Trinity Blog

Luke 12:22-31

²²He said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. ²³For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ²⁴Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! ²⁵And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? ²⁶If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? ²⁷Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. ²⁸But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you — you of little faith! ²⁹And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. ³⁰For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.”

As a Cleveland Browns fan, I am super excited about the direction the team is going.  Both the General Manager and the outstanding additions through free agency and the Coaching Staff and the superior development of those players, leave me excited and anticipating the football season.  But with everything going so well, the cynic in me starts to become worried.  What about injury, what about a lack of chemistry, what about personality clashes, what about …?  I cannot help but have anxiety and/or fear that with everything going well, something bad or unpleasant will happen.

So too with us in the Church.  We do not worry about our sports teams, but we do have a multitude of things to worry about.  Things like the economy and inflation, things like the shortage of gas and chicken wings, things like escalating tensions with China and Russia.  We can find an enormous number of things to have anxiety and/or fear of, that something bad or unpleasant will happen and happen soon.

Hear this Word of the Lord, Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear….  While 1^st Century churches did not have to worry about the stock market, or nuclear war, or the price of gasoline, they did have daily struggles that could consume them and their attentions.  Will we have enough food, will we have basic clothing, and will I be devoured by the local wildlife?  These struggles which thankfully we have phased out of our society still leads to anxiety and that we have plenty of.  While the stresses and triggers are quite different, something resides in our nature that wants to worry and fret about something bad happening today or tomorrow.

But we are told not to worry because life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.  These basic amenities of life were quite able to demand the attention of the ensouled bodies of the first Christians, but they needed reminded that life is more than the basic amenities of life.  While dreadfully important, these things are outranked by the more important elements, in which humans alone are capable.  Jesus uses the analogy to make his point, consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! While important, the basic amenities of life are outranked by things of higher value like virtue, righteousness, and justice.  God knows we need the basics but also has given us the urge for higher desires, the desires of virtue.

We are also told not to worry because, can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest?  As creatures we cannot give ourselves a single hour, only our Creator can do that.  Time is allotted by the free and generous hand of God alone.  If we cannot give ourselves time, then why should we worry about all the other things that God alone can give?  As creatures we must learn to be content in and under the Providence of God to care and minister to God’s creatures, instead of replacing God with ourselves and try to give ourselves more time and more life.

Perhaps this speaks deeply of our fallen human nature to trust only in ourselves and not have to put anything on God.  But that is what Jesus describes as you of little faith! We do not and perhaps even cannot put ourselves under the care of God instead we put ourselves only on own shoulders.  To steal more time, to prevent the catastrophe from occurring, to solicit enough resources for our families, to purchase the food, clothing, and medicine in self-reliance.  But self-reliance is of little faith in God because you put your faith in yourself.  And when you put your faith in yourself, the end is only worry, anxiety and apprehension, because you must play God, with the Real and Living God has been excluded from our worlds.

But what real faith in God and not in us looks like is to strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.  Seek the higher things of God’s Kingdom and the worldly conveniences of daily life will be added unto you.  To search, to desire, to obtain the Kingdom of God first and then our daily resources will be added unto us.  This just begs the question, what do we seek first and then the other things second?  The Kingdom of God and then worldly goods, or worldly goods first and then the Kingdom of God afterward.  This is still the path of worry and anxiety because God is not first and then our goods second, but we worry about our kingdoms and never have time or concern for God.  God is excluded and you are still playing God.

My brothers and sisters, through the Spirit of Jesus Christ we can learn to seek the Kingdom of God first and our daily bread will be added unto us.  To seek the higher concerns instead of the basic pieces of life.  God knows we need them, but God wants us to worry about virtue before food, righteousness before clothing, and justice before our bodies.  This is who God has made us through the work of the Word and the Spirit.  Will we become this people, who seek God’s Kingdom first and then our basic conveniences second? 

