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It was a day much like any other. Isaiah was in the temple praying for the people of his community. Would they ever listen to God? Frustrated and alone, Isaiah received a vision. He describes a vision that sounds like it should come out of some high-tech virtual reality setting – music, seraphs with six arms, the presence of God. Suddenly an ordinary day turned into something extraordinary. A prayer became a vision that changed his life.

It had been a long night. Simon, James and John had been out fishing but it had not been a productive night. It seemed as if all the fish had disappeared from the lake. They fished all night, but hadn’t caught anything. Tired and frustrated, they were washing their nets. It was an elaborate process necessary after each use in order to maintain their usefulness. When the catch had been good they could enjoy this process, but with nothing to show for a night’s work, it was just tedious work. Jesus was standing on the shore trying to speak to the crowds. In their eagerness to hear him, they kept coming closer and closer until the water was almost lapping at his feet. He climbed into Simon’s boat and asked him to interrupt his work and put out from shore a short distance so that he could teach the crowd. An ordinary day became extraordinary.

Saul was a man of high integrity and strong faith. He was a Pharisee, familiar with religious tradition and law and expected everyone else to be also. Those renegade followers of that man Jesus – the one who had been justifiably crucified – were causing trouble and Saul was a man on a mission, out to stop them. On his way to the city of Damascus, something extraordinary happened. He met the risen Christ and his life was completely changed.

Three men going about their business – doing what needed to be done in an ordinary way. Three men who suddenly encountered the extraordinary in the midst of the ordinary and they were never the same!

In a profound experience that touched each man exactly where he was, a personal encounter with God took place – an encounter so amazing that their first realization was the tremendous gap between God’s holiness and their own unworthiness, their sinfulness. “Isaiah, Moses, Jeremiah, and scores of people before Simon gave him voice on that day” `Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!’ Confronted with the holiness of God as seen in the piercing, caring eyes of Jesus, Simon’s first response was to confess his won sinfulness; for what other reaction could one have, standing in the presence of the Lord? Like his ancestors before him, Simon, going about his daily routine, stinking of work and the sea, tousled by the wind, bleary-eyed with lack of sleep, was about to be invited to help change the world!”[1]

Had they been left with their feelings of sinfulness, we would not be reading about them today. Had they been left to wallow in their guilt or drown in their feelings of unworthiness, we might never have heard of Jesus and we would not be gathering to worship as God’s people. Instead, they experienced also God’s boundless love and grace. They came face to face with God’s forgiveness and with God’s power – a power used to empower others – a power that is poured into the lives of those to whom God comes – a power that can and does change lives – a power that invited them and empowered them to help change the world.

In their own way, each of them responded “Here I am, Lord, Send me.” Did they know what they were getting into when they committed themselves to following God completely? Isaiah was given some warning that the path would be very difficult. Saul, who came to be known by us as Paul, certainly knew that he faced some difficult times ahead – after all, he was one of the people who had been previously been seeking out Jesus’ followers for the purpose of bringing them to trial before the temple authorities. Simon, whom we know as Peter, and James and John were told that they would no longer be catching fish, but would instead be bringing people to Christ.

“They went ashore, walked away from their ordinary lives, and followed Jesus into the extraordinary salvation history we call the gospel.”[2]

So, how does all this relate to us today? Is it only religious professionals – pastors or missionaries – who are called? No, God is calling each and every one of us.

J. Ellsworth Kalas, a preacher and author, in a sermon “From empty nets to full lives” wrote, “Most of our witnessing is likely to happen in passing moments of conversation--those occasions when we show, in relatively minor ways, who we are and to whom we belong. I think of a suburban woman who was playing tennis with her good but quite secular friends. In a conversation break between sets she began referring to something she had read that morning. It would have been easy to say, "I read something this morning." Instead, she simply introduced one word: "In my devotional reading this morning." It was not a major soul-winning engagement. It was, however, a true sowing of seed. By a word, she had opened the door for some further conversation.”

He continues, “Perhaps our greatest problem in becoming Christ’s fishermen is that we are not enough in earnest to grasp the opportunities that come to us; or we are so possessed of the idea that we must say something dramatic and far-reaching that we fail to say the small, immediate and potentially significant thing. To put it in the language of our lesson for the day, most of us really don’t act as if we even have a call to "fish." We’re out in the waters of human need every day, but we don’t seem to know it.”[3]

I think he is right. Most of us spend our days in the midst of the ordinary – or what has become ordinary to us. We expect our lives to be predictable and under our control – or at least that’s what we would like. But our lives are not predictable. They are not under our control. When we said, “Yes” to Jesus, we said, “yes” to unpredictability, to releasing control of our lives to God. Oh, they might appear ordinary to us, but in the midst of the ordinary, the extraordinary happens – we encounter the living Christ.

The issue is not that we should become street corner preachers or the family nag, but that we should be more sensitive to the needs of the world around us, and more open to the subtle prodding of the Holy Spirit. We should be more open to encountering the living Christ in the midst of the ordinary. It’s amazing how these two are so wonderfully intertwined. To be more sensitive to the Holy Spirit must mean that we will be more sensitive to people and their pain. To be more sensitive to people should make us more open to God and God’s call to us.

Being open to God’s presence and God’s call means that we are willing – or at least ready – to do something we have not done before or even do something we have failed at before. Simon had fished all night and caught nothing. When Jesus told him to put his boat out into deeper water and let down the nets, Simon did not argue with him. He did seem to express his lack of expectation. “We have fished all night and caught nothing, but because you say so, I will let down the nets.” They caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.

