Emptied To Be Filled

Pr. Jasmine Waring

Epiphany 6 February 13, 2022

Jesus’ sermon on the plain according to the Gospel of Luke is as simple as it is challenging. In Matthew’s account, for example, Jesus speaks of the poor in spirit, or those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Luke, the former physician, uses Jesus’ words like a surgeon’s knife, cutting to the naked truth: Blessed are the poor, the hungry, those who weep, and those who are hated. The inverse is just as blunt and challenging as the first: woe to the rich, full, those who are laughing, and those who are loved. I don’t know about you, but I feel especially uncomfortable with this passage because life is pretty good for me right now. I have an abundance of food in my kitchen (and in the drawers of my office), I have enough money to pay my bills and have some extra. Despite all the horrible things that are happening in our world today, I have joy and laugh often. From what I can tell, I am generally loved by the people around me (we’ll see how many valentines I get tomorrow). Is all of this wrong? For people with privilege, we have a hard time hearing passages like these because it sounds like God is judging us. These passages have also been used to justify redemptive suffering, believing that God wants us to be poor and hungry and sad and hated. Or worse, not caring for the poor and hungry, because Jesus said they’re blessed. Who are we to interrupt God’s blessing? The problem is, our interpretation of the words blessing and woe have been misunderstood. We have interpreted woe as cursed, or as a judgement. If we look at the original Greek, woe is an expression of grief, and it is meant to be an interjection like, “Woah! Woah! Woah! Slow down!” it is a warning, not a curse. It is like Jesus is saying, “Beware of the delicate balance your life is in when things are good.” The word blessing in this text does not only mean happy, but also means satisfied, envied, on-track, even respectable. This is contrary to a common understanding back then that has crept into our understanding today, which is if things are going wrong in your life, you are doing something wrong and God is punishing you. It is very clear that Jesus is pointing out that God has a preferential option for the poor. Not only are the poor and needy not being judge by God, but are in fact ought to be envied and respected. Why? Because when you have absolutely nothing to lose, you make room for God it act. Does this mean that we out to purposely seek out trouble and suffering in order to be close to God? No! We see at the beginning of the reading today that Jesus’ ministry is all about alleviating suffering, and challenges us to alleviate the suffering of others. Jesus came so that we would have an abundant life. We tend to put ourselves within this blessing and woe binary, and trying to scoot our way in the more favorable side. Notice that Jesus is not addressing two groups of people, nor is he making any judgements. Jesus is just stating the facts, naming what has always been true of the human experience: we all experience seasons of blessings and woes in our lives, and it is all temporary. There are seasons when we are poor, and seasons when we are rich. In a world with bust and boom economies, Bitcoins, and stock market fluctuations, we ought to ask ourselves, where is our source found? Or rather in whom is our resource found? The prophet in Jeremiah warns Israel not to put their trust in mere mortals. We need to beware of complacency and the belief that it is by solely our own efforts we have all that we do, and forget about the grace of God that allows us to obtain wealth. I find it interesting when Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor,” he doesn’t say, “for one day you will be rich”. Instead, he says, “for yours is the kingdom of God”. If the kingdom of God is a world within a world where we can experience abundance and liberation, then we are blessed, envied, even respectable in seasons of poverty because we experience God’s abundance found in beloved community. There is a beautiful and precious gift that comes when we are humbled, and receive the generosity from our loved ones and from the stranger. This gift is more valuable than any of the riches of the world. There are seasons when we are hungry, and seasons when we are full. Debie Thomas writes in Journey with Jesus, “We invite blessing every time we find ourselves empty and yearning for God, and we invite woe every time we retreat into smug and thoughtless self-satisfaction. When I am “full” of anything but God, God “empties” me. Not as punishment, but as grace. Not as condemnation, but as loving reorientation. When I am bereft, vulnerable, and empty in the world’s eyes, God blesses me with the fullness of divine mercy and kindness”. In seasons of fullness, we ought to ask ourselves, “What am I filled with?” We can be so easily distracted and filled with things that eventually lull us to sleep into complacency, having no need for God to move in my life for motivate me to serve my neighbor. When we are emptied, we are blessed, envied, even respectable because there is more room for us to be filled with God’s love, peace, and justice. There are seasons of weeping, and seasons of laughter. I think it’s safe to say, after we all have been through, we know that we don’t need to go out and look for trouble or suffering…life does a pretty good job doing that for us. I actually find this pairing very comforting. Somewhere along the way growing up, I got the message that sadness and anger were not acceptable emotions. In many Christian circles, weeping and being sad was nearly a sin because it shows that you are lacking in faith. This is what we call spiritual bypassing, when we use toxic positivity to dismiss people’s very painful reality and don’t do anything to change it. I felt that I always had to have a positive attitude and cheer people up. I had to be an emotional buoy for the people around me, at the expense of my own feelings. So when Jesus says that we are blessed, envied, even respectable when we are weeping, it gives me permission to go down into the depths of all my feelings. I can notice them, name them, let the feeling ride out it’s course throughout my body, and let it be my teacher. What a blessing it is to experience the depths of the human experience. There are seasons when we are hated, and seasons when we are loved. I think we all know by now that we can’t please everyone. Which is difficult for me, because I want everyone to like me! Jesus tells us to beware of when everyone speaks well of you, because that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets who told them what they wanted to hear, instead of telling them what God wanted them to hear. Sometimes doing or saying the right thing can lead to seasons of emptiness, weeping, and hate. February is Black History month, and I am also taking a Race and Protestantism class this term, so I have read a lot about the Civil Rights movement and especially about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King is an American hero now, politicians, activists and preachers quote him all the time, and in some ways tame him…using his “I have a dream” speech and calls to love and unity. What we tend to forget that he was called an extremist by many, even having his phone tapped by the FBI. His harshest criticisms were not pointed to the KKK but to the white moderate, to those who chose to be silent in the face of justice. At one point. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was the most hated man in America. So much so, he was assassinated. Blessed, enviable, even respectable are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day, for surely your reward is great in heaven. If blessings and woes happen to all of us in seasons, and it’s all temporary, then the real question is, what is your life grounded in? The apostle writes to the church in Philippi in Philippians chapter 4:11-13, “…for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and in need. I can do all things through him (Christ) who strengthens me.” It is the power of Christ, in his death and resurrection, we find strength in weakness. When we are vulnerable and at the end of our rope, the power of Christ kicks in and is his glory can shine through. As we enter into Lent in a couple of weeks, let us allow ourselves to be emptied so that we may be filled again, knowing that death is not the end. As seasons come and go… May you be aware of the delicate balance your life is in when things are going good, and enjoy it for all it is. May you be blessed, envied, even respected when you are poor, hungry, weeping, and hated, for Christ is near and made strong in your weakness. And may grace and peace be with you every step of the way. Amen.

