they just roll their eyes at my old music. But that's not the point. Tonight's about dreams and visions being made real in your lives.
I want ask you to to invite you to take a moment to stand up and stretch. Now if you aren't facing forward I'd encourage you to turn your chairs around so that you'll be more comfortable. Thanks you.

Let's Pray:
Father God we're here tonight to do something bold. We here to step out in faith. Guide us as followers of your son Jesus. Help us see your plan for our faith in action. Let your Spirit blow free and move boldly among us tonight. Open us up to the joy of giving and to the joy of following you in every part of our lives. AMEN.
Our faith in action, our faith in Jesus has always been be full of surprise. The first Easter there was a surprise waiting when some women who'd followed Jesus stepped inside His tomb. A mysterious man arrayed in white met them,

"Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him." Mark 16:6 NIV

This announcement was Good News then and it remains Good News today. It is our Christian story, and the mystery of faith as simple as it gets.Our faith in Christ, our salvation and everything that matters rests on this Good News. The women who heard it first were speechless. I've spoken with some women and men about the this speechless part of the story.

Most of the women I speak with can't imagine these 3 women, or any woman for that matter, being completely silent. I'll tread very carefully here. I live with 4 women and it's rarely quiet at our house. Something big happened that stunned these women and left them silent. They were ready for a dead body; not an empty tomb. They were silent and afraid; but they didn't stay silent and afraid for ever. At some point in time joy broke in and overcame their fear.

Fear is a basic involuntary emotional response. We can't prevent it or avoid it; it happens. Maybe you've experienced fear when you heard a dog's bark rapidly getting closer and closer to you as you were walking. Maybe you've winced in fear as you heard breaks and tires squealing behind you as you sat waiting for the light to change at an intersection. The unexpected grabs us. The 3 women at Jesus tomb were caught in a moment of great surprise. The great psycho-analyst Bill Cosby said that if you want to see people as there most true selves you have to see them when they loose their cool.

Resurrection defies easy explanation and comparison. We think that the change of winter into spring is a miracle. But a resurrection is even bigger. We might say wow as the first flowers pop up out of the dead leaves but we're here today because of something bigger. Maybe your a baseball fan and you think its pretty amazing to see your team come back when they've been trailing in a game. But a resurrection is even bigger than your team chewing up a 2 run deficit with two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning. When that happens at timber rattlers game or at Miller Field or at the Metro-dome everybody jump up on their feet to cheer.

Resurrection is so much bigger than anything else in human experience. Resurrection is our reason to jump up and give in order to boldly help God grow the kingdom.We have news to share: Jesus came back and promises new life to all who believe. We have resources, talents, prayers, and strengths to offer up, to give away in order that we might know more fully the the joy of God the Father. We live in a time when sin, death, and the devil often look stronger than faith, hope, and love.

Fear held the women silent; but we know today that they didn't sit on the story. We know that the Joy of the Good News overcame their fear. That's God's work in our world: God's great gift of faith in action breaks through fear.

You all have heard and seen Jesus words, “...I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:20b Tonight is about stepping out in faith. Tonight is not for talk but for commitment and faith in action.

3 out of the 4 Gospels tell the same story about Jesus' walking out to his friends on a boat out in the middle of Lake Galilee late at night. In all 3 versions of the story Jesus had just taught a huge crowd by the shore of the lake and then fed the thousands who'd come to hear him teach with only 5 small loaves and two fish.
Lets hone in on one account, in the Gospel of Matthew, of the events of that particular night. Matthew said that
Right away [after the crowd had eaten their fill], Jesus made his disciples get into a boat and start back across the lake. But he stayed until he had sent the crowds away. 23Then he went up on a mountain where he could be alone and pray. Later that evening, he was still there.

Jesus left his friends and went up to pray. He sent them out onto the water in the boat to head on to a new place. They'd just seen thousands come to hear him teach. They were there when He healed hurting souls and restored broken bodies. They were there when 5 little loaves and a couple pieces fish turn into a meal for thousands with baskets full to spare.

Sometimes we have what Cath Mode calls God moments. We have those experiences in our lives when we sense God at work. One of the joys I had in my time at Our Saviors was listening as people told me what God was doing in their live and in the lives of other people. We have moments when we see, hear, taste, smell, and feel God at work. We learn from the God moments, from following Jesus in the church that our lives are part of greater plan.

Jesus sent his friends out onto the water. He sends us out onto the sea. We do not know what's next. Neither did the 12 when they went out on the water. Jesus sent them out together. He sends us out together in the church. We aren't to go into the world alone. He sends us out with brothers and sisters. He sends us out as part of a greater body.

