Reconciling in Christ - The Calling of the Disciples

This morning I had the pleasure to be invited to preach at Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church in Saskatoon. This Sunday they celebrated their one year anniversary of becoming a Reconciling in Christ congregation, choosing to be an affirming place for all people, but especially welcoming those within the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trans communities. It was a joy to be with them this morning as they celebrated and to be given the oportunity to preach was a really special moment for me as well. 

Below you will find the sermon and the mornings gospel text. 

Shalom,
Skakes


Matthew 4:12-23

Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

“Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, 
Galilee of the Gentiles—
the people who sat in darkness
    have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death
    light has dawned.”

From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.”  Immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.

May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of all of our heart be acceptable to you O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. 
Amen. 

I fidgeted as I sat. Sun beams dancing across my purple bunny dress as I swung my legs beneath the seat. This was always the hardest part of Sunday school. The sitting part. I had always loved the singing part, and the snacking part, oh and who could forget about the playing part. But the sitting part, that I always found hard. For as long as I can remember my mind has always been running at a sprinters pace, thinking of this and of that, making it hard to pay attention to any important task at hand. Despite this fact, for some reason, the flannel-graph made my little rushing mind come to a stop.

You know what I am talking about right? Flannel graph - that big board covered in felt, carrying on it a myriad of biblical forms, shapes and creatures. It’s appearance each  Sunday brought with it a new host of friends and their things, of arks and animals, brothers and dreams. All pointing toward God, who in the flannel form of Jesus always seemed to be the center of the scene. Wearing a robe of white with a blue or red sash, also had the most gorgeous head of dirty blond hair which almost seemed wind swept.

While my vision of Jesus has changed over the years, my Savior, in his early flannel form, was just as marvelous and captivating as he is now. Multiplying fishes while curing every disease, teaching people from every land, sliding across the flannel board with a grace and love that drew the created world toward peace.

Upon reading the gospel lesson for today I couldn't help but remember back to my first encounter with this story upon that same flannel board. Jesus calling the disciples sealed within their fabric form, following him in a mass blob, seemingly forgetting to drop the nets they jointly held, almost as if to carry them along just incase this whole following a rabbi thing didn't work out as they had planned.

As great as this was, one thing had always troubled me about them becoming followers of Jesus. At that young age it was not the inaccuracy of the flannel story, or Jesus blond hair that bothered me most, it was the ease with which the fishermen left their homes, and their families, to venture out into the world with this unknown Rabbi they would come to call Lord. This was something I could never comprehend or understand, asking my mother why or how these men could leave their loving families to go with this man. Having been steeped with a rich lutheran heritage of biblical story telling, I knew the adventures that awaited the disciples as they went out into the world and why this would lead them to want to go along with this Rabbi. But I had also been strongly educated by my parents in the ways of stranger danger and so I knew better then to follow a random person for any reason without the correct safe word. And so within this story I was met with a dichotomy of reasoning as I thought about the disciples stepping out to follow the Lord. 

However, a few years ago a preacher named Rob Bell helped me put all of this story into perspective. Jesus and the disciples were living in a first century Jewish world, where the Torah and the peoples faith in God influenced every moment of their daily life. Many of these fishermen would have been sent to their local synagog from the age of six on, to learn and memorize the words of their faith and its influence on their world. This class was called Bait Sa fair and by its end the children would have memorized the entire Torah by heart. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, by the age of 10. Now those children who were unable to complete this task would have been asked to return home to begin learning their family trades, but those who were able to accomplish this task, who were the best at memorizing, were allowed to carry on to the next step of their education, Bait Talmud, where they would memorize the remainder of the Jewish scriptures, yes thats right, the rest of the scriptures, Joshua right through to Malachi. The entire Hebrew bible, memorized by heart, by the age 15 (and you thought confirmation was bad!). As you can imagine this is not a feat all 15 year olds would accomplish and so if they failed in this attempt they would be send home to return to learning their family trades after giving it their all. 

But the best of the best, the students who showed the most promise, and the most poise would be invited to carry on to the final stage of their education Bait Midrash. At this time they were allowed to apply to learn under a Rabbi as their disciple. Now this was not for the faint of heart. Upon finding a Rabbi that the student would want to model their very life and faith after, they would try out for a position as a disciple of that Rabbi. 

