“The call” (Mark 1.14-20)

Mark 1.14-20

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Pastor Tom Johnson, January 24, 2021

Jesus comes to Galilee to fulfill his call to preach the good news, call us to repentance, and believe the good news of forgiveness, the coming of the Kingdom of God, and God’s love for the whole world. Even Jesus is not called to do it alone. He expands the Kingdom, forgiveness, and love in his sphere of influence. But he now inspires others to participate and multiply this expansion of grace, love, and forgiveness exponentially.  Jesus sees Simon and Andrew casting their nets into the sea. Jesus uses the language of their trade to call them. “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” They immediately leave their nets to sink to the sea floor and follow him. Jesus goes a little father and calls James and John. They were in the boat mending their nets. They immediately leave their nets unmended on the floor of the boat along with their father Zebedee and his hired workers. 

Their call is now to follow in the steps and example of Jesus. These four former fishermen will learn from the Master how to fish for human beings—how to hook them with forgiveness, the unconditional love of the Father, and adoption through Baptism. They will learn how to draw people into the net of God’s grace. They will be experts in fishing for people like their Master. They will teach others how to fish for people. The four will teach their own number. And each of that company will teach masses of people. And those masses of people, whom we call the holy catholic and apostolic Church, will teach people all around the world. Kingdom ministry is built by equipping others. Jesus’ strategy is to multiply God’s work exponentially beginning with a few. Given a little time and many transformed lives, this quickly becomes a global movement of the people of God.

But with this call is cost. There is a cost of discipleship in this account of the calling of Peter, Andrew, James, and John. God calls these two pairs of brothers away from their livelihood and their families. Maybe Jesus calls these brothers two by two to remind us of Noah, his family, and the ark. Just as Noah was called to rebuild the world two by two and to be fruitful and multiply, so Jesus rebuilds a new world through these pairs of brothers. They leave their nets. No one takes the time to tidy up, roll and fold their nets for someone else to easily pick up from where they left off. When Jesus calls, it may appear to the outside world that we have abandoned our duties, are no longer useful, and have even failed to be loyal to our own families of origin. It may appear that way. But what really has happened is that in Christ, we have found a higher call. We are no longer employed by that which will feed the stomach. Our vocation is now to feed the soul. These fishermen will no longer gather hundreds of fish to feed hundreds of humans. They will now gather and equip dozens of people who will, in turn, gather and equip dozens of people, and so on and so forth until there is a multitude that no one can number from every tribe, nation, tongue, and people.

It is a heartbreaking image of their father Zebedee left in the boat that he worked a lifetime to build—a business that was doing well enough to hire additional workers to assist him and his sons. On the surface, it may look like they have wronged their father, dishonored their parents, and despised their inheritance. But in Jesus’ call these two pairs of brothers with different parents now share the same Heavenly Father. They are no longer just brothers to one other sibling in the Sea of Galilee. They have now joined a family of sisters and brothers in the great sea of humanity—all those for whom Christ died and rose.

So God calls each one of us. He calls us to forgiveness by the Water and the Word of Holy Baptism. He calls us to be set free from sin’s guilt and set free from sin’s power—to repent—to have a change of course toward life and salvation. He calls us to build a new identity—not in our differences but in our shared humanity. He calls us be participants in his work to share the good news with the whole world. And don’t miss the great encouragement of Jesus’ words to his disciples and to us: “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Our journey—no matter what we believe—is a journey into the unknown.

How great a comfort it is to be invited to embark on this journey with Jesus—to be a journey into the unknown but not be alone. He goes ahead of us. He blazes a trail before us. He overcomes our sin, evil, and death for us as he leads us to the Cross and the empty grave. He calls us to trust him. We will only follow those whom we trust. And as he calls us to follow him and trust him, he first expresses his faith and trust in us! “I will make you fish for people.”

You, dear Christian, have been hand-selected by God. You are worthy. You are fully known and loved when he calls you. He adopts you into his Holy Family. He is confident that we will become all that he has worked for and promised. He calls us out of love for us. He calls us out of love for the whole world—so that, through us, we extend that same call to be part of Christ’s global family and equip the whole world. We all get to participate in building up the Kingdom because of him who says, “I make all things new.” 