A couple years ago I was in Christus Victor Church in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. When Hurricane Katrina hit Ocean Springs was high ground on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. And Christus Victor was at the highest point of the high ground; a whopping 26 feet about the gulf. And that church opened up everything they had for the people who needed help and for the people who came to help them rebuild in Mississippi.

They gave over their fellowship hall to the forklifts, pallet jacks, and pallets full of food, cleaning kits, and electric generators. The carpet was only 6 months old; but that didn't matter. They gave over their offices to the Red Cross, Church World Service, Luther Disaster Response, FEMA, and other agencies. They gave over their Sunday School Classrooms to the volunteers who came to stay and work. The church got a second name, Camp Victor. They would have opened up their sanctuary too; but that was too damaged by the storm to be of use.

The members of Christus Victor opened up their homes, shared their food, money, and resources because in that moment they were living out their faith as the body of Christ. They don't believe in consequence at Christus Victor anymore. They believe in God's providence. God gave them resources they never knew were there and they gave them away only to find even more coming in right behind. God is good and gracious. He's blessed us abundantly.

The apostle Paul wrote about our life as Christians understanding from the very earliest moments on that the church is, and has always been, a body. He understood that as a body that we need each other. Paul wrote boldly instructing the early church:

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts
are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13For we were all baptized
by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were
all given the one Spirit to drink. 14Now the body is not made up of one part but
of many.

Paul's point is too important to loose. He's telling us something that we don't want to ever forget. If we think that faith is only a personal thing we're missing a great joy of living for Christ; for Paul faith started as a personal experience. And when that experience of faith in action moved into every part of his being it became transformative. Faith in action changed Paul. Every single believer has been touched by what God did with Paul's life after God so radically changed him. Paul knew it then and we know it now. We are in the church together with a purpose.

You as Our Saviors today have a purpose. You as Our Saviors together are out on the water. You are out there, just like Peter and Jesus' other friends were out on the water in the middle of Lake Galilee. It was late that night. Matthew wrote,

24By this time the boat was a long way from the shore. It was going against the
wind and was being tossed around by the waves.

There's a lot of wind and lot of waves today. There's a lot of uncertainty. The fear's real; and the kingdom of God is just as real.

One fellow told me that he and his wife were driving on the interstate in Montana and that they'd run out of gas. He could see an overpass aways on, up ahead in the distance, and he knew from the map that there was a town up ahead. He told his wife he was going to get some gas. His wife was in the middle of a good book and didn't seem too worried. So he started walking.

After walking for a while an old car pulled up along side. 3 young men were inside. They asked him if he needed a hand. He got in, unsure if it was the best idea. The car quickly got up to speed. It took a while longer than he expected to get the bridge. It turned out the bridge he saw ahead wasn't as close as it appeared. He was miles away. And there was no gas at that exit that he was going to walk to. The nearest filling station was a few miles further down the road. They pulled up to the filling station; but they had no gas cans. The two young the men in the car took him to a Wal-Mart still even further on down the road to get a gas can.

The young men brought him back to his car. He offered them some money explaining that he was grateful for the help. When he got back to the car his wife looked up from her book and said, “glad you're back.” She didn't realize how far he'd gone to get gas.

Every person has had this kind of experience. We've all found ourselves way out there. We've all had those moments where we have to step out in faith and take a risk.

God isn't inviting us to stay where we think its safe. He's asking us to follow him. Jesus told his friends to “Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” God calls you and me to follow in the way of the cross. His call comes at unexpected hours. You have a great moment at hand. For years Our Saviors has visited about building and remodeling. And today you're being asked to commit. Today you are being asked to discover the joy that comes from giving away from what God has already given to you.

I've spoken with people who thought they were ready for everything until the past year. One man told me last week that he'd lost $200,000 in a few days time. I didn't tell him; but I sure wish I that I had had that much to begin with. There's uncertainty and anxiety. And the enemy wants us to be paralyzed in fear. And God wants us to see faith in action. Out on the water of lake Galilee Jesus' friends were riding west in a boat. Matthew wrote,

25A little while before morning, Jesus came walking on the water toward his
disciples. 26When they saw him, they thought he was a ghost. They were terrified
and started screaming.

Fear is real. Doubt is real. The Devil wants fear to be the most real thing we know so that we'll sit paralyzed. The Good News is that Resurrection and are just as real. Jesus' transforming love is real and complete.