Often in our lives we are asked or told to do something that may not make sense to us, to take a risk where we have previously failed. What would have happened last week if Adam Veniteri had told his coach, “I already missed one field goal attempt today and had another one blocked. What’s the point?” Instead, he went out and did his job with only seconds left on the clock and a tie game became the Patriot’s Super Bowl win.

Maybe you’ve tried to talk with your co-worker or your friend. Perhaps you’ve tried to share your faith with someone else and became tongue-tied. If we read these stories of Isaiah, Peter and Paul as stories about people who exhibited great courage in being able to change their lives, then I think, we miss the point. These are stories about God and the power of God to create faith where there was no faith, to create disciples were there were none just a moment before. These are not really stories about us, but about God. They are about God’s ability not only to call us - people who think we are not worthy, not capable, not good enough - you name it - “not only call us, but also to create us as people who are able to follow - able to follow because we cannot take our eyes off the one who calls us, because he interests us more than anything else in our lives, because he seems to know what we hunger for and because he seems to be food.”[4] Jesus calls each of us. We may not know where this following Jesus will lead. Sometimes it may seem like going out into the deep water - but we know who goes with us. Sometimes it may seem like putting our nets down in the strangest places, but we know who it is who gives the directions.

Barbara Brown Taylor, an Episcopalian priest, wrote these words, “I think sometimes we read this story too narrowly. I am not sure that following Jesus is always a matter of leaving everything behind. That is what it meant for Andrew and Simon and James and John; that is what following meant in their particular lives. But if the story is about being swept into the flow of God’s will and giving ourselves over to it, then it seems to me that it will be a different story for every one of us in our own particular lives.

“Sometimes following may mean staying at home. It may mean letting the hired servants go and taking care of Zebedee when he gets too old to fish. Sometimes following may mean casting the same old nets in a new way, or for new reasons. It may mean doing something different with the fish you catch, or spending the money they bring at market in a different way. It may mean reorganizing the whole fishing business so that the drifters down at the pier have work to do, and so that everyone who works receives a decent wage. It may mean doing less every day, not more, so that there is time to watch how the light changes on the water, and how the happy fish leap out of it at dusk, happy to have outsmarted you one more time.”[5]

The possibilities for following are endless. Sometimes they will be big, and sometimes they will seem very small, but for each of us they involve the message that Paul reminds us is primary. Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the Scriptures, he was buried, and raised on the third day again in accordance with the Scriptures. We know that our redeemer lives and calls us to follow. So we come to worship Christ and to be open to encountering the extraordinary in the ordinary. We come with our eyes on Jesus and our hearts in love with the God who loves us. We come ready to cast our nets into the deep sea as he directs, or to follow in whatever way God touches our hearts and lives and empowers us to be the people of God. The God who called us can be counted on to create us as people who are able to follow.

[1] Wingeirer, Douglas E. editor, Keeping Holy Time” Year C, Abingdon Press, Nashville , 2003, p.86

[2] Wingeirer p.86

[3]J. Ellsworth Kalas, Reading the Signs, "From Empty Nets to Full Lives," CSS, 1988, p. 81-82.

[4] Taylor , Barbara Brown, Home By Another Way Cowley Publications, Boston MA 1999 p. 40

[5] Taylor , p.41

If you have been watching or reading the news recently, you have been exposed to a great many speeches. There have been speeches before and after the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary. Howard Dean’s concession speech in Iowa attracted a lot of attention and commentary. The President’s State of the Union Address seemed to many people to be the beginning of his campaign for re-election. There will be many many more speeches as the campaigns continue.

One thing most speakers agree about is that they want to keep their audience attentive and happy if at all possible. One simple prescription to keep from arousing opposition is to tell your audience what they want to hear. Now, of course, that sounds easier than it is. What one part of your audience wants to hear may well be exactly what the other part rejects. You can see this quite clearly in the State of the Union address, with half of the chamber standing and applauding, and the other half sitting on their hands.

It’s easier to speak to a group of people who are in agreement about the topics at hand, than to a group with strongly differing opinions. However, a true leader will tell people what they need to hear but at that moment don’t want to hear. The Biblical prophets knew this well. Jeremiah, whose call from God we heard in our first reading, was called to “pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” Much of what he would be called to tell the king and the people of Judah were things that they needed to hear, but definitely didn’t want to hear. The same is true of Isaiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Hosea, and many of the other prophets. Prophetic preaching or speaking is not a popular occupation because it is speaking God’s Word and God’s Word is not determined by the latest public opinion survey.

Jesus knew that well. In a continuation of last week’s reading, we find Jesus in the synagogue in Nazareth, his home town. He has just read from the prophet Isaiah, “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 the Lord’s favor.” He sat town to teach and said, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Try to put yourself into the position of the people in the synagogue. This was Jesus, the hometown boy. They knew his mother Mary. They knew Joseph, the carpenter, his father. They had watched him grow up. Yet, he was reading the words that they cherished about the coming of the Messiah – and proclaiming their fulfillment. They heard his explanation of scripture as God’s exclusive covenant with them. God would deliver them from their oppressors and shower them with blessings. Could it be? Was this really about to happen?

Jesus didn’t give them long to get excited about the possibilities. Instead, he immediately challenged their understanding of the words – and he did it by reminding them of stories from their scripture – stories in which God blessed those who were not Jews. He reminded them of Elijah who during a severe drought found lodging with a widow in a town called Zarephath. Although she was not a Jew, Elijah miraculously extended her food supply until the famine had ended. He also brought her son back to life after a serious illness. Then he reminded them of Elisha who had cured a Gentile military commander of his leprosy.

