(Matthew 4.12-23)
12Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. 13He
left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of
Zebulun and Naphtali, 14so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah
might be fulfilled:
15”Land of Zebulun,
land of Naphtali,
on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles -
16the 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.”
17From that time
Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
18As 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. 19And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for
people.” 20Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21As 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.
22Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.
23Jesus 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.
"The Welcoming Church"
+ In nomine Domini. Amen.
I want to speak about The Welcoming Church on this fourth Sunday in January that is called by the ecumenical welcoming community, Welcoming Sunday, and in our Lutheran tradition referred to as Reconciling-in-Christ Sunday. On this Sunday our congregation joins other congregations from various denominations in celebrating the witness to God’s love for persons of all sexual orientations and gender identities.
Portions of our Liturgy are composed around this theme, the Confession & Assurance of Pardon, the Affirmation of Faith, the Prayers of Intercession, and for our Offering Hymn, For All the Children, a beautiful and moving song composed by David Lohman, whom many of us got to know in October of last year when our congregation hosted the regional Reconciling-in-Christ Training Event. And, in your bulletins you will find an insert which describes the Reconciling movement of followers of Jesus, and includes a personal story by Wayne Morris. – beautiful, truthful, and compelling.
Last week I mentioned to a group within our congregation that the reason we do this, the reason we participate in Reconciling Sunday is not for ourselves, but for those outside the church who have been wounded, discouraged, repelled because of orientation and identity and need to know that there are houses, homes where they are welcome without question.
And …one of our members corrected me saying, “We also do this to remind ourselves of who we are and that to which we are called as followers of Jesus.”
That member was absolutely right, is absolutely right. And I stand corrected, and I am, and so are we all, the better for hearing the full story of the light that shines in the darkness.
Because on this Sunday it is the Season of Epiphany for just two more weeks, and the Season of Epiphany is all about light and darkness, isn’t it?
The Story of Faith tells us that in the world there is much darkness … the dark side of humanity, if you will and it is there in the darkness that sadness and despair, wrath and violence, sickness and poverty, oppression and hopelessness … all have their way, all vie for positions of authority and control over Creation and over all of its creatures.
And were that to be the only Story, then surely, this existence would be horrible beyond speech.
But the Story of Faith does conclude with the darkness; rather it says: this is not the end of the tale, there is something beyond what you see, it is Holy, it is powerful, it is life-giving, hope-producing, despair-ridding, sickness-healing, poverty-curing, oppression-ending, sadness-filling … and it is light.
The Prophet Isaiah promises it’s victory; equating darkness with oppression in Babylon, the prophet speaks light and liberation … “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness — on them light has shined.”
The Psalmist sings out, “The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom then shall I fear?”
Paul the Follower of Jesus, converted when struck down by the light that was truth for him, and believing that in the light of Christ there is not only hope for oneself, but for the world … writing to the struggling church in the Greek city of Corinth, begs his readers to remember that they belong not to any human leader, but to Christ, and in Christ, all divisions fade away.
And then there is the Gospel Writer Matthew, telling the story of Jesus having recovered a bit from the news of the death of John the Baptist, relocates himself away from Jerusalem to the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, in the town we know as Capernaum. Proclaiming light in the darkness is dangerous and threatening for those who try to do it. Matthew recites that Isaiah passage one more time, “…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.” And he is convinced, Matthew that is, that the light that is dawning is to be found in the light which has come into the world, this Jesus.
And so this embodiment of light, this-shining-in-the-darkness-hope-come-into-the-world takes the courageous step and moves out into the world with a message, a teaching, a path. He begins to gather his followers together to proclaim an end to the darkness, the method being … a turn-around, a repentance.
He begins with some fishermen, notably two brothers, Peter and Andrew, then two more brothers, James and John.
Now this has always been a curiosity for me, how this takes place, and as the Story unfolds it becomes a tale fit and proper for the Welcoming Church to hear and to live out.
Because in the Gospel accounts, the disciples do not think twice when meeting Jesus, they drop what they are doing (in this case, they literally “drop” the fishing nets) and go after Jesus; they begin walking alongside Jesus, listening to his teaching, watching his actions, learning from him what it means to love God and love neighbor, how to bring light into the darkness. They are the embodiment of a Welcoming Community.
Wouldn’t you expect something like:
“Follow you, Jesus? Why? What will it mean? How long do I have to do this? Is there some pay for this? After all, I’d like to leave my father something there in the fishing boat, he’s going to be left short handed now. Is it going to be fun? What will we eat? Where are we going?” … or things like, “Well can’t we just take this slowly? Why do we have to rush into this business of the Gospel, we shouldn’t move so quickly. I mean look over there at the Roman Empire bent on wiping out any opposition. Remember John the Baptist? We’re not ready for this.”
No, they just do it.
This the model of the Welcoming Church who follows Christ, it is the model we live by. It’s how we all got here, one time or another. Think of it!
How many of you forced yourself into the church this morning, how many of you had to climb through a window, or push yourself past a guard, or recite the Athanasian Creed … in Latin?! No, you simply drove up, parked your car, walked in the front door, and if it was your first time here … hopefully found someone, or someone found you who said to you, “Welcome!”
We all got into the church that way, we all get into the church that way, we get into the church because the door is open and we are welcomed … there is no other way that this happens. It’s just like Jesus along the coastline, “Hey, let’s go fishing and this time for people!”
I know, I know … you’ve been coming now for several months and you’ve taken the courageous step of signing up on the Time & Talent Card to be a Greeter, and your first time doing that you greet someone that you think is a visitor only to find out … charter member!
So what, you were welcoming!
You were displaying good Lutheran qualities of Christian faith and order, you smiled and greeted someone not asking without condition and you did it because that’s how we follow Jesus who leads us to God and who brings God to us … which is, is it not, what takes place when we worship?
Inside the Church, inside the Liturgy we are embraced, enfolded, enwrapped in love and caring and compassion and understanding … it’s the life of the Gospel. It’s the way, the truth, the life … it is the light that shines in the darkness.
And, more than this … it is a demand upon you as a Welcoming Church to be light shining in darkness.
Not just, “I’ve seen the light!” but “I want to be the light!!”
Interesting isn’t it, how the Bible uses metaphors … how can God’s people be the light? … well, that’s the whole reason we get together to learn how to be Welcoming, to be Welcoming to each other, and practice on each other until we get it right, and while we are doing that practice it out there in the world which needs light and is already too dark.
Now, if you’re visiting, or if you haven’t read the bulletin the last few weeks, or you’re not on our email list, perhaps it came as a surprise that today is our Potluck & Annual Meeting … and maybe you thought, “Better turn around now.”
Why do that? If we are not as welcoming around food and drink and in our listening and talking with each other in a meeting as we are around the Gospel, then what Gospel is it we are following, and what Jesus is it who is leading us?
Besides, remember, “Any Annual Meeting you can walk away from, is a good one.”
BUT, better than that, and especially on this Reconciling Sunday … “Any Annual Meeting where you can sit with brothers and sisters and enjoy the companionship, the community, the storytelling, the listening, the sharing … what we call in the Church the presence of the Spirit… why, that’s even better!” In fact, it’s the best … because to be the church, it cannot be otherwise … And if we do otherwise, if we are raw and nasty and horrible to each other, well then it is not church that is taking place, but something else, and that something else is just another dose of darkness of which the world is already full.
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray.
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.
Deo Gratia
The Rev. Benjamin Larzelere III