A couple of weeks ago we
saw how time sped up, it was full speed ahead for the people of Israel. John appeared in the wilderness, finally a
prophet after all these years. All the
people of Jerusalem and all the Judean countryside were going out to be
baptized by John. It was exciting,
seeing all their friends going out to the Jordan River, seeing a real-life
prophet and getting baptized by him, hearing fiery speeches and imagining a
different world, imagining being different, doing things differently, and
experiencing loving and just community.
It was a movement that was catching on and if enough people caught the
bug, there was a good chance of something new truly happening.
All this comes to a
screeching halt this week, with the arrest of John. This is not what people imagined happening to
their beloved leader and teacher. Even
though this is what happens to prophets through all time, it had been so long
since anyone had heard or seen a prophet, they forgot this is what happens. Prophets are not treated well because their
message is a threat to people in power.
John is arrested and suddenly now everyone who had been so fired up,
finds their fires put out or put on the back burner. Time is slowing back down again. The arrest of a leader could possibly mean
several things, none of them good, in the minds of their followers. It could mean that John is not the prophet
they hoped he would be, or that he isn’t a true prophet. It could also mean that they’re next, as the
followers. The warning is there,
“Continue in this way and you will end up with the same fate.” So the people stop and the vision is set
aside and they go back to the way things were.
Jonah, too, had been
full steam ahead, running from God. This
little story snippet leaves out my favorite parts of the story—Jonah refusing
God’s command and being swallowed by the fish, having 3 days to think about
what he’d done, and then being puked up on the shoreline. And the end of the story is skipped when
Nineveh repents and Jonah pouts because they actually listened to God and
repented. For Jonah, he knew how
prophets were treated—that they would be arrested and mistreated and
killed. So when God tells him to go
preach to the Ninevites, he knows just what to do. Leave town.
Skip out. Run away. By the time we catch up with Jonah in today’s
story, he’s laying there on the shore, recovering from his ordeal, and the time
is suddenly right for doing as God commanded.
There are consequences to ignoring God’s call, too, just as there are
consequences for following God’s call. Jonah
takes this moment and follows God’s invitation.
Some say he halfheartedly walks through the city declaring the message,
but he does it, and God is even able to use his weak cries and reluctant servanthood
to turn a whole nation in a new direction, including many cattle. If you read the story, the cows are
included. It’s quite hilarious and in its
hilarity has a good message for us, that it is possible to change direction,
and for God to work through lukewarm, flawed people to make a big impact.
It seems like when I
came here, it was full speed ahead.
You’d been waiting for a pastor.
I had been waiting for a call. We
changed the worship time. I met with so
many of you in your homes. We were full
speed ahead.
Then came the
pandemic. Some things came screeching to
a halt, but others have forged ahead.
Your generosity and giving has surged.
The community recognizing the reach of the Food Bank has surged as neighbors
increased their generosity—cleaning out their pantries and donating or bringing
by checks or making masks. It really has
been incredible to see. One week we had
as many people come by to donate as we did clients receiving food. Little Doves keeps plugging away, adding children,
keeping them safe. Now they’re back to
walking them to school. The rain
continues to fall and the roof deteriorate, so the church is moving ahead with
a full replacement. Improvement of the
grounds, painting projects, staining the siding, and distribution of bark chips
continued. And your faithful church
attendance, working with all the inadequacies of Zoom. I know the music doesn’t come through on some
devices. We can’t really have one on one
conversations in the corner like we can at in-person church. I know you miss stacking chairs. You’ve had to learn new technology and put up
with a lot of inconvenience, but you’ve been faithful and I can’t say enough
how much I’ve appreciated seeing your faces and/or hearing your voices, even
just knowing you’re there praying.
Although this is a time of waiting, waiting for the vaccine,
waiting for the danger to pass, waiting until it is safe to meet in person, you
understand the words of Jesus, “The time is fulfilled.” The time is now. There are things that can’t wait—the Kingdom
of God can’t wait. The Kingdom of God is
coming near in the time of a pandemic, especially when we need Jesus’ presence
and healing. You watch for the Kingdom
now. You work for the Kingdom now. The time is fulfilled. Now is the time for action. Now is the time to invite someone to church
and community. Now is the time to pick
up the phone and call someone and connect.
Now is the time to give generously.
Now is the time to serve in the community in ways that are safe for
you. Now is the time to reach out for
help. Now is the time to stop doing
something that is not life giving for you.
It is full speed ahead for the Kingdom of God. It’s time.
It’s time we repent of our racism in ourselves, our institutions, our
nation. It’s high time we repent of our
neglect and blame of the poor. It’s high
time we change directions from following the rich and famous to following Jesus
who has promised to be present in the discounted. We get to put aside our nets, our interests,
and take up God’s nets which draw all people together in the beloved community,
in abundant life.
Jesus’ message that the
time is fulfilled nothing new. It is
consistent with the message and good news over the ages. It is consistent with the voice moving over
the waters and creating the heavens and the earth and all life and calling it
good. It is consistent with God’s call
of Abraham and Moses and Miriam and Ruth.
It is consistent with the leading of the people through the
wilderness. This was all a call to
abundant life and the Kingdom of God was coming near and the time being now. It is nothing new.
Although the message is nothing new, there is still an
urgency to the message Jesus is bringing.
This moment matters. It isn’t
just one of waiting. It is one of
action. The poor need us now. The hungry need us to act. Those in prison need us now. Children need us now. Refugees and immigrants need us now. As we wait for our savior to come or return,
sometimes we have a feeling of helplessness—that until he comes back, we’re
stuck. And when Jesus finally does
arrive, our leader or savior or liberator, we then look to him and say, “Now
that he’s here, we can relax.” The truth
is Jesus is coming into this world and Jesus is already here, and the time is
now, the time is fulfilled to spring into action and participate in the coming
Kingdom of God. The time is fulfilled, the
time is now, it’s high time.
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