Jesus’ message to those in the synagogue in Nazareth was that God would bless all the poor, all the captives, all the blind, all the oppressed – Gentiles as well as Jews. These stories and others are good news to us, because we are the Gentiles to whom God’s blessing was also given. However, it was not good news to those who heard Jesus that day. Jesus quickly destroyed the myth of privilege – the notion that says, “Grace is good when it is extended to me, but I’m not so sure my neighbor deserves it.”

Perhaps, it’s not such good news to us either. This is a message that has not only religious but also political implications. In the early days of our country, the lines about whom God blesses had been redrawn so that our Declaration of Independence proclaims “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Written by Gentiles, this great proclamation of freedom meant white men, not white women and not people of color. Through the years, the legal ramifications of this have changed – at least women and people of color can now vote and hold elected office – at least in theory and in many cases in practice but not yet in proportion to the general population of our country. When we look closely at the living conditions of many people, we have to seriously question whether they really have the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Jesus’ message of radically inclusive deliverance of all people is still true today, even when we have redrawn the lines to include ourselves and to exclude others.

There are so many ways that we draw those lines. Just as the Jews did, we draw the line nationally. I grew up on Kate Smith’s stirring rendition of Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America.” Irving Berlin wrote this song originally in 1918, but set it aside. He revised it in 1938 as war was threatening Europe and he wanted to write a peace song. More recently, I fear that in some places it became not a song for peace but a rallying song justifying military actions. We sing, “God Bless America” but do we pay attention to and really mean the line that seeks God’s guidance or do we expect God to bless us simply because we are The United States of America? If that is the case, then we are no different than the people in the synagogue of Nazareth – trying to hoard God’s blessing only for ourselves.

In so many ways, we have things backwards. We ask or expect God to bless the things that we do rather than seeking to do the things that God blesses. Fred Craddock, a great preacher, says that the longest journey you ever take is from your head to your heart. We know that God plays no favorites – and yet, the church still harbors racial, social, gender, and religious prejudices within its walls. We know in our heads that God’s radically inclusive love is for everyone – perhaps one day we shall know it in our hearts.

There are many ways that we draw the lines – many of them so subtle that they are almost impossible to recognize – and, in many ways, the least obvious ones are perhaps the most dangerous in terms of our spiritual health. This was part of the problem that Paul was dealing with when he wrote to the church at Corinth. There was tension among them about who was a better Christian than another because of the various abilities they had. It’s really not much different than thinking one person is better than another, or more deserving of God’s grace than another because of where they were born, or what occupation they or their parents have, or which town they live in or even which section of the town, or which church they attend or don’t attend. We would probably all agree that those things shouldn’t matter and yet in our hearts, all too often they do. We have not yet made that long journey from head to heart.

Paul tells the Corinthians that there is one way that is excellent – it is the way of love. Greek has several words for love. Despite the fact that we often hear this passage read at weddings, the word for love that Paul uses is not the romantic passionate love, but rather agape – a word that means self-giving, other-regarding love. Agape is God’s love for us. God’s love toward humanity is patient, kind, self-giving, generous, encouraging and truthful. We, the faith community, are called to exhibit this same love to the best of our ability, in all places – since this is the most excellent way. Paul reminds the Corinthians that prophecies, tongues, and knowledge are limited and partial. They will fade away. Many of the things that our ancestors thought they knew about the world, we now understand to have been incomplete – as our knowledge will likely also be proven to be. Love is permanent.

Love is a fundamental cornerstone of our faith – indeed, Paul says, that “faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.”

Those of us who want to be recipients of God’s love, need to remember Jesus’ sermon – Jesus’ speech in the synagogue. Unlike most of our political speeches, it was not designed to give the people what they wanted to hear, but rather what they needed to hear. We, too, must constantly seek God’s guidance, and ask for God’s help to hear the message that we need to hear, not necessarily the one we want to hear. As we come to the Lord’s table, we come remembering that we come to be fed by a God of radically inclusive love. Come, remembering that if God loves everybody, then God doesn’t love you or me any more than anyone else. That does not diminish God’s love – it multiplies it. God’s love is so great, so radically inclusive, so abundant that it is beyond our comprehension and so overflowing that it must be shared with everyone else.

I would like to share with you an imaginary letter from the pen of the Apostle Paul. The postmark reveals that it comes from the port city of Troas. On opening the letter I discovered that it was written in Greek rather than in English. After working assiduously with the translation for several weeks, I think I have now deciphered its true meaning. If the content of this epistle sounds strangely Stenmarkian instead of Paulinian, attribute it to my lack of complete objectivity rather than Paul’s lack of clarity. Here is the letter as it stands before me.[i]

Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to you who are in North Kingstown Rhode Island in America, grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

For many years I have longed to see you. I have heard so much about you and of what you are doing. I have studied your web site faithfully and see your mission statement and so many wonderful things that are happening in your church. It is marvelous, you are able to do so many things in your day that I could not do in the Greco-Roman world of my day. I celebrate the gifts that God has given to each of you and in many ways I celebrate the work that you are doing together.

However, I find it helpful to remind churches that the many gifts you are given and the work that you are doing is to be for the glory of God not of yourself. I have seen that within the past couple of years you have added an additional Sunday morning worship service. I applaud your efforts to reach out to the community and to offer alternative times for people to worship. I have noticed that half of the people who are members of your congregation have come to the church within the last 8 years. I understand that part of this is because you are becoming known as a church that welcomes visitors and new people. I also understand that part of this is because you are in an area and a society where people move much more frequently than they did in my day. However, one of the dangers in this is that some times people start to feel that they don’t really know each other, so I want to remind you that you are one congregation made up of many different people.

