Scriptural Basis
Matthew 4:12-23
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.
Blog Reflection
This first part of the Season after the Epiphany (manifestation, revelation of God's Light in Jesus) is about listening and responding to God's call in our lives. Jesus has been baptized and is now preparing to embark on his ministry. Part of his preparation is to call others to be his witnesses and partners in his ministry who will also carry on the work he began. Each of the individuals Jesus calls are different. No two minds think exactly alike. Every person whom Jesus calls has those awesome abilities, while also having their flaws and complications. Some of Jesus' first followers liked a lot of drama. Others just wanted to watch and learn. Some were excited to be leaders, but not to eager to learn before they can teach. So it is with each of us. We are all different. We are all special. We are also affected by our weaknesses and sins that have caused us to do those things that are not so great. The call to discipleship is an opportunity to gain more self knowledge and to use what is good and not so good to help establish the reign of God in the world.
This new event that is taking place has already cost John the Baptist his freedom. John has been imprisoned by King Herod. Thus we understand as Jesus is very aware that the choice to follow God's will is one that is not necessarily free of obstacles and dangers. We are called to understand that those dangers are not as important as being committed to the work and message of this new call to justice and new hope. This call of Jesus is open to all people. Women and men. Those who are black, red, copper skinned, white or any race, color, or culture. Lesbian, gay, straight, bisexual, transgender, questioning and queer, pansexual, asexual and so on are welcome to be part of this call to a new justice and a new hope. Poor or rich. Your language can be any language, but come and follow, participate with Jesus in this new call to a new hope. If you have been marginalized by society and the Church, you too are called to participate and be part of the solution that Jesus brings in the call God is making on all our lives.
This New Year of 2011 has already begun with so much violence and prejudice. The shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the conversations around "deadly weapons regulation" and hateful political rhetoric, health care reform, women's rights, LGBT equality. All of these issues and how they are being handled by the media, politicians, religious institutions and leaders, says a lot about where the debates are going. The call to a new justice and hope that Jesus is calling us to today and every day, is to recognize that who ever or what ever we are that "the Lord is my Light and my salvation, whom then shall I fear?" (Psalm 27). Yet we hear and see arch-conservative Christians working overtime to put the greatest fear about Jesus into people's minds in order to justify scapegoating and violence. Fox has turned down an ad that was going to be played during the Super Bowl that says "Jesus hates Obama." To suggest that Jesus hates any person is quite presumptuous. It's dangerous thinking. A Virginia law maker is determined to be sure that Virginia can exclude openly gay and lesbian people from serving in the State's National Guard. And these are only two examples of how Christians are misusing their call to suggest fear and hate for any one group of people. Hate and violence, prejudice and exclusion is never the will of God. That is not being presumptuous. Jesus himself after he rose from the dead greeted his disciples, those who abandoned him during his hours of suffering and death, Jesus stood in their midst and said: "Peace be with you." God does not desire fear, prejudice, violence and destruction. Individuals misusing the Christian faith to say those things are suggesting that which is certainly not Biblical or true.
In today's New Testament reading, we read the following.
1 Corinthians 1:10-18 (NRSV)
I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose. For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters. What I mean is that each of you says, "I belong to Paul," or "I belong to Apollos," or "I belong to Cephas," or "I belong to Christ." Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one can say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power. For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
As I heard this reading today, I thought what an interesting reading for Anglicans. As Episcopalians and Anglicans we agree to pray in common, even if we all do not necessarily believe the same. Yet if you read the Book of Common Prayer and even Enrich Our Worship you cannot help but see how much our prayers include references to many of the strong belief's of most Christians. We pray in the Name of the Holy Trinity more times than can be accurately counted. Yet, each of us are encouraged to believe and relate to God with all of our different understandings, beliefs and expressions. In the Episcocat Calendar, Nancy Walsh wrote beneath January 2011's cat photo: "High Church, Low Church, Broad Church....What ever happened to Christian unity, not to mention charity?"
A vital part of the road to Christian Unity is learning to appreciate and respect our differences as well as our similarities. All we are asked to really do is recognize that whether we are Roman Catholic, Episcopalian, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Congregationalist, Baptist, Evangelical, Liturgical, Weslyan or even Calvinist is to love each other with the love that Jesus Christ has loved all of us. That does not mean we must agree with what each other does or does not do. We are called though to recognize that we are all baptized into Christ Jesus in the Name of the Holy and Undivided Trinity to serve all humankind with an answer to Jesus' call to a new justice and a new hope. To serve those who are poor, marginalized, left behind by prejudice and not allowed their civil and human rights. To bring a sense of peace between all the great religions of the world, including those who do not believe in God. And to stop using the Name of Jesus Christ as our excuse for scapegoating and seeking to destroy other people, culture's, sexual orientations, genders, gender expression/identity, skin color, language, wealth status, health status, religion and all the rest.
This morning at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral we all enjoyed hearing Rabbi Amy Eilberg, the director of Interfaith Dialog Programs at the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning. Rabbi Amy Eilberg was the Preacher for this morning's Eucharist. She did not focus on our differences. She focused on recognizing God as our source of peace, and to strive and seek peace at every opportunity. What a gift that was for us to hear. She even chanted Psalm 27 in Hebrew chant. When she finished there was a peace of God's Spirit that was so real, so defining that no one wanted to disrupt it. That is the peace that "surpasses all human understanding" (Philippians 4: 7). That is the peace that we all need and want to work towards. That peace is the call to the new sense of Justice and Hope that Jesus calls all of us to embrace with and for each other, to bring the full reign of God with Light, love and goodness to all of God's people.
Prayers
Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Collect for the Third Sunday after the Epiphany, Book of Common Prayer, page 215).
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen. (Prayer Attributed to St. Francis, Book of Common Prayer, page 833).
Holy God,
We meet you in the darkness,
we see you in the light.
Shine upon us.
Turn us around from
selfish interest and privilege.
Forgive us and give us courage
to shine with your compassion, justice, and peace.
Amen. (Prayerfully Out in Scripture).
No comments:
Post a Comment