Hearing the Call

Sermon Text for Jan. 28:
Jeremiah 1:4-10

He was just a kid spending the summer working in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. This job certainly wasn’t what he wanted to do with his life. He wanted to become a millionaire and already had the rudiments of a business plan down on paper. But this job working in a mission for the summer came open and since he didn’t have another job lined up he packed a bag and headed for the mission in the mountains.

Sometimes when he thought about it he cracked a smile that was so wide it ended in a laugh. He wasn’t at all sure that he even believed in God anymore, and there he was working for the Church in a mission. The joke was definitely on them! On those who pursued him and hired him. It wasn’t that he didn’t care enough to do a good job. He liked the people and he could definitely do the job. It’s just that there wasn’t any money in it.

Almost every afternoon at about 2:30 a thunderstorm would rumble up the canyon. Often the noise was so loud that everything vibrated with the sound. Sometimes he was pretty sure that he could see where the lightening struck before the thunder exploded. As often as he could he sat on the porch with his back to the adobe walls just to watch and listen. And one day in the midst of the storm, he heard the most amazing, ridiculous sound. It wasn’t really words, but he knew what the sound meant. “I want you to go into the ministry.” The voice was both powerful and gentle. “This work is fulfilling. I want you to go into the ministry.”

The thought was startling. He didn’t know any millionaire ministers. He had other plans. Ministry was okay for other people, so let them do it. Besides didn’t one have to believe in God to be a minister? “I want you to go into the ministry” the voice said, every time he thought of an objection.

For the next few years he argued with the voice. He honed his business acumen and dreamed of money. But at the same time the God he had tried to stop believing in became more real. “I want you to go into the ministry” said the voice.

Jeremiah was a young man when he heard the voice – the same voice that has been heard by countless people down through the ages. “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. And before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nation.” Jeremiah knew whose voice it was, but it was hard to believe that the words which the voice spoke applied to him. Jeremiah certainly wasn’t equipped to be a prophet to the nations. “Ah Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak for I am only a boy.”

In Jeremiah’s mind, prophets were older men, probably with gray hair and long beards. Certainly they were men with more life experience than Jeremiah. And Jeremiah was ready with an excuse to avoid God’s call. “Ah Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak for I am only a boy.” It seemed as if God was asking a boy to do a man’s job. And it was a dangerous job as well. The winds of war were blowing over the nation as marauding armies from the north were gathering momentum and were devouring small city states on the way to Israel. The Chosen People were experiencing feelings similar to what we experienced right after September 11, 2001. They are angry and sad and their grief is inexpressible. And God said to the boy, “I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

We each have images of the aftermath of September 11 burned into our psyches. Personally I am haunted by the image of women and men walking around carrying pictures of loved ones, showing them to anyone who will look, hoping that someone has seen them. And with each passing day they become more and more hopeless.

By the time God called Jeremiah the wars had already begun, Jerusalem fell while Jeremiah was in jail for being God’s messenger. When he began to preach, the armies of Babylon were knocking on the gates of the great cities in Israel and Judah. People are angry and sad and full of grief. They need someone who will speak a word from God. This is the context for Jeremiah when he heard the words, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. Before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you prophet to the nations.”

“God there must be some mistake. You need a real pro here; someone with wisdom born of age and experience. I am just a boy, why I’ve never even given a speech.” “Do not say ‘I am only a boy’ for you shall go to all whom I send you. And you shall speak whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.”

Jeremiah was about to discover that a miracle happened when he offered his boyish voice to God. Jeremiah and God could do anything. “Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me, ‘Now I have put my words in your mouth. See today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms’”.

I believe that each of us has heard God’s call. That is one reason we love to sing, “Here I am Lord. Is it I Lord? I have heard you calling in the night.” The hymn touches us deeply because we know in our hearts that God has called us and touched us. Maybe our call is not to something big and public like Jeremiah. Maybe it is simply to be more faithful at prayer or more ready to share the love of God with a family member or someone at work. If we find the call frightening we might find ourselves with an excuse like Jeremiah’s. “I can’t do what you are asking me to do Lord. I don’t know enough. I’m not good enough. I am too busy with my family.” Or maybe it is simply, “Sorry God, but I don’t want to do it now.”

