My Blog

Tag: Disciples

  • The Basis for Christian Mission

    From time to time I remind myself and those given into my care that the Church doesn't have a mission. Rather, the mission has a Church! Christian communities are the delivery system for the mission of Christ.

    The other name for The Episcopal Church is "The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society." We're taught that each member of this Church is a missionary. What is the basis for our work as missionaries? I don’t mean to be overly simplistic, but I believe the Christian mission has its basis in the Great Gift, the Great Commandment, and the Great Commission:

    • The Great Gift (John 3:16-17) ~ For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

    God’s greatest gift of Love surpasses all I possess, given not for condemnation but for redemption. The Gift of the Son of God to reconcile us to God inspires, empowers, and motivates us in the work of reconciliation he has entrusted to us.

    • The Great Commandment (Matthew 22:37-40) ~ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

    Jesus' summary of the law is the guide for our words and actions. Everything else depends on these two commandments, like a door depends on its hinges. Demonstration of love for God and love for our neighbors are the highest values of the Christian’s life.

    • The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) ~ All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

    Jesus gave this commission to the Church. It is his intention for us to be united in his mission to be and to make disciples for the sake of the world.

    How are we doing, Jesus?

    I'll see you in Church!

    Ron Short Blue Sig Cropped

     

     

     

     

    The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
    Interim Dean
    St. Andrew’s Cathedral
    Jackson, Mississippi

  • Discoveries in Worship

    There are students of the Bible who firmly believe that Luke's account of the pilgrims on the road to Emmaus is the most dramatic story in all Scripture. It certainly is one that gets our attention. Perhaps the drama and simplicity of it is the reason this story has become the one that gives thematic unity to a worldwide movement among Christians, the movement overseen known in this Church as Cursillio. It is a movement of people who are caught up in the surprising discoveries experienced by Cleopas and his companion when they walked and talked and broke bread with the Risen Christ in a village called Emmaus. Emmaus-table-icon-2

    All of Luke's accounts of the resurrection appearances of Jesus have about them the quality of the worship life of the early church. There is a familiar pattern that reflects or is reflected in the pattern of worship among early Christians; disciples experiencing doubt and despair, Jesus appearance and confrontation, opening of scripture, sharing of a meal, followed by rejoicing and witness. There is an integral and unbreakable connection between our worship together and our experience of the Risen Savior. Worship is the center of the corporate life of the followers of Jesus Christ. Worship is the place of surprise and discovery. If we join that pair on the road to Emmaus we will find…

    In worship we are discovered by the Risen Christ. While they were walking, Jesus came near and went with them. But they didn't realize it, they were not expecting him or looking for him. It takes a special opening of the eyes to see the Risen Christ because there is an inward blindness that must be overcome. John Newton's line “was blind but now I see” in Amazing Grace refers to this blindness. Fanny Crosby, whose hymns have inspired many, sang about spiritual blindness from the perspective of a person who was actually physically blind. We have a way of seeing what we want to or the way we want to. Jesus discovers us in this condition and desires to correct it!

    In worship we discover him. Recognition of Jesus did not occur until they received the witness of Scripture and Sacrament. It always amazes me that so many people are amazed that the Church expects its members to be regular participants in worship. Some say, “attending worship doesn't guarantee that you'll be a good Christian. I can be a good Christian and never darken the doors of a church.” You can be a good person but not a new creature. You can do your own thing, but Christianity is not one's own thing. It is a corporate experience. The witness of Scripture, the teaching of the Church, the experience of millions of Christians for nearly 2000 years is that gathering for Word and Sacrament on a regular basis is essential because it is in worship that the chief means of grace are offered to nourish and sustain us in the Christian life. It is true that we can discover Christ anywhere. But the normal way, the primary way, the most reliable way is through word and sacrament with the gathered community of his followers.

    In worship we discover our faith. Faith is, first and foremost, trust in God. St. Peter wrote, “Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised [Jesus] from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God” (I Peter 1:21). For most of us, mature faith does not come all at once as a finished product. We grow into it over time. In fact, the most exemplary saints are never sure the process is ever complete. I recall a scene from the movie, Tender Mercies, in which a boy and his stepfather are baptized. Going home, the boy says he doesn't feel much different. He asks his stepfather if he does. And his stepfather replies, “not yet.” In the experience of worship, more than any experience of our lives, we place ourselves in the presence of the Risen Christ and in his presence we discover our faith.

