From the Pastor |
Isaiah 6:1, 5-8, 1 Corinthians 15:3-10 & Luke 5:1-11
Today we had three very different readings, but while the circumstances and the people were all different… these verses all have a great deal in common. First, they all seem to remind us that God calls ordinary people and wants us all to trust in God and be able to say, “Here I am… Send me.” But what really stood out to me was that in all three cases… Isaiah, Paul and Simon Peter… when the call was heard… was their common reaction. Isaiah was a young man when he had this vision which has him enter into the very awesome presence of God. However… he isn’t elated by this turn of events… he isn’t awe struck or even afraid. NO! What he feels is shame… he is suddenly very conscious of his failures and brokenness. He falls to his knees… figuring he is going to die… and cries out: “Woe to me! ... I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” To say he felt unworthy of being in the presence of the Lord Almighty is an understatement. The same was true for Simon Peter. Simon was simply going about his business… cleaning the nets after a night of unsuccessful fishing when along comes Jesus. Jesus asks to use his boat so he can continue his teachings to the crowd that has gathered so that all might better hear him… then after he speaks he turns to Simon and says… “Let’s go fishing!” Well… they had spent all night out there fishing with no luck and now this man tells him to go back and try again. I figure something Jesus said must have convinced Simon that Jesus was a Holy Man, because… despite his misgivings… they do as Jesus said. The result was a catch so large they needed two boats to bring it in. This event… combined with Jesus’ presence seemed to make Simon very aware of his own shortcomings… he suddenly became very uncomfortable being in Jesus’ presence and falls to his knees and says: “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” Simon Peter KNEW he was unworthy. What about Paul? Our reading from 1st Corinthians doesn’t give us Paul’s call story… that we find in the Book of Acts… We are told that Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus and was literally knocked off his horse and blinded by the presence of the Lord… but we do have Paul’s continued reaction: “For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” He too… freely admits to his unworthiness… still feeling… all these years later… that he does not deserve to be an apostle. Three powerful… amazing… pillars of our faith… all find themselves glimpsing the reality of the Lord… and all three are convicted by it… in despair… knowing that they were truly unworthy to even be in the presence of the Lord… let alone called to serve. They were all basically paralyzed by their unworthiness. Let’s face it… we have all sinned… we all fall short of God… we are ALL unworthy. WE cannot heal our brokenness… we cannot save ourselves… but that is where the Good News of these readings comes in. Let us look at them all again: 1st Isaiah cries out his unworthiness and one of the seraphim comes forward providing forgiveness and cleansing which is then affirmed by God who calls him into service. Next we see Simon Peter… on his knees telling Jesus to leave him… Jesus responds by lifting him up and inviting Simon to follow him. And let us not forget Paul who was forgiven for actually persecuting the followers of Christ and became the greatest evangelist the world has ever known. All three… though convicted and unworthy… were forgiven, cleansed and called by God. All three responded to that call by placing their trust in the Lord and dedicating themselves to God’s mission. We might feel unworthy, but God does not see it that way… God continues to call us by name… working to transform our hearts and our lives. No matter who we are or what we have done… Jesus calls us to put our trust in him and follow wherever he might lead us. It reminds me of a sign I have seen that reads: “When God put a calling on your life, he already factored in your stupidity… Most comforting thing I ever heard.” I like that because it is the truth. God knows us… God knows our hearts, our minds, our capabilities AND our weaknesses… God factors all these thing in when calling us to serve in the world today. When we repent and turn back to God… confessing our sins… we are forgiven and cleansed… we are sealed and commissioned to follow the Lord… bringing the Good News of Christ wherever we may go. It is our faith that lifts us up and heals us… calling us to work in love for justice and peace. As I thought about all this… I realized that there are a great many people in our world today who not only feel unworthy… but they are paralyzed by those feelings… They think there is no hope for them… they are weighed down by a sense of guilt… crying out “Stay away from me… I’m not worthy!” They do not allow anyone to lift them up… they do not answer God’s call because they cannot get past the shame and unworthiness. Sometimes it is a lack of faith and trust in God, but sadly, I think the church… throughout our history is to blame for it. For a long time, churches have focused on the confrontation of sin… proclaiming “Repent! Repent!” Bringing about a sense of guilt and not allowing faith to lead to freedom. Instead, it drags us down because all we can see is our faults and failures… our sin, but we fail to recognize and rejoice in the forgiveness. Isaiah, Simon and Paul were indeed confronted with their unworthiness and sin… but it was not the beginning. 1st they had an epiphany… an experience of being in the presence of the Lord… They were confronted… not with sin, but with God’s glory and righteousness… love and compassion. They immediately recognized what they were… unworthy sinners… but they were also offered a vision of what they could be… who and what they were created and called to be. Too often we forget that salvation comes… not in the conviction of our sins, but in the wondrous grace of God… through the vision of Jesus… reaching out his scarred hands in welcome and mercy… overwhelming us in grace, love and acceptance of who we are… as we are… unworthy though we might be. This is where the church… the community of faith must come in as well. We need to look at how WE respond to this message as a church… First of all… we need to actually be a community that accepts all… even… especially those who are broken… hurting… sinners. These are the people Jesus sought out. Jesus did not come for the righteous… he came for those in need of forgiveness, healing and mercy. If we are to be followers of Christ… we must do the same. We must be a community that enables all find the grace… the forgiveness, healing and growth that they need. And we also MUST be a community that enables people to hear the call of God… we must be willing and able to support them as they respond to that call… working together to lift up and support one another as we participate in serving God’s purposes in the world… helping each other discover and utilize our personal gifts, strengths and passions in service to God. When we hear the call of God… when we respond to the grace freely offered to us… we need to remember that we are all one in mission… our calling and tasks might be different, but we all serve together as the One Body of Christ… we are THE representative of the Lord in the world today… Whenever we feel unworthy… we need to put our trust in God and allow the burning fire of God’s love to cleanse away our sin and guilt… we need to allow ourselves to hear Christ calling… “Do not be afraid… Follow me!” WE need to stand up and respond “Here I am… Send me!” and then… forgiven, cleansed and renewed… we can start over… filled with the love of God and become agents of God’s light and love in ways we cannot yet imagine. Come as you are… unworthy though you may be… for God is calling you by name… God knows that you have the capacity to change, and the Lord can surely use you! This is the work of repentance and God’s Amazing Grace. Amen
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Yeon Shin
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