Gather, Grow and Go with God
John 21
What I am about to tell you is true. Sermon inspiration can come from many places. My message today was inspired by an episode of Desperate Housewives (sigh!@#$%). In the episode titled “Sunday”, Lynette, who is recovering from cancer, decides it’s time to take the family to church. She has a million questions and hopes church is where her questions will be tied up neatly with a bow. So she asks her Wisteria Lane neighbor “Bree” if the two families can go to church. Elated when Bree agrees, Lynette asks with childlike excitement, “Oh, what am I now?” Bree answers, “You’re Presbyterian.”
So off they go to church where the pastor’s message tells everyone to live in the sunshine of God’s love. To Bree’s horror, Lynette throws her hand in the air to ask the pastor a question. She wants to know how sunshine can possibly heal all the awful things happening in the world. Lynette doesn’t buy his answer about free will. It certainly doesn’t explain the tornado that ended season 4. After church a mortified Bree tells her that she shouldn’t expect answers in church and she certainly shouldn’t ask questions. If you want to talk back to the pastor go to a gospel church out by the airport, better yet, try the Unitarian Universalists where anything goes. According to TV theology we are to sit in the pews and hope that answers gel over time. Surprised again, the pastor thanks Bree for bringing someone new to church, calling Lynette “refreshing” because of her willingness to bring her questions to church. “Church is exactly the right place to bring your questions” he tells her. “You’ve never said that” she barks back.
That’s when I said to myself, oh that will so preach. With that I declare this to be “talk back to the pastor” day. Today’s sermon is interactive. So, what do you think? Do you come to church for the answers or for the questions? (Enter congregation and let people ask questions)
What DO we do with the hard questions of life?
Truth is it’s hard to hold onto Easter hope when our spirits are assaulted simply by turning on the news. Hard questions are all around us. This week is no exception. On one channel was the story of the missing Austrian woman held prisoner in a cellar by her father, held prisoner for twenty four years. On another channel is the story of the FLDS polygamist compound in West Texas. It’s hard to separate fact from fiction about this misguided group of people who sincerely believe God is calling them to live in isolation.
The global nature of the news means that news of any good or awful thing can reach us with lightening speed. No wonder we turn off the news, stay busy, try not to think about it, or switch television channels, choosing Desperate Housewives and American Idol. Others of us can’t turn off the news, becoming news junkies. Mercifully we pray, run to the store, take on projects, or go fishing as it were. …Which brings me to our very relevant scripture reading.
We join the disciples who have also gone fishing after facing the hardest questions of their experience- the tragedy of Jesus’ crucifixion. Why did our savior die? You were supposed to save us. Like us, the disciples went on with the work they knew; putting one foot in front of the other and dropping a net into the sea, trying even in the midst of the death of their leader to be productive.
They’ve forgotten that fishing for dinner isn’t their job anymore-- their new work is fishing for people. Then a welcome voice comes from the shore offering comfort and help, “Children”, he says, “I see you’re having issues with your fish?” Duh! Enter Jesus.
Can you relate to this scene? Have you ever been so distracted by drama or trauma, yours or someone else’s, that your attempts to be productive are less than productive? I know I have. No fish was an understatement. No fish was a metaphor for being stuck. Jesus came to get them “unstuck”. Jesus does the same for us.
Jesus tells them to cast the net on the starboard side. What? Cast the nets on the right side? Excuse me Rabbi but we’ve always fished from the left side. OK. Jesus’ ways are different. So in a bold and creative move they do as he instructs and the resulting haul is ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY THREE LARGE fish. That IS a miraculous catch because the sea of Tiberius isn’t really a sea. It’s a lake. That’s like dropping one net, one time, into Lake Minnetonka.
OK. We’ve got to stop here. Can you see the humor and futility in them knowing the catch is 153 fish? Not 128 fish or 79 fish, but 153. The risen Christ has just appeared to them again, shown himself when they needed him the most, and they stop to count the fish! No wonder they had issues! Peter is so excited he actually puts his clothes on. Don’t ask.
Then all ashore that’s goin’ ashore, Jesus issues the invitation. When all seems lost, God invites them to gather, to bring their catch and share a meal. In their gathering they are renewed and together they become “unstuck.” Resurrection hope has arrived on the scene in the person of Jesus and it is oh so good to be together again. I feel that way about being with you. It is oh so good to be together again.
That’s when I had a Holy Spirit moment. That’s when I realized that this scripture embodies the template for Christian worship? When you take our order of service distilling it down to its most basic components it goes like this:
- Gather
- Word
- Meal
- Send
We gather together as a community, we experience the Word, then we come to the table to share the blessings of the communion meal, with the final act of the liturgy being the benediction when we are sent to be the good news and to heal a hurting world. Gather, word, meal, send. Just as Jesus gathered the disciples, he gathers us. Just as he spoke with the disciples, he speaks with us. Just as he invited them to share a meal, he invites us to share a meal each Sunday. And then he sent them forth as we are sent forth-to grow and go for God.
Each time we meet in worship, we are reaffirming life’s meaning, we are bonding as family. It is here that we encounter mystery, and here that we boldly face life’s questions. And it’s all good. In the words of the ladies of Wisteria Lane, faith isn’t threatened by asking questions. It makes it stronger.
So…we set aside this hour to recharge our spirits, re-dedicating our lives so we can re-enter the world and become part of the healing. It is here that we increase our solidarity with God and with one another; it is here that we experience hope; it is here that we make covenants and find transformation.
When we gather, grow and go with God, we are calling upon the powers of heaven. And heaven always shows up. Taking it a step further, church is the holy ground where we become the change we want to see in the world.
Of course we also come to church is to be inspired, comforted, challenged and to connect with a community of friends. In just a moment a new member class will be confirmed officially as part of our covenant family. These new members have chosen to join their faith journeys with ours. We will covenant to pray for one another and to support each other and… to face the question together. As a community we are practicing resurrection hope. We are alert to the times when the risen Jesus shows up on the scene to take us fishing or invite us to a meal. We are also conscious of the gift that answers don’t always come when we want or how we expect. The Holy Spirit is continually breathing new life into us as individuals, as couples, as families and as a community. Each of us brings a special gift or talent or perspective. Every one of us is critical to the whole. Today represents a molten moment in the history of this church. I’m excited that we have new members joining and I am excited that you will be voting to affirm my return to pastoral leadership. You have asked good questions that have brought us to this moment. So my brothers and sisters in hope, all ashore that’s goin’ ashore. Are you in? Me too. Let’s gather, grow and go with God. Alleluia and Amen.