    In worship we discover one another. After he broke bread and was recognized them, he left. Then “they said to each other…” We need to learn to share our faith one-on-one. Faith that is never shared isn't faith. We need to overcome fear that we might reveal weakness or that our insights might be challenged. Faith that is never questioned isn't worth having. We need to make all our meals and all our meetings experiences of shared faith in the Risen Christ…especially those meetings that have to do with money.

    In worship we discover our feet. After their encounter with the Risen One in Emmaus, those disciples went to the others. The sense of the text is that they couldn't wait to get there. What if this Cathedral community became that excited about its mission, so that we couldn't wait to get out there and roll up our sleeves? Serving a meal or spending the night helping with the Women’s Homeless Initiative, getting involved with St. Francis Center, combating hunger with Metro Caring, signing up to tend the Cathedral Learning Garden, supporting Episcopal Relief and Development. What mission takes is people whose experience with the Risen Christ gets them out of their seat and up on their feet and moving. There is energy and power in it. And, it is not our own energy and power but the energy of God that raised Jesus from the dead. He shows us in Jesus that he also desires to give life to our mortal bodies. I submit to you today that our decisions to reach out to others are grounded in worship. What we do in worship produces results out there. We are able to bear fruit because we return week after week to make sure we are still grafted into the Vine, without whom we can do nothing.

    In worship we discover our voice to witness and praise. When Cleopas and his companion arrived in Jerusalem and found the other disciples, they told what they'd seen. They found the others telling about their experience of the Resurrection also. There was amazement. There was praise. There was energy in that room when all those who'd encountered the Risen Christ got there. That energy freed their voices to go to others and tell. On the Day of Pentecost, 3,000 responded to their witness and joined them in following Christ. In worship we discover the courage to give all and risk all for the sake of his gospel. People need to give and risk in order to experience a growing and vital faith. Through Word and Sacrament, we are encountered by the Risen Christ, our fears and our faith are put in balance, we discover ways to share faith with one another, we discover our feet moving out to where our priestly ministry is needed, we discover our voice to praise and witness, and we discover the courage to give all and risk all for the sake of this gospel.

    I'll see you in Church!

    Ron Short Blue Sig Cropped

     

     

     

     

    The Very Reverend Ron Pogue
    Interim Dean
    Saint John's Cathedral – Denver

  • Every member has a ministry!

    The Feast of the Epiphany celebrates the manifestation of Jesus as the Messiah to the gentile world. In the season following the feast, we are reminded of various ways he manifested his messianic role – miracles, healing, preaching, teaching, and calling people to follow him. Jesus_calls_01

    He spent time with those who responded to his call, forming them into a community and equipping them to continue his messianic work in the world. Each follower of Jesus was given gifts for this work. Some were placed in positions of leadership to provide the formative experiences for others in the generations that followed. In this way, the community of followers of Jesus, the Church, was strategically ordered to advance his mission from generation to generation.

    Writing to the followers of Jesus in the city of Ephesus in the first few years after Jesus ascended into heaven, St. Paul wrote of this way of ensuring the future of Christian mission:

    But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ (Ephesians 4:7, 11-13).

    Notice that the “work of ministry” is entrusted to “the saints.” Who are the saints? The saints are the members of Christ’s Church, the followers of Jesus. Our Episcopal catechism expresses it this way, “The Church carries out its mission through the ministry of all its members” (BCP, p. 855).

    Larger congregations, like ours, have several members of the clergy and a number of staff members. It is easy to see the clergy and staff as the ones who carry out the Church’s mission. Sometimes even the clergy and staff begin to see it that way. However, when that happens, the saints are deprived of their missional opportunities. It is not the job of the clergy and staff to do the work of ministry for the saints. Our vocation and our ministry is to “equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” Under the leadership of our Bishop, clergy and staff strategically order the life of the community of faith, recruit, teach, train, equip, empower, and nurture the members in their ministries. It is our responsibility to help each member discover his or her gifts and discern ways in which Christ wants those gifts to be used his ongoing mission.

    Some of the members are called to serve primarily within the life of the Church. Others are called to ministries out in the world at our doorstep. Many are called to do both! Christ calls each of us to be engaged in his mission. Every member has a ministry! Vibrant, fruitful churches are filled with people who believe that and exercise their ministries to the glory of God, thereby building up the Church in pursuit of Christ’s mission.

    So, during this season when we recall those whom Christ called to follow him during his earthly ministry, we reclaim and reaffirm our own vocations. Where are you called to serve Christ in his Church? If you know, your clergy and staff are here to assist you and support you. And, if you are not sure, we are here to help you find a ministry that is right for you.