27At once, Jesus said to them, "Don't worry! I am Jesus. Don't be afraid."
28Peter replied, "Lord, if it is really you, tell me to come to you on the water."
29"Come on!" Jesus said. Peter then got out of the boat and started walking on the water toward
him.

Stepping out in faith is risky. Jesus called “Come on [Pete].” Step out of the boat and live with your faith in action.

30But when Peter saw how strong the wind was, he was afraid and started sinking. "Save me, Lord!" he shouted. 31Right away, Jesus reached out his hand. He helped Peter up and said, "You surely don't have much faith. Why do you doubt?"
32When Jesus and Peter got into the boat, the wind died down. 33The men in the boat worshiped Jesus and said, "You really are the Son of God!"

Maybe you think you aren't ready. Or maybe you just have to be ready whether you think its the right time or not. You see today's been set aside by your friends in Christ, your brothers and sisters, to make pledges in support of a building plan. You're being asked to go beyond your regular giving. You being asked to grow by 50% percent a year what you give for the next 3 years. This is not a simple stewardship talk. You are being asked to make something wonderful happen by giving away more than you all ready do. You're being invited tonight to consider with prayer and hope a commitmnet not just to the current ministry of Our Saviors. Your being asked to move forward together being the very best stewards you can.

You're being asked to build an elevator and remove every barrier to people with disabilities who want to worship and celebrate what God is doing with you. You're being asked to be wise and responsible stewards who will upgrade your facility replacing old wiring and plumbing in the kitchen finally bringing it up to code. You're being asked to replace a tired roof and to even dream about growing your facility with a new nursery, new office space, and music space.
This exactly the moment not to talk about money and ministry but to go ahead in faith and act. Maybe you don't think you're prepared today. A church like Our Saviors is relevant today because the people who came before you who committed and put their faith into action. You have an opportunity now to be the very best stewards of your collective gifts. You have the opportunity to go forward together with grace and faith, hope and love.

There's real ministry happening in this congregation that you won't hear about on CNN, NPR, or FOXNews. There is real ministry happening, and much of it goes unnoticed and uncelebrated. Ministry happens when any of you bring Christ's greatest gifts, faith, hope, and love into the world. People who've been caught unprepared need to hear the Good News. Paul said it beautifully in

Philipians 4:5. “The Lord is near.”

Paul's advice isn't pie in the sky. It's an honest word for tonight. Jesus is close enough to hear your prayers. He's near enough to meet you in the Word of God. He's close enough to touch you in worship and to inspire you as you read the Word. Its a very good time to be the church.

The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philipians 4:5-7 NRSV

We are living in an anxious time. Young families with kids are balancing student debt, careers, mortgages, the responsibilities of parenthood, and lust for the things of this world. None of these struggles are new; but as so many have come to a new understanding about the world and money Our Saviors and many other churches have been given a new opportunity for ministry.
Tonight is about the future. Tonight is about a dream and a vision. Your ministries all at some level can grow as you put faith in action. It's time to preach Christ. It's time to be church together.
AMEN.

Good Sheep Bad Sheep? John 10:11-18 Good Shepherd Easter 4B May 3 2009

Grace and Peace to you from God Our Father and Jesus the Christ. AMEN.

Jesus revealed God's radical love for people in the cross. Before his death in all of the gospels he boldly predicted what was coming. He spoke of his death knowing to his friends knowing that it had to come. Reading John this week I hear his word and sense that he knew about the cross and that he knew he wasn't going to be stopped by death from doing the work that the father sent him here to do.

In John 10 Jesus said that a true shepherd was entirely ready to face death for the sake of the sheep. A hired hand would turn and run when the sheep were most in need in order to protect his own skin; but not a Good Shepherd. One who truly cared for the sheep would put his body in harms way in order to defend those he was called his own. The true shepherd wasn't hired to protect the sheep; he claimed them and owned them as his own.

Jesus is letting you know just how valuable you are to God. Jesus said he was the Good Shepherd ready to face danger on behalf of his sheep. Looking back towards Good Friday and Easter we see that Jesus meant it. He wasn't pontificating or just using flowery images. He meant it when he said that he was a good shepherd. He was and is ready to take on the wolves and thieves who threatened his sheep.

The gospels have given us us rich images of God at work in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus was unique in history. In John's gospel Jesus' own "I am" statements helps us see who him

Only Jesus could say, “I am”...
I am the Messiah John 4:26
I am the bread of life John 6:48
I am the light of the world John 8:12
I am the door for the sheep John 10:7
I am the good shepherd John 10:11
I am the Son of God John 10:36
I am the resurrection and the life John 11:25
I am the way, the truth, and the life John 14:6
I am in the father and the Father is in me John 14:10
I am the true vine John 15:1
I am not of the world John 17:14
Jesus' simple sentences give us glimpses of God at work in his person. This weeks reading in John 10:11-18 invites us to explore Jesus work as shepherd and to explore what great lengths he's willing to go to in our defense.

