Young at Heart Message

Today’s Gospel message comes on the heels of the scripture passage I preached about two weeks ago in which Jesus basically says “congratulations, you’re Apostles! Now I’m throwing you to the wolves.”

Today’s passage talks about hospitality – those who welcome the Apostles also welcome Jesus, and ultimately God – the One who sent Jesus.

But in order to better understand what this passage means, we need to understand something about the world in which the Apostles lived.
 
Jesus isn’t asking these men to follow him and take his message to people without significant personal sacrifice.

This isn’t a part-time side gig. This isn’t a situation where the Apostles can keep working – making a living – and just spread the Word in their free time.

Jesus is asking them to leave their livelihoods – the sole way that they earn income for themselves and their families – to do this work.

Work that doesn’t pay. At least not in the traditional way.
 
So, what that means is they must rely completely on the kindness of strangers for food, clothing, and other necessities.

They are being asked to become itinerant. Their survival depends on people’s willingness to provide for them, rather than providing for themselves.

So, let’s put ourselves into that situation for a moment.

If we imagine what the world was like for the Apostles, we at least imagine that people are somewhat accustomed to welcoming strangers into their homes.
 
There was no internet. There were no phones. There weren’t even fax machines. There was no efficient means of communicating with people, so if you showed up in a new place and needed a place to stay, you had to knock on a door and ask.

Society was more communal at that time. They fed the homeless – women and children especially who were in need.

What was good for one was good for all, at least a bit more than we are used to today. Keeping people fed and at least somewhat provided for kept everyone healthier.
 
Caring for people helped to prevent the spread of disease and illnesses that could spread to everyone.

So, there was at least some precedent and mutual understanding that if someone knocked on the door, most homes would at least be willing to provide what they could.

And, as the scripture says, if people aren’t willing to offer hospitality, well… there was no need to get upset. God would handle them later.

In other words, simply move on to the next house or the next town. Eventually, someone will welcome you.
 
This was more or less a given.

But, imagine this scenario today. How well might that go?

Jesus arrives, recruits you to be a disciple, expects you to quit your job or to leave your home and family, and then expects you to rely solely on other people for your survival.

Imagine what that might entail.

You no longer have access to money, your own food, your own bed, your family, your own clothing, etc.
 
So, in order to survive and spread the Word about Jesus, you now need to knock on doors to try to get food, shelter, a place to sleep, laundry, etc.

How does that feel? Is this even possible today?

It would be extremely difficult, I would think. It would be difficult for many reasons:

1. People are not accustomed to strangers knocking on their doors, let alone having to feed, house, and clothe them.

2. People tend to judge those who don’t have shelter, the ability to feed themselves, etc.
 
3. We are accustomed to a certain standard of living. If we suddenly lose access, at this point in time we might actually suffer more – or at least, we might feel like we are suffering more.

4. We too would be more likely to get sick or even die if we could not find provisions based solely on the kindness of others.

5. This is perhaps the hardest truth of all: we cannot be confident that people actually will help us – we cannot be confident that people will even answer their door, let alone invite us in, let alone feed us and shelter us.
 
And, on the flip side – imagine if an itinerant person claiming to be a disciple of Jesus knocked on your door and asked you to come inside.

Imagine that you do invite them inside, but then they ask for water and food. That might not be so bad, but they also need a place to sleep for the night, and maybe even money or food to get them by until they can find someone else to help them.

Many people today wouldn’t even get to step one: answer the door. And if they do, most will not go so far as to invite a stranger inside.
 
Why? Well, there is significant concern, fear, and worry that the person at your door might have harmful intentions.

We are concerned about our own safety and wellbeing. Often, our own safety and wellbeing comes before everyone else’s, whether we want to admit it or not.

It is simply the world we live in.

So, as we are talking about these scripture passages, I think it’s worth understanding the sacrifices that Jesus is asking people to make.
 
And while it’s true that we live in a very different world today than the world Jesus was born into, it is still important to understand just how much Jesus was asking his disciples to sacrifice to do this work.

Yes, Jesus promises they will be rewarded, but he also doesn’t tell them that it will be easy.