For the North Kingstown United Methodist Church is one church and has many members and all the members of the church though many are one congregation. … Indeed the congregation does not consist of one member, but of many. If a Sunday School teacher were to say, “Because I am not a Lay Speaker, I do not belong to the church” that would not make him or her any less a member of the congregation. And if a member of the evangelism committee were to say, “because I am not a member of the finance committee, I do not belong to the church” that would not make him or her any less a part of the congregation. If the whole church were choir members where would the congregational response be? If the whole church were sitting in the pews, who would be teaching the children of the church? And if the whole church were teaching Sunday School where would be the students and the coffee after worship, and the smiling face and welcoming hand shake of the greeters?

But as it is, God has arranged the members of the congregation, each one of them as God has chosen. If all were Trustees where would the outreach of the congregation be? As it is, there are many members, but one congregation. The people who attend the 8:00 worship cannot say to those who worship at 10:00, “we do not need you.” Nor can the 10:00 worshippers say to the 8:00 worshippers, “we do not need you.” The pastor or the Lay Leader or the Lay Speakers cannot say to the Worship Committee or the Missions Committee, “we don’t need you.” Nor can the Worship or Missions Committee say to the treasurer or the music director or the secretary, “we don’t need you.” The treasurer or the music director or the secretary cannot say to the greeters, liturgists, ushers, child care workers, coffee hour providers, or acolytes, “we don’t need you.” On the contrary … God put your church together in such a way that even the parts that may seem the least important are valuable. God did this to make all parts of the team work together smoothly, with each part caring about the others. If one member of the congregation hurts, the whole church suffers together; if one member is honored, the congregation rejoices together.

Together you are the Body of Christ and the congregation of the North Kingstown United Methodist Church. Each one of you is part of Christ’s body. First, God chose some people to preach and some people to provide music and some to lead liturgy and some to collect offerings. God also chose some to greet visitors and some to pray and send cards to those in special need of this ministry, some to fold bulletins and newsletters, some to prepare communion, some to light candles, some to organize devotional booklets and some to write items for those booklets. Not everyone preaches. Not everyone sings. Not everyone teaches children, youth or other adults. Not everyone can support the church financially and not everyone can count the morning offering or write the checks. Not everyone knows who to call when the boiler breaks down or where to purchase hymnals or office supplies. I want you to desire the best position in the congregation which is the one where you can serve God best at this particular time in this particular place. … There are many ministries and many missions, many positions and many tasks but all of them are to be examples of God’s love; all of the church members are to be guided by and filled with agape, the spirit of God’s love.

There’s more to Paul’s letter, but I’m still trying to work out the Greek, it was not one of the courses I studied in seminary, so my translation is quite free and liberal – probably a paraphrase more than a translation, but I believe that it captures the spirit of Paul’s words.

We are blessed in this congregation with people who have many gifts and want to use them for God’s glory. We are blessed with many people who are able to participate in the ministry and mission of the church in different ways. We are blessed with people who are intentional about being disciples of Jesus Christ and recognizing that discipleship is a life-long journey. We are always learning and growing and seeking to be faithful to God’s call in our lives and that response changes at different times in our lives.

It is very easy for a church to get bogged down in the administration that is so very necessary to keep the building safe, the IRS happy, the electricity and heat functioning and all of the other details that are important in the smooth functioning of a congregation. However, when those things are our only focus we discover that we are leaning precariously in one direction.

Some time ago, I started to visit a chiropractor to deal with the back problems that have intermittently caused such aggravation in my life for so many years. I have learned through this process that if I spend too much time at my computer, then my leg starts to hurt. If I read too long with my head trying to accommodate my bifocals, I get a crick in my neck and then a corresponding twinge or tightness in my back or some other part of my body. I am learning in a very real way, exactly how much each part of my body depends on the other parts of my body to be in balance. When one part of my body gets out of balance, other parts of my body suffer – and I am not always quick to recognize the connection.

It is the same way within the church, in our life as a congregation. I used to serve a very small church. Our worshipping attendance was about 40. Our active leadership numbered around 10. Can you imagine trying to follow the guidelines of the Book of Discipline that describe how committees should be organized? Every time we tried to put our attention and energy into a special program or study it wouldn’t take us long to discover that we had started to neglect the day to day things that we also needed to do. The Lever soap commercial talks about the 2000 parts of your body – how we would have loved to have 200 parts of our body, or in some cases, even 20. In this congregation, we are indeed fortunate that we have more than 10 and 20. We are blessed to have enough people to allow us to focus not only on the day to day administrative type things but also on the seasonal plans, and on the education program. We are blessed to be able to have different opportunities to worship, and several options of times to come together for study. We are blessed to be able to respond at a moment’s notice to requests for blankets, coats, and other items needed at the homeless shelters in Providence. We are blessed to be able to respond to the needs of the Food Pantry here, and to be able to provide a place for this important ministry and others to take place.

Still to each of us comes the challenge not just to keep doing whatever it is we have been doing, but to constantly be open to God’s leading, to God’s prompting, to the places and ways we are being called to be God’s people in this world. Last Sunday someone spoke to me about an item that was available for donation should that specific need arise. On Thursday of this week, the need arose. God’s timing could not have been better. It was not a spectacular event in the grand scheme of the world – but it was spectacular in the life of an individual.