Slide 3 What Kind of Sheep are you
In my first couple years as a pastor I remember sharing this text in a sermon. I grew up in Minneapolis and my first real exposure to any sheep; or anybody who cared for them came when I was 23 years old on my internship in Saint James.
In my sermon a couple years later in Kenyon, I asked out loud, “Sheep have reputation for being so dumb, so is it fair for Jesus to call us sheep?” One man in the congregation spoke up laughing at me, "They can't be all that dumb: they can always find their way out of a fence if there's a hole. And they can always get up on top of a stack of bails or building if they have half a chance to get there." Cordette was absolutely right. Jesus wasn't comparing us to dumb animals by calling us sheep. He was revealing both God's view of our nature and the distance that he would go to save us.
Jesus' mission, to be shepherd of our lives, runs head long into our rugged independence and our will to run our own lives. Jesus understood our inclination to be willful and sinful. Our generations' resistance to God and God's will is not all that new. The older I more clearly see that people have always been willfully going away from God, the difference is that each generation has different distractions and temptations that lead us away from the sheepfold.

Cordette convinced me that sheep aren't that dumb; and neither are we. We humans have been given so much by God. We were made to please God. Yet we all can choose to use our gifts destructively. The shepherd who knows his sheep knows our abilities and our temptations.

If Jesus is...
Jesus loves us enough to run headlong into the worst that humans can do to other humans. We live in an age when conversations about sin and human responsibility for sin often happen very publicly. We live in a time when the images and words about the worst things that people can do to other people are part of our public conversation and imagination.

A couple years ago I was part of a group from Zion Lutheran Church in Stewartville that headed down to the Mississippi Gulf Coast to help rebuild after Katrina. Even a year and a half later people were still trying to rebuild and reorganize their lives after the storm had done so much damage. 19 people headed south and we were spread out along to coast at projects where we could help.

Five of us spent our week working at a home in Moss Point, MS. The owner was a single mom with 3 kids from 17-21 years old and a grandbaby. Her story was tough. She'd had a freak accident about 6 months before the hurricane and broken her ankle. She was a pipe fitter in a shipyard that rebuilds ships for the US Navy. After her accident she could never return to that work.

Her neighborhood was on the back side of a bayou. 2 or 3 feet of water had covered their entire neighborhood. The wind, rain, and storm surge had come and gone. Every home had damage. In some it was footings and piers that had been moved. In others there was damage to the floor joists and sub-floors because they'd been submerged. In other houses there was damage to the walls and ceilings in side. In a some places the rafters and roofs needed work.

After the storm was gone all kinds of people came into that place some came to do good and others to do harm. Some came selling drugs to numb the pain; others came to steal, and others to good.
This one sign on a house in Moss Point caught my eye.

“You criminal sons of guns broke into my house back in May of 2006 and destroyed my house. You left your finger prints. Also you broke into my daughters house and stole her baby's shoes...

Jesus made a promise; Jesus has pledged to be our shepherd. He is the one with the rod and staff in his hand in the 23rd psalm. He's the one true and faithful Son who is doing the will of his Father. He knows very well that he came to save a people who believe they don't need saving. Jesus knows very well that their are thieves and wolves ready to reach in and do us harm.

Jesus knows when we've been knocked down. He knows that we have value and worth even when the world around us misses our value. Jesus promised to the shepherd and he kept that promise on the cross and he will keep that promise unto the fullness of time.

Easter 2009 Fear and Joy

The Good News has always been something announced to humanity.

In Mark, a mysterious young man in a white robe was the very first to make the announcement: Jesus is Risen. He told the news to 3 women who came ready to offer their last respects to Jesus. They came to properly anoint and spice Jesus' dead body. There was no time on Friday afternoon to finish the work of preparing the boy. As they made their way to the tomb they worried about moving the stone away that blocked tomb's entrance.

When they arrived the stone had already been rolled away. God was on the move but they didn't recognize what had happened as God's handiwork. When they stepped inside the tomb the mysterious man arrayed in white met them saying,

"Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was
crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him."
Mark 16:6 NIV

This announcement was Good News then and it remains Good News today. It is our Christian story, and the core mystery of our Christian faith put as simply as it gets. Jesus was crucified. He has risen.

