Uplift Life

Scripture: Ephesians 3:14-21, John 6:1-15
Title: Enough
(listen here)

This morning we begin 5 weeks in John Chapter 6. Yes. 5.
This large section of John (71 verses in all) is commonly referred to as “the bread of life discourse.” Most recognizable to us in this upcoming few weeks will be the number of times Jesus refers to himself as the “bread of life.”
But before we can go there, we have to start here, at the feeding of the 5000.
This miracle is what sets up the next 60 verses of John’s 6th chapter. Today we see the miracle – the next few weeks will be Jesus explaining what that miracle means.
This is the only miracle that appears in all four Gospel accounts, so we know it’s a big deal.
It’s a story we are probably very familiar with – that we’ve been hearing about since our earliest days in Sunday school. (After all, it’s a little boy that brings the food forward to Jesus that is used for this miracle, so of course we’d hear about it as kids.)

In John’s Gospel, the focus isn’t on the miracles at all, in fact, John calls them signs instead of miracles because he wants us to know one thing and one thing only – that what happens here today is a sign of who Jesus is.
Each time something miraculous happens in John’s Gospel, a little bit more of Jesus is revealed to us.
So that of course, brings us to this story today.
What is revealed about Jesus through this sign, the feeding of 5000?
Jesus sees a large crowd, finds a small bit of food, and he distributes it and somehow everyone is fed AND they have leftovers. The people were hungry, and Jesus fed them.
Through this text today – we learn that something important happens when we encounter Jesus – our needs are taken care of, whatever they are – and John wants us to know that Jesus won’t just meet a need, but will meet it in abundance. Jesus fed the people, but he didn’t just give them a bit and hope it would tide them over until they got home later.
Jesus gave them so much more than needed.
So this sign sets up the next 60 verses with a theme of abundance. It’s an important theme to remember as we move forward in these upcoming weeks, as we hear Jesus tell us that He is the bread of life, and he’ll tell us what it means to be fed this bread of life in abundance.

But before we can do any of that – before we can really understand abundance, we have to first talk about scarcity.
Scarcity is a mindset that revolves around the idea that there isn’t enough.
That the resources of the world, or our own personal resources are limited.

We see this scarcity mindset in today’s text through the actions of the disciples:
verse 7 – six months wages would not buy enough bread for each to get a little
verse 9 – but what are they (five loaves, two fish) among so many people?
Do you see how they are thinking with a mindset of scarcity?
They can’t even imagine a scenario in which what they have could possibly be enough.

Our own scarcity mindset shows up all over the place too.
We are told, quite often – that we need more.
We need more money, more power, more stuff.
And, this scarcity principle also plays out in our relationships with each other and with God.

One of my favorite authors and bloggers Glennon Melton had this to say about our scarcity mindset: we believe that there is a scarcity of good things in the universe. And that belief makes us kind of small and scared and unable to feel true joy for others or peace for ourselves.
Let’s see.
When a friend, or God forbid, a frenemy, mentions that she’s received a promotion at work, her son won an award at school, she’s just bought her third vacation home, or recently lost ten pounds…how do we feel?I know we say we feel happy for her, but how do we really feel? I think sometimes we really feel a little panicked. Like a determined bride at one of those terrifying Filene’s Basement wedding dress sales, we feel like our friend’s news means that now we have to run a little faster, push a little harder and get more aggressive in general. Because we think if our friend’s family is getting extra money, approval, admiration, and general blessings…that must mean there are fewer of those things less left over for our family. …
Like an author I love wrote, some of us believe that there is a “cosmic pie” and a bigger piece of goodness for you means a smaller piece for me.
Think about the people in your life who operate under this scarcity principle. You know who they are, right? They’re the people who cannot stand for light to shine on others. Who grab attention back as soon as they feel they’ve lost it in a conversation, who respond to your news with their bigger news. They find little acceptable ways to put people down. They are the ones who make you feel jumpy and nervous in general. And when you leave their company, you feel sort of discombobulated and smaller but you can’t put your finger on why.

