Well, friends, what we have before us in the gospel text is a clear and present example of a no-brainer. You know what I mean? A no-brainer is one of those things you don’t even have to think about. You just do it! The only problem is that this only looks like a no-brainer for those who know the rest of the story. How in the world was following Jesus a no-brainer for these guys?
I think it’s doubly hard for us to understand because we look at this story from an entirely different lense of decision making. We tend to make decisions based on what we can understand logically, or what we consider to be practical, or (unfortunately, we do this last one the most) how we feel about something.
If you don’t believe me, just think about the way toothpaste is sold. We’re told that 9 out of 10 Dentists agree, or that this one fights cavities and bad breath, or this one leaves your mouth feeling clean and kissable all day long. That’s right. It usually comes down to “buy my product, and people will love you.”
None of that, of course, has anything to do with the call of Christ. That’s why it’s so perplexing that they would come! Let’s back up a little. Jesus was baptized by John and sent out into the wilderness to be tested by Satan and tended to by angels. On his way back he hears that John has been arrested, so he steered way clear of Jerusalem.
Jesus goes to Galilee, which may have been a very practical decision, and the author of Matthew’s Gospel wants you to know that it also checks a few boxes for Isaiah’s prophecy. (At least someone is paying attention to the logical consideration of the argument.) You see Isaiah and Matthew both want us to know that this is a place of influence by foreign powers, but it’s also a place where the power of God can shine like no other.
The politics don’t really matter, except in the way that they demonstrate the darkness that Jesus has come to obliterate. Into that darkness walks Jesus. He’s preaching and when he’s not in a synagogue he’s still telling people, “Repent, for the Kingdom of God has come near!” Where have we heard that before...Oh, that’s right! It was John’s message at the Jordan. Only Jesus isn’t baptizing anyone today. He’s just inviting them to enter the Kingdom.
He’s casting the gospel like a net just to see who might get tangled up in his message of hope, and he just happens to catch these fishermen. It almost seems like these guys were the first ones to take the bait versus some special anointed calling. They were, in a sense, “voluntold” to follow Jesus. They did have a choice, and we’ll get back to that in a minute.
First I want to say a little about “why them.” They were fishermen. They were not landowners. They were not people of influence. They simply lived and died by the fish they could catch. They were on the margins of society. While it may seem odd that God would choose them, God seems to make that kind of choice over and over in the Bible.
Be it Jacob or Gideon; Esther or Shiphra; Fisherman in Capernaum or a small congregation in New Iberia, God seems to like to demonstrate love and mercy and justice through the ones who can’t do it alone and can’t help but say, “with God’s help, we will.”
That’s the kind of people Jesus called out to, and all he promised was to make them “fishers of people.” This was not a persuasive argument in the way that we think of persuasive arguments. There is nothing in it for the fishermen! Yet, they came. They turned from their old lives and embraced a new one with Jesus, just as he invited them to do.
Some have said that this is because Jesus presented them with a moment of connection between an external influence (the call of Jesus) and their greatest inward desire (to love and serve God). Whatever it was, they were hooked! It was, to them, a no-brainer to follow Jesus, but what about you and me?
Sometimes our decisions and experiences seem so disconnected from those of the disciples. Sometimes it seems like so much of Christian faith in Western culture is closer to a sales pitch than a celebration of the call from outside that awakens everything that ever mattered inside. Yet that is exactly what we are doing today!
[This sermon was delivered in New Iberia on the occasion of the ordination and installation of Officers, but keep reading as it does apply to all who follow the way of Jesus… or just skip the Book of Order/ "Presbyteriany" stuff and go the part about following Jesus in the last three paragraphs.]
Today, as we celebrate our common calling to ministry as disciples of Jesus, we are also going to recognize God’s particular calling to a few individuals in the church. That’s not to say, as I once saw on a t-shirt, “God loves you, but I’m his favorite.” It is to say, as it does in our Book of Order, “The Church’s ministry is a gift from Jesus Christ to the whole Church.” In other words, being the church is a team sport, and serving God together is what makes us who we are.
You may not be real familiar with the Book of Order – and I’d much rather you spend time studying scripture – but the Book of Order is yet something that I believe has some good, practical theology to help guide the church. It’s not so much of a rule book as it is the result of faithful Christians fumbling toward the kingdom together over the years.
Some of that good, practical theology is the belief that we share power as followers of Jesus. Sharing power creates more space for the movement of the Holy Spirit, and it keeps the corruptive nature of centralized power to a minimum. It keeps things, as we like to say, decent and orderly.
