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“We Are All Called”
Acts 9:1-7, 8-20; Psalm 30; Revelation 5:11-14;
John 21:4-19
Rev. Sandy Nuernberg
Oakland-Cambridge Presbyterian Church, Cambridge, WI
Third Sunday of Easter - Earth Day
April 22, 2007
Prayer: Eternal God,
with all the saints before us, and all the angels on high, we laud your
majesty and might. Show us yourself in the resurrection of your Son and
inspire us through your Holy Spirit to follow Jesus Christ, who lives and
reigns with you, One God and Holy Spirit, now and forever. AMEN.
What does it really take to get
our attention, these days? Is it a cry from the child on the playground hurt, a
sudden crunch by the player (perhaps your son or daughter or grandchild) on the
field of sports play in pain, the viewing of a just-happened traffic accident in
your lane and the suffering and agony seen, or the quick sound of ‘fore’ from a
flying golf ball as you duck your head in discomfort? When I was a child it was
my given name, ‘Sandra Jeane’ by my Mom, and then I knew she meant business!!
These moments of our being at their command, these rather revealing moments
happen rarely, but when they happen, they somehow get our notice/attention. We
are changed for whatever reason. They seem to be moments of disclosure,
revelation, in that our lives and our actions are revealed in who we are, and
are called to be, and who we become as God’s people.
There was a revelation for the
disciples; after not catching any fish, in wanting to beach their boat, they
decided to change their nets to the ‘right’ side of the boat after hearing a
voice, “It is the Lord! (v. 7),” and they
couldn’t stop the fish from coming, had breakfast by the charcoal fire, never
daring to ask who this man ashore was, or how the fish got there, but taking in
all that was happening to them! They were changed. We know there was a
tremendous flash of light on the Damascus road experience for Saul, that kind of
brightness in the O.T. that made known for prophets like Moses, God’s impending
presence. It was such a rare moment, a voice asking him by name twice, “ Saul,
Saul, why do you persecute me? (v. 4)”
that got the attention of Saul. So much so, that in his calling, he was changed
forever; his name and profession. The apostle Paul had a personal revelation,
clearly, a life changing experience. These moments in these texts interact and
we find insight in them that we might not find in each separately, and they
involve changed lives.
These experienced moments are not
merely moments of our attention to them and then life moves on. Not everyone has
a Paul’s Damascus moment. Not everyone needs to undergo such an experience to
encounter where God is in their lives. New conversion stories by early and
present Christians isn’t necessary nor required for suitability to faith and
religion. But these events are revealing to us in that they are mysterious,
transforming moments in the presence of God that are calling us into
life-altering experiences. Saul, as the apostle Paul, and other saints, brought
us here in community today!
Not long ago in my own decision to
attend further schooling and eventually seminary, I wanted to learn at least
three things; how to find resources for my own questioning of my faith
experiences, where to get and use references in my reading and writing
reflection papers for classes, and then who might advise me in my
quest for becoming a pastor in church ministry. I feel blessed and privileged
over these years in all that I found; and maybe I have been changed, but I can
honestly tell you there was no ‘stop, look, listen’ or a brightness of light
moment, or any finding the right sentence to conclude my paper, or saying the
right words to be ordained as a pastor. For me, it has been a gradual and
continual grasping of these disclosing and transforming moments; the disclosure
of God’s Word in scripture, Jesus’ work in the world, and the Holy
Spirit within in each and every one of us, that has had an impact upon my
becoming a pastor and witnessing to the Gospel of our Lord. For me, these are
life-altering experiences, indeed!
Truly, what we find in Paul’s
transformation is certainly something he least expected. Here is a man who has
influence among the people before his founding of Christian churches; he was
Saul in Tarsus, and was actively persecuting the church. Saul was ‘ravaging the
church entering homes and dragging men and women to prison’
(8:3) for being ‘believers’(9:30),
following what was despised by him called ‘The Way’(9:
2), that the raised Jesus was the Messiah; later in Antioch they were
first called “Christians”(11:26) and the
name stayed with them. In light of this history, I like to enlighten the minds
of our confirmands, telling them that the book of Acts is that ‘bridge’ book of
the N.T. that helps us come from the life of Christ in the gospels to the life
of Christianity in the rest of the world.
Paul was changed; “I am Jesus”
changed Paul. In his new vocation, his very nature changed as he articulated the
meaning and the importance of the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The
Lord God told Paul that he was an instrument of the Lord whom the Lord had
chosen, to ‘bring my name before the gentiles, the kings, and the people of
Israel (v. 15).’ After Easter, Paul’s
experience on the road was momentary, but his message and missionary was
completed in the context and community of the church; it was continuous with the
text of Acts including the founding of Christianity for Jerusalem
(ch. 1-7), the churches of Judea/Samaria
(ch. 8-12), and the spread of the gospel to the rest of the Roman
civilization (ch. 13-28).
For the disciples, their obedience
to Jesus while fishing was important before Peter, the ‘denier’, recognized who
Jesus was. They drew in their fish this second time like Jesus earlier drew in
his followers; the details are of abundance (their meal) and support, and
service, all in the interest of the church community. Like Paul, Peter became a
leader and a follower of Jesus.
Yet it seems that in Eastertide,
then and now, all is not finished! Easter resurrection is not an event that
happens once, but has continuous challenges for us. Jesus told Paul that He
would show him how much he, Paul, would suffer ‘for the sake of my name.’ Then,
there was public profession of faith, and the early process whereby Jews and
Christians were recognizing one another in community. And today we are
recognizing other faiths and religions in our midst; Hinduism, Buddhists,
Islamic and Jewish cultures. The confirmands are visiting Temple Beth El in
Madison soon. Ironically, though, we do think of Easter and the resurrection as
a revelation; a kind of disclosure for our faith and our beliefs. Even when it’s
after Easter and we are still in awe of Christ Jesus and our new life in Christ!
In seminary we were asked often to
reflect, ponder, discern, meditate on the ‘aha’ moments in our lives; where God
was present, where Christ was at work in our lives, where we are called to be a
part of that new life in Christ. After reading Jonathan Kozol’s book on ordinary
resurrections of young children, oh, this was in the Bronx a few years ago,
(Ordinary Resurrections: Children in the
Years of Hope, Jonathan Kozol, 2000), I found these
‘aha’ moments of disclosure to be just that; unexpected happenings, yet
influential in our life and faith. Sometimes, I believe Presbyterians have them
and we are too proud to disclose them to others, much less recognize them
ourselves. We come to church, don’t we, to worship, participate in fellowship,
talk to church friends about a sense of safety, predictability, or security, the
support we get from one another, the closeness. Ask yourself sometime, ‘when was
the last time I came to church and was surprised?’ Aren’t we seeking a sense of
order, calmness and well-being? But Jesus never made us completely comfortable,
did Jesus? Could we really be seeking, wanting to experience that radical side
of Paul the apostle, where the light shines so brightly that we are drawn to
attention, called to that seemingly transforming moment in our lives,
recognizing that ‘aha’ moment in our new life in Christ? And surprisingly, it
may be after Easter! Let it be so.
Thanks be to
God. AMEN.
* This sermon is from my
discernment of lectionary experiences with PC(USA) pastors, ecumenical pastors
in my area, reviewing sermon summaries from Christian Century,
Christian Living, common lectionary texts from the PC(USA), and favorite
books I’ve read and enjoyed, and blogging my favorite theologians and authors on
line. Personal experiences in name, and in identification have been included by
permission.
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