Sermon Notes
Third Sunday after the Epiphany: Feast of the Baptism of our Lord
The Rev. Anne Schnaare
January 22, 2012
Note: A few people have asked me for copies of my sermons. Since I don’t preach from a finished manuscript, I thought I would provide some written reflections instead. This is not meant to supplant the finished product of my sermon or to be an authoritative commentary on the scriptures, but merely to give you a glimpse of my thought process on the way to the pulpit. I hope you enjoy these notes, and feel free to share any questions or discussion that you may have. Peace be with you.
-Mother Anne
The Collect of the Day: Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP 215)
Isn’t it amazing how every aspect of Christian life and ministry needs to be facilitated by God? Right down to the answering of God’s call. So often, we think of being called as specialized, for certain people. We think one has to be super spiritual or pure or holy. Today we see again that we’re all called, and that we need God’s help to answer. God is with us, not only after we say “yes,” but before, even as we wrestle with our response to his call.
Jonah 3:1-5, 10
Every one should read the whole story of Jonah! If we limit ourselves to the reading for Sunday, we miss the extraordinary journey, and a fine example of how God never gives up on us. Also, without a closer look, we may miss how half-hearted Jonah’s attempt at prophecy is. Ninevah is a three-day walk wide, and Jonah only goes a one-day walk in. The theme of Jonah’s reluctance never quite goes away. Nonetheless, God uses what little cooperation Jonah gives to save the people of Ninevah.
Psalm 62:6-14
“For God alone my soul in silence waits.” God is the only one we should count on; we are foolish to put our trust in money, prestige, and other such shadows of security.
1 Corinthians 7:29-31
This is a strange passage, and has inspired many a kooky offshoot of Christians to give up the world, their possessions, even procreation, because the world is ending “soon” (whenever that is!)
It is helpful to take the passage in the broader context of Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth. Issues of daily life and marriage had been pulling the community apart, and Paul is trying to give them guidance on how to bring Christian order to their formerly Pagan lives. He knows that married life can be stressful, and as he writes in verse 28, “I would spare you that.” Paul isn’t opposed to marriage per se; he is trying to encourage people not to let their marriage become a barrier between them and God. We are meant to remember that we are to put God first. Everything else is secondary: family, friends, jobs, hobbies, absolutely everything comes after our commitment to God. Does that mean we should all quit our jobs and leave our families to sit on a mountain, communing with the Almighty? No. It means that our commitment to God is to find expression in all that we do. Our marriage, children, work, our very bodies should be seen as avenues of God’s love – God loves us and we love God right back by fulfilling these roles lovingly and completely. When we see our marital and parental, even our vocational roles as blessings from God, they take on new life and we are better for it.
Mark 1:14-20
Mark’s telling of the calling of the disciples is very different than the reading from John last week. Here we get a lot less information – there is no commentary, no discussion. Immediately they leave their nets and follow Jesus.
I wonder what Zebedee thought about that…
Putting it all together…
I find the most striking theme this week is the contrast between Jonah’s response to God’s call and the response of the first four disciples. They all left everything, but Jonah left to run away from the call, and the disciples left to run toward Jesus. Of course, when I say they left everything, I’m being a bit hyperbolic. The disciples don’t go far, and in a few more verses, Simon’s mother-in-law is sick and Jesus heals her. (More about that in two weeks!)
But we have two very different calls and responses. And what is the end result for both? God’s will is seen through. Jonah fights and rages to the point of trying to die, and still God persists. Jonah gives in, but we could say he doesn’t give it his all, and still the people of Ninevah are saved. On the other side of the coin, the four disciples drop everything and follow Jesus. One gets the impression from James and John that they left their nets still unmended. (You can bet Zebedee had a few choice words for them. Then again, maybe he was glad to get them out of the house…)
When it comes to our own call, it’s important to remember that God will use whatever we will give him. The disciples joined Jesus and spent three years watching and participating in an unbelievable ministry, a ministry that still inspires us today.
Then there’s Jonah, who really just didn’t want to do what God called him to do. And what happened? God used even Jonah’s reluctance to see his will through. Ninevah was saved. And what’s more? We still tell his story today. We look at Jonah and we see that it’s never too late – we can run from God, but the minute our hearts soften, God will use us. We can be as old as Ebeneezer Scrooge or as rich as the Virgin Mary. We can be as poor as Mother Theresa or as rich as Bill Gates. When we are willing to offer our gifts to God, no gift is too small, no person too insignificant for God to work wonders.
We can put up as many excuses as we like, but God sees through them. In the end he is still saying to each one of us, “Follow me.” It may take us a lifetime to answer, but he never stops asking.