Domes - Our Monthly Newsletter
Dunbar UCC
January 27, 2008
Matthew 4:12-23
Following Jesus
- I don’t know how you got to church this morning. I walked across the lawn -- you probably drove. But if we accept what we just heard in the Gospel reading, we all got here the same way. Jesus called us, and we said, “Yes.” That’s why we’re here. Maybe some of us think we’re here because we chose to be, but I don’t think that’s what the scriptures say. Remember when God called Moses? Moses didn’t want to go to Egypt and confront the most powerful man on earth and then lead a complaining group of slaves through the wilderness. He gave excuses -- said he stuttered -- not a public speaker. He also killed a man in Egypt and was wanted for murder. But God called him and Moses couldn’t say no. When God called Jeremiah to be his prophet, Jeremiah said: “I can’t do that, I’m just a boy!” But God insisted and Jeremiah couldn’t say no. When Jesus called the disciples -- do you see that not one person whom Jesus called could say no. Maybe we believe we have free will -- but maybe not as much as we think.
- I think we’re here because God put us here, in this faith, in this ministry -- following Jesus. The question isn’t, “Why are we here,” but, “Where do you think our faith will take us?” There was a small church like this one during W.W.II in Nazi occupied France. The minister and members agreed that they’d try to save the lives of thousands of Jews by hiding them in secret shelters and hidden rooms in their own homes. An official of the church heard what they were doing and he told them to stop. He said: “You must stop helping refugees.” The minister said: “These people are in danger. If we don’t hide them or take them across the mountains to Switzerland, they may be killed.” The official said: “What you are doing is endangering this village and every Protestant church in France. You must stop helping these people.” The minister repeated that if they stopped, the people could starve to death, die of exposure, or be deported and killed. The church could not stop.” The official insisted one more time but the people said no. They saw what they were doing as they way Jesus was leading them. They couldn’t abandon the Jewish refugees, even if it endangered their village or their church or their own lives.
- Following Jesus means that we won’t follow conventional wisdom. Conventional wisdom says, “Be safe first, then worry about others.” Jesus says, “Pick up your cross and follow me. In other words -- forget your safety -- but do what I would do. Jesus walked the path of nonviolence and compassion, and that small church in France and its pastor believed that they had to follow Jesus on that path, even if it was dangerous. Maybe our faith will be tested like that some day. But actually, every day is a test. Just by showing up here, each of us is saying “Yes” to God’s call.