The word “order” is particularly important to us today, as Jesus seems to command the disciples as much as invite and as Paul tells the church in Corinth to grow up and stop fighting over how to love. Order is the base of “ordination,” and it is the way we remember that God is, in fact, the one who brings order out of the chaos of our lives.
Again, the Book of Order says, “Ordered ministries are gifts to the church to order its life so that the ministry of the whole people of God may flourish.” So, we have parity in power and commonality in purpose, but we need some way to distinguish between our roles – between our jobs as followers of Jesus. That’s why the church has established some to be ordained (ordered) as Ruling Elders.
Now, before you get all crazy about the term “Ruling” Elder, let the Book of Order have its say. “Ruling Elders are so named not because they ‘lord it over’ the congregation (Matt 20:25), but because they are chosen by the congregation to discern and measure its fidelity to the Word of God, and to strengthen and nurture its faith and life.”
This is essentially what makes us Presbyterians – we elect elders and trust them to discern ways that we can grow in faith together. They do not represent our will, as you might expect with other representative forms of government, they do their best to seek what God’s will might be for this congregation. The other thing that is important to remember is that once you have been ordained as a Ruling Elder in the church, you are always a Ruling Elder. You might not always be active on Session, but if you have ever served on Session, then you remain ordained and may still serve the church in other councils and capacities when God calls and compels you to do so.
Now, I realize this is all very “churchy” language, but here’s why it matters: Jesus doesn’t ask us to follow the Book of Order to the letter of the law, but our hope is that being Presbyterian is the best way that we know how to follow Jesus. That said, I don’t think Jesus cares if you or I are Presbyterians. What he cares about is our willingness to repent – to turn from the things that keep us from loving and being loved – and to become fishers of people.
That’s actually happening right now! We can see it happening in the deepened commitment of members of this church to lead and to follow and to love without reserve! If you don’t find yourself in at least two of those areas, then I suggest you listen to Jesus calling, and I suggest you listen to Paul.
It doesn’t matter if it’s Paul or Apollos or Linda or me or Norma Jean [or whoever baptized you] that tells you about Jesus. It only matters that you hear the call to love and serve. It only matters that you realize the power of God made perfect in the weakness of the cross. It only matters that you bring what is broken and longing inside you to the One who meets our greatest longing with the invitation to enter the kingdom together. Accepting that invitation, well, that’s a no-brainer as far as I’m concerned. Amen?
I think it’s doubly hard for us to understand because we look at this story from an entirely different lense of decision making. We tend to make decisions based on what we can understand logically, or what we consider to be practical, or (unfortunately, we do this last one the most) how we feel about something.
If you don’t believe me, just think about the way toothpaste is sold. We’re told that 9 out of 10 Dentists agree, or that this one fights cavities and bad breath, or this one leaves your mouth feeling clean and kissable all day long. That’s right. It usually comes down to “buy my product, and people will love you.”
None of that, of course, has anything to do with the call of Christ. That’s why it’s so perplexing that they would come! Let’s back up a little. Jesus was baptized by John and sent out into the wilderness to be tested by Satan and tended to by angels. On his way back he hears that John has been arrested, so he steered way clear of Jerusalem.
Jesus goes to Galilee, which may have been a very practical decision, and the author of Matthew’s Gospel wants you to know that it also checks a few boxes for Isaiah’s prophecy. (At least someone is paying attention to the logical consideration of the argument.) You see Isaiah and Matthew both want us to know that this is a place of influence by foreign powers, but it’s also a place where the power of God can shine like no other.
The politics don’t really matter, except in the way that they demonstrate the darkness that Jesus has come to obliterate. Into that darkness walks Jesus. He’s preaching and when he’s not in a synagogue he’s still telling people, “Repent, for the Kingdom of God has come near!” Where have we heard that before...Oh, that’s right! It was John’s message at the Jordan. Only Jesus isn’t baptizing anyone today. He’s just inviting them to enter the Kingdom.
He’s casting the gospel like a net just to see who might get tangled up in his message of hope, and he just happens to catch these fishermen. It almost seems like these guys were the first ones to take the bait versus some special anointed calling. They were, in a sense, “voluntold” to follow Jesus. They did have a choice, and we’ll get back to that in a minute.
First I want to say a little about “why them.” They were fishermen. They were not landowners. They were not people of influence. They simply lived and died by the fish they could catch. They were on the margins of society. While it may seem odd that God would choose them, God seems to make that kind of choice over and over in the Bible.