First Lutheran Church

February 6, 2022

The Fifth Sunday after Epiphany C

Luke 5:1-11Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

Sermon

“The Call of Peter

Who, What, When, Where, How, and Why?”

Pastor Greg Ronning

In this week’s appointed Gospel, we hear the story of the calling of the first disciples, in particular the calling of Simon Peter.  Jesus proclaims that familiar line, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.”  To which Simon Peter and the disciples promptly leave everything behind and follow Jesus.  It’s a familiar line, a familiar story, but perhaps you may have noticed, this version from the Gospel of Luke is a little different than the version found in Mark and Matthew.  And that difference makes a difference.

It's the reason why I prefer Luke’s telling of the story, why Luke’s version makes more sense to me, and ultimately why I can begin to find myself - and my own story of call - in today’s appointed gospel.

As I was thinking about how I might unpack today’s Gospel for you, the difference between the stories found in Matthew and Mark in contrast with Luke, I was reminded of something I learned in Junior High: “Who, What, When, Where, How, and Why?”  The W’s of Journalism!  So it is that today we will explore the “Who, What, When, Where, How, and Why?” of the calling of Peter.  And the “Who, What, When, Where, How, and Why? - of your calling.

We begin with “Who?”  The central character of today’s Gospel is Peter, also known as Simon, or Simon Peter, nicknamed “The Rock” by Jesus.  Simon Peter becomes the “de facto” leader of the disciples.  Before his calling to be a disciple, an apostle, he was a fisherman from the region of Galilee.

Next comes “What?”  The story is about Peter’s decision to be a follower of Jesus.  What it means to be a disciple.  Peter, along with the other first disciples, give up their life as fishermen, to follow Jesus, to become “fishers of people.”  It’s dramatic story, incredibly, at the invitation of Jesus Peter drops everything and leaves behind his family and his work to follow Jesus for the sake of the Kingdom of God.