“Come, follow Me,” the Savior spake,
“All in My way abiding;
Deny yourselves, the world forsake,
Obey my call and guiding.
O bear the cross, whate’er betide,
Take My example for your guide.”
          (“Come, Follow Me,” the Savior Spake, LSB 688 v. 1)

“Come and See” John 1:43-51

John 1:43-51

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Pastor Tom Johnson, January 17, 2021

It’s the beginning of his earthly ministry. Jesus decides to go to Galilee—that is, to go back to the region where he grew up. But instead of going to his home town, he goes by the Sea of Galilee. And there he calls Philip to be his disciple. Philip, who is known for his evangelistic gifts, goes and tells his friend Nathanael, “We have found the Messiah—the one Moses and the prophets predicted would come. He is Jesus son of Joseph from the town of Nazareth.” Philip says, “We have found him.” And yet, it clearly says in the previous verse that Jesus found Philip! Isn’t that a delightful mistake—that just when we think we have discovered the divine, it is God who has finally broke through to us? 

Philip will not keep his joy to himself. Philip will not let anyone steal his joy. When Nathanael tries to crush Philip’s hope, Philip does not allow him. “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Nathanael asks. “Come and see,” he says. Nathanael and Jesus were from the same Galilean region. They likely had the same accent. That means that Nathanael is projecting. Jesus and Nathanael grew up about 10 or so miles from one another—about a 3-4 hour walk. This is not unlike the crosstown rivalry between the White Sox and Cubs—both Chicago teams. 

Jesus is a Galilean. Nathanael and all the disciples are also Galileans. We know from the end of Matthew (26:73) that Peter tried to hide his appearance but could not hide his accent when he denied his Lord three times. In book of Acts (2:6,7) we know Jesus’ disciples were easily identified by their regional accent alone. Have you ever thought of Jesus that way? ...that he was from the margins? ...he grew up in an economically depressed area of the world? ...that he had an earthy, colloquial accent? He did not speak the queen’s English. He was not born into privilege or significance. He was from a lackluster town in a lackluster region. Nazareth is a border town. It’s on the margins of the nation of Israel between the Israelites and the Gentiles. It was flyover country. It would be easy for Nathanael to dismiss whoever grew up there and doubt that anything good could come. Jesus was born into the margins of humanity, a stable, a feeding trough. He grew up in nowhere, no man’s land. The eternal Son of God took on skin, bones, grew a beard, spoke a regional accent, and had Semite heritage and ethnicity. How can anything special or divine come out of a place so extraordinarily unsensational? But just as Nathanael projected his own sense of unworthiness on to Jesus, so we can project ours on to him and others.

We too can ignore, neglect, and even despise people from places we consider marginal. But if you dig a little deeper into our pride, it’s often our own sense of unworthiness that holds us back from growing in faith and character.  If we believe that only those born into privilege, significance, and the right pedigree get God’s attention, then we are all in big trouble. When we treat others with contempt because we consider them marginalized, we are participating in a lie. We have been deceived and are held captive by our own ignorance. Can anything good come out of East Germany—like the town of Eisleben? Many consider that great good came from this birthplace of the Reformer Martin Luther. How about Hodgenville, KY—the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln? How about the 4th Ward of Atlanta—the birthplace of Martin Luther King, Jr. How about the rural and urban margins of the United States and all around the world? What about your hometown? When we neglect or contempt the margins of our humanity, we cheat ourselves of each other’s genius and God’s blessings through one another.

You don’t have to take my word or Philip’s word for it. He says, “Come and see.” Philip winsomely invites Nathanael to cultivate his own personal experience with Jesus. Philip brings hope to Nathanael’s jaded and despairing heart.  What a great example of how we should all share our faith in Jesus—to be so confident in the power and love of Jesus, that we can challenge others to just give Jesus a chance. Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Nathanael comes toward Jesus. Jesus seals the deal with humor. He playfully identifies his pride: “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael says, “Where did you get to know me?” Nathanael hears Jesus’ intimate knowledge of him in his words and voice. And when Jesus says he saw him first—under the fig tree, Nathanael realizes that he is more than just a human being and teacher. He is the Son of God. He is the true Messiah, King of Israel.

“You will see greater things than these,” Jesus says. Philip said, “Come and see for yourself if anything good can come out of Nazareth.” Jesus says, “Continue to come to me. Follow me. And you will see more good and greater things.” He gives Nathanael the original vision of Israel when he saw the eternal Son of God in his glory with the heavenly host—Jacob’s ladder into heaven—with the risen Christ standing in triumph over doubt, sin, evil, and death. Jesus did not just know him before under the fig tree. He has known us all—and loved us all since before the creation of the universe. 

Jesus will continue to go to the margins of society and even into Samaria. He will take his place in the margins of Jerusalem outside the city walls on the cross of Calvary. He will leave the empty tomb just down the hill from there—in the margins of urban and rural Israel. Can anything good come out of our humble beginnings? Can anything good come out of the chaos, confusion, and trauma of our times? Can anything good come words spoken two thousand years ago...a font of water...a table with bread and wine? Come and see. You may find he is drawing you near to him.