Be it Jacob or Gideon; Esther or Shiphra; Fisherman in Capernaum or a small congregation in New Iberia, God seems to like to demonstrate love and mercy and justice through the ones who can’t do it alone and can’t help but say, “with God’s help, we will.”
That’s the kind of people Jesus called out to, and all he promised was to make them “fishers of people.” This was not a persuasive argument in the way that we think of persuasive arguments. There is nothing in it for the fishermen! Yet, they came. They turned from their old lives and embraced a new one with Jesus, just as he invited them to do.
Some have said that this is because Jesus presented them with a moment of connection between an external influence (the call of Jesus) and their greatest inward desire (to love and serve God). Whatever it was, they were hooked! It was, to them, a no-brainer to follow Jesus, but what about you and me?
Sometimes our decisions and experiences seem so disconnected from those of the disciples. Sometimes it seems like so much of Christian faith in Western culture is closer to a sales pitch than a celebration of the call from outside that awakens everything that ever mattered inside. Yet that is exactly what we are doing today!
[This sermon was delivered in New Iberia on the occasion of the ordination and installation of Officers, but keep reading as it does apply to all who follow the way of Jesus… or just skip the Book of Order/ "Presbyteriany" stuff and go the part about following Jesus in the last three paragraphs.]
Today, as we celebrate our common calling to ministry as disciples of Jesus, we are also going to recognize God’s particular calling to a few individuals in the church. That’s not to say, as I once saw on a t-shirt, “God loves you, but I’m his favorite.” It is to say, as it does in our Book of Order, “The Church’s ministry is a gift from Jesus Christ to the whole Church.” In other words, being the church is a team sport, and serving God together is what makes us who we are.
You may not be real familiar with the Book of Order – and I’d much rather you spend time studying scripture – but the Book of Order is yet something that I believe has some good, practical theology to help guide the church. It’s not so much of a rule book as it is the result of faithful Christians fumbling toward the kingdom together over the years.
Some of that good, practical theology is the belief that we share power as followers of Jesus. Sharing power creates more space for the movement of the Holy Spirit, and it keeps the corruptive nature of centralized power to a minimum. It keeps things, as we like to say, decent and orderly.
The word “order” is particularly important to us today, as Jesus seems to command the disciples as much as invite and as Paul tells the church in Corinth to grow up and stop fighting over how to love. Order is the base of “ordination,” and it is the way we remember that God is, in fact, the one who brings order out of the chaos of our lives.
Again, the Book of Order says, “Ordered ministries are gifts to the church to order its life so that the ministry of the whole people of God may flourish.” So, we have parity in power and commonality in purpose, but we need some way to distinguish between our roles – between our jobs as followers of Jesus. That’s why the church has established some to be ordained (ordered) as Ruling Elders.
Now, before you get all crazy about the term “Ruling” Elder, let the Book of Order have its say. “Ruling Elders are so named not because they ‘lord it over’ the congregation (Matt 20:25), but because they are chosen by the congregation to discern and measure its fidelity to the Word of God, and to strengthen and nurture its faith and life.”
This is essentially what makes us Presbyterians – we elect elders and trust them to discern ways that we can grow in faith together. They do not represent our will, as you might expect with other representative forms of government, they do their best to seek what God’s will might be for this congregation. The other thing that is important to remember is that once you have been ordained as a Ruling Elder in the church, you are always a Ruling Elder. You might not always be active on Session, but if you have ever served on Session, then you remain ordained and may still serve the church in other councils and capacities when God calls and compels you to do so.
Now, I realize this is all very “churchy” language, but here’s why it matters: Jesus doesn’t ask us to follow the Book of Order to the letter of the law, but our hope is that being Presbyterian is the best way that we know how to follow Jesus. That said, I don’t think Jesus cares if you or I are Presbyterians. What he cares about is our willingness to repent – to turn from the things that keep us from loving and being loved – and to become fishers of people.
That’s actually happening right now! We can see it happening in the deepened commitment of members of this church to lead and to follow and to love without reserve! If you don’t find yourself in at least two of those areas, then I suggest you listen to Jesus calling, and I suggest you listen to Paul.
It doesn’t matter if it’s Paul or Apollos or Linda or me or Norma Jean [or whoever baptized you] that tells you about Jesus. It only matters that you hear the call to love and serve. It only matters that you realize the power of God made perfect in the weakness of the cross. It only matters that you bring what is broken and longing inside you to the One who meets our greatest longing with the invitation to enter the kingdom together. Accepting that invitation, well, that’s a no-brainer as far as I’m concerned. Amen?
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