Sermon Title: Preaching to the First Four

Sermon Text: Luke 6:12-15

Sermon Date: January 17, 2010

Scripture

¹² One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. ¹³ When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: ¹⁴ Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, ¹⁵ Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, ¹⁶ Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Ephesians 4:

¹⁵ Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the head, that is, Christ. ¹⁶ From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

MESSAGE

There are some sermons that are easier to bring life to than others. I think in reality there are some weeks easier to preach than others.

I returned to Rochester this past week. I’ve done that a lot lately, mostly for funerals, although there was a wedding last year.

On Friday I officiated at the memorial service of an 87 year-old woman who had been my parishioner but also my dear friend. I saw four other members of my former church, along with other dear friends. It was good to gather with them to honor this amazing woman.

You will also remember that I was there in September to participate at the memorial service of one of my best friends Brenda.

Last summer my son Gregg, granddaughter Shae and I had gone to see both Brenda and Dorothy, not really admitting to ourselves that this could be the last time we saw them. But it was.

But other things weigh on my heart as well. A friend’s mother is dying with heart problems and probably lung cancer. Another friend, age 50, is dying of a brain tumor. A seminary friend died at the age of 42 leaving behind her pastor husband and their Down-Syndrome child. Our custodian Steve Howard’s mother died at the age of 56.

I have to admit that sometimes putting the words together to bring a message is harder than other times.

The sermon isn’t about all of this death, but I just wanted to share with you that these things are on my heart. I’m not having a crisis of faith. I know God is at work in each life and in my mine. I feel God’s presence immensely. I know that God is with Leanne and family, Becky’s family, Dorothy’s friends, Brenda’s loved ones, Martha’s sons and families, Steve and his family. And me. I know that. I feel that. I hope that when you are feeling overwhelmed, you will feel it too. Will you pray with me?

God, I am filled with gratitude for the lives that have been mentioned. Be with each. Be with the families and friends. And be with me as I bring your word to your people. Amen.

The twelve disciples. I wish we knew more about the them. Much of what we know is legend and tradition.

We know that Simon Peter and Andrew are brothers. We know that James and John are brothers, although there seems to be some confusion as to who their mother was. Some traditions do say their mother Salome was Mary’s sister. I have always wondered, but the pesky commas in Scripture don’t clarify it exactly. If it is true, maybe that was why it was easy for her (or them depending which gospel you read) to ask Jesus about sitting beside him in his “glorious kingdom” (Mark 10:37). An aunt asking her nephew….seems like a small favor, don’t you think?

That aside, we know that these four were fishermen and perhaps in business together. It is believed they all came from Galilee and were probably about the same class of people and education.

In the Gospel of John, Andrew is known to us as a disciple of John the Baptist before becoming a follower of Jesus. He introduced his brother Simon Peter to Jesus, found the boy with the five loaves and two fish to help feed the 5,000 and brought a number of Greeks to Jesus at their request. http://www.presbyblog.com/articles/disciples/andrew.html

Andrew’s brother Simon, known to us as Peter, fished with his brother Andrew and, some say they were partners with other fishermen James and John. We will hear Jesus say that Peter will deny him three times before the cock crows on the day Jesus will be crucified.

They were the first four who signed on to be followers of Jesus, leaving everything behind to begin the travels. They were a lot alike. Same coloring, similar thoughts about life and fishing. Very, very much alike.

Then we have Matthew, the tax collector. Matthew, the hated, the detested. No one liked him or anyone in his profession. I’m sure the first four were totally clueless as to why Jesus would call such a despicable person.

Here is how the tax collecting worked: Rome wanted money from the citizens and people were hired to be the IRS Mafia. Taxes must be paid, that was a given. What Rome didn’t care about what how much was actually collected.

Let’s assume that the Roman government wanted each person to pay $100 per year. Since the tax collector was not paid for this “job” he was able to collect whatever he could in order to earn a living, say another $100 for himself. (Think Enron in today’s world.) In other words, he was a legally protected thief, in the eyes of those paying the taxes. And this put him on the same level with prostitutes and criminals.

You can imagine that the first four weren’t too happy with his inclusion into the group. But then others didn’t understand either. Check out Matthew 9 where Jesus had dinner at Matthew’s home. The people who watched this were horrified and wondered why Jesus would hang out with such notorious sinners. Jesus said that healthy people don’t need doctors, only sick people; and he came for the “sinners, not those who think they are already good enough.” (Matthew 9:13)

The other disciple that really gives us food for thought is Simon the Zealot.