Matthew 4: 18-25

¹⁸ As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. ¹⁹ And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” ²⁰ Immediately they left their nets and followed him. ²¹ As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. ²² Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.  ²³ Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. ²⁴ So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he cured them. ²⁵ And great crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

One of my favorite activities to do while on vacation was to go fishing.  We used to rent a cabin at Lake Hope in southern Ohio for a week.  We would spend our time fishing in the lake for whatever we could catch.  Often over the course of the entire week we would have to walk the entire length of the lake.  We would not keep fishing where the fish were not, we would keep moving until we found the fish and when we did, we would stay there until they stopped biting.  We would not stay where there was no fish, we would move around to where the fish were and where the fish were biting.

So too is it when it comes to fishing for people.  In our text from Matthew, Jesus goes fishing for disciples, and to catch them, he must move to where they are.  So, Jesus leaves Nazareth and travels to the Sea of Galilee to fish for people.  The people he wants to catch are not in Nazareth, they are in Capernaum and to catch them, the fish do not move to the fisherman, but the fisherman move to the fish.  Instead of using bait to catch fish, Jesus uses his Word of Summons to call his prospective disciples.  “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” So also with us, Jesus issues his Word of Summons to the entire world, through the Word of the Spirit, summoning us all to the sacred space of following Christ.

But a summons requires an answer and Jesus’ summons is no different.  The invitation into His sacred space must be responded to and the first disciple’s answer.  Immediately they left their nets and followed him.  They transitioned from being catchers of fish to catchers of people.  They entered the sacred space of following and learning and encountering Jesus.  So also with us, Jesus issues us His Word of Summons and that Word requires an answer from us.  If we are summoned to discipleship, we must answer with discipleship and that mean trust in the Master and obedience to his Word.  To Follow Jesus as the first disciples did is to trust and obey. 

But to obey Jesus is become fishers for people; and here is where our resistance enters this picture.  The difficult problem for us is we do not want to leave our closed, safe circles of family and friends and go fishing for strangers.  But if you fish only where there are no fish, you will never catch anything.  To truly catch something, the fisher must move to where the fish is.  Can we fish for people if we never leave the safety of our living rooms and easy chairs?  Can we fish for people if we never leave our sanctuaries and go out into our neighborhoods?  Can we fish for people if we never are around sick people, or jailed people, or unconverted people, or poor people, or people different from us?  How can we catch anyone, if we never leave our safe spaces and enter the spaces where the people are?

But Jesus is not just our Example, but also our Redeemer and this means that he did not come to cure our ignorance, as if that were enough to just tell us the truth.  But Jesus also came to deliver us and to recreate us.  So, Jesus did not just teach his disciples about catching people, but he actually went and did so.  Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.  He did not just teach about reaching people, he went and reached people.

Who better to help us reach and connect with people than the one who not only revealed what being human truly is, but also the one who redeemed us from our inhumanity to remake us as humans?  Who better to help us become fishers of people than the one who is himself the great Fisher of people?  So, we not only are told what our true humanity is – in loving encounter with each other, but through Christ we become truly human – in loving encounter with each other.  In Christ and through Christ we become truly human again.

But my friends at some point if we are to be truly human, we need to leave the safe spaces of your own making and enter the spaces where people are.  We will not encounter them if we do not.  They will never be in our living room; we must move to them.  They will never come into our sanctuary; we must move to them.  They will never come to us; we must move to them.  The fish do not move to the fisher, the fisher moves to the fish.  Jesus fished for people, and to that end he moved towards the people.  Now is the time to go fishing, will you?

Acts 8:26-40

²⁶ Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a wilderness road.) ²⁷ So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship ²⁸ and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. ²⁹ Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to this chariot and join it.” ³⁰ So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” ³¹ He replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. ³² Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this:

      “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,
                         and like a lamb silent before its shearer,
             so he does not open his mouth.
        ³³ In his humiliation justice was denied him.
                        Who can describe his generation?
            For his life is taken away from the earth.”