I have to confess that I’ve struggled with this a lot.
I’ve felt that way leaving conversations before.
And, quite honestly, I know I’ve been the one to make others feel that way too.
I’ve bought into the scarcity mindset.
And I know I’m not alone.
I think we’ve all bought into this myth in one way or another.
We have bought into the belief that what we have isn’t enough so we put ourselves in debt to have newer bigger better.
We have bought into the belief that there isn’t enough for everyone so we have to fight for our slice of the pie.
We have bought into the belief that what we bring to the table isn’t enough. That there’s no way I’m enough…
We’ve bought into the belief that we aren’t enough.
This scarcity mindset applies to our faith as well.
We believe that God’s grace isn’t enough.
That God’s forgiveness is big enough for SOME things, but not MY thing, or not that person’s thing.
We’ve bought into this idea that God’s love is big, sure, but it’s not unlimited.
We are living in a culture of scarcity, and we are fully engaged in it.
We’re all in.

So what does God do with this?
When the disciples are fully engaged in this mindset of scarcity Jesus takes the little bit they have, the thing they believe is not enough, and blows their idea of scarcity out of the water.
If signs reveal something to us about God through Jesus – then what we have revealed to us today is that God’s kingdom is not one of scarcity, but one of abundance.
Not only did the 5000 eat until they were filled, but they had food left over! And not just a little bit left over, but 12 baskets.
Scarcity doesn’t exist in the kingdom of God.
And when we’re fully immersed in it, as we are, we can trust that God doesn’t let us stay in this mindset of scarcity for very long.
Just like with the disciples, Jesus takes our lives and fills it with abundance.
So we can stop worrying.
So we can believe that there is enough.
This is what Jesus reveals to us today.
When we think we aren’t good enough -or when we think that there isn’t enough grace and love and forgiveness to go around… Jesus proves us wrong.
Over and over and over again.

Later in that same talk about scarcity – Glennon says “quit fighting for a bigger slice of pie and just bake a bigger pie, and then invite everyone to share in it with you.”

Through Jesus – God has made the biggest pie, for us.
And there is enough.
More than enough.
Enough for you and for me.
Enough that we can eat our fill and invite others to share in it with us.

If this is mind-boggling for you, you are not alone – look what Paul says to the church in Ephesus in verse 20 that Linda read for us today:

“(Jesus) by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine…”
Imagine the most grace and love and forgiveness you can, and God’s love and forgiveness and grace is still more than that.
More than we can even imagine.
More.
This is the good news.
It’s not what we have or what we bring or what we can or cannot do that makes a difference… it’s Jesus working in and through us and our offerings to transform the world.

Let’s go back to that Sunday school story, and imagine for a moment the little boy bringing his two fish and five barley loaves forward.
Imagine how he felt when the disciples pulled him forward to give his food to the crowd.
Not only did he know without a doubt that it wasn’t enough for that whole crowd, maybe he wondered if he’d even get any of it at all, if he’d be left out of the meal.
After all, he was just a kid.
No one important.
Maybe he worried. Worried that he’d go to bed hungry tonight.
Worried he’d have to explain to his parents where his food went.
Worried that the crowd would be upset that they didn’t get more food.
And then, imagine what he was thinking as he watched Jesus bring that food around to everyone. As HIS five loaves and two fish fed everyone.
Imagine what he was thinking as he saw basket after basket of leftovers be filled up.

This is what God does with us.
With who we are and what we bring.
Jesus is working in us right now, transforming our mindset of scarcity into abundance.
Over and over and over again, Jesus tells us:
What you have is enough.
Because you have me.
Who you are is enough.
Because You are a child of God
Christ has worked for you and is working in you right now…
and you are enough.

itle: Enough

This morning we begin 5 weeks in John Chapter 6.  Yes. 5.

This large section of John (71 verses in all) is commonly referred to as “the bread of life discourse.” Most recognizable to us in this upcoming few weeks will be the number of times Jesus refers to himself as the “bread of life.”

But before we can go there, we have to start here, at the feeding of the 5000.

This miracle is what sets up the next 60 verses of John’s 6th chapter.  Today we see the miracle – the next few weeks will be Jesus explaining what that miracle means.

This is the only miracle that appears in all four Gospel accounts, so we know it’s a big deal.

It’s a story we are probably very familiar with – that we’ve been hearing about since our earliest days in Sunday school.  (After all, it’s a little boy that brings the food forward to Jesus that is used for this miracle, so of course we’d hear about it as kids.)

