Sermons

We are experiencing a global moment. In the last several years the approach to power by those who – in democracies all over the world – are granted the privilege of power by their fellow citizens has been hard to understand. And the citizens (you and I among them) have reacted to the occasional abuse of power and the slide towards absolutism. The all-or-nothing approach to politics is generating bad feelings and a growing sense of hopelessness. We say we want action – we want change – we want (something). But maybe what we need is John and Jesus.

We may have only experienced ‘repentance’ in relation to how horrible we are. The call to repent is aimed at a long and varied list of ‘sins’, but it is also a call to reconsider our actions, our attitudes, and our approach to life. Metanoia invites a turning around or a turning toward.

The word implies that we open our minds to other possibilities and different ideas. Better ideas. And in the context of this story of Jesus’ ‘rejection’ – by those who thought they knew him best – metanoia invites us to think again about what God is doing in our midst, about who Jesus is (to us) and what Jesus represents.

Again, there are those who would say God is either completely absent, or right here on “My” side. But maybe Jesus is just resting in the back.

Maybe Jesus would lift a weary eyelid and whisper “faith or fear?’ Maybe the lesson is in that question, and not in the calming of the waves. Maybe, just maybe, the collective wisdom and experience that we have of the goodness of God is enough to sail through this.

Once again in Scripture, the realities of being human come up against the reality of an infinite, mysterious, magnificent God. And – not for the

The search for ‘God’s will’ in our actions doesn’t end with that line in the Lord’s Prayer – it begins there. We are encouraged to seek out the evidence of God at work, whether in the natural world or among and within the diversity of the human family. And the epistles give us occasionally clues: landmarks, if you will, that help us navigate this challenge. “By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is…”

Jesus follows God’s leading to the places of power and influence – and shakes them to their core. Sabbath laws are still a point of contention. Since my arrival I have heard from folks who  would remind me that before Sunday shopping (and Sunday sports) this congregation was ‘bursting at the seams.’

Is Sunday activity entirely to blame? Do we only need to go back to the ‘thrilling days of yesteryear (that is to say, 1992) and all will be restored?

By now you won’t be surprised to hear me say NO. going back is not something that fixes things. Eli knows his time is u, and no amount of wishing will change what has happened. Jesus is more direct: Sabbath is for us – the day is the day. What do you choose to do with it?