What is this great ministry and mission to which we are called and for which we seek to use the gifts that God has given to each of us? When we look at Luke’s gospel that we heard this morning we find a good indication. Jesus is in the synagogue reading from the book of Isaiah. “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 the Lord’s favor.” Then Jesus rolled up the scroll and sat down to teach. Everyone was looking at him as he said, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

As Christ’s disciples we are called to a similar ministry. We are not the Christ, but we are his disciples. We, too, are to bring good news to the poor. We, too, are to work for justice and release from all that binds a person preventing the fullness of life. We, too, are called to extend God’s love to the last and the least. We are called as Paul reminds us to be one body even though we are many members. We are called to celebrate the gifts that each one brings and to work together to maintain balance in the body and an outpouring of God’s love. We are to serve, united by God’s love as one body of Christ.

[i] With minor changes, this paragraph is taken from: Strength to Love, by Martin Luther King, Jr. Sermon entitled: Paul’s letter to American Christians.

The prophet was filled with passion. His words called out for justice. He promised that he would not give up until his people were safe and secure; until their victory would be seen by everyone; until they would no longer be among those who felt cut-off from the promises of God. He would not be silent, he would keep praying, and talking. He had a dream. His name was Isaiah, or his name was Martin Luther King Jr. or his name, or her name, was one that was known among a group of people as the one of passion, the one who would not keep silent, the one who would seek justice at all cost.

Take your mind back to the “I Have a Dream” speech so eloquently delivered by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in August of 1963. Hear in your mind once again that deep powerful voice filled with fire, conviction, and vision. “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: `We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’ I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. … I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.”

One of the reasons it’s easy to associate Martin Luther King’s message with that of the prophet Isaiah, is that he makes use of some of Isaiah’s imagery used elsewhere. “I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope”

Some of this same imagery, found in Isaiah, is also found in the gospels, in John the Baptist’s proclamation of preparing the way for the Messiah, the one who is to transform our lives and our world. We have a long history of seeking transformation, or looking for it, of praying for it. In Isaiah 40, those words of comfort are proclaimed, promising a return from exile, a better life, a new relationship, a future full of hope. Later we realize that the return from exile was not nearly as glorious as Second Isaiah had hoped and proclaimed. So we find in Chapter 62, Third Isaiah promising that he will not give up, he won’t stop praying, preaching, proclaiming, working until - until that day arrives. “I have a dream!”

This imagery is so important because although the principal characters have changed the situations are still so similar. For Isaiah it was the Babylonians who oppressed the Israelite people and carried them off into captivity and exile. When they returned and tried to reclaim and rebuild their land they were faced with the harsh realities of economic difficulties, of differences in class structure, of Canaanite rituals and beliefs that were becoming blended with Jewish practices.

John the Baptist faced the oppression of the Jewish people by the Roman government. He faced the harsh realities of economic difficulties, of differences in class structure between Roman citizens and most Jewish people, of a structure of slave and free.

If I went digging enough, I wonder if I would find that same imagery in the days before the Civil War; in the days of the underground railroad. I hear Martin Luther King Jr.’s words being like those of Third Isaiah, pleading “how long, how long must we wait.” Indeed in his famous, “I Have a Dream” speech he says that “We have come here today, to dramatize an appalling condition. In a sense we have come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked `insufficient funds’. But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.”

In the last year of so of his life, Dr. King found himself challenging this nation on a very different subject – our participation in the War in Vietnam which he considered to be an unjust war. When challenged about this he proclaimed, “It must also be said that it would be rather absurd to work passionately and unrelentingly for integrated schools and not be concerned about the survival of a world in which to be integrated.”

In words that described his steadfast commitment to justice he proclaimed, “We are called to speak for the weak, for the voiceless, for the victims of our nation and those it calls enemy, for no document from human hands can make these humans any less our brothers.” He spoke these words exactly one year before his assassination. His words are just as true today as they were nearly four decades ago. Like the prophet Isaiah’s words they are timeless.

In the “I Have a Dream” speech he proclaims, “This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.”

Think of that image, “a beautiful symphony of brotherhood” – and today we would add, “sisterhood”. A beautiful symphony! What a wonderful image. A symphony is made up of many parts of many different instruments working together. At times they blend together so well that we lose sight of what the clarinet is playing, or the violin, or oboe, or French horn. At times one instrument may rise to the forefront for a brief time. Occasionally, they may seem to be in opposition to each other. But always they are working together to produce a glorious work.

This reminds me of Paul’s words to the church in Corinth – of his proclamation of the many different kinds of gifts God has given to us and his admonition that these gifts are given for the benefit of all and are to be used to build up the community – not separate it. Paul was convinced that the Spirit graced believers with gifts for the continued building up of the body of Christ in faith, hope, and love. In the next couple of weeks we will hear more about what Paul has to say about the gifts we have received from the Holy Spirit, their importance and how we are to use them.

Today at the beginning of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Today on Human Relations Day, Today, the day before the observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Today the message is that we are to be a beautiful symphony of people with gifts that work together to build up the community of Christ. Today we are challenged to look around us and see where the imagery of Isaiah, and John the Baptist, and Martin Luther King, Jr., and many others needs to be proclaimed. Today we are to look at the places where justice does not exist and commit to working for justice no matter what the cost.

Yesterday, I listened to a gentleman talk about how grateful he was that it was not as cold as it had been on Friday. He said he felt badly for people who are homeless, but then added that many of them probably brought it on themselves – a common misconception. Complete with his warm coat and secure job and health and warm home and comfortable car, like many it is easier for him to believe that people are homeless because they are lazy and don’t want to work, or because they abuse drugs, or for some other reason that lets us off the hook. He was appalled when I told him that the most recent e-mail from the State Council of Churches looking for assistance for the homeless was asking for baby formula and diapers. Babies and children are not supposed to be homeless. And yet they are!