In fact, if you remember from the sermon a couple weeks ago, Jesus warns them that there will be trouble, that this will not be easy for them, and in fact, they might be making significant personal sacrifices, including imprisonment or even death.
 
The Message

The Gospel of Matthew assumes that the church is a missional church.

In other words, the assumption here is that the church is a “sent” church.

Jesus sends his disciples out into the world. He doesn’t say “stay home and try to let your neighbours and friends know about me when you can.”

No, he sends them “to the wolves,” so to speak.
 
Jesus sends them door to door, town to town, over and over again, spreading the Word and doing good deeds, sharing the Good News with everyone they possibly can.

In Matthew’s understanding, there is simply no other way to be the church.

There have been missional church movements throughout history.

In fact, the Moravian Church is well known for the missionary work they did (and still do) globally. It’s part of the reason why the Moravian Church exists in Canada today.
 
And of course, there are movements within Christianity today to make the church more missional again.

There is growing awareness that mission is not just a program of the church – it should be the defining purpose of everything the church does.

What does it mean to be a “sent church” in today’s world?

It can’t mean “leave everything behind and go spread the Word” in today’s world. It’s just not realistic or safe.
 
But, I also don’t think it means “sit comfortably in worship and wait for people to walk through your church doors.”

There must be some kind of middle ground, and this is what the missional church movement is trying to figure out.

What might happen if we stopped expecting people to walk through our doors and instead, we stepped out?

Certainly we welcome anyone who does walk through our doors!
 
But is there more we could be doing to become a “sent church.” A missional church. A church that takes mission beyond our own walls and extends that outward?

What might that look like?

I don’t necessarily have the answers. I have lots of thoughts on what that could look like. But this question is one that really must be answered in community and conversation together.

So maybe, in order to answer this question, we start with conversations with one another.
 
What if we shared our stories – our stories of finding this church or the church in general, or our stories of receiving hospitality, or our stories of encounters we’ve had with missional work at other churches.

What if we started to get excited about the possibilities? What if we started small?

Perhaps we’ve already started small. We stepped out of our church walls to the parking lot to offer the garage sale to the community. And, in doing so, we also offered free food.
 
It might seem very small. To some, it might not even seem like we really stepped beyond our church walls at all.

But if we want to be a “sent church” – if we want to be able to say “here we are, God! Send us!,” then we need to be in conversation about what that might look like and what those small steps might be.

And, we need to feel good about the small steps we do take!
 
We could wonder why we would eat the cost of food and not try to make up for it, or we could feel great about feeding our neighbours and welcoming them to our event.

We should feel great about stepping outside of our church walls, welcoming strangers, feeding them, and receiving deep gratitude.

If that isn’t doing what Jesus asked of us in today’s world, I don’t know what is!

Our garage sale might be a fundraiser, too, but it is one small step toward being a “sent church.”
 
So let’s celebrate that, and then let’s start talking together about how we might be able to continue to be a “sent church.”

There’s no wrong answers here. There’s nothing wrong with conversation. There’s nothing wrong with dreaming.

Ideas are just ideas until we decide to move them forward. Our community garden is another example of feeding strangers.

We already do it in small ways. I think today’s passage is simply asking us to look closer at what it means to be a “sent church.”
 
And, are there other possibilities for fulfilling this humble call?

This is the beauty of being part of a church family. We get to wonder together, grow together, and serve together.

So, as we leave this worship space today and enter into the “mission field,” may we begin to wonder together how we might continue to build on the things we already do to offer even more to our community.

May we build on our hospitality.
 
May we build on our kindness and our welcoming environment and find new ways to take that same kindness and welcome outside of our church.

May we become disciples in small ways that may make big impacts on our communities.

May we be a “sent church” – bringing kindness, hospitality, and joy to everyone we meet. Amen.

Let us pray:
​
God who calls us by name, help us to hear your call. Help us to hear your call both personally and as a church. Guide us and help us understand what it might mean for us to be a “sent church” in our context. Help us to have open and honest conversations with each other, exploring new possibilities and sharing ideas together. Help us live into your Word. In your holy name, we pray. Amen.

Young at Heart Message

How many of us here make our beds every morning when we wake up?

When I was younger, I never paid much attention to making my bed.

In fact, until I moved here, I never had a top sheet on my bed. I simply slept directly under the blanket.