In John’s Gospel, the focus isn’t on the miracles at all, in fact, John calls them signs instead of miracles because he wants us to know one thing and one thing only – that what happens here today is a sign of who Jesus is.

Each time something miraculous happens in John’s Gospel, a little bit more of Jesus is revealed to us.

So that of course, brings us to this story today.

What is revealed about Jesus through this sign, the feeding of 5000?

Jesus sees a large crowd, finds a small bit of food, and he distributes it and somehow everyone is fed AND they have leftovers.  The people were hungry, and Jesus fed them.
Through this text today – we learn that something important happens when we encounter Jesus – our needs are taken care of, whatever they are – and John wants us to know that Jesus won’t just meet a need, but will meet it in abundance.  Jesus fed the people, but he didn’t just give them a bit and hope it would tide them over until they got home later.
Jesus gave them so much more than needed.

So this sign sets up the next 60 verses with a theme of abundance.  It’s an important theme to remember as we move forward in these upcoming weeks, as we hear Jesus tell us that He is the bread of life, and he’ll tell us what it means to be fed this bread of life in abundance.

But before we can do any of that – before we can really understand abundance, we have to first talk about scarcity.

Scarcity is a mindset that revolves around the idea that there isn’t enough.

That the resources of the world, or our own personal resources are limited.

We see this scarcity mindset in today’s text through the actions of the disciples:

verse 7 – six months wages would not buy enough bread for each to get a little

verse 9 – but what are they (five loaves, two fish) among so many people?

Do you see how they are thinking with a mindset of scarcity?

They can’t even imagine a scenario in which what they have could possibly be enough.

Our own scarcity mindset shows up all over the place too.

We are told, quite often – that we need more.

We need more money, more power, more stuff.

And, this scarcity principle also plays out in our relationships with each other and with God.

One of my favorite authors and bloggers Glennon Melton had this to say about our scarcity mindset:  we believe that there is a scarcity of good things in the universe. And that belief makes us kind of small and scared and unable to feel true joy for others or peace for ourselves.

Let’s see.

When a friend, or God forbid, a frenemy, mentions that she’s received a promotion at work, her son won an award at school, she’s just bought her third vacation home, or recently lost ten pounds…how do we feel?I know we say we feel happy for her, but how do we really feel? I think sometimes we really feel a little panicked. Like a determined bride at one of those terrifying Filene’s Basement wedding dress sales, we feel like our friend’s news means that now we have to run a little faster, push a little harder and get more aggressive in general. Because we think if our friend’s family is getting extra money, approval, admiration, and general blessings…that must mean there are fewer of those things less left over for our family. …

Like an author I love wrote, some of us believe that there is a “cosmic pie” and a bigger piece of goodness for you means a smaller piece for me.

Think about the people in your life who operate under this scarcity principle. You know who they are, right? They’re the people who cannot stand for light to shine on others. Who grab attention back as soon as they feel they’ve lost it in a conversation, who respond to your news with their bigger news. They find little acceptable ways to put people down. They are the ones who make you feel jumpy and nervous in general. And when you leave their company, you feel sort of discombobulated and smaller but you can’t put your finger on why.

I have to confess that I’ve struggled with this a lot.

I’ve felt that way leaving conversations before.

And, quite honestly, I know I’ve been the one to make others feel that way too.

I’ve bought into the scarcity mindset.

And I know I’m not alone.

I think we’ve all bought into this myth in one way or another.

We have bought into the belief that what we have isn’t enough so we put ourselves in debt to have newer bigger better.

We have bought into the belief that there isn’t enough for everyone so we have to fight for our slice of the pie.

We have bought into the belief that what we bring to the table isn’t enough. That there’s no way I’m enough…

We’ve bought into the belief that we aren’t enough.

This scarcity mindset applies to our faith as well.

We believe that God’s grace isn’t enough.

That God’s forgiveness is big enough for SOME things, but not MY thing, or not that person’s thing.

We’ve bought into this idea that God’s love is big, sure, but it’s not unlimited.

We are living in a culture of scarcity, and we are fully engaged in it.

We’re all in.

So what does God do with this?