Now the Rabbi would grill you, asking you all kinds of grueling questions about the Law and the Prophets, and if you managed to impress the him with your skill, your memory, and if you had proved that you were one of the best of the best, he would say “come and follow me” and you at the age of 15 would become one of his disciples, leaving your family, your friends, and your synagog behind to follow him alone. And as you might have guess, If you failed in this task, if you weren't quite good enough, like the many others who had been cut before you, the Rabbi would send you back home. 

So in todays Gospel when we first meet Peter and Andrew, 
We hear they are fishermen. 
They are working in their family trade. 
Meaning that they are not a part of best of the best.
They are on the B team.
The left behinds.
The not good enoughs.

Somewhere along the way, no matter how hard they had tried, they were weeded out.

The rejects of the Rabbinic system that no Rabbi in their right mind would ever have thought to have taken on. 

In fact, in Peter and Andrews wildest dreams they likely never imagined they would see any life outside of their fathers boats, never mind take on a coveted position with an up and coming Rabbi in Galilee. Because by now, they were far away from that scholarly tradition. Their minds had been numbed by years upon the waters, their hands hardened and cracked from dredging the nets up from the sea. They weren’t the young bright pupils Rabbis would have wanted, and they may have even wondered what they had to offer anyway. After all, they had been cast out and sent back to spend a life working with their hands and not with their minds. What good could come from men such as these from Galilee? 

So when Jesus passes by Peter and Andrew casting their nets out from their boat, calling to them as a Rabbi would, saying “come and follow me” with shock and awe they would have followed just as the Gospel has said, because what Jesus was truly saying to them in that moment was this:

“You can be like me. 
Yes you there, in the boat. 
The not good enoughs, the second class, the left behind and forgotten, 
Yes You. 
You are the ones I want to walk with, as we minister to this world.”

In the calling of his disciples Jesus turns the tables of the religious world. Proving that this ministry and this faith isn't just for the best of the best, for those born into the right families, or those of the right race. This ministry isn't just for those who are gifted in speech, academia, or memory, as important as those things at times can be. This ministry is also for those who have never set foot inside an educational building in their life. The young and the old who struggle with not only biblical texts but also with their life of faith as they live it within this world. 

And throughout out his ministry Jesus continued to prove these points time and time again, crossing borders and boundaries that had long been set up within that first century world to fence people out from those within. Ministering and healing those who were diseased and cast out, calling out to tax collectors and prostitutes, women and eunuchs, all the while naming and claiming them as cherished and loved creations of God.

Jesus chooses to call Peter and Andrew, and each one of us here today, because he is building a kingdom without walls and without barriers. An upside down kingdom where our heaviest burdens are made light. Where we can be safe from all forms of oppression that threaten to stifle our God given light. 

And this is the importance of our celebration here today. As a congregation, after much deliberation, listening and prayer you chose last year to recognize and welcome all into your community of faith. In becoming a Reconciling In Christ congregation you chose in your worship, proclamation, and mission to be a witness to God’s restorative love, grace, and justice within this community, as well as within the wider world. Tearing down and overturning the boundaries that have caused injustice, condemnation and pain, and choosing instead to welcome and affirm in love, grace, and peace all those within the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trans communities who have longed to come and find a home of faith within their world. Opening wide the kingdom of God to be a more inclusive presence of life giving restoration within the world. And so today, as we celebrate this congregations RIC anniversary, we not only open wide the doors of this community to those of the LGBT community, but also to all those who have been othered, those who have been left behind, those who have carried the hurts and pains of the oppression of our everyday lives. Jesus comes and calls us all to be diciples in and going out from this community of faith. 

Saying:

“You, Yes You,
The one who thinks you are too old or too young to make a difference in this world,
The one who is tired of this worlds hurtful cries,
The one who is burdened with sorrow or bound up in sickness,
The one who is searching for peace in the midst of injustice,
The one who feels small and left behind, 
The one who feels inadequate,

You, Yes You,
You are the ones I have chosen, 
You are the ones I want to walk with, 
As we minister to God’s ever growing kingdom in this  world. 
To spread light where there is darkness,
Freedom where there once was the oppressed
Drop your nets
Cast aside your worries and your cares,
Come and follow me. 
As we walk in faith, grace, and restorative love within the world. 

May this be so among us. Amen.