Matthew 4:12-23 "Re-Learning Fishing" (1-23-08)

Jesus invited the fishermen to relearn how to fish. Here is a carpenter trying to teach fishermen how to fish. Perhaps the skill of carpentry is transferable to other trades, like fishing. Peter Drucker in the book called “Management Challenges for the 21^st Century[1]” discussed how "knowledge workers" have skills and knowledge that are invaluable to an organization and may be transferable to other lines of work through retraining. Carpentry! Fishing! Now I’m not much for fishing, so if you want some fishing information or fishing supplies, go to Cabella’s

I took my two young children there this past Monday afternoon. It’s over by the Sears Center in Hoffman Estates and I was told they have a big fish tank. We saw these humungous cat fish that were huge, that is no fish tale. Now the place is full of fishing and hunting gear; two stories worth of these supplies. Every kind of lure, fishing pole; boat and tackle box you could ever want. What did I get to expand my fishing gear? I ended up getting this great hat! If I’m going to go fishing anytime soon, I want to look good, even though it’s not a fishing hat, it more of a cowboy hat. I saw my brother on Sunday and he had my dad’s cowboy hat from after he died in 1985. My dad didn’t even know that his dad was from Colorado and that they were ranchers and farmers. What can a rancher or farmer teach you today about fishing? Not sure, but if the hat fits, where it!

You see I have only one fishing hook in my possession (show the hook). It has been in my desk for quite a few years. I was given this fishing hook in 1998 when I was installed here as the pastor from Bishop Wollersheim. Many of you know that the Bishop is an avid fishermen and this hook still sits in my desk as a reminder to keep fishing in this place in new ways, whatever it takes to catch and release people into life and ministry. This one simple hook has one simple message for us to relearn. We are all called to relearn fishing today!

Even though Jesus wasn’t a fisherman, he would teach these disciples many things in three years! Jesus was walking along the lake of Galilee to begin his ministry. Now Galilee means ring, circuit of circle. The Matthew passage said “Galilee of the Gentiles, or heathen circle. Now the Lake of Galilee is 13 miles north and south and 8 miles east and west; there were nine cities around this lake with plenty of fishermen. I was there in 1985 and it is a beautiful region with high international traffic flow. Galilee is surrounded by outsiders[2] like the Phoenicians on the west and Syrians on the North and East and Samaritans to the south.

These fishermen who are called by Jesus will be given a fishing lesson by a carpenter. This will be a chance for them to RE-LEARN what it means to fish for people. There is nothing like re-learning a familiar skill or to learn how to apply the knowledge we have perhaps to a different situation. Jesus will spend three years with these disciples teaching them about fishing, especially after they were caught and released when Jesus was crucified and resurrected.

Jesus called fishermen: common people; not poor but hard working men who had a knowledge that was transferable; disciplined; committed and very little religious training. They had never gone to seminary. Jesus said, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people. How will they fish? Well the do dragnet fishing, like the way James and John are fishing with their dad. There was also net cast fishing like the way Peter and Andrew were fishing. Only Jesus was doing line fishing.

What do we need to relearn? We live in our own Galilee, a circle of heathens that live all around us and that includes us. On the Link to Lead website, it shows that 33% of our area is completely unchurched, and another 30% very little church experience. We have much to re-learn when it comes to catching people for Christ. What are some of the characteristics we will have to relearn if we are going to be fishing for people? (Wait for responses) “Patience” someone said; “go early in the morning” another said, especially to be present for people in order to be the calming presence during a new situation. We can also learn perseverance; courage; discerning; right bait and a willingness to leave the shore and venture out into the waters.

We will also have to cast the net in a different location! Many times a fisherman will want to fish in the same spot. Like disciples who will leave the comfort of Galilee and eventually go to Jerusalem, we are called to go to new places. Like the disciples who will be cast farther then ever after the death and resurrection of Christ, we will be sent to people we have never met before. Like the disciples, Jesus will catch and release them after they have discovered a deeper fellowship; we are called to deeper waters of fellowship. We remember the saying, “You catch them and God cleanse them.”

Now I went fishing this week with Bob out on Crystal Lake. Bob is a great fisherman. I’ve never gone ice fishing before and we dropped in our lines in the water and Bob caught dozens of fish while I hadn’t even got a bite. I asked Bob, "What’s your secret?" Bob answered, "Mmu motta meep da mmrms mmrm." I said what? He answered, "Mmu motta meep da mmrms mmrm." Again I asked, "What?" Bob spit into his hand and said, "You gotta keep the worms warm!" I’m kidding, I didn’t go fishing with him, but he is sure a good fisherman. You see we have to keep the warmth of community growing stronger if we are going to “lure” people into faith. We must ask the fire of the Holy Spirit to warm our faith through the word and worship.