I noticed many years ago that my top sheet would often just get crumpled at the bottom of the bed at night anyway, so I stopped using it.
 
It wasn’t until recently that I started using a top sheet again, and when I did, I also started making my bed every day.

Many people (including younger me) would argue, “what is the point of making the bed when it’s just going to get messed up again tonight anyway?”

But apparently, research has been done into this very topic.

Numerous sources claim that making the bed sets a positive tone for your day.
 
Apparently, getting into the habit of making the bed each morning allows you to start the day out feeling accomplished.

In other words, you have already checked one thing off your to-do list.

In fact, research considers making the bed a “keystone habit.” Success breeds success, as they say.

So, accomplish that one thing to start your day, and suddenly you experience a ripple effect throughout the rest of your day.
 
Doing this one thing makes you more likely to tackle other things. In your brain, whether you realize it or not, making the bed makes you more likely to continue to be productive – maybe you do the dishes before you leave the house rather than letting them sit until you get home.

Now, I will admit that none of this ever occurred to me when I began making my bed.

What did occur to me is that making the bed in the morning gives the bedroom a cleaner and more organized look.
 
And, when I am ready to get into bed and start winding down, my bed is ready for me, my sheets are straight and I don’t need to worry about trying to straighten them when I sleep.

The other thing is that making sure the fitted sheet is still tight to the mattress is a key factor in getting good sleep (for me, at least).

If my fitted sheet is loose and wrinkly, I find it is very difficult to fall asleep.

And, the research supports my own noticings.
 
Apparently, having an organized sleeping space that looks clean and appealing helps your brain and your body start to relax and shut down as you’re going to sleep.

So, yes, your bed is going to get messed up each night that you sleep in it.

And yes, you should still make your bed every morning if you want to start and finish your day well.

Now, what does any of this have to do with today’s scripture readings?
 
The Message

Great question. In Romans 6:1, the question gets asked, “should we keep on sinning, so that God’s gift of undeserved grace will show up even better?”

In other words, why should we even try to be good people if we are already saved? Wouldn’t God’s grace mean even more if we were really bad people – totally undeserving of that grace – but received it anyway?

If we’re saved either way, why should we care about being good people? What’s our motivation?
 
This is similar to our bed-making question. If we are just going to mess up our bed anyway, why even bother making it?

Likewise, if we’re just going to make mistakes anyway, why even bother trying to be good at all?

Why not lie, cheat, steal, and manipulate? Sometimes those things are easier than being honest and earning a fair living.

Maybe these things are easier sometimes, but what about the impact that they have on others? We were given empathy for a reason.
 
And of course, Romans responds to these questions by saying absolutely we should not keep sinning on purpose.

Many pastors actually get asked the question, “since everyone is saved, why be good?”

In fact, many people who aren’t Christian use this as an argument to demonstrate that morality under Christianity is questionable.

This is what philosophers might call a slippery slope argument. If all your sins are forgiven anyway, what is your motivation not to keep right on sinning.
 
On the other hand, Christians often wonder how Atheists, for example, have any morality at all.

If they don’t have rules to follow or Christ to show them how to be good people, why do they live moral lives at all?

In all honesty, these questions can get us into a deep rabbit hole on the issue of morality and human motivations.

But the response to these questions I want to offer today is this: God’s love changes us.
 
When we know just how deeply we are loved, we don’t want to sin.

God’s grace is so life-giving that we want to live in harmony with it. We want to be loving.

Not because we are trying to avoid punishment, but because we know we are so deeply loved and we want to share that love with others.

And we want to try our best to demonstrate that love outwardly to others because we have been changed. 
 
When we truly absorb God’s love, it changes us.

Similarly, if we place a tea bag in a cup of hot water, it is no longer water. The water has been changed into tea.

We can no longer call the water simply water. It has been transformed into something new.

Likewise, we are transformed when we absorb God’s love.

When God’s love is poured into us, it’s as if our old self-centered selves become new love-centered selves.
 
Our old selves die – they are buried with Christ by baptism into death – and a new, different self is resurrected instead.

Baptism is an invitation to that change. Baptism doesn’t magically change us, but it reminds us of God’s promise to give us new life when we give God our old ones.