“When? And “Where?” This is where Luke differs from Mark and Matthew.  In Mark and Matthew Jesus is baptized, led by Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan, and emerges proclaiming the Kingdom of God.  The story then continues with Jesus simply “passing by” along the Sea of Galilee, where he sees Simon and the others casting a net into the sea.  Jesus calls out to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people. ”And they, inexplicably drop everything, leave their families and homes behind, and follow Jesus.  This version of the story, as found in Mark and Matthew, has never made any sense to me.  Who drops everything to follow some stranger who shows up out of the blue?  Try as I might, I just can’t relate to this story, I can’t find a way to “enter into this story,” I can’t imagine dropping everything at the invitation of someone I know little to nothing about.  I would need more.

And that’s what we get in Luke’s version of the story, more, more details about the context of the call of Peter, “When” and “Where” it happens.  In Luke, just as in Mark and Matthew, Jesus is baptized, led into the desert to be tempted by Satan, and then emerges proclaiming the Kingdom of God.  However, Luke goes on to tell us that Jesus was traveling from town-to-town preaching, that he preached in his hometown. (Last Sunday’s Gospel)Luke then tells us that Jesus goes to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, where he preaches and casts out demons, and when he is done, when evening falls, he stays at the home of Simon,(Simon Peter) where he heals Simon’s Mother-in-Law.   Sometime after that Jesus is wandering along the edges of the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowds, wanting to hear the word of God, find him.  In that moment Jesus notices Peter coming towards shore on his boat after a long “unsuccessful” night of fishing.  Jesus essentially commandeers “Peter’s boat” and uses it as a pulpit from which to speak to the crowd.  After his sermon, he tells Peter, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”   Despite this unusual invitation, the common practice in that time and place was to fish at night, Peter does what Jesus commands, and lo and behold they catch a great many fish, so many that it takes two boats to bring it all ashore.  And then, after all this, in a developing relationship that reveals the nature of the Kingdom of God, Jesus invites Peter to follow him.  Suddenly Peter’s response makes more sense, I can begin to understand why he dropped everything and followed Jesus.

An even closer look at “Where” gives us an even greater understanding of Peter’s decision to follow Jesus. Notice “where” his encounters with Jesus take place; Jesus comes into his home, and then to his place of work.  Jesus does not simply “pass by,” Jesus takes the time to be present in the places where Peter and his friends – live, work, and play.  We are reminded that God, in Christ Jesus, comes into our world, into the very depths of our world, that God reaches out to us with grace and love.  We are reminded that the direction of the Gospel is always decidedly toward us!  Peter’s great calling in life does not happen in a passing moment, it’s not some kind of magical mystical encounter, it does not happen is some kind of space that is beyond our understanding and experience, but in the everyday places of his life.  Matthew and Mark leave that part out, leaving us with a story that feels incomplete, Luke reminds us, Jesus comes into our life with the invitation to follow him.

“How?” The word with the “W” on the end!  Notice “how” Jesus does it, how Jesus is present, how Jesus comes along side of us, in particular notice “how” Jesus leads Peter to that great catch of fish.  He does not stand apart from Peter, he does not stand above Peter, he does not patronize Peter, he does not lecture Peter, he does not meet Peter’s failure from the night before with shame and arrogance;he simply gets into the boat, remains in the boat, and accompanies Peter out to deeper waters, where he freely shares his fishing insight, and together they catch an amazing number of fish.

Which leads us to this last “W” - “Why?” Why does Peter say yes to following Jesus?  I suppose it could be because Jesus healed his Mother-in-Law, and she was now able to nag him again.  (He just had to get out of the house!)And surely the miraculous catch of fish impressed him, even scared him.  Peter responds, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”  But then again, who leaves their work behind after their most successful day ever!  Peter’s response could have been to figure out a way to make a lot more money fishing with Jesus! 

The miracles certainly didn’t hurt, but perhaps what really made the difference in Peter’s decision to follow Jesus was “when, where and how” Jesus came into Peter’s life.  Jesus found him at home, at work, and Jesus accompanied him, walked beside him, and worked beside him.  Jesus becomes human and engages in a human relationship, a relationship marked by grace and love and abundance.Peter comes ashore, not with an “industry secret” about how to get rich catching fish, but instead with a vision to share that great catch with others, in the same way Jesus had had shared it with him.  Peter gets a glimpse of the abundance of the Kingdom of God, an abundance for everyone, a glimpse that transforms him.  Theologian Debie Thomas writes, “How amazing is an image of boats so laden with fish that even a weathered fisherman like Simon Peter finds the catch overwhelming.  This is extravagant, excessive, bountiful generosity.  Food for all, food security for all, justice for all, nurture for all.  Jesus shows Simon what God’s kingdom will look like when it’s fully established.  God’s kingdom will suffer no empty nets, no empty tables, and no economic exploitation of any kind.  God’s kingdom will mean good news for all.”