Our faith in Christ, our salvation and everything that matters beyond this earth rests on this Good News. The women who heard it first were speechless. They heard the young man say Jesus was risen; and they saw no body there in the grave. And hearing what they'd heard and seeing what they'd seen they had nothing to say.

A few women and men were talking about this reading here at church on Tuesday at noon. The part of the story that stood out most for us was their silence. As a group they couldn't imagine these 3 women, or any woman for that matter, being completely silent. I better tread very carefully here. The point that Mark is making isn't about the differences between women and men. The point is that something big happened and it so shook up these three that they didn't know what was coming next and they were silent and afraid.

Meeting the man in white and seeing the empty tomb was so totally unexpected that it left these 3 stunned and very much afraid. We don't know how long they were in fear. We are left to guess if it was minutes or hours or even days. We might wonder if some of Jesus' other friends met them them and asked why they were silent.

Mark says the young man in white was the first to proclaim the Good News to these 3 women. He told them the Good News, Jesus was Crucified, He has risen and it caught the women who heard it completely unprepared. They were ready for a dead body; not an empty tomb. They were ready to weep over their friend; but the young man shared news that caught them completely off guard and they were silent and affraid. They didn't stay silent and afraid for ever; but there's no doubt that fear grabbed them and held onto them for a while. We know though, looking at this story, that at some point in time joy broke in and overcame fear.

Fear is a basic involuntary emotional response. We can't prevent it or avoid it; fear happens when the unexpected and inexplicable happens to us and around us. Maybe you've experienced fear when you heard a dog's bark rapidly getting closer and closer to you as you were walking. Maybe you've winced in fear as you heard breaks and tires squealing behind you as you sat waiting for the light to change at an intersection.

The experience of fear happens as the unexpected grabs us. The 3 women who came to the tomb were caught in a moment of great surprise. The great psycho-analyst Bill Cosby said that if you want to see people as there most true selves you have to see them when they loose their cool. These 3 women who came to anoint Jesus body had an intense involuntary experience of fear. They totally lost all cool and composure. This wasn't a moment of pious awe and devotion. Pious awe and devotion wouldn't have silenced them so completely quickly.

Martin Luther once compared Christ's divinity to a fish hook that was hidden by Jesus' humanity. The devil thought he'd won on Good Friday afternoon. He bit down hard on Jesus humanity. He thought he had him, dead. The old enemy rolled around, reveling his old enemy defeated. God let the devil out to play for 3 days, that's a whole lot of line. But on Resurrection morning God set the hook hard. The devil and all his tricks were over. The Devil was caught. Death couldn't contain Jesus. God's Word prevailed.

Resurrection defies easy explanation. It's not comparable to anything else in our human experience. We like to think of the order of the seasons and say that resurrection is sort of comparable to the miracle of spring. But a resurrection is even bigger. We might say wow as we watch the first flowers pop up out of the dead leaves around our homes this weekend but we're here today because of something bigger. As wonderful as spring is it's not comparable to resurrection. Resurrection is even bigger. Jesus rising is bigger than daffodils and tulips.

Maybe your a baseball fan and you think its pretty amazing to see your team come back when they've been trailing in a game. Maybe you think its really something to watch your team chew up a 2 run deficit with two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning. Rising from the dead is even bigger. Resurrection isn't part of ordinary human experience. When it first happened it left the 3 who heard the news and saw the empty grave speechless. Resurrection is bigger than anything else in human experience.

The young man in white offered the women no explanation how or why Jesus had Risen. God was on the move; new life exploded where death reigned. The ancient prophecies were fulfilled as the new creation was beginning to take shape in the old world. The old order and the old enemies began to fall that day: sin, death, and the Devil were overcome a Jesus rose up from the grave.

I still can't get over the silence of these three women at the tomb. I live with 4 women and its rarely quiet at our house. Something big happened to keep these 3 silent. We know they didn't hide the Good News forever. The fear in their being must have been powerful. Christians today are still silenced by fear. We have news to share about Jesus who came back from the dead and who promises new life to us. We have news to share with a world where sin, death, and the devil often look stronger than faith, hope, and love. We have news because Jesus wouldn't stay dead and hope in him won't knuckle under to the power of fear.

Some how the joy of Jesus' rising overcame their fear. Joy didn't come immediately for the 3 women. The fear held them in silence; but we know today that they didn't sit on the story. We know that the Joy of the Good News overcame their fear. That's God's work in our world: breaking through fear and every other force that would prevent his will from being done. May the joy of hearing the Good News announced for us break the chains of fear that hold us bound. May the joy of Resurrection enliven us as witnesses to Jesus Christ.