    There is a long list of possibilities in a brochure we have placed in various locations around the campus. It is also HERE on our website. I invite you, in the name of Jesus Christ, to take some time to review the opportunities and respond to the call to serve in one or more ways. There are places of service every week and places of service that may last for months. Some service requires little preparation and some requires more. A number of roles are for leading others and many are for following. All are important to our life together and to Christ’s mission in the world.

    By responding to your vocation, you give us the privilege of fulfilling ours! Please let us hear from you.

    I’ll see you in Church!

    Ron Blue Small

     

     

     

  • The Episcopal Church: The Original Discovery Channel

    An inclusive and authentic community of faith ought to stand by us and encourage us through all the stages and struggles of faith. I am reminded of this every year on the Second Sunday of Easter when we always read the account of the experience of St. Thomas the Apostle with the Risen Christ (John 20:19-31). This incident shows us that even the most empirical evidence is incomplete without the evidence from personal experience. One role of a faith community is to be a safe place where we can explore and seek understanding of all our experiences, especially those that puzzle and confound us. While the biblical revelation is primary in our faith journey, we believe tradition, reason, and experience are necessary lenses through which we discover the way forward together.

    What are the five senses without experience? A scientist must rely on experience of the evidences that are seen, heard, tasted, touched, or smelled in conducting an experiment. How is the experience of the presence, the love, and the power of the living Christ in a person’s life any less real? No experiment is complete or valid, no philosophical argument is authentic, apart from the existential fact of human experience. After all, the words experience, experiment, and expert all have their origin in the Latin word experimentum, from experiri, which means to “test” or “try.”

    One of my seminary professors used to say, “One can neither confirm nor deny in the armchair what has been established in the laboratory of the human soul.” Without experiential evidence, faith cannot survive and the doubts that live on the edge of our lives will consume us.

    I’m grateful to be in a Church that recognizes that doubt plays a role in the quest for truth. Honest doubt is the forbearer of discovery! A questing spirit is normal and necessary in the development of a growing person. Thomas expressed his doubts in the security of the community of those whom Jesus had called along with him. He could have chosen other friends. Instead, he chose to remain among the friends of Jesus.

    Never did one of them say, “Thomas, you’re through here. Out you go. You can’t stay in our midst because you are a heretic, a skeptic, and an unbeliever.” The disciples stood by Thomas in his struggle to believe.

    Fundamentalism has gained a stronghold in our culture and, I suspect, driven more people away from faith than it has attracted. Our Church offers a healthy alternative. My friend Bill Cherry described The Episcopal Church this way: “Here's the deal about being an Episcopalian. You get to tinker with what you're taught until you get a personal encompassing belief that you're comfortable with. Meanwhile, your Church doesn't scream at you that what you've just done is the work of the devil. Consequently, you love being an Episcopalian and can't imagine being anything else. I'm one of those.” Me too!

    If you have doubts about the Resurrection, about your relationship with God, about life eternal, take heart! You are not the first and you will not be the last. You’ve come to the right Church. All are welcome here in the company of others who have been lovingly guided through doubt to faith. It’s the original Discovery Channel.

    I’ll see you in Church!

    Ron Short Sig Blue

     

     

     

     

    P.S. Join us for a Discovery Weekend, either May 8-10 or June 12-14.

     

     

     

  • Sermon by The Rev’d Linda Northcraft ~ August 10, 2014

    CCC Pulpit_Side

    The Ninth Sunday After Pentecost

    Listen to the Sermon

    Read the Sermon

  • To Discern or Not to Discern…

    The word "discernment" is used often in the Episcopal Church.  At Calvary Episcopal Church in Ashland, Kentucky, it's been used quite a lot lately as the leaders of the parish are attempting to discern who should be called as the next rector. Those priests who are under consideration have also been discerning if they are called to come to Calvary.  We describe it as a process of mutual discernment. But what is that and how does it work?

    In attempting to understand the meaning of words, I find it helpful to know something about their etymology.  For example, the word discern is directly from the Latin discernere, meaning "to separate, set apart, divide, distribute, distinguish, or perceive." The word is made up of the two Latin roots,  dis, meaning "off or away," and cernere, meaning to "distinguish, separate, or sift." So, discernment is a process of sorting that leads to a decision about something.