There is such a crisis in affordable housing in this area (and I don’t just mean North Kingstown – I mean all of Rhode Island and most of Massachusetts – and many other places. There is such a crisis of affordable housing that many of our homeless are people who are working – often at minimum wage jobs or slightly higher. Minimum wage is not a livable wage.

I have a dream. I have a dream that someday in this country every child will have a warm bed in which to sleep at night – the same bed every night. I have a dream that someday in this country, parents who work hard to support their families will actually be able to afford housing as well as food and clothing. I have a dream that someday all children will be safe in their own homes and in their schools and the places they play and worship and that they will not be abused by the adults who are supposed to love them and take care of them. I have a dream that someday none of our senior citizens will have to make a decision between purchasing the medication they need and paying their rent or buying food. I have a dream that someday no women will be afraid of the man who claims to love her. I have a dream…….

What are your dreams? For whose sake will you be like the prophet Isaiah and not keep silent? For whom will you seek justice at all cost? When you can answer those questions, you will have found the same fire, conviction, and vision that Isaiah, John the Baptist, The apostle Paul, Dr. King, Mother Theresa, and many others have possessed. When we fulfill the dream of a beautiful symphony of brotherhood and sisterhood working for justice we will be one in mission working together with conviction that all may know God’s love.

Jesus’ ministry started small with a miracle at a wedding, turning water into wine – a miracle of great significance, but one that most people did not notice. A major thrust of the civil rights movement in this country began when Rosa Parks exhausted from working all day, was just too tired to move and refused to give up her seat on the bus. Our actions may seem small to us, but we need to begin somewhere and our actions when combined with the actions of others can produce a beautiful symphony that makes a dream a reality.

Perhaps, you heard or read these words in December: "At this juncture in my life, I am looking for closure. I am not bitter. I am not angry. In fact, there's a great sense of peace that has come over me in the past year. Once I decided that I would no longer harbor such a great secret that many others knew, I feel as though a tremendous weight has been lifted. … "I am Essie Mae Washington-Williams, and at last, I feel completely free."[i]

This was part of a public statement made on December 17^th in South Carolina in which Ms. Washington-Williams, a retired African-American schoolteacher from California, revealed that she is the daughter of the late Senator Strom Thurmond. Thurmond was the centenarian politician who in the days of racial segregation, soared to political fame on a white-supremacist platform. Ms. Washington-Williams said, “It was only at the urging of my children and Senator Thurmond's passing that I decided that my children deserve the right to know from whom, where, and what they have come. I am committed in teaching them and helping them to learn about their past. It is their right to know, and I understand the rich history of their ancestry, black and white.”

Ms. Washington-Williams understands the importance of knowing “who you are” and having others know who you are also. This is an important theme of today’s Scripture passages.

Fred Craddock tells a story of a vacation he and his wife took together in the Smoky Mountains. A distinguished older gentleman came to their table in the hotel dining room. He was, as it turned out, a celebrity - a former governor of Tennessee. When he discovered that Craddock was a professor of preaching, the man said he had a story to tell him, a story about a preacher.

It seems that, when the governor was born, his mother wasn't married. He never knew his father. Now that may not seem so unusual today, but in the Southland of that era, that made for a difficult childhood. The other children used to taunt him and call him names. They used to ask him when his father was coming back. Whenever he was out with his mother in public, he was painfully aware that he had but one parent.

One day, when he was about ten, this boy was in church. Usually, when the service was over, he found his way discreetly out the back door - which meant that he never talked to the minister, never had to share his name. On this particular occasion, though, the boy got swept up in the crowd, and before he knew it, there was the pastor, at the front door, his hand extended.

"Well, son," the preacher's voice boomed out, "whose boy are you?" He could hardly have asked a more embarrassing question. The boy flushed and started to stammer - but before he could say anything more, the preacher (still gripping his hand) said: "I know! ... You're God's son!" He slapped him on the shoulder and said, "Boy, go claim your inheritance."

The boy never forgot that incident. He never forgot the preacher's kindness in not drawing attention to his single-parent family. He never forgot the way he sent him out, either: "Go claim your inheritance!" Long after he became one of the most popular governors in Tennessee history, this man still delighted in telling the story of the day the preacher told him he was a child of God.

It was almost as though a voice had spoken from the heavens: "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." That was the day the boy received the Blessing.

Two people who claimed who they are. Two people for whom this claiming and knowing made a difference.

There are always people willing to tell us who we are; there are always people asking us who we are. How do you answer that question? Most of us begin by giving our names. Depending upon the context, what usually follows is an identification of our job or our family connection. Today’s Scriptures proclaim that these are not the primary sources of our identity. They are more like adjectives modifying the noun. The noun – the truth about who we are is found in that wonderful story told to Fred Craddock that proclaims with our scripture, that our primary identity is that of “a child of God.” We belong to God.

We belong to God but not in terms of the way something is possessed. We are all familiar with little children fighting over a toy – “Mine.” “No, Mine.” Our belonging to God is not like that. We belong to God, but not in terms of a conquest – the way one country conquers another and claims possession. We belong to God in loving terms like we hear in the Gospel reading, where the voice from heaven proclaims to Jesus, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

How very important it is to us to have that feeling of being loved, of being valued. Although Senator Thurmond never directly acknowledged his paternity, Ms. Washington-Williams described a part of their relationship. "Whenever I came in, he would always hug me when I came in. And when I'd leave, he'd hug me. But he never came out and said, 'I love you,' but he sort of showed it in his expression".... "It felt good that at least my father cared something about me. It made me feel better."[ii]
Many years ago there was a song called “Cherish”. The singer was trying to describe how he felt about that very special person. He rejected several synonyms for love and finally settled on the word “cherish” as the only word that could truly describe what the woman meant to him. That is the word that comes to my mind when I think of God’s great love for us. We use the word “love” so often and so easily, that sometimes it seems to lose its meaning. “Cherish” seems to capture the true depth of the love that God has, the way we are valued by God.