Fear and Joy Easter 2009

The Good News has always been something announced to humanity.

In Mark, a mysterious young man in a white robe was the very first to make the announcement: Jesus is Risen. He told the news to 3 women who came ready to offer their last respects to Jesus. They came to properly anoint and spice Jesus' dead body. There was no time on Friday afternoon to finish the work of preparing the boy. As they made their way to the tomb they worried about moving the stone away that blocked tomb's entrance.

When they arrived the stone had already been rolled away. God was on the move but they didn't recognize what had happened as God's handiwork. When they stepped inside the tomb the mysterious man arrayed in white met them saying,

"Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him." Mark 16:6 NIV

This announcement was Good News then and it remains Good News today. It is our Christian story, and the core mystery of our Christian faith put as simply as it gets. Jesus was crucified. He has risen.

Our faith in Christ, our salvation and everything that matters beyond this earth rests on this Good News. The women who heard it first were speechless. They heard the young man say Jesus was risen; and they saw no body there in the grave. And hearing what they'd heard and seeing what they'd seen they had nothing to say.

A few women and men were talking about this reading here at church on Tuesday at noon. The part of the story that stood out most for us was their silence. As a group they couldn't imagine these 3 women, or any woman for that matter, being completely silent. I better tread very carefully here. The point that Mark is making isn't about the differences between women and men. The point is that something big happened and it so shook up these three that they didn't know what was coming next and they were silent and afraid.

Meeting the man in white and seeing the empty tomb was so totally unexpected that it left these 3 stunned and very much afraid. We don't know how long they were in fear. We are left to guess if it was minutes or hours or even days. We might wonder if some of Jesus' other friends met them them and asked why they were silent.

Mark says the young man in white was the first to proclaim the Good News to these 3 women. He told them the Good News, Jesus was Crucified, He has risen and it caught the women who heard it completely unprepared. They were ready for a dead body; not an empty tomb. They were ready to weep over their friend; but the young man shared news that caught them completely off guard and they were silent and affraid. They didn't stay silent and afraid for ever; but there's no doubt that fear grabbed them and held onto them for a while. We know though, looking at this story, that at some point in time joy broke in and overcame fear.

Fear is a basic involuntary emotional response. We can't prevent it or avoid it; fear happens when the unexpected and inexplicable happens to us and around us. Maybe you've experienced fear when you heard a dog's bark rapidly getting closer and closer to you as you were walking. Maybe you've winced in fear as you heard breaks and tires squealing behind you as you sat waiting for the light to change at an intersection.

The experience of fear happens as the unexpected grabs us. The 3 women who came to the tomb were caught in a moment of great surprise. The great psycho-analyst Bill Cosby said that if you want to see people as there most true selves you have to see them when they loose their cool. These 3 women who came to anoint Jesus body had an intense involuntary experience of fear. They totally lost all cool and composure. This wasn't a moment of pious awe and devotion. Pious awe and devotion wouldn't have silenced them so completely quickly.

Resurrection defies easy explanation. It's not comparable to anything else in our human experience. We like to think of the order of the seasons and say that resurrection is sort of comparable to the miracle of spring. But a resurrection is even bigger. We might say wow as we watch the first flowers pop up out of the dead leaves around our homes this weekend but we're here today because of something bigger. As wonderful as spring is it's not comparable to resurrection. Resurrection is even bigger.

Maybe your a baseball fan and you think its pretty amazing to see your team come back when they've been trailing in a game. But a resurrection is even bigger than your team chewing up a 2 run deficit with two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning. Resurrection isn't part of ordinary human experience. Its so extraordinary that when it first happened it left the 3 who heard the news and saw the empty grave speechless. Ressurrection is some much bigger than anything else in human experience.

The young man in white offered the women no explanation how or why Jesus had Risen. God was on the move; new life exploded where death reigned. The ancient prophecies were fulfilled as the new creation was beginning to take shape in the old world. The old order and the old enemies began to fall that day: sin, death, and the Devil were overcome a Jesus rose up from the grave.

I still can't get over the silence of these three women at the tomb. We know they didn't hide the Good News forever. The fear in their being must have been powerful. Christians today are still silenced by fear. We have news to share about Jesus who came back from the dead and who promises new life to us. We have news to share with a world where sin, death, and the devil often look stronger than faith, hope, and love. We have news because Jesus wouldn't stay dead and hope in him won't knuckle under to the power of fear.