    We use the term very intentionally in Christian circles when the decision has spiritual significance and requires the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  For example, we probably would not speak of "discerning" which brand of pet food to buy, which flight to take, or which direction to walk around the park. As important as those decisions may be, we probably don't need much guidance from the Holy Spirit to make them.  However, if we are attempting to reach a decision about an action that may be good or evil in the eyes of God, about whether we are called to a particular ministry in the Church, or about which priest will be our next rector, that would be discernment.  We need the assistance of the Holy Spirit to reach decisions like those.

    Hiring a CEO of a corporation, a member of a company staff, or a lawn service, usually requires a very thoughtful process that includes reviewing resumes, calling references, performing background checks, and interviews. We might pray about it, but it would not normally be a requirement in the secular setting.  In this Church, clergy are not hired; they are called. Search committees, vestries, and clergy are all very well aware that there is a distinction and that distinction has to do with the work of the Holy Spirit among us. Remember that God called the prophets, they did not volunteer.  Jesus called the Disciples, they were not hired.  It is in that spirit that clergy in this Church are sought out and, following a period of mutual spiritual discernment, may be called to a position.

    The practices of deploying clergy in different places of ministry varies from one communion to another.  However, in every instance I am aware of, there is some discernment on the part of the calling or sending body, those who provide oversight, and the clergy under consideration.  These decisions are made after a prayerful, godly process in which there is a sorting out or sifting that leads to a decision.

    The process we follow is informed by scripture, tradition, reason, and experience.  These are the lenses, as it were, through which we examine one another, all the while asking the Holy Spirit to help us to see what we need to see and hear what we need to hear.  After we've done our "homework", following the pattern of St. Ignatius, we ask God a somewhat simple question.  "God, is this your will or not?"  And God answers with a somewhat simple answer, "Yes or No."  Ignatius said we would normally sense the answer as a feeling of consolation or a feeling of desolation.

    So, as the discernment process for calling a new rector for Calvary Episcopal Church in Ashland, Kentucky nears its conclusion, I invite you to uphold the nominating committee, the vestry, and the candidates in discernment with your prayers.  May they yield to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and continue to rely upon the same Holy Spirit in carrying out the decision they are called to make.

    Here are two prayers from the Book of Common Prayer.

    Almighty God, giver of every good gift:  Look graciously on your Church, and so guide the minds of those who shall choose a rector for this parish, that we may receive faithful pastors, who will care for your people and equip us for our ministries; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and light rises up in darkness for the godly: Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what you would have us to do, that the Spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices, and that in your light we may see light, and in your straight path may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    Ron Short Sig Blue 

     

  • Sermon at Calvary Church ~ July 29, 2012

    by Deacon Diane Zwick

    Calvary CrossProper 12B

    Listen to the Sermon for July 29, 2012

     Read the Sermon for July 29, 2012

     

     

     

  • When You Are In a Storm

    Mark 4:35-41 begins a section in this gospel in which Jesus and his disciples make six voyages back and forth across the Sea of Galilee.  In this way, Mark makes the point that the ministry of Jesus was to both Jews and gentiles.  The western side was inhabited by Jews and the eastern side by gentiles.

    Growing up, I always thought of the Sea of Galilee as a much larger body of water than it actually is.  I remember how surprised I was when I visited Israel for the first time and our tour bus stopped atop a hill overlooking the body of water.  I could see the entire thing!  It is only thirteen miles from north to south and eight miles from east to west.

    It is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth.  The Jordan Valley makes a cleft in the earth and in the very center of this cleft is the Sea of Galilee, some 680 feet below sea level.  Because of this, the climate is usually very gracious and warm, but to the west of the sea are the mountains and some large gullies.  Sometimes the cold wind blows down through these gullies and causes sudden storms.  All the great writers who have lived near the Sea of Galilee have experienced these sudden storms and repeatedly reported that at one moment the water can be as still as glass and then almost without warning it can become quite turbulent with enormous waves and high winds.

    The scene described in Mark 4:35-41 finds Jesus and his disciples suddenly caught in one of these violent storms.  Jesus had just finished preaching and was tired, so he lay down and went to sleep.  When the storm arose, the waves threatened to overcome the small boat and the disciples were afraid they were going to be tossed overboard and drowned.  When they turned to Jesus, they were amazed to find him asleep.  They cried out to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”  Jesus then calmly stood up and commanded the waves to be still.  The sea became calm and the storm was gone.

