Immediately - Matthew 4:12-23 - 1-26-20

Sermon podcast from today at St. Paul's UCC in Downers Grove, IL.  Matthew 4:12-23. To follow Jesus is to be on the side of the rejected, the forgotten, the lost, the exploited, and the powerless.

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"Immediately" podcast

Immediately

This week's whimsically titled Bible reflection (Run Away! Run Away!) leads towards this week's sermon at St. Paul's United Church of Christ in Downers Grove, IL.
"Immediately" podcast

Run Away! Run Away!

What do you think of this advice from the comedy of  Monty Python?

Run Away! Run Away!

In this week's Bible reading from Matthew 4:12-23, Jesus was gearing up to start. He was going to call disciples. He was going to preach and teach and heal. 

And then his cousin got arrested.

Jesus ran away. He got out of Dodge. He left his hometown, which was near the government enforcers, and went to Capernaum, a more remote sea village that had easier escape routes from the authorities.

Of course we can look now and say that it was wise for Jesus to start in the rural areas. It was wise for him to preach and teach and heal in the country so that he could build a following that would last after Jesus was gone. 

But I think that when John got arrested, Jesus thought, “Great. Now what?! My plans are ruined! I’m going to have to rearrange things and figure out a new way to do what I’m here to do.”

Do you ever get the idea that we are all either running away from something or running towards something?  I guess we're also sometimes we’re just standing there, wondering what to do next.

Immediately

This week's "Not at all influenced by any Monty Python  movie scenes" Bible study post (Run away! run away!) provides the beginning to Sunday's sermon at Union Congregational United Church of Christ in Somonauk, IL
"Immediately" text
"Immediately" podcast 

Run away! run away!

Here's this week's Bible reflection:

Jesus was gearing up to start. He was going to call disciples. He was going to preach and teach and heal. 

And then his cousin got arrested.

Jesus ran away. He got out of Dodge. He left his hometown, which was near the government enforcers, and went to Capernaum, a more remote sea village that had easier escape routes from the authorities.

Of course we can look now and say that it was wise for Jesus to start in the rural areas. It was wise for him to preach and teach and heal in the country so that he could build a following that would last after Jesus finally went to the city where he was crucified. 

But I wonder if when John got arrested, Jesus thought, “Great. That’s going to really put a damper on my plans. I’m going to have to rearrange things and figure out a new way to do what I’m here to do.”

Of course, God is able to get things done – no matter what. God can get things done no matter how good or how bad, how likely or unlikely, how hopeful or impossible things may be. 

It seems we are always either running away from something or running towards something. Sometimes we’re just standing there, wondering what to do next. I believe that whatever the situation. God can get things done.

That Sunday School Song

I had some fun with this week's Bible study blog entry for i.ucc.org -(Church growth model). Well, now that post is all grown up and is this week's sermon at Union Congregational Church, United Church of Christ in Somonauk.
"That Sunday School Song" text
"That Sunday School Song" podcast

Church growth model

Here's this week's Bible study blog entry for i.ucc.org:

How do you think this strategy for church growth would play in today’s consumer-driven congregation?

• Pastor: Adopt someone else’s message, go into hiding at the first sign of trouble and start calling leaders from an obscure town with no reputation for leadership.
• Leaders: Pick some people with no background in church leadership who have likely been rejected by other church leaders and so have had to go into their family business instead.
• Congregation: Consider that they have the brains of fish.
• Growth plan: Fly by the seat of your pants and do what seems to be right at the time you do it.

Consider this from this week's Bible reading from Matthew 4:12-23:

• Jesus waited until his cousin/rival was in prison before starting a public ministry. But he did it by saying almost exactly what John said and doing it in a place that had a history of trouble rather than respect. There was little if any chance that anyone would notice anything Jesus was doing.
• The first disciples that Jesus called followed him immediately. We often put our own ideas into this situation – thinking that it would be difficult or unheard of to drop everything to respond to a teacher’s invitation. But more likely is that these fishermen – just past thirteen, had been rejected as students by the local rabbis. Instead they had to go into the family business. When they received an invitation – they took it immediately.
• Catching people like fish? I don’t think the fish like getting caught – and I’m sure they don’t like getting dead. (OK – Jesus didn’t expect anyone to think of catching people like that, but I’m sure today’s church growth leaders could pick apart any similar ideas.)
• Jesus didn’t have a 6-month or 1-year or 5-year plan for growth with established goals and milestones. He did what he did and then did what he did some more. (Some would argue that Jesus had a 1 or 3-year plan for getting in trouble and then getting crucified. I think his plans were to do what he did as long as he could until it was time to stop.)

I don’t think Jesus could get hired as a church planter today.

What do you think?