"Expectations" January 15, 2017

Isaiah 49: 1-7 John 1:29-51 I have been in the pastoral ministry 33 years, as long as Mario has been alive! What that means, is being able to remember Dr. King’s deep bass voice. To recall when this pastor and Preacher’s Kid took on more than his own parish. But after having been taught in CE, in Church, College, Seminary, and Doctoral Study, and following Lesson plans; we tried something new about six or seven years ago. Rather than assuming: that as the teacher I had all the answers, that there were right answers, or that what Jerome wrote in the 2nd Century, or Rheinhold Niebuhr in the 1950s, or Martin Luther King Jr had said, would comfort us; instead, we asked one another to read a passage from the Bible, then sat quietly and listened, listened to one another, coming to see what they thought and heard. First, because each of us, whether two year olds, or 22 or 62 or 102, each of us hear and see something different in the Bible, and in life. Second, because Shakespeare may have been more eloquent, and Billy Graham may have had more followers, but what you see and hear and think about God, is far more important to you today, than what anyone else said. However, a third reason has occurred to me, that our practicing: using our eyes and ears and souls to read the Bible, to follow Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, could actually prepare us to think spiritually, theologically, to look for faith, for glimpses of the Holy Spirit, in our own lives. Over the holidays, I was asked to pray at a great many occasions, for the Veterans, the Ecumenical Thanksgiving, the Rotarians’ Christmas, the SunRise Rotary Breakfast, the Eagle Scouts Awards. And I joked that among the clergy I was so often chosen because my prayers are the shortest among my colleagues; but I have also come to realize that instead of following a Prayerbook, we name, see and reflect what is actually going on for this people, in this time and place with God. What you are Searching for, matters. You matter. So this week, I have an assignment for you, it’s really nothing new, but something many of us have never tried being intentional about. Each night, when you get ready for bed, before you go to sleep, and you are already reflecting upon the day, try to imagine: where did I see God this day? When did I see Jesus’ compassion? How were the circumstances of this day encounters of faith? Because, in all candor and humility, the greatest experiences of faith, do not come between 9:30 and 10:30am Sunday mornings from the pulpit. Sometimes, they come from the choir, at times from the light through the Stained Glass, at times from the baby beside you, or in the Peace of Christ from a stranger. One of the reasons I love John The Baptist, is that as great of a Preacher as he was, as many followers, and as Pastoral, he was confident in who he was Not. “It is not about me. I am not the Christ, not Elijah, not the Prophet, not even worthy to kneel to untie the thong of his sandals.” Everything he says and does points to this Other, who is to come. That is a vital element of Christian Faith, it is counter-cultural, faith is not about us and our satisfaction, but paying attention to Others’ needs. The fourth Gospel is strangely different, and not what any of us expect. Mark’s Gospel begins by telling Demons and Evil Spirits to be Silent. Matthew’s Gospel identifies Jesus within the long genealogy of Abraham and David; then has Jesus preach a sermon to 5000 from a mountainside. Luke starts out by quoting Isaiah, how “This, this is the acceptable year of the Lord, where Prisoners will be released and Miracles will take place.” The Gospel of John goes back to the beginnings of Creation, to name that Christ was there has always been with us, and we never noticed, we even rejected his presence in our lives. Then John the Baptist sets up expectations by introducing Jesus as “The Lamb of God Who takes Away the Sins of the World.” What is especially odd about Jesus being the Lamb, is that Male Lambs were never used as Sin Offerings. A Heifer was, Two Doves, but not a Lamb. Female Sheep a year old were used as Whole Burnt Offerings as a gift of Thanksgiving for rich blessings. There are only a few places where a Male Lamb is a Sacrifice. When Abraham takes his son Isaac up the Mountain to Sacrifice, demonstrating his faith and trust in the covenant with God, a Ram is caught in the thicket. So as a Ram, Jesus is named the Son of God demonstrating God’s faith and trust in the covenant with us. And when the Hebrews were in Egypt, the Passover required a male lamb that has been kept as part of your family. John’s identification is not marking Jesus as The Atonement for the sins of the world, but as God’s gift of grace, that what we have been about, simply surviving, persevering is not enough, and God is giving us opportunity to hope for something far greater. When traumatized, we go into survival-mode, faith changes our expectations to believe there is more to life! The passage from Isaiah and from John are Transformative, as if the speakers are claiming disillusionment and dissatisfaction with life, with the effectiveness of their calling: I have labored in vain, I have spent my life for nothing and vanity.” This sounds a great deal like Ecclesiastes preaching: “Vanity of Vanities, everything is vanity!” But here Isaiah is promised by God, we are promised, that what we have lived is too little a thing and God has a greater purpose for us, our task is to reconcile the world, to follow God and bring together the lost. Fiction writers speak of the importance of specificity, concrete detail. It is the distinction between “He was driving down the road” and “He was on 321 as it turns onto Route 5, speeding up as Hwy 690 enters the City.” The details give the author credibility and authenticity. So in John’s Gospel, it names that when two of John’s Disciples followed Jesus catching up with him, Jesus asked not “What do you want?” but “What are you Searching for?” In English they are quoted as replying “Where are you staying?” but the Greek would be more like “Where can you be found? What is important and enduring about you?” “Who are you?” To which Jesus says “Come and See”. 4pm on Friday, means that they were entering into the weekly time of Sabbath, and Jesus was inviting them to worship God with him, to give thanks over a meal and spend the night. Because during Sabbath, you were limited how far you could go. With urgency the text says, FIRST Andrew went and found his brother. We have known far too many marriages that have simply endured. We have known too many friends who have decided to live out their days. You are called for a great deal more. You are called to expect God being in your life, not because of who you are, not because you are precious, you are, but because God is using you/us to Call Others.