    Even though the disciples should have recognized who Jesus was by virtue of his command over the wind and sea, they still seem dumbfounded.   The text says, “They were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’”

    Don’t they remind us of ourselves?  When we find ourselves in the storms of life, don’t we have similar difficulty in placing our confidence in the One who guards and keeps us?  That may be the chief reason the story has been preserved and retold by generation after generation.  It contains important spiritual truths and we occasionally need to be reminded of them.

    Whenever we are isolated or alienated, we tend to become anxious and desperate.

    This was not the first time the disciples had been in a storm.  It was not the first time a turbulent sea had threatened to overturn their boat.  Why did they react they way they did on this occasion?  I believe it was because they felt that Jesus was unconcerned about them.  They cried out, “Don’t you care?”  And, in the face of their panic and despair, he calmed the angry sea.  Of course he cared about them and of course he cares about us.

    The storm story shows us that the disciples needed to hear a voice in whom they had confidence.

    When Jesus woke up and heard the cries of the disciples, his voice rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace!  Be still!”  You and I need to learn to listen for, recognize, and trust the voice of the Shepherd and Guardian of our souls who is greater than our greatest fear, mightier than our biggest enemy, and who has the power to issue orders to the storms that threaten us.  Our ears are particularly well atuned to other voices, particularly those that raise our anxieties.  We want the voice of our Savior to be familiar enough and clear enough to stand out above the rest.

    Wherever and whenever Christ is with us, the storms of life grow calm.

    I don’t know what is going to come to my life or yours today, but I know that Jesus Christ is with us and that his presence brings peace.  As a pastor, I have stood with people in just about every imaginable kind of life experience from remarkable victories to devastating defeats, in moments of joy and in moments of deepest sorrow.  Whether it’s been a whirlwind of celebration or a tempest of tragedy, the presence of Jesus Christ calms the storms and brings the peace which passes understanding.

    Ron Short Sig Blue

     

     

     

     

    P.S.  This text brought this hymn to mind.

  • How can I recognize God’s call?

    People often ask, "how can I recognize God's call to me?"  It is a question of vocation.  The word vocation is derived from the Latin root voca, as in "voice."  It means "to call."  There are so many voices crying out for our attention and our loyalty, it is difficult to discern the voice of God, and, therefore, to know what God is calling me to do.  The question about recognizing God's call may have to do with one's overall life mission or with what God  wants of one in a specific situation.

    Perhaps we can learn some things about recognition of God's call from Mark's account of the beginning of Jesus' Gallilean ministry. His baptism by John had been in Judea, a mostly Jewish region.  After John imprisioned, Jesus went north to an area around the Sea of Galilee, which was inhabited by many gentiles as well as Jews. When he arrived there, his first order of business was to call disciples (e.g., Mark 1:14-20).

    There are several characteristics of vocation in that event, which is similar to other Biblical accounts where God's call comes to people and their communities.

    God's call is timely.  Jesus begins his proclamation by saying, "The time is fulfilled."  The kind of time he has in mind is kairos, not chronos.  Chronolical time can be measured.  Kairos, God's time, the right time, cannot be measured so precisely.  It is the time when fruit is ripe or when a baby is ready to be born. While God's call may come to us in many ways, it always comes at the right time.  Jesus was speaking of the time when the old age of rebellion against God would cease and a new age would begin.  He came at right time in history.  His call comes to you and me at the right time in our personal histories and in the history of our faith community.

    God's call involves change.  Jesus called people to "repent."  To repent means to change.  Change usually involves turning away from the comfortable and familiar and toward something different. Jesus went to a region that was different.  Remember that Galilee was place where there are many gentiles, people of a different race and faith.  It still is!  God's call can be a turning point in life of a person or a community of persons.  What needs to be changed?  If you hear a call to remain exactly as you are, it is probably not God calling.

    God's call is imperative.  Jesus' words, "Repent, believe, follow" are not mere suggestions.  The time for action is now and this is what needs to be done.  I'm reminded of the story of a golfer whose ball landed atop an anthill.  In his attempt to avoid being stung by ants, his stance was clumsy and with every swing he would miss the ball and hit the anthill, scattering hundreds of the tiny creatures. Eventually, one of the ants said to the others, "If we are going to survive, we'd better get on the ball." When God calls and we hear, it is time for us to get on the ball!

