|
Sunday January 22nd 2012
Epiphany III
“Following Him”
Trevor Elliot
May the words of my mouth
and the meditations of our hearts be always acceptable in thy sight, O
Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.
President Calvin Coolidge once invited friends from his hometown to dine
with him at the White House. Unsure of their table manners, the guests
decided to imitate the president. They watched closely to see which
utensils he used, what foods he ate and when. Their strategy seemed to
succeed until coffee was served. Coolidge poured some coffee into his
saucer. They did the same. He added sugar and cream. His guests did, too.
Then the president bent over and put his saucer on the floor for the cat!
And the moral of the story is:
Be careful whose example you follow.
This morning I’d like to suggest someone who you can follow. His name is Jesus, who gave his life for us and only asks that
we follow him.
The calling of the
brothers in today’s Gospel (And Jesus said unto them, Come ye
after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.)
evokes Elisha’s commissioning by the prophet Elijah as he comes upon
Elisha working on his family’s farm, so Jesus sees the brothers working by
the seaside. And as Elisha left his mother and father to follow Elijah, so
the brothers leave their father to come after Jesus. Jesus’ promise - to
make them “fishers of men” - evokes Israel’s deepest hopes.
The prophet Jeremiah announced a new exodus in which God would send “many
fishermen” to restore the Israelites from exile, as once He brought them
out of slavery in Egypt.
By Jesus’ cross and resurrection, a
new exodus has begun.
The apostles are the first of a new people of God, the Church - a new
family, based not on blood ties, but on belief in Jesus and a desire to do
the Father’s will.
From John 1: But as many as received him, to them gave he power
to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which
were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of
man, but of God.
Matthew writes in Chapter 12: For
whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is
my brother, and sister, and mother.
From
now on, even our most important worldly concerns - family relations,
occupations, and possessions - must be judged in light of the gospel, as
Paul says in today’s Epistle.
The
first word of Jesus’ gospel - repent - means we must totally change our
way of thinking and living, turning from evil, doing all for the love of
God.
And
we should be consoled by Nineveh’s repentance in today’s First Reading.
Even the wicked Nineveh could repent at Jonah’s preaching. And in Jesus we
have a greater one than Jonah.
From Matthew 12:
The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall
condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold,
one greater than Jonas is here.
We have God come as our savior, to show sinners the way, as we sing in
Psalm 25:
Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and
teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the
day. Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy loving kindnesses; for
they have been ever of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my
transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness'
sake, O LORD. Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach
sinners in the way. The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will
he teach his way.
But what
does it mean “to follow Jesus?”
Following Jesus sounds so simple, but to some it is a confusing concept.
Following Jesus consists of three things:
1) The desire to follow Him
2) Having faith in Jesus and who He is
3) Accepting the offer of eternal life He extends to us.
It is that
simple. Once we do so, we are agreeing to submitting or surrendering
ourselves to Jesus, to pattern our lives after Him and to place our
relationship with Him above our own will and desires. Following Jesus is a
life-changing commitment to be taken seriously.
But what does all of that mean?
Following Jesus
is making a very personal, individual decision. It is a choice every human
is offered and must choose through faith. Following Jesus is not
about religion, since different denominations or religions tell us there
are dozens of different ways to follow Him.
Being followers of Jesus Christ is associated most with Christianity, but
God never intended Jesus to be for a select group of people. God intended
for everyone, from every nation, to accept His Son.
How is
following Jesus possible? What does it mean to accept His Son and how do
we do it? The only way is through surrendering our all (no matter our
nationality, gender or bloodline) to the one who surrendered himself
for us.
The familiar words from John 3: For God so loved the world, that he
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world
to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Have you
ever truly loved someone so much that you would be willing to do anything
for them? Many of us have said we would. (Pause) Jesus not only
said it, but proved it. He paid the ultimate sacrifice. Jesus gave His
life for us. In return, He only asks that we follow Him. In John
8 the scriptures say: Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am
the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness,
but shall have the light of life.
Has your life been a mess? Have you felt like you are walking in
perpetual darkness with no hope? Are you willing to submit your
destructive ways to Him and follow Him? If your answer is yes to these
questions, you have the opportunity to surrender it all to Him. He can
lead you into a better; hope filled, and blessed life. You just have to
make a quality decision.
Once you have made the decision to follow
Jesus, you can become one of His disciples. The word disciple actually
means to learn or follow.
You may be thinking that you are not good enough or worthy to become a
disciple of Jesus. But the Bible tells us that He loves us all equally, as
Peter says in Acts
10:34-36, “of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of
persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh
righteousness, is accepted with him. The word which God sent unto the
children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.
Following Jesus doesn’t mean we are without trials. In fact,
throughout the ages a great many followers of Jesus have suffered
tremendous persecutions. Paul addresses this in 2
Corinthians Chapter 12: He said: For this thing I besought
the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My
grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the
power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in
infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses
for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
God can demonstrate His might, mercy, and sovereign grace through our
worst times. And He says that trials make us stronger. But as His
follower, we now have Jesus to help us, guide us, and comfort us through
our trials, both large and small. Following Jesus brings comfort and
reward beyond our comprehension.
In the words of Eugene Peterson:” To follow Jesus implies that we enter
into a way of life that is given character and shape and direction by the
one who calls us. To follow Jesus means picking up rhythms and ways of
doing things that are often unsaid but always derivative from Jesus,
formed by the influence of Jesus. To follow Jesus means that we can't
separate what Jesus is saying from what Jesus is doing and the way that he
is doing it. To follow Jesus is as much, or maybe even more, about feet as
it is about ears and eyes.
Herb Miller
used to tell a story about a man whose daughter was applying to an Ivy
League school. In a questionnaire sent by the school, he was asked if his
daughter was a leader. He answered honestly, “I’m not sure about that, but
she is an excellent follower.” The man received a letter back from the
president of the college that said, “Our freshman class next fall is
expected to contain several hundred leaders. We congratulate ourselves on
the acceptance of your daughter as a member of the class. We shall thus be
assured of having one good follower in the group.”
Many people want to be leaders, but what would the church be without
followers? Where would Christianity be without those willing to take up
their crosses and follow Jesus?
MATTHEW HENRY SAID, “When Christ died He left a will in which He gave His
soul to His Father, His body to Joseph of Arimathea, His clothes to the
soldiers, and His mother to John. But to His disciples, who had left all
to follow Him, He left not silver or gold, but something far better—His
PEACE!
My prayer for us all this morning is that we, day by day, become more
faithful followers of our Lord and Saviour who gives us his peace, and
only asks, in return, that we follow Him.
Amen.
|
