Does He Know Where He's Going?
Year A, 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time • Sermon • Submitted
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January Nostalgia
January Nostalgia
The month of January has a special place in my heart. Some of my most epic moments occured on the fourth Monday of this month. The first happened when I was in the 6th grade. A group of us got together to go on a hike. The Cuyahoga Valley National Park had not been created yet but there were vast forests populating the valley, ravines, streams and and other natural wonders just waiting for a group of boys to explore.
Every fourth Monday of the month was Professional Day for the teachers. They were required to submit grades and listen to lectures on how-to be better teachers. This gave all the students the day off.
Six of us met at John C’s house because it was the closet to the Valley. We had a great day running up and down the terrain. We were direction less. We did not use a compass and it was a heavily overcast day so keeping our bearings was difficult. We did not have a leader. John had hiked some of the area but we had gone well beyond his familiarity. By the time darkness had set in we did not know where we were. We know if we hiked down hill we would eventually come to the valley floor and a road but we did not want to hike in the dark. We also thought it would be a great idea to sleep under the stars. We were not equipped with a flashlight. So we decided to build a fire and spend the night on the top of a hill.
We assumed that are parents would worry a little bit but they would wait till morning to do anything. By then we would be back at John’s house calling them to pick us up. We did not realize that the sheriff had called for a search and rescue team that included all of our fathers.
That was not the last time I hiked with a group of guys but it was the last time that I did not know where I was going.
The gospel of John conveys the theme of uncertainty and ambiguity. The first two men who start following Jesus after a few minutes Jesus turns around and asks the his first recorded question.
What are you looking for?
This is such a profound question. God ask each person that question when he brings us to our knees.
That question seems rather odd but I suppose it was the equivalent of “Excuse me but do you know were you are going.” The former disciples of John probably were hoping for time with him before, during or after supper. We do not know if he was staying in a house or the open country. All that Jesus would say is "Come and you will see.”
That question seems rather odd but I suppose it was the equivalent of “Excuse me but do you know were you are going.” The former disciples of John probably were hoping for time with him before, during or after supper. We do not know if he was staying in a house or the open country. All that Jesus would say is "Come and you will see.”
In your heart, in your secret and quiet places, what are the hungers that drive you forward in your life of faith? Why do you still have skin in this game we call Christianity? As you say goodbye to an old year and welcome a new one, what are you hoping for, asking for, looking for, in your spiritual life? Do you know?
Debie Thomas
That was rather an ambiguous answer to their question and required a great deal of trust on their part. He could have been a charlatan who would drain their purses with his request for money. These guys were the scam artists of the 1st Century. They would offer grandiose promises and unsubstantiated hope if you supported them financially. Jesus could have been taking the two young men to a den of thieves who would clean their purses of any coins and leave them naked in the desert.
He does not specifically answer their question. He leaves them with more unanswered questions. He puts them in an awkward and uncomfortable position of uncertainty.
Over the years I have learned that when I am feel uncertain about my direction I am usually, not always but usually, closely following the leading of Jesus. And the reverse is true, when I am most certain about the direction I am often very distant from him. Why is this true?
I believe that God requires a certain amount of faith in every endeavor. If I sketch out my plans in detail, I am often projecting the dark side of my ego onto the plans. That part of me that thrives on praise. That part of me that wants to control the situation and others. The part of me that is lazy and glosses over details or lets somebody else do them.
Uncertainty Is A Tradition
Uncertainty Is A Tradition
This was true in the life of Paul. He had obtained a warrant for the arrest of any Jew who confessed “Jesus is Lord.” On his way to Damascus a light from heaven flashed around him and he fell to the ground. He heard a voice say “Saul, Saul why do you persecute me?” Saul asked him “Who are you Lord,” and the voice answered “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
Saul understood what that vision meant. His persecution of the early church was really a persecution of God. Notice how quickly Paul connects Jesus with the Father. There would be no point in obeying the voice unless it was God.
The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), .
Without any other instruction Paul goes into the city and waits three day for a man named Ananias to come, lay hands on his eyes and pray for healing.
After his healing and baptism by both the Spirit and water Paul did not know what to do except to tell others that Jesus was the Christ. Paul’s style was that of an annoying convert. There is nothing worse then a true believer. They usually have unbridled energy that is nearly uncontrollable and offensive to everyone. The community learned of a plot to kill Paul so they sent him off to Tarsus where he could not get into so much trouble. Tarsus was Paul’s home village and he would have relatives to care for him and protect him.
It was a several years before Barnabas would travel to Tarsus to invite Paul to join him in a teaching ministry. While Paul resided in Tarsus I wonder how he addressed his emotional issues that surrounded his uncertainty. Before his conversion he was on the ladder to success in the Jewish faith.
He describe his own zeal and dedication to defending the Jewish faith.
5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
Those are some credentials. Maybe that is why the chief priest could entrust Paul with the important tasks of arresting and imprisoning Jews who had converted to the Christian faith.
Now as a convert he would be ostracized from the faith and set adrift. I wonder how much God had told him on the road to Damascus. We do not have a record of any additional conversations. Paul had only one choice but to wait and to trust.
When God calls us to begin any endeavor he usually does not reveal the Finish Line. He did not do it to the two disciples who followed him that day and he did not do it to Paul. He expects us to walk in faith trusting in his leading.
Last September we listened to a presentation by a woman who wanted to buy property in Northville and build a center for Special Needs children. I was somewhat skeptical of her ability to raise several million dollars but she did. Now she has plans to put in a garden, a massive lavender bed, a workshop and a gift shop to sell merchandise that the youth make. When she first started ministering to Special Needs students and their families she did not have a vision for this property. But God took her through all the right jobs of serving these young people first as a mother then as a school teacher and then as a consultant. Through her life experience she has the qualification and the expertise to accomplish God’s vision and minister to a group of people that are usually neglected.
Those of us who are gather here this morning have responded to the call to follow Jesus. You may not know where he is taking you but he does know the way. How far are you willing to follow him?