³⁴ The eunuch asked Philip, “About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” ³⁵ Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. ³⁶ As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?” ³⁸ He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. ³⁹ When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰ But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

Devotion
As a young boy, I enjoyed assembling models, whether made of plastic or wood.  I always had a profound sense of joy after opening the packaging and pulling out the sheets of plastic or wooden parts, and the painting and gluing together of the various pieces and seeing it come together.  But anyone who assembles models will tell you, the model at step 1 looks almost nothing like the finished piece.  The first piece of the engine does not bear any resemblance to the finished and painted car.  Step 1 must be followed by step 2 until all the steps are completed and then the finished model looks like the image on the box.  All the steps must be completed and completed for the masterpiece to be finished.

In our journeys of discipleship, we also walk in time and space by steps.  In our following of the Holy Spirit’s lead, we are led in stages of the one whole journey.  Our moments in the “present” time always take place after our “past” events and always take place before our “future” moments.  Our entire existence as the Covenant Community of Christ, is one long journey of discipleship towards the Shepherd, lived in stages or steps, 1, 2, 3, etc., until we reach the end or goal, the Kingdom of God.

In the story of Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch, Philip clearly displays “discipleship by steps.” Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a wilderness road.)   Here is step 1 of his journey for the moment but notice that the angel neither tells him the next step or even where and why he is going down this wilderness road.  He is only led and guided in a particular space and time, and the reason why and where the journey finishes is hidden from Philip.  Philip is just commanded to follow the Spirit’s lead and Philip does not bicker or complain about the command, he only obeys gladly the Spirit’s lead.

Here is where our discipleship not only differs from Philip’s but also becomes increasingly difficult.  We want to not only know the result of the Spirit’s leading but also what that trip is going to cost us.  As people who have survived the Enlightenment and Modernity, before we make many choices, we must calculate the risks and the costs of such a trip down our wilderness roads.  Where are we going, and do I want to go there?  Who will I meet, and do I want to meet them?  What is the point of going, and what will happen to me there?  Will I be mugged on that road or meet a new friend?  In essence we are not prepared to follow the Spirit’s lead and trusting in the greater purpose of God for that moment.  We want to know, like God knows, why, when, what, and will happen to me down that wilderness road.

We simply want to know what has been deliberately hidden from us by the Spirit.  Tell me the whole journey and the results and I will tell you if I want to go or not.  Is this discipleship towards the Spirit of Jesus Christ, or is this yet another attempt by us to play God and control our own lives?  Are we being the Church of Jesus Christ trusting in God even when the future is hidden, or are we being fallen humans, desiring to know as God knows, which really means we want to be God?  Can we handle being just humans that cannot and should not see the whole picture, traveling by stages trusting and obeying the lead of God, or must be calculate and lead ourselves through life’s stages?  Can we handle being a creature of God, or must we be our own God also?

Perhaps the only hope for us fearful and self-reliant creatures is the Word become Flesh, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Not only is he God who leads and sustains, but because he is also human, and a perfect one at that, he also follows and trusts.  Who better to help us follow the will of God as a human being, than the one who perfectly followed and discipled the Spirit of God?  And if Christ lives in us, then we can at long last, through Christ, begin to disciple God by stages.  And more importantly when we find ourselves in stage 1 of a new journey, and it seems like an absurd step 1 like an afternoon trip down the wilderness road, we can like Philip trust in the plan and sight of the Holy Spirit and obey accordingly. 

My brothers and sisters in Christ, I have no doubt that we all in our discipleship travels, have received at the time some absurd orders, and before we will comply with them, we often want to know the end of the journey with all the corresponding consequences before we begin.  But this is not faith. Faith is trusting the destination and the journey to the Spirit, even when steps 2 through 20 have been hidden from you and step 1 sounds and looks weird.  Through Christ and with Christ, let us follow God’s lead with faith and trust.  Amen.