“great Desire of nations,” Psalm 72; Isaiah 60:1-6; Matthew 2:1-12

Psalm 72
Isaiah 60:1-6
Matthew 2:1-12

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Pastor Tom Johnson, January 3, 2020

The hymn that follows the sermon in our Epiphany worship calls Jesus the great capital D “Desire of nations.” This title actually comes from Haggai 2:7 that talks about the coming of the “Desire of all nations.” Our reading from Isaiah’s says, “Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” The passage even predicts that dignitaries will come from distant lands with priceless gifts such as gold and frankincense. And that is exactly what happens. “Wise men from the East came to Jerusalem.” It is a mystery where these people came from. I think the ambiguity highlights just how multiethnic the adoration of this newborn king was and will be. They bring rare and priceless gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Their wealth and their knowledge of the stars tells us that they are well-educated, likely upper class, and perhaps even of noble birth. That is why we often call them “three kings” and why the Scripture calls them “wise.”

In contrast to these foreign dignitaries we have the local shepherds working the night shift. Although they did not arrive at the same time as our manger scene depicts, they were among those who came to worship the babe in the manger. One of the powerful reminders of the nativity scene is the multiethnic, social, and economic diversity of those who gather around, bow the knee, and worship. I love the manger scenes that highlight this beautiful tapestry of skin tones, facial features, clothing, and exotic animals. And yet, you can see in all their faces, their posture, and the gifts they bring their shared gratitude for the Word made flesh. Even with all the different languages and accents, you can hear the same joy and praise for the newborn King of kings.

It’s darkly ironic that Herod, the king of Jerusalem, is not filled with the same hope and joy. Instead, he is filled with fear and jealousy. His chief concern is losing power. He lies about wanting to also pay homage to Messiah. He is so desperately wicked, that he is willing to kill all the toddler, infant, and newborn boys in Bethlehem so that he will not lose his influence and affluence. He cares more about maintaining power than he does the lives of innocent children. This evil, selfish, and destructive abuse of power is not unique to Herod. Many of Roman emperors were also cruel and self-serving. It is likely that the wise men from the east also came from kingdoms ruled by tyrants.  All of us fall short of the glory of God. All earthly leaders fall short of who God has called them to be. That is why we need to pray for those in power—as Scripture commands us to pray for all kings and those in authority (1 Tim 2:2).

What our Scripture is highlighting today is the Desire of the nations. There is a universal human desire for peace and justice. Our Psalm names this desire: In this psalm, we pray and sing for Messiah to rule righteously, to treat the poor with justice, to bring prosperity and righteousness to the people, to defend the needy, rescue the poor, and crush those who oppress them. What’s amazing about this Davidic King born in Bethlehem is that he is not just ruler of the tribe of Judah or the nation of Israel. He is “the great Desire of nations.” “All kings show bow down before him.”

This is the universal, god-pleasing, human-benefiting desire we should have in a leader—someone who accepts us no matter our skin tone, accent, country of origin, social class, or economic condition—a ruler who does not act in self-interest but in elevating others out of poverty, injustice, and distress. This is what motivated these wise men to pack up their camels for a months-long journey to find this messianic King. He was not just to be King of a narrow strip of land next to the Mediterranean but of heaven and earth—a global, cosmic King. It’s what motivated the lowly shepherds to leave their night posts and make haste to meet baby Jesus. They were overwhelmed with the truth that God does not just care about people ruling in palaces but also people working the fields by night.

So we should ponder and treasure our relationship to this Messianic King—the eternal Son of God who was born in a barn and lying in a feeding trough. Your desire for justice is found in him. Your longing for belonging is fulfilled. Your needs of body and soul are met in this royal child wrapped in swaddling cloth. He will heal the sick, preach good news to the poor, comfort the afflicted, afflict the comfortable, confront hypocrisy, call out the abuse of power, unmask self-righteousness, remove guilt and shame, and fulfill all universal desires. Just as his earthly reign began in the unlikeliest of places—a feeding trough in a stable—so will his earthly reign end in the unlikeliest of places—a wooden cross on a hill called “the Skull.”  But it is through his death that he destroys death, the reign of evil, and all our sin. And three days later, he rises to validate his kingship and be our Desire for forgiveness, eternal life, and a front seat in the Kingdom that will have no end.

Sages, leave your contemplations,

Brighter visions beam afar;

Seek the great Desire of nations,

Ye have seen His natal star.

Come and worship, come and worship;

Worship Christ, the newborn King.

     (“Angels from the Realms of Glory,” LSB 367, v. 3)