Prayer: Gracious God, we have learned much in following the ways of Jesus. You call out to us to re-learn what it means to follow and your spirit is here to warm us through the word, in this meal, and in our relationships with one another. Teach us how to fish so that others would know that you have not cast them away from your presence. Lure us all back to you as you give us a bite of your mercy, in Jesus name we pray, Amen.

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[1] Peter F. Drucker, ©2001, Collins Publishing

[2] Commentary by Barclay

John 1:29-42 - "A Gentle Re-Call" (1-20-08)

Have you ever received a letter in the mail from the car manufacturer? It usually informs you that a part of your car needs to be fixed and they would gladly replace it for you free of charge. This is a recall. Out of so many cars, this part has failed to work correctly and has caused a fire to happen. Please just bring the car in and they will fix it. What a nice and gentle reminder that the manufacture who made your car knows what needs to be fixed and how to fix it.

God knows there is a part that needs to be fixed in our lives and God has re-called us again to gather. This gentle re-call is our reminder today that the manufacturer who created us knows how to fix the free will driven sinful part of our lives through the life, death and resurrection of Christ. WHAT DID YOU COME HERE FOR? Was there a gentle reminder to go and worship God? Did you get a note in the mail that said a part wasn’t working and you needed to go to the original dealer and have that part replaced? Did the cold outside cause you to want to experience the warmth of the Christian community?

Andrew was recalled today by God. Andrew knew there was something wrong and he was looking for something when he left his fishing life to go and follow John the Baptist. He was seeking for something and found it in John out at the Jordan River, south of the Sea of Galilee where he was fishing. He felt called and now he was being recalled by John to follow the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.

Andrew ditches John the Baptist when he sees something in Jesus. They were going to learn from their Rabbi; their teacher about God. If you have ever been an apprentice, it takes time to learn what the master wants you to learn. You listen, watch and imitate. So they watch and see that Jesus has something special that dwells in him.

They just start following Jesus. Jesus turned to them and asked them, “What are they looking for?” Why would Jesus ask them this question? Did Jesus see a missing part? Did Jesus know that things just weren’t clicking on all cylinders? Were these men reevaluating their lives? Were they trying to figure out what was their focus and purpose in life?

How did Andrew respond to Jesus? He didn’t give him an answer that reflected an awareness of what it is they really wanted or what they were ultimately looking for. He knew whatever it was; it started in this direction, in the following of Jesus. There wasn’t a great awareness that Jesus would set them free from their sin by dying on the cross; for their understanding of Messiah meant saving them from this political race with the Romans.

Andrew responded with a question to the question of Jesus, “Where are you living?” This question does not mean, “Are you staying at the Motel Jordan or the Capernaum Holiday Inn? The Greek word which is “menei”; which means: “Where are you living, Jesus? What lives inside of you? What is it that gives you such life inside of you?” It’s used 102 times in New Testament and 33 of those times in John. If you ABIDE in My word, then you are truly my disciples;

Jesus turned to them and said; COME AND SEE! There was no great conversion moment, like Peter’s cock crowing or Thomas doubting. They just spent the entire day where he was staying and dwelling in his presence. Then the next day, Andrew invites his brother, Peter, to meet Jesus. Andrew doesn’t rank up there with the main group of disciples. Andrew is often referred to as the brother of Peter; always in his shadow; always playing second fiddle to Simon Peter. Andrew is the quiet behind the scenes guy who is you bank clerk; the guy who changes your tire; the receptionist at the office. No one notices them! But Andrew just kept inviting people to come and see…

• His brother Peter
• The boy who has a few fish in John 6
• He introduced the Greek foreigners to Jesus in John 12

Before every Billy Graham crusade they do something called “Operation Andrew.” People who know Jesus encourage their loved ones who did not to attend the crusade.

You are called to invite them to follow in a very simple and gentle manner by saying, "Come and see". Jesus gently invited you to come over to his house and dwell in this life giving love; perhaps initially just to watch football and then he led them into a deeper way. For every one Peter who is a dynamo; we have hundreds of Andrews who just go about their business of serving and inviting people to COME AND SEE.

Just like the disciples who were called and recalled, we are being RECALLED today! The disciples see what it would take to follow Jesus in dying on the cross and they all flee and run away! Yet Jesus gently recalled them after the resurrection to COME AND SEE again. They will learn about following by FAILING, for all the disciples failed in following and Jesus gently recalled them after the resurrection. Who failed the most and needed to be re-called?

• Judas – the betrayer of Jesus
• Thomas – the doubter of Jesus
• Matthew – the tax collector
• Peter – the denier of Jesus; oh and brother of Andrew!
• Andrew – he brings the boy but has little faith in what Jesus will do with these fish and bread!