If it is hard to believe that God has called you, listen to these words in Jeremiah and understand that God says them to you and me as well: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. And before you were born I consecrated you.”

God had a purpose in mind for us when God made us. Long before we were born God set us aside to do God’s will. Now is our time to answer God’s call and to trust God to help us accomplish whatever we have been called to do or to be. Let the words to the hymn be our prayer for this morning. “Here I am Lord. Is it I Lord? I have heard you calling in the night. I will go Lord if you lead me. I will hold your people in my heart.”

Copyright © 2007 by Dwight R. Blackstock

The Spirit of the Lord is Upon Me

Sermon Text for Jan. 21:
Luke 4:14-21

He was nervous. Palms sweating. Heart beating wildly. His mouth was dry. Would his friends listen to him? Would they recognize the changes he had gone through in the last several weeks? How could he convince them that he was different?

The leader of the synagogue called him forward and gave him a copy of the scroll of Isaiah and he opened it to the place where it said, “The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of he Lord’s favor.”

And suddenly he knew without a doubt that these words applied to him. He was the anointed one. That is what the Father meant when he said, “You are my Son, my beloved. With you I am well pleased.” He was the one whose very life was good news to the poor. His mission in life was to set free the captives and the oppressed. He would proclaim the year of Jubilee when all debts would be absolved and land would return to the original owners. So that no one in Israel would be without a birthright.

He handed the scroll back to the attendant and sat down on “Moses’ seat”, the place where the preachers sat. “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing,” he said. All of the people in the synagogue were amazed. He might be a bit audacious, but this home town boy had made good.

A few years ago I was in Nazareth with an international group and we went to a place known as the synagogue church. Like most buildings in the Holy Land the walls of the synagogue church had been knocked down and rebuilt several times. Even the untrained eye can see the different methods of masonry. But the floor was a first century floor made of a dark gray slate. This was probably the floor on which Jesus stood when he read from the scroll of Isaiah, and I found myself deeply moved.

I have long believed that this passage from Luke is Jesus’ mission statement, his declaration to the world of who he is and what he is about. And that means that this verse is the mission statement for the Church. These words have haunted me throughout my ministry. How is Jesus, how is the church good news for the poor? What captives are we to set free? Is all of this to happen strictly in the spiritual realm, or was Jesus talking about something that applies in the here and now?

The synagogue church is not very large and while my colleagues sat along the cool stone benches built out from the walls, I felt a strange compulsion to stand on each and every one of the floor tiles. I had to stand where Jesus stood. It was as if I might make a spiritual connection if I could just stand where Jesus stood. As I moved from tile to tile, the words echoed in my mind, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.” “He has anointed me. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. To set to captives and the oppressed free.” And in that moment I knew that in this verse Jesus defined the scope of his ministry. It is what he came to do. It is what the church, as his body is called to do. And by the power of the Holy Spirit, these words lay claim to some part of my life, and yours.

Listen to the words of Isaiah, and imagine Jesus speaking them to you, and to Presbyterian Church of the Covenant.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.” What is that like for you?

“He has anointed me.” If the words have any meaning they must apply to us.

“He has anointed me.” He has anointed my church.

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me." I am anointed. Now I know the church’s mission. To set the captives free, to break the chains that bind the oppressed, to help the sightless see.

These words tell us why Jesus came, and why you are here. Take this verse and make it your own. Live by these words and by the power of God’s Spirit, make a miracle happen together.

Copyright © 2007 by Dwight R. Blackstock

The Power of Baptism

Sermon Text for Jan. 14:
Mark 1:4-11

Baptism is one of the great privileges of the Christian faith, and one of our greatest joys. When I baptize a baby I feel like my whole being is smiling, and when I baptize an adult I literally feel my spine tingling with joy. And nothing is more sure of putting a smile on your face than Baptism, because as often as we have witnessed it, it is still a very special moment.

But baptism means different things to different people. For some it is like an insurance policy that you get just in case something terrible happens. Many years ago I was asked by a mother whose baby girl had died moments after birth if I would baptize her so she would go to heaven. My heart broke for the mother as we talked about her baby, and baptism, and the love of God. I offered to do the baptism but first I shared with her that faith teaches us that baptism is not necessary for salvation, and that all children have a standing invitation to come to Jesus who once said, “Let the little children come to me and do not forbid them for as such is the kingdom of God.”