Peter follows Jesus because Jesus came full of grace into his everyday life, shared the abundant ever-present love of God, inspired him with a vision of the Kingdom of God, and invited him to be a part of it!

Unlike the stories found in Matthew and Mark, the story of the calling of Peter in the Gospel of Luke is a story of call for all of us.  Who? A story about you and Jesus.  What?  A story about how God is calling you to be a part of the Kingdom that is coming even now. When and Where?  A story that is able to look back into your life and remember how God has been present in your home, in your family, in your friends, in your relationships, at work, at play, in the life of the church, in fellowship, in service; how God has descended and continues to descend into your everyday life and make it an abundant life. How? A story about how God is present in your life, fleshed out in the many and creative ways Christ is with you, accompanying you in your moments of failure and in your moments of success, and in every moment in between.  God going before you to show you the way, above you to watch over you, behind you to encourage you, beside you as friend, and within you to give you peace.  Why?  Why do you follow Jesus, why do you continue to follow Jesus, and why will you follow Jesus in new ways as new days unfold before you?  Because in Jesus we have found an abundance of grace and love, an abundance that overflows into us and from within us to all those around us, an abundance that has no fear of scarcity, an abundance that sets us free to give and to serve with our time – talents – and treasures.

Jesus does not simply pass by and call out to us, Jesus has come to dwell with us deeply, and in that dwelling we have been saved, and inspired to follow, to go and do likewise, sharing the good news in word and in deed, the good news about the Kingdom of God!  Amen.

Sermon on Luke 4:21-30

Pastor Jennifer Garcia

This part of the story picks up right after last week’s reading. Jesus had been preaching in the synagogues in the area where he grew up and had been making a name for himself.

One day, he read from the book of Isaiah in the synagogue in his hometown. The passage says this:

“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.”

And Jesus sat down and told them that this scripture had been fulfilled in their hearing.

I like to think of this as Jesus declaring his mission statement.

His mission statement is exciting: full of good news for suffering and oppressed people. Jesus is here to bring about the Reign of God, which has tangible good things for people who are neglected and mistreated by society.

And Jesus’ hearers are excited about it. They’re amazed and speaking well what Jesus is saying.

But then something changes. In the span of a few sentences, Jesus’ hearers go from speaking well of him to trying to throw him off a cliff!

It’s challenging at first read to figure out what makes them so upset.

The only quote from anyone in the crowd is: “Is not this Joseph’s son?”

And then, Jesus reacts and starts putting words in their mouths.

But what he said must have hit a nerve, because they don’t just leave or kick him out—they try to kill him.

So, let’s take a closer look at information we have.

Someone in the crowd says, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”

The implication could be: “We saw this guy grow up; why should we listen to him?”

Or, “This guy’s family isn’t influential—what gives him the authority to say he’s fulfilling scripture?”

But then, when Jesus puts words in their mouths, it doesn’t sound like he’s reacting to either of those implications.

He assumes they will say, “Doctor, cure yourself,” and “Do here also in your home town the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.”

Jesus seems to be assuming that they want proof, as in, “Do a miracle, Jesus! Show us what you can do!”

Or, “We heard you did really cool things over there. We’re your people—do those things for us, too!”

And then, Jesus alludes to a couple Bible stories. The first is when God sent the prophet Elijah to a poor widow to find food. She and her son only had enough food for a tiny snack each before they were going to die of starvation. Elijah convinces her to share with him, and the food lasts until God sends rain again.

Then, Jesus alludes to the story of Naaman, a military leader who contracted leprosy. A young Israelite captive tells Naaman to seek advice from Elisha, Elijah’s successor. Elisha tells Naaman to wash himself in the river Jordan and he will be cured.

These stories seem a little random. But Jesus tells them that there were many widows in Israel, but God sent Elijah to the foreign land of Zarephath. And there were many people with leprosy in Israel, but God healed Naaman, who was a Syrian.

This gives us a clue about why Jesus’ hearers get so angry.