Some how the joy of Jesus' rising overcame their fear. Joy didn't come immediately for the 3 women. The fear held them in silence; but we know today that they didn't sit on the story. We know that the Joy of the Good News overcame their fear. That's God's work in our world: breaking through fear and every other force that would prevent his will from being done. May the joy of hearing the Good News announced for us break the chains of fear that hold us bound. May the joy of Resurrection enliven us as witnesses to Jesus Christ.

Jesus' ministry begins fast in Mark --
-- Baptism,
temptation in the wilderness.
In just a few days time he was inviting others to follow, having a confrontation with the daemonic and an exorcism right in the middle of the synagogue. All that in the first few days of Jesus' ministry. Today's reading is the next thing that happened after the exorcism. Right after leaving worship, Jesus went to Simon's house and healed his mother in law. And as fast as she was healed she got up serving Jesus and his friends as guests in her home.

The action happens fast, right in the first few paragraphs of the story. In the earliest days in ministry Jesus became known not for what he taught but for who he healed. God's creative and re-creative power were personally visible in Jesus. People today eagerly acknowledge Jesus wisdom; but this dimension of supernatural power that confronts evil and sickness, sin and death is often ignored. Many think that if it's beyond our imagination God can't do it,

but I believe God can.

Do you think in supernatural terms

do you think in terms not only of what we see but of what is unseen.

A story from a pastor in Belize about daemons--

Healing for Jesus was never just been a matter of good health care. Jesus met the Devil head to head and healed. The evil one works corrupting through sin, death, and disease. Jesus came restoring the broken and mending the fallen. First were the daemon possessed. Next was Peter's mother in law. Then came the leper and many others. The Kingdom of God quickly came near. Don Juel and Patrick Keifert observed that next in the story,

When the sun has set (and the Sabbath is past), people who are sick flock to Jesus—confident that he can help (1:32-34). Their faith is rewarded. The story of the leper (1:40-45) provides a concrete and dramatic example of the same message: those who ask will receive. Jesus’ conversation with Peter (1:35-38) indicates that he is not simply a healer—or perhaps more accurately, that his healing is tied to a larger campaign that involves announcing that the kingdom of God is at hand; his mission cannot be reduced to healing. Jesus’ need to press on does not imply indifference to suffering, however. The stories of his encounters with the sick invite confidence—faith—and offer promises to those who ask. Word and World 1998

Jesus was searched out. People came with hope and faith. They came looking for him even when he sought out a quiet place to pray.

Why come for Jesus.

Because of the darkness.

What's in the darkness

it's often hidden but it's the stuff that deprives us from all that God intends for us

isolation

loneliness

temptation

these things aren't seen, but they are very real

and the evil one works in them

The disciples told him that "Everyone is searching for you." Jesus responded to the needs of the people. He didn't send his friends to keep the crowd away. He chose to go find the people preach. ^

^38 He answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” ^39 And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons. Mark 1:38-39 NRSV

Jesus was living with purpose. The kingdom of God was coming near and he was up on his feet ready to spread the story.

Jesus, in his very presence, confronts these forces. He is after the maker of all things seen and not seen. He was in the beginning when everything was called into being.

Mark 1:38-39 (NRSV)
³⁸ He answered,
“Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” ³⁹ And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.

God's timing Epiphany 4b Jan 25 2009 Jonah 3 Mark 1

The readings we have this week are all about timing. It's a good time, with high sounding speeches during this inauguration week to think some about God's timing as well as our own.

Our first lesson in from Jonah 3:1-5, 10

Some people think that Jonah is just a fish story. But a close reading says that the fish was just a part of the whole story.

Jonah was a prophet sent on a mission from God. He was sent to the people of Nineveh called by God to tell the whole city to repent. There was just one problem. Jonah didn't want to go. Jonah had a good life in Israel. He knew who his friends were and he knew who his enemies were. God wanted Jonah to go to some of Israel's enemies and tell them to repent. Jonah had a good life and he didn't want anyone to upset or challenge his way of living. He wanted the people in Nineveh to get what they had coming.

Jonah decided that he'd travel by sea in the opposite direction He was supposed to be headed overland towards Nineveh in modern day Iraq. Instead he was headed by boat towards Tarshish in modern day Spain. This is the part of the story where the fish comes in. Jonah was in the boat and a storm hit. The others in the ship started praying, each to their own gods, looking for mercy.