This cherishing by God is not something new that appears only at Jesus’ baptism. It is not something peculiar to the New Testament. Our reading from the prophet Isaiah gives us a good description of God’s cherishing love. In verse 4 we hear, “you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you.” In verse 5, “Do not fear, for I am with you.” In verse 1, “I have called you by name, you are mine.”

God will not allow us to be overcome. In verse 2 we read, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned; and the flame shall not consume you.” For the Israelites, this would recall stories from their history. It reminded them of the story of Moses and the Hebrew people crossing the Red Sea in their escape from Egypt, and the crossing of the Jordan River into the promised land. The story of walking through fire describes a story from Daniel of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.[iii]

Our personal experience is that God’s protection generally does not literally extend to keeping us safe from drowning or being burned by fire. Eugene Peterson in The Message puts it this way, “When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you. When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down. When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end – because I am God, your personal God, the Holy of Israel, your Savior.”

We know that the difficulties of life can either cause us to go under or they can make us stronger. If we try to face these things by ourselves, we are more likely to drown under their magnitude. When we face what seems like waters that could drown us or fires that could destroy us, if we accept the Lord’s presence with us we discover that we can face the most difficult, the most threatening, and the most horrible things in life and come through them held, supported, guided, or carried by the God who cherishes us.

Being God’s beloved child is not a magical relationship that makes things go smoothly for us. Baptism is not a magical act through which we are automatically in communion with God. Rather, being God’s child, being baptized opens the way for us to come to God in prayer. As we open ourselves up to God, as we bring to God our needs and failures, our desires and hopes, God becomes more accessible to us. God cherishes us and desires a personal relationship with us, but God does not force that relationship on us. As I said before, belonging to God, being God’s child is not about possession or conquest, it is about love.

We celebrate the Baptism of the Lord in the afterglow of Christmas. It is significant, I think, that although only two gospels tell us about Jesus’ birth, all four gospels in some way talk about Jesus’ baptism. Jesus came to be baptized by John, not because he needed to repent, not because he needed to be baptized, but rather to identify, to stand in solidarity with the people of the day. Jesus came not for the righteous but for sinners. At his baptism, as he was praying, the heavens opened, the Spirit descended upon him in a form resembling a dove, and a voice from heaven spoke God’s approval.

“The readers of Luke would interpret and understand this voice from heaven as giving both authenticity and authority to Jesus’ ministry. The love that Jesus later proclaims in his ministry is first extended to him now. The voice of God sill speaks in lives today. It speaks a word of love and promise offering identity and belonging. In the form of the Holy Spirit, God’s voice also speaks to us in prayer, in ritual, in tradition, in loving actions, and in all who thirst for justice.”[iv]

We, like Jesus, receive the Holy Spirit in order to minister to others so that they may know the joy of communion with God, so that they may gain power to resist temptation, so that they may have good news to preach. Peter and John came to Samaria, a place which Jews viewed as unclean, to offer the gifts of baptism and the Holy Spirit. So, too, God comes to our world today and offers these same gifts to us without cost.

Ms. Washington-Williams said, “I decided that my children deserve the right to know from whom, where, and what they have come.” While Ms. Washington –Williams statement focused on her relationship with Senator Strom Thurmond, what she said is equally true about how we and our children deserve to know from whom, where, and what we have come. We have come from God, as God’s beloved and cherished children. That is who we are.

As the young boy was told by his pastor “go claim your inheritance", we too, are to go and claim our inheritance as God’s beloved and cherished children.

Our Scriptures today ask us to make space to hear God’s voice in our life – a voice we share with those around us, and that tells us that we, too, are God’s beloved.

[i] - From the public statement of Ms. Washington-Williams on December 17, 2003 , at the Adams Mark Hotel , Columbia , South Carolina

[ii] From the CBS Sixty Minutes web site.

[iii] Exodus 14:21-22, Joshua 3:14-17, Daniel 3:25-27

[iv] Seasons of the Spirit, Background and reflection sheet, Jan. 11, 2004

Matthew's Story of the Wise Men's visit to the Infant Jesus has stirred the imagination of many. Poets have written about them. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow even gave them names: Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthasar. Artists have painted the scene. Songs have been written and the Wise Men - or Kings - have found their way into the Christmas story and into our hearts. There has been much speculation about what really happened and who these visitors from the East really were. The facts behind the story are fuzzy at best, for example, Matthew doesn’t even tell us that there were three - that has become part of the legend. However, even though the facts are fuzzy, the truths cannot be ignored.

The original Greek calls them "magi" which covered a conglomeration of astronomers, fortune-tellers, and magicians. William Willimon says that Matthew was probably thinking of astrologers or stargazers which was a pastime specifically condemned by Jewish standards. To good Jewish readers, the magi then would represent the epitome of religious quackery and idolatry.

Others believe that the Magi were Persian priests and that Matthew who traces Jesus’ genealogy through the kings of Israel and has the Wise Men looking for the child who is born King of the Jews, is emphasizing Jesus’ kingship. It’s probably not really important exactly who they were. However, at the very least we can be sure that they were Gentiles – not Jews.