When the disciples are fully engaged in this mindset of scarcity Jesus takes the little bit they have, the thing they believe is not enough, and blows their idea of scarcity out of the water.

If signs reveal something to us about God through Jesus – then what we have revealed to us today is that God’s kingdom is not one of scarcity, but one of abundance.

Not only did the 5000 eat until they were filled, but they had food left over!  And not just a little bit left over, but 12 baskets.

Scarcity doesn’t exist in the kingdom of God.

And when we’re fully immersed in it, as we are, we can trust that God doesn’t let us stay in this mindset of scarcity for very long.

Just like with the disciples, Jesus takes our lives and fills it with abundance.

So we can stop worrying.

So we can believe that there is enough.

This is what Jesus reveals to us today.

When we think we aren’t good enough -or when we think that there isn’t enough grace and love and forgiveness to go around… Jesus proves us wrong.

Over and over and over again.

Later in that same talk about scarcity – Glennon says “quit fighting for a bigger slice of pie and just bake a bigger pie, and then invite everyone to share in it with you.”

Through Jesus – God has made the biggest pie, for us.

And there is enough.

More than enough.

Enough for you and for me.

Enough that we can eat our fill and invite others to share in it with us.

If this is mind-boggling for you, you are not alone – look what Paul says to the church in Ephesus in verse 20 that Linda read for us today:

“(Jesus) by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine…”

Imagine the most grace and love and forgiveness you can, and God’s love and forgiveness and grace is still more than that.

More than we can even imagine.

More.

This is the good news.

It’s not what we have or what we bring or what we can or cannot do that makes a difference… it’s Jesus working in and through us and our offerings to transform the world.

Let’s go back to that Sunday school story, and imagine for a moment the little boy bringing his two fish and five barley loaves forward.

Imagine how he felt when the disciples pulled him forward to give his food to the crowd.

Not only did he know without a doubt that it wasn’t enough for that whole crowd, maybe he wondered if he’d even get any of it at all, if he’d be left out of the meal.

After all, he was just a kid.
No one important.

Maybe he worried.  Worried that he’d go to bed hungry tonight.

Worried he’d have to explain to his parents where his food went.

Worried that the crowd would be upset that they didn’t get more food.

And then, imagine what he was thinking as he watched Jesus bring that food around to everyone.  As HIS five loaves and two fish fed everyone.

Imagine what he was thinking as he saw basket after basket of leftovers be filled up.

This is what God does with us.
With who we are and what we bring.

Jesus is working in us right now, transforming our mindset of scarcity into abundance.

Over and over and over again, Jesus tells us:

What you have is enough.

Because you have me.

Who you are is enough.

Because You are a child of God

Christ has worked for you and is working in you right now…

and you are enough.

Listen to this sermon here.

For the past two weeks, Layla has been waking up with nightmares.  Sometimes 2-3 or three times a night.  It usually goes something like this: I’m awakened from a deep sleep by Layla shouting “MOOOOM!” over and over in increasing volume and intensity until I stumble blindly and half sleeping into her room.

And then she tells me about the scary dream, I give her a snuggle, a sip of water, tell her it’s not real, but I’m here and she’s ok, I give her a smooch, and she goes back to sleep.

Sometimes I think she just wants to know that she’s not alone when she wakes up scared.
And honestly – I think that’s how I feel when I’m scared too, but since I’m about 30 years older than Layla it’s not really socially acceptable for me to call my mom when something scares me. (though sometimes I still do)

The texts today, from Mark and from Job, have this same underlying feeling.  They both describe a basic human need that we all have – to feel we are not alone when bad things happen or when we’re scared.
In the Gospel lesson from Mark, we have the somewhat familiar story of Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee.
Many of us have likely heard this story before, and the lesson we hear in response to this text is usually the same:
Sometimes we are in storms, but don’t be afraid, Jesus will calm them.
And while I think this isn’t a horrible interpretation of the text, I also don’t think it’s necessarily a good one either.

Because what if you are in a storm and the storm doesn’t get better?
Does that mean Jesus didn’t hear you?
Does that mean you didn’t have enough faith?
This is why, in my opinion, assuming that this text is about trusting Jesus to calm the storm is the wrong one to make.

So what is this story of Jesus calming the storm really about then?