The people on board ship drew lots. They wanted fate to tell them which one deserved such wrath. Jonah was the one who came up short. They turned to him demanding to know what he'd done to make heaven so angry. Jonah admitted that God was mad with him. He was the reason for the storm. He told the others in the boat that he was supposed to be serving the Lord God who made the earth and sea. He told them that instead of going where God had sent him he was heading in the opposite direction. Desperate to save themselves the sailors tossed Jonah over the side. They hoping to save their own lives and appease Jonah's angry God by throwing him into the sea.

Time's not out of God's reach. God uses time. Changing what's happening in time to heaven's advantage. At just the right time God sent a great sea creature saving the wayward prophet Jonah.. The fish wasn't in Jonah's plans at all. But God was making a point to Jonah. The time was right to save him and Nineveh. We can fight God all that we want; but God will win. Martin Luther wrote,

In order that the terror of death might be all the greater, not only was Jonah thrown into the sea, where there was no hope for help either from God or man, but when he thought that he must surely die, he was also swallowed alive by a fish, a fish the Lord provided for this very purpose. In this way it came about that, although he was in the midst of death, still he was alive. This is a wonderful account, in which the excellent, most high God has wished us to become very certain that He is the Lord of death and life, that all things are in His hand. Luther's Works, Vol. 19 : Minor Prophets II: Jonah and Habakkuk, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald and Helmut T. Lehmann, (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1999, c1974) page14.

Jonah isn't really about a fish; its about God and a reluctant prophet. All of us can be like Jonah. When we refuse to follow God's call into the world we are just like the reluctant prophet.

God will call again.

¹ The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, ² “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.”Jonah 3:1-2 (NRSV)

God put Jonah on the spot again. The first time Jonah heard God's Word Jonah ran away. When he heard the Word in the belly of the fish he knew it was time to go. Our reading today picks up as Jonah He walked into Nineveh, found a spot and told the people,

“Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” Jonah 3:4 NRSV

If we say Jonah is only a fish story we're overlooking God's call to repentance. Jonah spoke God's word and what he spoke from God to the people in Nineveh saved a great city from wrath.

God's plans matter

Jonah didn't want to go to Nineveh. He didn't want to help those awful people see right from wrong. He just wanted to run from God's call. We get too comfortable in our churches, our homes, and our lives. We forget that we have God given missions and calls to go beyond our own into the world. God wanted Jonah to go to city and preach. It was not matter to God that Jonah didn't want to go. God was ready to wipe the city out. Jonah was ready to cheer God on in his wrath. Jonah knew that evil that was perpetrated in Nineveh stunk to the highest heaven. Despite his will Jonah was sent on a rescue mission because God wanted to save the people of Nineveh. God didn't care about what one man wanted. God kept Jonah alive in a fish to save others. God can and will do the very same thing with any of us.

We are in God's hand for a reason. Today, just as much as ever, God has value and purposes for our lives and the lives of others. The world where we live in desperately needs God the Father's love and care. We who know the love of the Father are asked to be followers of Jesus. He went out into the world announcing the Good News. You may be asked to follow, just like Jonah was asked. You might say no. You might end up in the middle of a fish and God might ask you to go again.

2000 years ago Jesus went into Galilee,

... proclaiming the good news of God, ¹⁵ and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”Mark 1:14-15 (NRSV)

This Christmas a pastor reminded us that Jesus came to the world on purpose, when the time was right. Bob pointed to Paul who said,

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵ in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. Galatians 4:4-5 (NRSV)

Jesus came at the right time to save us. He came to the world as is with the sin and the evil that we do everyday. He came at the time when God's love was desperately needed. He came to people even to those who didn't all accept his ministry and love him. He came to a far from perfect people. Jesus came and gave everything for the people he came to save.

What time is it is for us?

We are Christ's people called to into the world right now. Pastor Rick Warren, in a sermon on January 11, 2009 from a series on change said that America has been wounded and we need healing. Warren named all kinds of isms that hurt and tear us apart separating us from God and one another.

Materialism, hedonism, secularism, racism, factionalism, terrorism, extremism, consumerism, narcissism, cynicism

God needs us to get in the game. We are citizens of this nation and world. In this week of inauguration we have a good moment for the question, “What time is it for us?” Jesus was bold when he started his ministry in Galilee. He told the people of his own neighborhood in Galilee “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe the gospel.”

Timing was everything for God. Jesus came at the right time. We are sent to serve in our time. We are sent and sometimes we resist. We are sent and God pushes us forward just like he pushed Jonah forward. God's sends us out in our time and space because this world needs to have hope based in what God can do with us and not in what we can do alone. This world needs to know the love of God. I just hope it doesn't take time in the belly of the whale to convince any of us that now is our time to announce that the kingdom of God has come near to us in the person on Jesus Christ.