Baptism symbolizes the life-cycle of faith: our little self-enclosed self drowns in God’s love, and God gives us a new self made out of pure love.
 
Resurrection isn’t just the after-life, it’s the now-life, the new-life: when we surrender our lives to God in love, God gives them back to us as a gift.

This death-and-resurrection cycle isn’t a one-time thing: we go through it every day, every moment, continually giving our life to God and receiving life anew. Like breathing.

We aren’t literally re-baptized, but we recall our baptismal vows and the grace we received when we entered into this cycle.

God has already called us and claimed us. It is us that needs to continually renew our faithfulness.
 
It is us that need to get up every morning and make our bed, and it is us that need to renew our faithfulness and our commitment to God.

We have allowed God’s love and grace to change us. We have been transformed from water into tea.

God’s grace has given us new life. It is life-giving, and in receiving new life, we want to share that gift – that grace and love – with others.

We don’t just want to – we are compelled to. We are called to share this gift because we ourselves have been changed.
 
We have been transformed.

God’s grace through baptism transforms us.

God’s grace through the sacrament of Holy Communion transforms us.

We may not deserve this grace, but it is given freely nonetheless.

And we may not live perfect lives. We might make mistakes from time-to-time.

And God’s forgiveness does reach us over and over again.
 
And because we are so deeply loved, we receive that grace and we want to do our best to live a life deserving of that grace.

So, as you leave here today, may you be reminded of your own baptism. May you receive the grace of God and know without a doubt that you are loved and you are forgiven.
​
And you will be loved and forgiven over and over again because of the grace of God. Amen.
 
Let us pray:
 
Loving God, you have baptized us into Christ’s death and resurrection, so that we may live new lives. Death no longer has dominion over us. Remind us again. As we tell the story of your love, let us die to sin so that we may freely and fully live for your sake, not for our own ease. As we worship together today, speak your good news to us, so that we may follow Jesus with faith and courage, in the power of your Spirit. Amen.

As you can see, there are four colours to choose from. Each player chooses a colour.

All of the pieces need to start in their home base. The goal of the game is to get all four of your pieces into the area I’ll call the “safe row.”

Each player takes a turn popping the “pop-o-matic” die in the middle of the board. The only way to get a piece out of the home base and start moving around the board is to pop a 6.

Once your players are on the board, you take turns moving your pieces around the board.
 
However, you have to be careful because if another player pops a number that allows them to “land” on the same space one of your players is on, you get bumped off the board and back to your home base.

If a piece happens to make it into the “safe row,” other players can no longer bump you off the board.

However, you have to pop the exact number required to get you into the “safe row.” So, if it will only take you 3 moves to get into the “safe row” but you pop a 4, you cannot move your piece.
 
The first player to get all of their pieces into their own “safe row” wins the game.

The fun of this game, of course, comes when players start knocking other players off the board and sending them back to start over again at their home base.

It is very often the case that a player could be moving around the board quite quickly, minding their own business and thinking they are absolutely going to win, when out of nowhere another player swoops in, lands on their space, and knocks them back to home base.
 
In fact, I have played this game and have had all four of my pieces moving around the board while another player has none of their pieces out.

I find myself thinking “wow, I’m for sure going to win this game.” Then suddenly, they pop a 6, start moving around the board, knock some of my pieces off, and win the game!

It’s fun and unpredictable (and a little silly, to be sure).

The fun of this game is the unpredictability. It wouldn’t be nearly as much fun if there wasn’t a risk of getting kicked back to home base.
 
We enjoy unpredictability when it’s safe, like when we are playing a game like Trouble.

But unpredictability can also feel really scary in other contexts.

Last week, we talked about how creating routines reduces unpredictability in our own lives.

For example, if I keep a weekly routine of doing laundry on Wednesday and Saturday, I know exactly when I will have clean clothes.

Or, if I routinely fill my gas tank when it has a quarter of a tank left, I don’t need to worry about running out of gas.
 
Unpredictability in this case would be really scary, and perhaps even dangerous.

I remember once when I was driving from Colorado back home to Wisconsin, I made the decision to wait for one more gas station before I filled up.

What I didn’t know was that there would not be another gas station for a very long time.