So for some, baptism carries life and death proportions while for others it is just a good excuse to throw a party. Every once in a while someone without a church affiliation will call the church and ask us to baptize a baby on a certain date, usually the next Sunday, because the invitations to the “Christening” party are already in the mail. Usually they don’t know why we baptize, but they know that others have received baptism, and it is a good time to celebrate.

For people of faith, baptism symbolizes our children’s joining us in the family of God. It makes us feel good, because it strengthens our bonds with each other. But what if baptism is more than that? What if it is more than strengthening bonds, or becoming a part of the Body of Christ? What if baptism is more like signing military enlistment papers just as a war is about to begin? If we can set aside our common understanding for just a moment, I think we’ll see that these “what ifs” are not so far fetched.

Mark tells us that John the Baptizer lived and preached in the wilderness near the Jordan River. John preached so powerfully that huge crowds move by his message, repented of their sin and received. But why the Jordan? Why wash in the muddy Jordan when there were many others streams or even the Sea of Galilee that might have served just as well?

The answer lies in the importance of the Jordan in the history of the People of Israel. Centuries before the time of Jesus, the Jordan formed the Eastern boundary of the Promised Land. Under Joshua’s leadership the people moved across the Jordan and moved into the future God had prepared. This crossing of the Jordan marked the beginning of the conquest of Palestine, and the starting point of the Kingdom of God.

Throughout the centuries, the people retold stories of crossing the Jordan River and entering the Promised Land. In some ways it was Israel’s finest hour and the time when God seemed most near to the People. Not surprisingly the people yearned to experience God’s blessings again. They hungered for renewal in their personal lives, and certainly in their national life as well. Over the years many believers returned to the Jordan in a faithful remembering, to re-enact the moment when their ancestors first moved into the Land which God promised them. These mini-dramas were like prayers of hope.

And so it was that John called people into the wilderness of the Jordan, to a re-enactment of the ancient story and to the possibility of living once more as People of the Promise of God. It was a time of renewal, of cleansing, and of claiming God’s promises. The newly baptized and renewed people went back into their communities intent on reclaiming the Promised Land from Rome. Their ancestors took the Land from the Canaanites and under the power of Baptism the believers would take the Land from Rome. So baptism became a dangerous symbol of resistance which set believers apart.

And so it was that Jesus went to the Jordan to be baptized by John. While he did not need forgiveness, his baptism provided a living symbol of resistance. It helped the people believe in a new and better day. After his baptism Jesus moved into the community declaring the Kingdom of God while others thought that they lived in the Kingdom of Rome.

The bible tells us that as Jesus came up out of the water he saw the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him. And the voice of God confirmed Jesus’ special status, “You are my beloved Son, in whom I and well pleased.” In Mark’s gospel this baptism seems to be Jesus’ enlistment papers. From that moment on he lived conspicuously in opposition to existing power structures, so that by the end of his life leaders of his own people hated him, Herod wanted to kill him, and Pilate was afraid of him. Clearly Jesus’ baptism set him apart from the power structures of his day. And I suggest that in our baptism we also live in opposition to the existing powers. We don’t have to confront people or wave a flag all that we need to do is live differently and tell others why.

I struggled to find a way to illustrate what baptism should mean to us and then I remembered a story I read a few years ago about Jews who insisted on living in the City of Hebron. Hebron is a hotly contested City on the West Bank – in other words it is under Palestinian authority. Both Jews and Muslims claim the City rightfully belongs to them because tradition says that the patriarchs and matriarchs of the faith are buried there. About two hundred Jews lived there at the time the article was written, surrounded by a couple of hundred thousand Palestinian Muslims. These Jews stay there despite persecution and even death threats because their faith tells them to offer a Jewish presence in that place. They present an alternative way of looking at the world in a place that is clearly hostile to their witness.

This is the way our baptism into Christ calls us to live in the world. We offer an alternative to the way the others live. Our baptism should encourage and empower us to demonstrate the glory of God by being the opposition to the way things have always been done. Our baptism is a badge of honor which we need to wear bravely in a world that does not understand our values.

When we understand our baptism in this way – as enlistment papers into the cause of Christ we will one day hear the voice of God say, “You are my beloved child, with whom I am well pleased.

Copyright © 2007 by Dwight R. Blackstock