Even when they fail to follow Jesus to the cross, Jesus will re-call them after his resurrection to follow again to COME AND SEE. We are being called by God again today to come and see that God wants to dwell with you and for you to be like Andrew, inviting others again and again to meet Jesus.

Jesus invited ordinary people to follow him and we are called again, "RE-CALLED" to this purpose. A part in us isn't functioning correctly without God. We are recalled today and a new heart is installed; the heart of Andrew. Perhaps our head needs a recall in the way we think about God; ourselves or others. Perhaps we are being re-called by the one who created us for God's purpose!

In a world that is very focused and where it is going, are you up to just COME AND SEE? Do you want Jesus to ask you the question, WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Come and see!

Prayer: Gracious God, we hear your voice calling out to us to come and see. As we hear your voice calling out to us to follow, remind us that you do dwell with us in our homes, at work, in school and in church. You have made your home in our hearts and you are re-calling us to follow. We ask you to not recall our sin but recall that it has been placed upon Christ, in his name we pray, Amen!

Matthew 3:13-17 - "A Beloved Re-Affirmation" (1-13-08)

You are my BELOVED SON!!! Jesus is about to start his public ministry and he is now about thirty years old. He leaves Nazareth behind and heads over to the sea of Galilee and then south to the river Jordan, about a twenty mile walk. And Jesus…he had to be anointed. Kings have to be anointed. That is, the law commanded that kings are anointed by priests or prophets. His baptism was meant to be a parallel to the anointing of kings.[1] He comes to the river and he enters the water and John Baptizes Jesus not because he is sinful but because Christ has put us on, put our humanity on with all of its sin. He knows that the only way now is the CROSS and for the next three years, he will remember these words, “You are my BELOVED son; beloved is agape, unconditional love, with you I am well pleased.” Jesus fully takes on our humanity; as he is clothed with our sin and dies for us that we might live.

We celebrate our Baptism on a daily bases. We Put ON Christ as Christ put on us. We remember that we are children of god and even when you don’t feel God is well pleased; daily we remember that our sins are placed on Christ we can rise to new life again and again. We are here today for a Beloved Re-Affirmation.

When I was a teenager, I went to church every Wednesday afternoon for what was known as Confirmation. How many of you did that? Some of you may have felt that you were dragged there and some of you teenagers may feel that way today. We of course now call it Crossroads Youth Group, our confirmation program. The term confirmation has been going by the wayside that last thirty years. Its original meaning of confirm is with strength; like firm foundation; with strength I affirm my baptism as an infant. Since the late 1970’s we have been calling the service of Confirmation the “Affirmation of Faith” service. Teenagers can affirm their faith publicly that day. We gave the teens the chance to privately affirm their faith on Wednesday, with candles up front and the song “Open My Eyes Lord” playing on the PowerPoint, everyone was invited forward to dip their finger in the water and say these words, “I am a child of God; I’ve been forgiven”. When their friends ask them when they were saved, they can say "two thousand years ago outside of Jerusalem when Jesus died for my sins." Some people have a born again experience but many of us just keep on reaffirming our faith again and again.

You and I can RE-AFFIRM that everyday. We RE-AFFIRM our faith every week at worship; when? When we say the Apostles Creed, we reaffirm our faith with the words, “I Believe.” We are here to RE-AFFIRM that we are beloved children of God; a part of this family of faith; baptized as brothers and sisters.

So how many of you were baptized as infants (ask for hands). How many of you remember your baptism (ask for ages). We celebrate infant and adult Baptism. We usually baptize with sprinkling and not immersion. If there were any adults who have never been baptized, it would be great to celebrate this gift with you and go over to Crystal Lake for a service of Baptism.

Now I was twelve when I was baptized and I remember the day. I wasn’t baptized until I was age 12 because my parents never took me to church, I went with a sister on my own since Kindergarten. But before I was baptized on June 28, 1978 at First Lutheran Church in Chicago on June 28^th, I remember a baptism like experience. Many of you have heard the story when I was four years old and my sister was sixteen and she took me to Fullerton Beach at Lake Michigan in Chicago. Neither one of us could swim, great idea! I went to sit on the edge of those piers and I fell in. My sister laid on the pier and grabbed me by the hair and pulled me out (point to hair); explains everything. In baptism, God reaches down and grabs us, saving us from sin, death and the grave. We are saved by God’s hand and everyday is a gift.

When I was baptized at age twelve, which was a wonderful day to remember. We held the service is the basement of the church in Chicago. My mom and dad came to church for the first time that day. It rained a little that day as we walked to church and my dad said he didn’t want to go back because it rains whenever I go to your church. They did come back again, two years later when I affirmed my faith at the Confirmation service. For the last four years of his life, my dad reaffirmed his faith. I actually found their membership certificate in the paper work this fall after my mom died. Their children helped them reaffirm the gifts already there.