Jesus is refusing to play their game and prove that he’s who he says he is.

His hearers want him to give them special treatment, because he’s a local boy, one of their own.

But this goes against the very words that Jesus just read from Isaiah:

Jesus is here, not to play favorites, but to bring good news and healing and freedom to those who are most marginalized.

He’s not going to do parlor tricks for people who want to be in the in-crowd—the Reign of God is for everyone!

Let me make this clear, though. Jesus is not saying that the Reign of God is for Gentiles and not for Jewish people. On the contrary—Jesus is Jewish and he’s talking to his fellow Jewish people in their sacred gathering place. Jesus isn’t saying that God isn’t going to bring good news, healing, and freedom to Jewish people. He’s saying God is bringing these things for everyone.

But Jesus’ hearers become enraged by this. To the point of wanting to do violence.

They were hoping that their new hometown celebrity would bring them special benefits. Surely Jesus would heal them first, bring abundance to them first.

They’re disappointed and jealous.

We’ve learned a thing or two about disappointment in these last couple years, haven’t we?

From two weeks of stay-at-home orders to two years of quarantining, closures, social distancing, and cancellations.

We grieve those who have died.

We miss those we don’t see as much or at all.

We’re disappointed when we don’t see our friends at church or our families for holidays.

I know there was a lot of disappointment late last summer when there had been hopes of regathering in a big way at First Lutheran—having celebrations like Jim’s retirement party, having more in-person gatherings, and getting things feeling a little more normal again. Then the delta variant and now omicron have made it wise to be more cautious again. That’s discouraging when we’re tired of masks and being concerned about gathering and all we want to do is hug our friends and family, eat with them, and enjoy being in each other’s company.

It’s all so disappointing.

Jesus’ hearers that day were feeling disappointed. Jesus wasn’t going to do what they hoped. Today, they say about job hunting “it’s not about what you know; it’s about who you know.” The folks in Jesus’ hometown hoped they were going to get special treatment because “they knew him when.” But Jesus wasn’t playing their game. They weren’t going to get to jump the line in the Reign of God.

So, they got territorial and even jealous that Jesus was referencing stories about God doing good things for “outsiders.”

But they needn’t have been jealous. God wasn’t choosing others over them. God was choosing others and them.

It can be tempting when we feel disappointed to start getting territorial or jealous.

When we’re missing our friends who are watching the livestream instead of sitting in the pew next to us, we can start resenting the megachurch down the street.

When we’re frustrated that yet another event we were looking forward to gets canceled, we can start saying uncharitable things about the next-door neighbor who makes different choices than we do when it comes to COVID restrictions.

Sometimes our emotions, which are valid and important, run away with us. Hopefully not to the point of violence, like Jesus’ hearers in this story. But, our emotions can sometimes make us act in ways we’re not proud of. When we’re disappointed or discouraged, we can sometimes take it out on other people—like that next-door neighbor who won’t wear a mask or that person with a bumper sticker you disagree with or that family member that’s doing that thing that’s so annoying.

The good news and the bad news is this: the Reign of God is for them too—the Reign of God is for whoever we define as “them.”

Jesus wasn’t telling the people in his hometown, “I’m not here for you.” He was saying, “I won’t be controlled.

I won’t be boxed in by the limitations of your imagination.

I won’t be boxed in by what you want me to do, because I have something so much bigger, so much better in mind. You have no idea.

But if you trust me, I’ll help you imagine the world as it should be, as I intended it to be, and as we will make it together.”

The people in his hometown couldn’t hear it, because they were too caught up in what they wanted Jesus to do, for whom, and in what order.

When we’re disappointed and discouraged, we can fall into that trap of doing things that don’t align with our best selves. We can fall into that sense of scarcity that we talked about a couple weeks ago.

But we have a God of abundance, who says, “I’m here for everyone. I’m here for the outsiders, the foreigners, the forgotten. And I’m here for you, too. You just don’t get to tell me where and when I get to do my work. I have something better in mind than you ever dreamed.”

So, think this week about how you can rest in God’s abundance.

How can we show grace to each other in the face of disappointment—remembering that everyone else in the world is disappointed, too?

How can we live like we believe every person is important, and that God works in everyone’s life, if only we pay attention?

The Reign of God that Jesus invites us into is more abundant and more joyful and full of more love than you could ever imagine. And everyone’s invited.

Let’s show one another and everyone around us that we trust in a God like that.

Because everyone’s invited.