John 15:1-11

¹“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. ² He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. ³ You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. ⁴ Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. ⁵ I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. ⁷ If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. ⁹ As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. ¹¹ I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

A picture speaks with a thousand words.  No doubt we have heard this cliché.  But the truth of this picture speaks clearly.  For the blind runner, everything depends on the trust he has for his guide.  Through the rope, he is led in the darkness through the course.  Through the rope, he is guided by the runner keeping pace beside him.  Everything depends on the compassion of the guide to keep him running straight and true.  Without the rope and the runner, everything falls back on himself, but with the rope and runner, the obstacles can be overcome. 

So too is it with us in our discipleship.  We are the blind runner struggling with the obstacles of our brokenness and our fallen nature.  But we are not alone in our struggles.  Through the mercy of our Guide-Runner Christ, we have one who condescends to our plight and out of compassion offers the rope of his Spirit to lead us and guide us, as we run our race.  As these two run the cross-country race set before them, so too do we and Christ run the race of human discipleship towards God.  Just as the guide-runner not only keeps pace beside but also leads the fellow runner, so too does Christ keep pace beside us as our fellow Brother, but also guides us in Power and Righteousness in front of us as the Word of God.

Perhaps this illumines the idea that I am the vine; you are the branches.  The vine and the branches share a common bond, the blind-runner and the guide-runner share a common bond, where the one sees for the other, and Christ and the Church share that same bond, Christ leads the Church, and the Church is led.  Just as everything depends on the mercy and lungs of the guide, and the trust of the follower, so too does everything depend on the mercy and the power of Christ and the trust of the followers.  Without keeping pace and guiding along the safe path the runner following is led into hazards and physical obstacles, without Christ keeping pace and guiding us along the safe path, His disciples are led into trials and temptations.  The Vine is joined to the branches, Christ is joined to His Church. 

But the two runners, just do not run for no purpose, so too does the disciple follow Christ, for a purpose.  Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.  The point of the runner following the guide is to reach the goal of completing the race.  The point of abiding or remaining or staying with Christ is to reach the goal of bearing fruit or righteousness.  What if this is why Christ became our Brother and our God, so that we might become right and true as Christ is Right and True.  They finished their race, we are to finish ours, the race of righteousness.

But imagine if you will what happens if the cord is cut.  The blind-runner is back to being alone, the disciple is back to being both guide and follower, and the branch must become the vine again.  Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.  The runner without a guide stops running, the branch without a vine dries up and dies, the disciple without Christ, loses not just the Guide but also their Sustainer.  Instead of running together and succeeding, we run alone and fall short and miss the mark as only a blind runner can.

Perhaps the entire point of this Word of God is the single Word “remain.”  As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; remain in my love.   To follow God is to remain in Christ, to stay in His love and his power.  To follow his lead and his guidance, to trust his compassion and his care for us, to keep the cord and allow Christ to be Master and Lord and we in contentment and joy follow Jesus’ path.  Remain in me and I in you. 

But you and I are not yet to the point of remaining in Christ every moment of every day.  We have our moments of being the branches on the vine, or being the runner clinging faithfully to the cord, but we also have our moments when we cut ourselves off from the vine or drop our end of the cord altogether.  This you see allows us to make our own choices, make our own goals or agendas, or in sheer spite just do what we want instead of following.  Perhaps those choices involve how we spend our money, how we use our time, or how we vote, or whether we worship this Sunday, volunteer with a charity, or invest in a relationship with a neighbor and staying home, working on our gardens, and investing in ourselves.  Instead of holding the cord, we cut the cord in independence and downright mutiny. 

My friends, what would it look like or what would it take for us to remain in Christ a little more in our lives and to leave Christ a little less this day and the ones to come?  Might it be a little more daily and weekly worship?  Perhaps a little more solitary prayer and a little more doing everything prayerfully?  Maybe more studying of our Bibles and reading difficult books that challenge and stretch our thinking?  What if it means more loving service of our neighbors?  Whatever it looks like for us, are we willing to remain more and more in Christ and reduce cutting or dropping the cord of Life?  This is our daily struggle, let us remain and abide in Christ as He remains and abides in us.  I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.  Amen and Thanks be to God.