I remember the first time I had a baptism as a Pastor in 1994. When it came to that moment when I was going to baptize the child, I said I baptize you in the name of the father, and the son….” (pause) And then I just forgot what was next! The senior pastor whispered the next part to me, “Holy Spirit” and I said, “Oh yeah, the Holy Spirit.” Oh yeah, the Holy Spirit is a part of this celebration; calling us back again and again to reaffirm the gifts that are there already.

Finally, my favorite baptism story is the joy of baptizing my own two children here at Living Waters, one at the school and one in this place. Nathan was baptized on November 10, 2002 and Maggie on February 27, 2004. The great thing about Baptism is that we are adopted into God’s family. For those who say you should only baptize when I child wants baptism, we believe that in baptism, whether an infant, child or adult, it is God who claims you. We didn’t wait for our two adopted children to decide they wanted us to be their parents before we received them into our hearts and lives. We didn’t wait until they were old enough to know what they were doing before we adopted them into our lives. They are gifts, beloved children of God.

We are all beloved children of God and we are here to reaffirm that gift today. Say it with me and place a cross on your forehead; I am a child of God, I’ve been forgiven… let’s pray!

LET US PRAY: Gracious God, we know that “sin remains in our flesh even until death” but “it is so overruled by our baptism that it does not condemn us but is daily more and more destroyed until your death."[2] Guide us this day and remind us that you have made us your children and we are yours, in Jesus name we pray, Amen.

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[1] Rev. Wally Steven Seibel, www.sermoncentral.com

[2] Quotes from Martin Luther

Matthew 2:12 - "A Wise Re-Solution" (1-6-08)

Happy New Year (said with a lack of enthusiasm)! Of course with the new year we make new year’s resolutions. The number one resolution is of course (invite answers) to lose weight.[1] I’ve added that one this year to my list and started riding an exercise bike I received for Christmas. We like to think we have the will power to make change and find a solution to our problems and challenges. We must have the resolve and determination to make changes.

There is a chance again for a new solution, a re-solution to our struggles in life and the wise men show us the way to the manger by following the star. For today is the day of Epiphany, about light and a “sudden realization or comprehension of the essence or meaning of something”, not necessarily seeing the full picture but “new information or experience, often insignificant by itself, that illuminates a deeper or numinous foundational frame of reference”. An epiphany can redirect your ways as you reevaluate your life.

Re-Solutions[2] is a way for us to look back and re-evaluate. We don’t get a re-due for the year is over. We have left gifts at the altar of the stable and we are led in a new direction. We have been given a new solution to the struggles we experience in this new year as we look back and forward at the same time; which is the Greek God Janus meaning.

Now I recently discovered that in the Orthodox tradition, people will often mark in chalk on the mantel of the front door, CMB for the three wise men[3] (I used names of men in the church that started with CMB for fun). My mother was Russian Orthodox so I’m going to do this today! The CMB stood for for Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar, names given to the wise men centuries after the Biblical account was written. People know that this home has found the solution to be the same light to the world that the star of Bethlehem had once been to the wise men, directing them to Jesus.

Those names were first used 300 years after Christ was born and they are not in the Bible! The idea that they were kings became popular ten centuries after Christ’s birth. They are not eve WISEMEN – they are called “magi,” where we get magic: ones trained in astrology, dream interpretation, magicians, sorcerers; fortune-tellers; horoscope fanatics, star-gazers; psychic hotline, tea leaf readers; or Tarot card gurus; the Jewish people of Jesus’ time viewed the practice of the magi as idolatrous and therefore condemned, as they put their trust and faith not in God but in the stars. They were heretics. But they found a new solution in this baby and brought gifts:

1. Gold: a precious metal reserved only for royalty.

2. Frankincense: priest used in worship; like smoke that rises up to god in prayer

3. Myrrh: used in preparation of bodies for burial which reminds us that Jesus’ ministry sacrifice

Then after they leave, we read in verse 12 – “And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road. They decided to take a different way and are resolved to return by avoiding Jerusalem. They have found a new solution in this birth and they follow that leading and find a new solution, for Jesus is the way and the early Christians were often considered people of the way!

God does send a "star", some sign or something concrete when we really need to know it's Him. We’ve all been lead here by some kind of star; in the midst of looking for some type of sign; hoping some kind of signal will be given to make it all clear. Like when we gathered in the ICU yesterday and the pastor prayed and my mother in law’s lips seemed to move as we prayed. We have been given a sign and that light shines in the darkness and it is the solution to all our problems and struggles, thanks be to God!

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[1]http://www.homileticsonline.com/subscriber/btl_display.asp?installment_id=93040355

[2] Homiletics, Volume 20, Number 1, page 9ff

[3] Rev. Gail Hermondsen at http://hereipreach.blogspot.com/2008/01/epiphany-sunday-matthew-21-12.html