The text today begins with verse 35, “On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “let us go across to the other side.””
What a start!
This one small verse has so many details in it:
On that day: what day?
The same day that we heard about last week.  Where Jesus preaches all sorts of parables about the Kingdom of God to the large crowds on the hillside by the Sea of Galilee.

What time of that day? Evening.

He said to them – which we know means Jesus talking to the disciples.

And what does Jesus say? “let us go across to the other side”

So we know, from last week, that Jesus is in Capernaum, on the west side of the Sea of Galilee, and the disciples don’t know it, but we know that “across to the other side” means the Gerasene territory.

The Sea of Galilee is a stunning area.
Beautiful, warm, and in the Jordan River Valley, it’s surrounded by hills and mountains. But it’s a shallow lake, and known for being in a strange sort of ecosystem, where storms pop up with little to no warning and escalate quickly into dangerous territory.
So one thing you never do is go out on the lake at night.
It’s not done.
But it’s evening, “the end of the day” and Jesus says they should get in the boat to go to the other side, AND THEY DO.
This is insane.
They don’t question – they just get in the boat.
These disciples are fishermen, they should know this even more than the average guy.
And a storm comes up while they are traveling across the lake and it gets bad.
The boat is going down.
When the disciples call to Jesus – who is sleeping – they literally think they are dying – that this is it.
Notice they don’t ask Jesus to calm the storm.
No, they shout to him, “don’t you care that we’re dying?!”
Not help us Jesus.
But – don’t you care?
They are, in essence, asking: Where are you Jesus?
They don’t want Jesus to fix everything, they want to know they aren’t alone.

Yet Jesus gets up and calms the storm.

And then, you’d think all is better, but what does Mark say happens next?  The disciples are even more scared than before.
The Greek literally says they feared a great fear.
But it’s a different kind of fear than before… instead of fear for their lives, as during the storm, the disciples’ great fear here is more awe than terror.
Because they’ve just witnessed the full power of what Jesus can do, and they realize Jesus is a lot bigger than they had even begun to hope for.

So they wonder – in fact, this whole passage ends with a question: “Who then is this – that even the wind and sea obey him?”

And it is left unresolved.
If you’re anything like me, you don’t like it when things aren’t resolved.
You want answers, because answers mean you understand it.
But we don’t get that here.
At all.
And maybe that’s ok.
I think maybe not having all the answers might actually be the point here.

And that’s made even more clear when read next to the Job text from this morning.
Job has lost everything, and his friends have tried and tried and tried to give him the reasons why.
Even Job has tried to figure out why.
And, even though today’s text from Job is best read in the context of the ENTIRE 42 chapters, this section’s point is pretty clear.
Are you God?
Did you create the world?
No?
Then stop talking.
This whole section is basically a God smack down.
And while it seems kind of harsh, I think the core message of it is the same as Mark’s Gospel today:
Sometimes the why is not always knowable, and we don’t have all the answers, but the answers aren’t what is important… what is important is what we CAN know.

God is with us.

Job’s deeper need was to know that God had not abandoned him, that God still cared.
The same goes with the disciples – when they called out to Jesus in the midst of the storm, they didn’t ask for help, they asked if God still cared.

So what does this mean for us?

I like to think we are asked to get in the boat.
We are all asked to make a journey.
We don’t know where we are going.
We don’t know what the journey will be like.
We don’t know what is going to happen when we get to the other side.
And sometimes, the act of faith isn’t trusting that God will calm the storms on the way, but our act of faith is getting in the boat in the first place.

So today we are asked to get in the boat.
Despite all those things we don’t know.
All the variables we can’t predict.

But what we do know, what we can be completely and totally confident in is that being loved by God means we are not alone.

It is because we can’t see and don’t know and are almost always afraid – God sends us Jesus.
Someone who gets in the boat with us.
And having Jesus with us changes things.
But not always the way we think – the world doesn’t suddenly get easier when we have Jesus with us.
In fact, sometimes it’s even harder.
Storms still come.
We are still afraid.