I started to get quite worried that I was going to run out of gas in the middle of nowhere.

I ended up finding a station with about 2 miles to empty on my tank.
 
I was basically rolling in on fumes to that gas station.

In these scenarios, unpredictability is definitely not what we want.

On the other hand, all of life is fairly unpredictable.

We can never be certain what the future may hold for us. We can set ourselves up as best we can for success, but life can throw us curveballs.

And the question then becomes: would it be better or worse to know what is coming in the future?
 
The Message

Today’s Gospel passage plays with this question.

Jesus tells his newly appointed Apostles that he’s sending them like lambs into a pack of wolves.

Think about that. You’re one of the disciples who has just been chosen to be an Apostle - given the power to “force out evil spirits and to heal every kind of disease and sickness.” What an honour!

Oh but yeah, I forgot to mention, I’m throwing you to the wolves. Good luck!
 
It’s not exactly the vote of confidence and certainty that the Apostles were likely hoping for.

Jesus goes on to tell them that they will be “dragged before rulers and kings… but when someone arrests you, don’t worry.”

I have to imagine the Apostles were all looking at each other like… what did he just say? Did we actually want to sign up for this?

Jesus then talks about what they will witness:

- Siblings betraying one another and having each other put to death
 - Parents betraying their own children
- Children turning against their parents and having them killed
- Being hated by everyone because of Jesus

Then Jesus tells them to simply remain faithful, and they will be saved.

Jesus doesn’t promise them that this road will be easy.

And actually, I’m not sure if it would be better to know all of this in advance or not.
 
Maybe in this case, unpredictability would have been better.

Because now, do you think they’re thinking “no big deal, what comes will come” or do you think they’re all wondering exactly when they will encounter these things?

I think knowing the future in advance could, at least for some of us, cause us to become paralyzed by fear.

How many of us would be thrilled to do what Jesus is asking considering the consequences that are to be expected?
 
It’s certainly not an easy ask.

Knowing what is going to happen in advance can sometimes be a good thing, but other times it could create major problems for us.

Knowing in advance about a major life event might allow us to prepare for it, certainly. But, it also might paralyze us wondering when it will happen.

I’ll share a parallel example from my own life.

My first Bernese Mountain Dog, Kodiak, was about 6.5 years old when I started noticing some weird things happening to him.
 
He had some random yelps of pain that I couldn’t duplicate, so when I took him to the vet, everything seemed fine.

Then he appeared to be seeing things for a while, but his eyes were fine.

Then he had a strange cough that wouldn’t go away, but eventually subsided.

And finally, he stopped being able to wag his tail.

Each time I took him to the vet, I knew there was something wrong, but I couldn’t tell them where to look.
 
In desperation I asked one vet if they could just do a full body x-ray. They declined, saying that without knowing what they’re looking for, it would be too much radiation to expose him to unnecessarily.

Over the 6 months between when I started noticing symptoms and when he was diagnosed with cancer and ultimately ushered over the rainbow bridge, I began to seriously dwell on losing him.

I would worry so much about what I would do if I lost him, and then I would find myself sad and depressed, even though he was still right in front of me.
 
It was as though I knew he was going to die (because I did, if I was being honest with myself), but I didn’t know when.

So instead of enjoying every minute I did have left with him, I spent a lot of time worrying about what would happen when he was gone.

I was so worried about it that I genuinely believed I might not be able to function if I lost him.

When I finally did lose him, I was obviously upset and filled with grief. But guess what?

I was able to keep going. I had to.
 
There was no other choice.

I learned from that experience that as hard as it is, it is not worth dwelling on things that we can’t control and can’t predict.

If we dwell on a future that we know is coming, but aren’t sure when, we forget to live in the moment.

And, we may even become paralyzed from fear or uncertainty.

If the Apostles allowed themselves to be paralyzed by their fear of what Jesus told them would happen, they would not have moved forward at all.
 
Instead, they stepped boldly forward and did the work they were called to do, aware of the possible consequences and as prepared as they could be for the inevitability of them.

It is a testament to their ability to live in the moment and not allow fear to paralyze them.

I am sure it was not easy to hear what Jesus foreshadowed and continue to do what they were called to do anyway. But they did.

They did it scared.
 