Only Matthew and Luke give us stories about Jesus’ birth. Luke’s story has angels, long journeys, shepherds in the field, and a host of angels appearing to them to announce Jesus’ birth. Luke, alone, gives two more stories about Jesus – the first, as an infant taken for the rite of presentation in the temple and then later at the age of twelve in the temple listening, and asking questions of the teachers. Luke emphasizes that Jesus was coming for the “lost, the last, and the least” and that God, through him, would turn the expectations of the world upside down.

Matthew’s account is focused differently than Luke’s. The angel appears to Joseph in a dream to assure him that it is still okay for him to take Mary as his wife. We hear of no long journey, or stable, but instead we hear of the strangers who came from the east.

In Luke’s gospel, the coming of Christ was first revealed to the Jewish world through the shepherds. In Matthew’s gospel, the coming of Christ was revealed to the Gentile world through the wise men. Early on, we are to understand that Jesus came not as a special insider to the religious establishment, but that his life would reach out to the disenfranchised, the marginal, and to those who were not Jews.

In both stories, there is light. There is the great light of the host of angels appearing to the shepherds. There is a new star in the sky identified by the wise men. In both cases, those who see, follow the light and begin a journey – a journey that includes many unknowns.

The shepherds, in the fields outside of Bethlehem, knew that they were heading into the town. The Wise Men really didn’t know where their trip would take them or how long it would be, or even how they would be received in a faraway foreign land.

Following the light of God is a journey of similar faith for us. We often don’t know where our journey will lead us. We don’t know what we will find along the way. We do, however, know that God goes before and with us and that the journey is not in vain. The emphasis is not so much on the destination, but on the journey itself.

Following the light is a common theme throughout our readings this morning. The prophet Isaiah also proclaims the light – a light that encouraged the people of Jerusalem to rise up from their beds of mourning and affliction and to receive the light of the glory of God. They lived in a time of great war and terror and fear. As I read about flights being cancelled because of information about terrorist plots; as I hear of suicide bombings, soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan and numerous other places, I think that our world is perhaps not really very different.

They lived in a time when darkness seemed to cover the earth – and yet, they were recipients of the light. Light that would be so great that the scattered children from Israel would return from afar. Light so desirable that the nations would flock to them to share it.

Think for a minute about the effect that light has upon us. There are many people who suffer from a seasonal disorder caused by a reduced exposure to light as the days shorten. This disorder can cause a feeling of depression and hopelessness.

Light brings people together. If you are walking through a building you will head to the rooms that have light shining out of them rather than to the darkened rooms. One of the wonderful things about the light is that sharing the light does not diminish it. Think about walking through a dark corridor toward a lighted room. When you open the door to the room, the dark corridor is no longer as dark as it was before. Light has streamed out of the room to light the darkness – but the light within the room has not dimmed, it is just as bright as it was before you opened the door. Think of the candles on Christmas Eve; from one candle we light two and then spread the light from one to another. As the light spreads, the first candle continues to burn with the same intensity it had originally – it is not weakened or diminished by sharing itself.

A piece of clothing that looks okay in the dark may be revealed as having stains on it when brought to the light. When we come to the light we may discover some things we would rather not learn. We may discover that there is something in our lives with which we have felt comfortable, but after encountering the Lord, we begin to feel uncomfortable. We begin to ask if this is good stewardship of our time and our resources. Is it something that would be pleasing to God? We begin to look at our relationships and ask whether or not they are ones which bring glory to God. Are they ones that we could freely share with Jesus? Can they stand proudly in the light of day? We may find that some of the things that we are being asked to do as part of our jobs are not compatible with the things that Jesus asks of us as Christians.

It isn't always "fun" to be a Christian. Sometimes the things that God asks of us are hard and we'd rather pretend that we didn't hear, or we twist what we want around so that we can almost convince ourselves that it is God's will.

When we come to the light, we discover that we are in the company of the shepherds – dirty, smelly, ragged, but hard working people. We meet the magi – people from far away, people who look differently than we do, people with a different world view. As we continue to walk around in the light, we meet the fishermen, the tax collectors, the prostitutes, the “lost, the last, and the least”.

In the light we can sit and talk with each other. We can learn from each other when we look the other in the eye, in a way that we cannot experience in a telephone conversation, a letter, e-mail, or instant messaging. Indeed, sometimes when we are not sure how we will be able to communicate something, we may take the easier way of some form of communication other than face to face.

Like the shepherds and the magi, we are never the same after encountering Jesus. The shepherds left, “glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.” The Magi, warned in a dream not to return to King Herod, went home by a different way.

When we encounter the Lord, we, too, go another way. Once we have heard the story, once we have met the Christ, we are never the same. The question that we are asked to face in this season is whether we will be bearers of the light or whether we will hide the light. Will we hide the light because we are afraid of it and don’t want the light to shine into the places of darkness? Are we afraid of what we will see or what we may be asked to do or change when we walk in the light?

Will we hide the light because we are trying to hoard it for ourselves rather than share it with others? Do we somehow think that what we have discovered is so personal that we must keep it for ourselves?

Will we bear the light – carry it into the shadows and the places of darkness? Will we share the light with others knowing that light is meant to be shared? Will we allow our lives to be changed by the light of God – and will we then carry that light into the world?

There is a story told of a church that was built many years ago, before the advent of electrical lighting. When the church was finished, someone noticed that there were no lights or holders for lights to be lit before the arrival of the congregation. The designer and builder of the church said, “When you come, each of you will bring your own light. When you are here, light will radiate from your space. When you do not come, there will be darkness where there should be light.”

We are each invited to make the commitment to bring the light of Christ with us when we come and to take Christ’s light with us out into the darkness.

Now that the mad rush of the holidays is over, O center of stillness and peace, we thank you that you are still God-with-us.