We had a reminder of how dark and scary the world can be again this week.
When a gunman attacked a group of African American Christians in the midst of a Bible study.
We turned on the news and heard story after story about hate and anger and we felt sadness and fear.
Fear because we were reminded of how fragile life is.
Fear because we were shown that darkness can reach into any place.
And we experienced again how easy it can be to let our fear take over.
So maybe this morning, we too want to call out to God – don’t you care?!
Look – look around us God!  See what’s happening?
Don’t you see that we are perishing?
The cry of the disciples is our cry too, each and every time we encounter the darkness of this world.

I was reminded this week by my friend and colleague Pastor Kat, that we often rush into the midst of things that are scary and try to calm people down by saying “shhhh, it’s ok… there is nothing to be afraid of.”
I do this each time I run into Layla’s room in the middle of the night.
It’s our knee-jerk reaction to calm fear by downplaying it’s reality.
But, I think this is wrong.

There IS a lot to be afraid of in this world.
There’s cancer, and unemployment, car crashes, and floods, and war and violence and hate.
There is a lot of scary stuff out there.
And we can’t ignore it.
We can’t minimize it, and we can’t pretend it doesn’t exist.

Our world is a scary place.
That’s the reality in which we live.
Sometimes, when we wake up to news like we all heard on Thursday morning, we wonder if in fact the darkness is overtaking the light… if maybe the darkness is winning.
And sometimes, we let fear take over for a little bit.

But God doesn’t ever tell us that there’s nothing to be afraid of, God says, over and over again, Do Not Be Afraid.
And there is a big difference between the two.
It’s not that we don’t have things to be afraid of, but we are told NOT to be afraid because God is with us.

And today we are also reminded that the opposite of fear isn’t courage – it’s faith.
God is in the boat with us.
God is here with us.
Today, the actions of Jesus help move us from terror to awe.
From fear to faith.
Today is our reminder that no matter what questions we have,
no matter how complex the mysteries of God are,
no matter how stormy our lives get,
no matter how sinful we are,
no matter how scary the world around us might be,
no matter what happens on our journey to the other side,
God is right there with us.

We are not alone.

That’s what God wanted us to know and learn and taste and see when he sent Jesus.

We are not alone.
And we are loved.  We are SO loved.

All of us.

Those who are struggling to manage their fear and anxiety in a world that often feels more dark than light are loved.

Those who gather in churches around the world today despite fearing for their lives because of what they believe or where they are meeting are loved.

Even those who are filled with fear that has turned into hate and somehow act on it are loved.

God sent Jesus into the world, into our world, to be with us, to love us, and to be our light in the darkness.

Do not be afraid.
The light has come into the world, and the darkness, the fear, cannot and will not overcome it.

AMEN

Sermons are meant to be heard – not just read – so consider taking a listen!

Scripture: Acts 1:15-17, 21-26,  John 17:6-8, 13-19
Title: Drawing the Short Straw

I know it’s hard to believe, but I wasn’t always this specimen of strength and athleticism you see before you today.

This week, when Katie and I were talking about her kid’s time, I told her the story of my skinny, weak, gangly self playing kickball in elementary school.  Every time I came up to kick, the other team would yell out “step in!” and everyone would move forward.

It was the worst.

And as my lack of kickball skills were common knowledge, I was most often picked last for the team.
It would usually be between me and another gangly awkward kid, and we would both be silently hoping that our name was next.  Because even though it wasn’t a great place to be, being second-to-last wasn’t nearly as horrible and humiliating as being the last picked.

So when I first read today’s reading from Acts, I read it through a different lens.
The lens of not being the a-team.
The lens of not being chosen first.
And I heard about Matthias and Barsabbas and couldn’t help but wonder if they felt at all like I did, standing there, next to the other person, hoping it’s your name called first.

The location of both of today’s texts are important – not where they physically take place, but where they are located historically and in our church year.
Today is the final Sunday of Easter.
Next week is Pentecost.
This past Thursday was Ascension Day, the day where Jesus ascends into heaven to be at the right hand of God.

So this morning finds the disciples in this strange in-between zone.  They have followed Jesus, learned from him, watched him be killed, they’ve seen him rise from the dead, and have just watched him go back to be with God.  So the question for them is… now what?What do we do now?

Well, Peter, being the practical leader that he is, decides that the most important thing to do in this moment is to replace Judas.
While it’s been argued among scholars the exact reasoning for Peter’s decision, most agree that keeping the connection to the 12 tribes of Israel and remaining true to the prophecies were the main ones.