And in doing so, they reminded us that Jesus never promised us that life would be easy. Jesus never promised that life wouldn’t be scary.

Jesus simply promised that if you remain faithful, you will be saved.

So, may you work to live in the moment – enjoying the life that is in front of you in all of its awe and beauty and wonder.

May you find the courage to do things even though you might be scared.
 
And, may you draw on the courage and strength of Jesus and his Apostles who demonstrated their ability to boldly move forward into a world that was uncertain.

With courage, strength, and joy, may you continue the journey and experience all of the wonder and beauty of this imperfect, lovely life you have been given.
​
Amen.
 
Let us pray:
 
Loving God, our deep distrust separates us from you, but you reach out to us in our fear with love and grace. You forgive us; you heal us; you bless us. We open our hearts to your Spirit, that the good news of your love might sink in and change us. Creator God, make us new. Loving Christ, come and speak to us. Holy Spirit, give us new life. Amen.

Young at Heart Message

Imagine that you receive an invitation to a wedding.

What are the first things you might do when you receive an invitation to determine if you will attend or not?

You might:

1. Look at who is inviting you. How well do you know the people?

2. When is it? Does it conflict with any other plans you already had?
 
3. If it does conflict with plans you already have, are the plans you had flexible? Do you WANT to change them?

4. If it doesn’t conflict with plans you already had, to you WANT to go?

5. Where is it? How far away is it? Do you need to fly or can you drive?

6. What else might you need to give up to attend this wedding? Will you miss out on time spent with someone else, or will you spend more money than you have or want to spend on a wedding?
 
After you have weighed all the basic questions you might have about the wedding, you can determine if you’ll attend or not and you can return your RSVP.

But ultimately, you have two options:

✅ Yes, I will attend
❌ No, I will not attend

I suppose there might be some other options, such as “I will get a gift or send a card, but cannot attend.” But for planning purposes for the people who invited you, your choices are yes, or no.
 
Now, what if we were invited to do something much more difficult to decide on?

As an example, I am going to use my invitation to come to Calgary to pastor a church.

This was a lot more complex decision to make. I won’t even be able to list all of the things I had to think about before choosing to say “yes” to coming here, but here are a few things I had to consider:

1. Do I WANT to move to Canada?

2. Do I want to leave my current church?
 
3. Do I want to give up running my business?

4. Do I want to sell the house I just bought?

5. Do I want to leave my family and friends behind and go to a place where I don’t know anyone?

6. Can my dogs – the only family who could come along – go with me?

7. Can I afford to do this?

8. What else am I giving up to do this?

9. What might I gain?

10. What am I afraid of?
 
This list could go on and on.

The point here is this:

We cannot be called to something without first being called away from something else.

Every invitation we receive – whether it’s something relatively minor like a wedding invitation or something major like an invitation to a new job – requires us to make a choice between what we had planned, and what could be.

We cannot choose one thing without giving up something else.
 
It is possible, of course, to set our life up in such a way that we reduce the number of decisions we might need to make like this.

This is why we create routines. Routines are safe, and they protect us from having to make difficult decisions.

When we set up routines, we prioritize the things that are most important to us and we choose to spend our time on those things.

But, no matter how well we might set up our routine to reduce the need to make choices, unexpected things still crop up that require thought.
 
The Message

So, that leads us to today’s scripture passage.

In Matthew 4: 18-20, we hear Jesus call his first four disciples who were all in the middle of their daily routines: Peter and Andrew were called while they were casting their net into the sea, and James and John were in a boat with their father mending their nets.

In today’s scripture passage from Matthew 9:13, Jesus sees Matthew working at a counting desk collecting taxes.
 
Matthew is in the middle of his daily routine when he is called as well.

It isn’t as though these people that Jesus called didn’t have anything else to do with their time.

None of them were sitting idly by, waiting for an invitation from someone to do something. All of these men were working – presumably to provide for themselves and possibly for their families as well.

Matthew was employed by Rome and likely risked a lot to leave his post.
 
And yet, Jesus called, and each of these men followed immediately.

They didn’t even do what most of us do, which is exactly what I did earlier – they didn’t make lists of questions or concerns they had about re-arranging their entire life in order to accept this invitation.