    God's call is specific.  Throughout the gospels, Jesus is very clear about what he wants of his hearers: HereToHelpSignshear, repent, believe, follow, preach, teach, baptize, pray, go. The response may involve a person's entire life or a brief period.  Following Hurricane Ike, we set up several ways for The Episcopal Church to respond to need.  Our banners and signs had the Episcopal shield tilted at a jaunty angle and proclaiming, "The Episcopal Church – Here to Help!"  The Diocese of Texas and Episcopal Relief and Development sent staff to the island where they set up headquarters and worked with hundreds of people from across the country who came to help for the next couple of years.  Then, the time came when these specific measures were no longer needed.  But for a brief period, people set about doing some very specific things to help people in need.

    God's call includes reassurance.  God does not call people to do something which they can do on their own, always provides the means whereby the call can be fulfilled.  "I will make you fishers of people."  Prophets, priests, apostles, martyrs.

    God's call is consistent.  We believe in Christian counsel.  That means we explore our vocations together so that we can be sure that the voice we hear is God's.  God is not likely to call one of us or all of us to do something which is contradictory with God's purposes and ways as revealed in scripture, tradition, reason, and experience. We allow ourselves to be held accountable by our Christian sisters and brothers as we discern God's will.

    God's call is persistent.  In Mark's account, Jesus says, "The time is fulfilled."  Matthew's account (Matthew 4:18-24) suggests that when Jesus went to Galilee, he fulfilled the place.  We are reminded of the prophecy of Isaiah (Isaiah 9:1-7) Hundreds of years had passed. God's Messiah had finally arrived to bring light to those who sat in darkness, people who lived in and around "The Decapolis."  The Decapolis was a region of ten gentile cities to the east of the Sea of Galilee.  The Jews referred to them as "The Gates of Hell."  When Jesus said that the gates of Hell would not prevail against the Church, he may have been alluding to the Decapolis.  We are told that in less than 100 years after the Resurrection, those ten cities were Christian cities. Persistence paid off!

    Keep listening.  And, when the call comes, recognize it, receive it as gift, and let God's grace motivate you to drop everything and go!

    Ron Short Sig Blue

  • Can anything good come out of Nazareth?

    When Jesus began his public ministry, the first thing he did was to form a community.  Those disciples, walking with Jesus for two or three years, were formed and shaped to continue his mission after his death and resurrection. The calling of the disciples marks the beginning of that community of followers of Jesus we refer to as “The Church.”  The Church was formed by Jesus Christ and continues to be empowered today as the delivery system for his message.  The Church doesn’t have a message; the Message has a Church!

    The experience of those first disciples set the pattern for those who would come after them.  They did not volunteer for the mission.  They were called.  There is an important difference. The Church is made up of disciples, not volunteers.

    Take Nathaniel, for example. (Jn. 1:43-51) He was approached by Philip, who had already met Jesus and answered his call.  Philip said to Nathaniel, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.”  Nathaniel’s response is priceless.  “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”  Philip was not at all discouraged by Nathaniel’s skepticism.  “Come and see,” he said.

    Nathaniel went and Nathaniel saw. His encounter with Jesus was profound. Jesus knew his name and seemed to understand him in a way that surprised Nathaniel. Nathaniel blurted out, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”  Whatever epiphany occurred in that initial encounter convinced Nathaniel that Jesus was for real and his own inner response compelled him to go with Jesus.

    Those who have experienced a similar encounter with Jesus know that we did not initiate that relationship.  We did not volunteer to love him and serve him.  We found ourselves in a place where the invitation was so generous and personal and the presence so powerful that we could not resist. We knew in an instant that we would follow him anywhere and learn from him how to live life to the fullest.  He would be the one to open heaven!

    On occasion, we’ve had an opportunity to introduce others to him or to invite them to “Come and see.”  More often than not, those invitations have been met with a certain amount of skepticism or resistance.  But those who have accepted the invitation and met the Savior in Word and Sacrament, in an authentic community of his followers, in the signs and wonders his Church has been able to perform in his Name, often find themselves in the same place as Nathaniel.

    In this season of Epiphany, as we read of those early encounters with Jesus, we have opportunities to reacquaint ourselves with the Lover of our Souls. As he calls us by name and invites us again to follow him, we are strangely compelled to go with him beyond the limits we have imposed upon ourselves.  We find ourselves wanting to intro-duce others to him.  They will come with us because they see in us an unmistakably authentic devotion. Does it make sense?  Not always.  As Blaise Paschal said, “The heart has reasons which reason cannot know.”  But we all know what it is to love someone and believe in someone so intensely that we will do whatever is necessary to sustain and enrich that relationship.

    So it is with the followers of Jesus.

    Ron Short Sig Blue