Tradition says that Simon became a zealot because he was the bridegroom at the wedding in Cana. You remember that this was the place where Jesus turned water into great wine – his first miracle. It is said that Simon became a zealous follower of Christ. http://www.presbyblog.com/articles/disciples/simonzealot.html

He didn’t actually see the miracle, only heard about it. It wasn’t a huge miracle like raising Lazarus from the dead or healing a leper, but, if this legend is true, it changed Simon regardless.

Whatever it was, something hooked Simon to become such a passionate follower of Jesus that he becomes known as a zealot.

As we look toward the Week of Christian Unity and celebrating the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. and thinking about these six men, I can’t help being reminded of the days in high school. The 60s. Racial unrest. Malcolm X. Martin Luther King Jr. “Letters from a Birmingham Jail.”

Living in a town with no racial diversity, I heard adults wondering why the blacks couldn’t just wait until equality came. Why did they have to march on Washington? Or refuse to sit in the back of the bus. Why didn’t King just keep his mouth shut? On the day he was killed, I heard someone say, “Someone is going to shoot that man.”

The first four of the apostles, according to Dr. Marvin McMickle, professor of preaching at Ashland Seminary and pastor of Antioch Baptist Church in Cleveland and preacher at the Orlando conference, were probably a lot like those who thought that equality would simply come to those who were patient. That the freedom to ride anywhere on the bus, or drink out of any water fountain or sit anywhere they wanted in a restaurant….well, if they just waited, everything would be okay.

But we know that isn’t true. Nor is it true that the people of Haiti deserved the earthquake or that they can take care of this devastation all by themselves.

It just doesn’t work that way. That wasn’t what Jesus had in mind when he called them into ministry.

I have probably told this story before but….

One of the best preachers in America is Fred Craddock, a Disciple of Christ pastor.

Fred told about doing his Ph.D. at a university in the South and working hard at his studies.

One Sunday evening he decided to take a break from his books and went to a diner. He walked in, said hello to the cook and nodded to the black man standing at the counter. Fred sat down and ordered a hamburger and a cup of coffee. The Black man also ordered a hamburger….but to go.

Fred watched as the cook took fresh hamburger and put it on the grill to fry. Then the cook took a hamburger that was nearly burnt from sitting on the grill so long, wrapped it and sold it to the Black man, who paid full price for it and left.

Fred enjoyed his burger and coffee, paid his bill and left the diner to return to school. But outside, sitting on the curb, in the rain was the man eating the burnt hamburger.

Fred said, “And the cock crowed.”

Ephesians says to us: ¹⁶ From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”

Brian McLaren writes in his book, The Secrete Message of Jesus, “Martin Luther King, Jr. learned what happens when you preach an inclusive message of reconciliation.  Bishop Romero learned what happens when you call people to gather rather than scatter.  Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela learned what happens when you try to expand the borders of who is considered ‘in’ and worthy of dignity and respect.  On the one hand, if you start expanding the borders and working for a God-centered inclusive and reconciling network of relationships, you will quickly find that there are plenty of people willing to insult you, imprison you, torture you, and kill you.  They prefer the rigid boundaries and impermeable walls of their narrow domains and constricted turf, not God’s purposefully inclusive kingdom that calls the least ‘the greatest’ and welcomes the outcast” (p. 169).  Devotion from Bruce Frogge, 1/17/10

The disciples, all of them, found ways to be joined and held together. They discovered that first four brought stability but the others brought passion and zeal and the understanding how great the grace of Jesus was.

Together, the gifts we each bring to this place and at this time, are necessary for God to do God’s work in and through us. May we too be joined and held together in God’s love.

Prayer: In the invitation of grace, O Holy One, I have found only open doors and a welcoming spirit.  Help me to make my life resemble what I have come to know through you. Amen.

Gracious God,
I lift my voice in prayer with all the people of the world.

Surround Haiti and her people
with your loving embrace
that they may be:

supported by the world in the work of rescue and recovery;
comforted as they grieve;
strengthened as they bury their dead;
healed as they tend their wounds;
restored in faith and the
hope of things unseen;
and transformed through newness of life in Christ.

Make me an instrument
of divine love, of mercy, of hope, and of new possibility.
Give me eyes to see,
ears to hear, the will to act, and a discerning and generous heart
that I may serve you and those who suffer in whatever way I am able.

In and through the power of the Holy Spirit, I pray. Amen.