Matthew didn’t choose Jesus in this moment – Jesus chose Matthew.

Jesus chose a tax collector – someone who was seen as an oppressor, a traitor, and a generally “shady” human being by most standards of the day.
 
And Matthew, in obedient service, follows Jesus the moment he calls.

He doesn’t appear to even wonder what will happen when Pharisees wonder what he’s doing with Jesus. He doesn’t appear to even wonder if he is worthy of being called by Jesus in the first place.

He simply obeys Jesus’s command and follows him.

Matthew has two choices in this moment:

✅ Yes I will
❌ No, I won’t
 
Matthew doesn’t get a chance to prepare himself. The expectation here is simple: you either follow and I will teach you what you need to know, or you do not. There is no room for hesitation.

And we see that Matthew heeds the call. He accepts the invitation without hesitation.

Jesus calls this man that everyone else sees as having an unacceptable status, and Matthew doesn’t question why Jesus calls him. He simply gets up and follows.

This is quite incredible.
 
What is implied in Matthew’s choice to follow Jesus is the fact that he must leave his desk – his post presumably given to him by Rome. This desk which is a symbol of his “sinfulness” according to the local customs.

This story, then, is a reminder that God never calls us to something without first calling us away from something else.

In fact, it would be impossible not to be called away from something else, because we all have limited time in our lives and we naturally fill that time with doing things that are important, at least in the moment.
 
Some people may never fully come into discipleship because they find themselves unable to let go of commitments in which they are legitimately engaged before the call of God comes into their lives.

Any of the five disciples mentioned – Peter, Andrew, James, John, or Matthew – could have chosen not to answer the call because they could not leave their work, their families, or the lives they were living to follow.

Similarly, I could have chosen not to answer my call here for the same reasons.
 
I was already legitimately engaged in multiple aspects of life when I received the call here.

In fact, all pastors are legitimately engaged – in ministry, in their communities, in their lives, and often also in the lives of their children – when they receive a call to a new church.

So, choosing to decline a call is understandable. And we don’t actually know – maybe Jesus called others before or in between these disciples who declined to follow because they could not leave the lives they were engaged in.
 
But, the thing about a call or an invitation like this is that you can never get to the next thing that God has for you until you can let go of where you are and follow.

It requires tremendous trust and faith in a God who might be asking you to do something that feels risky, but who is also asking you to trust that the risk will pay off.

It may not always seem that way right away – the disciples, for example, had to go through some extremely difficult periods of danger, grief, and loss in order to follow Jesus.
 
I had to go through some extremely challenging periods over the last 3 years as well.

And, while the challenging moments seem to be fewer and further between, they still crop up.

And yet in both cases, the risk was worth the reward.

The disciples got to experience something that no one else in the history of time got to experience.

And likewise, I have gotten to experience things that I never would have had opportunity for had I not accepted this call.
 
The call of God is far-reaching. Most people – including the Pharisees – who saw Jesus call Matthew questioned that choice.

But Jesus saw something in Matthew that no one else was willing to see. He took a chance on him, and Matthew delivered.

Jesus saw something in Matthew that he deemed worthy.

And Jesus sees something in us that deems us worthy, as well.
 
You can’t get to the next thing that God has for you until you can let go of where you are now and follow the call.

God calls us because we are worthy of being called.

God calls us to step outside our comfortable places and see what else there is to see.

God calls us to a life of wonder and new possibilities.

So, may we each consider what God is calling us to, and may we accept the risk and rewards of following.
 
May you open your heart and your mind to hear God’s call and may you consider boldly stepping forward to accept the call.

God believes you are worthy, and the Good News we hear in scripture is that God wants you to believe you are worthy, too.

So as you leave here today, may you know with certainty that you are worthy – of God’s love, God’s call, and God’s grace.
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Amen.
 
Let us pray:
 
Glorious and gracious God, we come before you today with hope in the future. And, we come before with deep and steady faith that you are always leading us and guiding us, even when life gets difficult or uncertain. We ask that you help us to hear and then heed your call. Help us to take the risk to accept your nudges because we know that we cannot get to the next thing you have for us if we are not willing to put one foot in front of the other. God, help us to be willing. In your holy name, we pray. Amen.