Let us pray. God be in my head and in my thinking. God be in my mouth and in my speaking. God be in my heart and in my loving. God be in my feet and in my following. Amen.
Yesterday, Jeff and I drove to Fort Wayne to witness the
Consecration of the 8th Bishop of Northern Indiana. One of my Minnesota colleagues, the Rev. Dr. Doug
Sparks, became their Bishop!
I got to see our Bishop Cate, and my former Bishop, Brian
Prior, and a few clergy and lay folks from Minnesota I know. I was so happy to be able to be there. Last summer, Rev. Doug invited me, a brand
new priest, to supply for him and then invited me again in the fall, when he
did his walkabout in Northern Indiana.
Some of the good people from that faith community, from St. Luke’s in
Rochester, were there to present and to celebrate Doug and his family yesterday. One of them saw me and remembered me.
If you’ve never been to a Consecration, it is quite an
experience. Here in Indy, we will get to
experience one next Spring, and I hope you will try to attend. People from around the Episcopal Church,
Bishops, priests, deacons and laypeople gather to witness vows made to God and
to God’s people. The Presiding Bishop
blesses the new Bishop and hundreds of people sing hymns, pray and receive
communion. It lasts a couple of hours, and
they are hours filled with the joyful noise of the Holy Spirit.
They are hours filled with people of God, singing in
familiar harmonies, praying familiar prayers, learning and growing and becoming
more for God.
And the people who are there, just as the people here and
in so many places around the world, have all heard Jesus say, “Follow me.”
“Follow me.”
What does it mean to follow Jesus? In today’s Gospel there is urgency in Jesus
invitation, for he knows his time as a human is nearing its end. His time to teach and pray and prepare others
was limited, so limited that anyone he invited needed to drop everything and
come immediately with Jesus.
There were people who wanted to follow Jesus, too, but they
didn’t understand the urgency, they didn’t understand the limited time Jesus
had. And though it seems harsh, Jesus
couldn’t wait for them. He had to count
on those who would come right now.
He couldn’t wait…there wasn’t much time left. At least not for those first days for those
first Jesus Followers.
I think it’s a little different for us.
For many, being Christian is all we have ever known. Many were raised in the church, learning the
stories, often feeling comfortable in the pews or in doing the different
ministries of the church. Conversion
from a completely different faith, like the Jews of Jesus time, isn’t often
part of current personal faith histories.
At least not many I have heard.
Others have come to church after never having experienced a
household of faith and they come seeking answers, seeking community, seeking
God. They may not know what brought
them, but I bet it’s because, like so many others, whether they realize it or
not, they heard Jesus say, “Follow me.”
Whether you came to church as a child or came later in your
life, the story is often told again and again.
People hear Jesus in any number of ways say, “Follow me.”
I have heard Jesus say, “Follow me.”
And I have to be honest.
Sometimes, I’m like the people in the story…I want to follow Jesus so
much, but something gets in the
way. I have been known to find excuses
or reasons to not leap at the chance to journey with Jesus right now. Reasons like: I don’t feel confident. I need education. There are people in my life who need me. There have been jobs, kids, a spouse,
parents, siblings, friends who have been excuses for me to not urgently act
when I have heard Jesus say, “Follow me.”
There have been a lot of “Yeah-buts,” and “not yet’s,” and
“are you kidding me’s?” and “why me’s?” There have even been a few outright “No’s.”
And yet, the invitation is repeated, over and over.
“Follow me.”
Following Jesus is what Christians are called to do. Each of us has our own, unique way to follow
Jesus. Some get their hands dirty in the
Peace Garden or deliver the harvest to food shelves. Others pour through contracts, finding the
right language that creates a relationship between the church, a baseball
league, a school, three AA groups and a therapist. Even more make coffee and goodies and clean
up the kitchen. Some fill toilet paper
and paper towel dispensers. Others march
in parades, serve in their neighborhood community, or are delegates to
convention. But all of us follow Jesus
and live into that role, that role as Jesus Followers, by showing acts of
kindness to others in creation, by living a life of hope, by loving our
neighbors as ourselves.
Paul, in his letter to the Galatians reminds us that we
have responsibilities as Jesus Followers.
We are to show that we follow Jesus by cultivating all the fruits of the
Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
I’m not saying it is easy to follow Jesus. But God gave the Word to be born of Mary as a
way to bring us into fuller relationship with God. To show our devotion, our commitment, our
faith and hope and trust, we follow Jesus in all the unique ways he asks us to
follow.
When I look back on my life and I realize all those
should-a, could-a, would-a moments, those are-you-kidding-me and
not-now-I’m-too-busy moments, I was still following Jesus.
Those whispers of “follow me” were often moments where I
needed to refocus my attention on my relationship with God. And simply living life as it was, was following Jesus.
I think that’s important to realize. Even the most regular, most mundane, least
impressive moments are a part of the journey of following Jesus.
Why? Because when we
live in the knowledge that we are in the presence of Jesus, we live as Jesus
Followers.
When we show others the love of Jesus in a multitude of
ways, we live as Jesus Followers.
When we choose to take the steps on the journey with Jesus,
to talk to Jesus in prayer, we live as Jesus Followers.
Following Jesus is a commitment, and that commitment looks
different for each of us. The
commitments made go hand in hand with the gifts of the Spirit. Sometimes it is easy to discern your
gift. Other times you may need help
figuring it out. If “Follow Me,” is
getting louder, or sounding different and you can’t figure out what it means for
you, know that there are plenty of people who can help you figure out what that
looks like, and what it feels like and what it could be for you. There are people like me, Deacon Mike and
others who can help you listen more deeply to that invitation.
In the sermon at the Consecration I was reminded that we
are all given gifts and talents that bring the glory of God. All of us.
Yes, some are bishops. Some are
priests and deacons. But look around
you. Most are not ordained. Many follow Jesus into the world, sharing
God’s love, and they might not even know they are doing it. Really!
When I was ordained last June Bishop Brian told the class
of new priests and deacons that this day was not about us. Yesterday, Doug Sparks was told this day was
not about him. Doug smiled and
nodded. He knew what was coming next.
Like every other day, this day of celebration was about
God. This day was about all Jesus
Followers and about the way we each
bring who we are into the feast. We
follow Jesus to the table as members of the Body of Christ, none higher than
the other, none lower than the other.
Each is a part of the whole, each is needed and necessary, each has
moments of strength and of weakness, each holds another up and is also
held.
“Follow me,” Jesus said.
He didn’t say, “only when you have met certain
criteria.” He said, “Follow me as you
are. Leave what burdens you behind. I am the Way.
I am the Truth. I am the
Life. You are God’s. You are loved. Trust me.
Love me, for I love you and will never leave you behind.”
“Follow me.”
Let us pray. You call us to love you, Jesus, in our
strength and in our weakness. You call
us to know you, Jesus, in our confidence and in our fear. You call us to trust you, Jesus, in our
stubbornness and in our eagerness. You
call us, Jesus, to follow you. You do
not ask, you do not beg, you invite us into relationship with you, as Children
of God, as Holy people who bring our individual gifts and talents into
community. You ask us to love you,
Jesus, as you love us. Let it be so. Amen.