Sermon – Jesus Calling
St. James United Church
Sunday January 19, 2014
Cathy Dilts
Matthew 4: 12-22
1
Prayer: Lord Jesus, in the midst of our working, we wait for you. In the busyness of life; errands
to run, tasks to do, people to reach out to, we wait for you. In our times of rest and
contemplation, when we can just sit, and be still, and center ourselves in your grace, we wait
for you. Come Lord Jesus, come and speak our name, and open our hearts to hear your
invitation to follow you and find abundant life. Amen.
Sermon: According to the UK’s Daily Mail1 the average person, i.e. us, receives, makes, or
rejects 22 phone calls every day. And if you include text messages, emails, access to Facebook,
twitter and the like, taking photos, playing songs and games, and accessing the internet; it
works out to one phone sighting every 6 and a half minutes of every day.
Mobile devices help us to be connected, stay informed, get organized, and most often the
connection is brief and demands little effort on our part.
There is a story in the Bible about another mobile device; another kind of call, that originates
from a source not of human making, that travels via a signal we cannot measure, a call that
demands much from those to whom it’s sent, and ultimately changes the lives and hearts of
those who answer it.
(Matthew 4: 12-22)
On a cold winter day like today the thought of warm water, sun, sandy beach makes this story
extra appealing. A warm sunny day by the Sea of Galilee; Jesus comes to walk, perhaps even to
reflect and pray for a while. Two men, brothers, stand casting their nets into the sea; they are
fishermen. Seeing them Jesus calls to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.”
Now first of all, the seashore was an unlikely place for significant religious moments; those
usually happened in the Temple or in the synagogue where the priests were and people came
to worship God. But Jesus, we come to learn, spent most of his time on the edge, of the sea,
and among people who lived on the edge; the poor, the sick, the outcast, sinners, the lost and
lonely, and those who did not know God. Much of Jesus ministry happens by the sea;
preaching, teaching, healing, freeing people from all the things that keep them from knowing
God’s grace and mercy and hope in their lives.
It is not coincidence that Jesus ministry should begin way off in a place that is barely even a blip
on the Roman radar; far away from Jerusalem. Jesus always has a knack for showing up in the
most unexpected places, in unlikely lives, and in surprising ways.
You see, God, who has existed since long before time even began, and who is the maker of all
things, has always had a really great long distance plan; one never limited by borders, or
“anytime” minutes, or a weakened signal strength.
1
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2276752/Mobile-users-leave-phone-minutes-check-150-times-day.html
Sermon – Jesus Calling
St. James United Church
Sunday January 19, 2014
Cathy Dilts
Matthew 4: 12-22
2
No, his power is Holy Spirit, and in Jesus God sent us his own mobile communication device;
Jesus, a 2 hands, 2 feet, heart-beating, Spirit-breathing person, sent into the world and into the
hearts of God’s people, to deliver his message of new life and new beginnings and hope for all
people; to make connection with them, and draw them into life-giving, grace-filled relationship
with God and with each other.
And it was for those, and to those, whose geographic and spiritual centers felt very far away
from God that Jesus came; and in this case on foot, and through the sand.
These 4 men likely never imagined when they went off to work that day that a complete
stranger would come into their lives, turn everything upside down, reorient their hearts, and
shift their whole being toward God.
But that is what Jesus did for them. That’s what Jesus does when he comes into your life;
everything seems bigger because we no longer just look at things from our own point of view.
We begin to see thing from God’s point of view, which opens our eyes to the whole world.
Jesus found the 4 on the shores of the Galilee; a long way from Jerusalem, and the Temple, and
the Holy of Holies where God was thought to be. But he found them. Nowhere was too far for
him to go, to seek them out; to touch their lives that they might receive the message that God
is doing a new thing and it’s for them and for you too.
Every person has been there; that distant sprawling shore by the Sea of Galilee. Okay, you may
have never actually been there, but we all know that distant place within us where we feel
small, where life’s questions and doubts and struggles seem to pile up like driftwood, and
where the prayers and ponderings of our souls just seem to return unheard like waves upon the
shore, and God feels very far away.
Maybe it’s a grief you just can’t let go of. Maybe it’s a longing for direction and purpose in your
life (what am I meant to do?). Maybe bitterness you carry that you just can’t shake and it cuts
you off from others and that keeps you from knowing peace in your life. Maybe it’s a burden or
a care you’ve carried to the point of exhaustion. Whatever that distant place looks like for you,
know that Jesus will find you there.
You see, there is no place too far, not in the world nor in the infinite expanse that is the human
experience, that Jesus can/will not come to find us. No matter where we are in this life; be it
looking for meaning or direction or hope or faith or love or joy a sense of peace for your life,
Jesus comes. He will always come. And when he does he will never pass you by.
“Walking by the Sea, he saw them.” Matthew writes, “casting nets into the sea.”
What they did told him much about the kind of people they were. Simon and Andrew (casting
their nets) were strong, patient, hard working for such skills are needed by a fisherman if their
reach is to be far.
Sermon – Jesus Calling
St. James United Church
Sunday January 19, 2014
Cathy Dilts
Matthew 4: 12-22
3
James and John in the boat with their father Zebedee mending nets; this was an important skill
to have for there would be much to mend in the work Jesus would ask of them.
Jesus sees them, not just what they say and do, but all that life can hold for them, and be for
them; richer, fuller, bigger, more meaningful with God, and it would be through the gifts and
skills they already have, that they would come to know the power and presence of God in their
lives.
It is a little disarming a little to think that Jesus sees us too, for we all have parts of ourselves we
try to keep hidden from others; our faults, our failures, and our fears, our sin even. But Jesus
sees these too and does not judge (“I have come to save the lost.” Mark 2:17, not to condemn).
But even more so he sees our goodness, our gifts, and the blessing he can make of us to be.
Jesus was always looking past the bad stuff, the disappointing parts of our lives, and seeing the
good parts, those that begin to grow and flow out of us when we discover we’ve been found by
something, someone, and his healing, and forgiveness, and grace help us to be more than we
could ever be alone.
Jesus sees them. And seeing them he calls out to them, “Follow me! I will make you fish for
people.”
Can they possibly have known what that meant and all that it would demand of them and how
it would ultimately lead them to the cross. Could they possibly have known that Jesus’ words
were inviting them on a journey that would lead them from this distant shore to the very heart
of God?
Could they have ever imagined that theirs would be a journey taking them both to places of
great danger and great hope, places of deep despair but also great joy, places of humility and
places of awesome responsibility?
And could they have ever known that they would be among the very few who would learn from
Jesus, witness him do miracles, betray him, be forgiven by him, and filled with the Holy Spirit go
out and change the world for God?
Of course not. That is the joy of discipleship; you never know where Jesus is going lead you, or
need you, or what he will make of you in the process as you grow closer in relationship with
him. And the more you know, the more you grow in that relationship, the more you need him,
and want to follow him, and live your life for him.
Years ago the company my husband worked for hosted “Fun Days” a couple times a year.
One time the event was a Curling Bonspiel. Between games, and as an ice-breaker, we were
asked to team up for a scavenger hunt. A big long list of things we were to find filled the page.
At the top of the page it said, “Read all instructions first.”
Sermon – Jesus Calling
St. James United Church
Sunday January 19, 2014
Cathy Dilts
Matthew 4: 12-22
4
We all knew how a scavenger hunt went; first team back with all the required stuff wins. Who
needs instructions?
So off we all went running around searching, filling in the blanks. Imagine our surprise when we
got to the end of the page and the last line of instructions read, “Ignore the above, and go back
to bar.”
While great for a scavenger hunt, such an approach is not so great for the life of discipleship;
rush to last line (take the easy route). With Jesus the joy is in the journey, following him, and
listening for him, learning from him as his Spirit to speaks to us in all the places we find
ourselves.
Jesus never promises Simon, Andrew, James and John, or us, that it will be easy. In fact it will be
hard, very hard at times, (narrow door and few will be able to get through Luke 13:22) and yet
it will be the path that leads them into the fullness of life God intends for them and for us all.
He calls to them to follow him.
There are many call stories in the Bible; stories of people who have their lives turned inside out
and upside down that God might do a new thing in them and through them.
Jeremiah (1: 5,8). The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah calling him a prophet; to proclaim
God’s judgement upon the people and call them back to faith in God. Jeremiah didn’t want to
do it, but he followed and was ultimately carried off into slavery for it.
Ruth: (1: 16a) A foreigner; “unchurched” in the ways of the faith, and yet God called her to
journey to Bethlehem with her mother-in-law Naomi. It was a journey from the old (home) to
the new (new country), a journey from grief to hope, from death to life. Ruth would become
the great-great grandmother of Jesus.
Mary (1: 46-47) Felt God’s call in the voice of an angel and in faith followed becoming the
mother of God who would live to see her son fulfil his high calling, and the pain of that would
be unimaginable, but she followed.
Paul (Acts 9: 18-20) who’d spent year persecuting Christians has a vision of Jesus on the road to
Damascus and is called to give his life to the proclaiming God’s message; new life in Christ
Jesus. His journey would take to all points of the Mediterranean and result in death, but he
followed.
What calling is Jesus placing upon your heart, in your life? How is he calling you to follow him?
We experience call in many different ways. For some it is a feeling of unsettledness; something
within us pulling us to make a change. For some it is a longing for life to be more, mean more,
or to make a difference in the world.
Sermon – Jesus Calling
St. James United Church
Sunday January 19, 2014
Cathy Dilts
Matthew 4: 12-22
5
For some it is a desire to learn and grow and discover gifts we’ve been given and never had a
chance to share before.
For some it is just a deep desire to respond to the voice of Jesus who comes to us in quiet (and
sometimes not so quiet) stirrings of the heart, or in the insights of another person, or a
challenge laid before us in community.
Sometimes, like those biblical folks I mentioned, it’s an invitation to do something really
difficult, something we can’t even begin to imagine ourselves having the courage or strength or
wisdom to do. That’s okay, because the God who calls us to do and be these things will also give
us grace sufficient to meet our need.
And sometimes our calling is that one thing that above all else gives us joy and makes our
hearts sing.
How is Jesus calling you to follow him? What is he calling you to do and be for his glory?
You know, call display is a great invention. When my phone rings all I have to do is look at the
name and number and I can choose whether or not to accept the call.
The good news is it doesn’t matter how many times we may have declined the call before;
Jesus’ call, his invitation to follow him just keeps coming, because by grace (and thanks be to
God) he sees in each and every one of us something worth saving, worth sharing for his glory,
and through which we can find the abundant life he offers.
Jesus is God’s mobile communication device; sent to proclaim God’s message of hope and new
life.
So when the call comes, and it always comes, we too, are invited to lay down our nets, to let go
of anything and everything that hold us back from claiming the gift and the blessing, and to
follow Jesus wherever he may lead us.
Amen