The remaining 11 disciples decided that this new disciple should come from among those who had been with them during Jesus’ ministry. After all, who better to tell the good news of Christ than someone who had been there and had seen it all?
So they propose two guys for this job: Matthias and Barsabbas.
And then, believe it or not, they cast lots to decide.
A flip of the coin decides who is the new 12th disciple.
They didn’t take resumes.
They didn’t conduct interviews.
They just said, you two guys stand here, heads it’s Barsabbas, tails its Matthias.
Ready, set. … Tails – Matthias, you’re in.
Sorry Barsabbas.  Better luck next time.

I feel for these guys.
I’m sure for them, this moment was not great.
They hadn’t been included in the original 12, so there’s that good start.
And then this – to be picked by a flip of the coin?
Rough.

I think a lot of us can relate – even if you were among the lucky ones who were picked first for kickball and other playground sports – you can still relate to that moment that seems so important when it’s happening, but in reality doesn’t do a whole lot to the big picture.

This text makes me laugh a bit because the disciples are worrying about this one little thing and right around the corner is Pentecost and they have NO CLUE what is about to happen.  Here they are, voting to bring just one guy into their inner circle, and next week, the Holy Spirit destroys that very inner circle and brings everyone else on board.

It’s going to blow their mind.
It makes me wonder what little things in my world are going to be blown out of the water by the Holy Spirit.
And despite what is about to come, despite that we never hear about Matthias again after today, this moment is still important enough to have been recorded, for us to hear about, not because one individual is going to save the whole of God’s plan … but he matters because he was a part of what made the team complete.
He is called, but the plan isn’t contingent on him.

God is going to work.

Things are going to happen with or without Matthias.
Things are going to happen if the lot would have fallen on Barsabbas.
Whether the disciples like it or not, whether they are ready or not, the Holy Spirit is coming.
And for us – it’s already happened.
The Holy Spirit has come.
God is working in the world already.  Right now.
And the good news for us?
The lot has already been cast.
The coin was flipped, and God spoke YOUR name.
You are in.
God has called us disciples.
And while God’s plan isn’t contingent on you – your presence makes the team complete.
The team needs you.

This is what I think Jesus is saying in today’s Gospel.
We come across Jesus praying to God, praying for his disciples to God.
Jesus knows what is coming.
Jesus knows that he is going to go away, but he is praying that those disciples who are still here might be reminded that the work is not done yet.
We’re disciples too.  This prayer is for us.
We have all been sent.

John 17:18 Jesus says “As you (God)have sent me (Jesus) into the world, so I (Jesus) have sent them (us) into the world.”

That’s how it works.
There’s a plan here:
God sends Jesus.
Jesus sends us.
Because there is still a lot of work for us to do.

In the final verse of today’s Gospel Jesus says that he has made us holy.
Sanctified.
That word literally means to be made holy, or to be set apart for God.

I want to focus on this word for a second, because I think we can hear “set apart” and think it means “stay apart.”  That we should be separate from the world around us.
But it’s the rest of that definition that matters most.
Sanctified means to be set apart FOR GOD.
For God.
We are set apart, sanctified, We are being made holy FOR something, and Jesus tells us today that we are to go out into the world.

Pope Francis once said “I prefer a church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security.”

I think this is what we all want to be.
We WANT to be this kind of church.  Be this kind of disciples.
But I also think that we don’t really know how.
Our world today gives us a lot of information, but not a lot of action.
We hear a lot of opinions about how to make the world better, but don’t see a lot of people actually doing the things they talk about.
I’m guilty of this too.
I can be the best armchair activist the world has ever seen.

But I’m not sure that’s what God is asking.
I think God is asking us for more than armchair activism.

This is why Jesus prays today.
He is praying for us.
Jesus knows how hard it is to go out and DO.
So he prays for us who are sent.
For the wisdom and strength to do more.
To recognize that our names have been called.   

I spent the last two days at the Minneapolis Area Synod Assembly in Ramsey, and along with a few of our congregational delegates, I heard the call to go out.
The theme was “The Word became flesh, and moved into the neighborhood”

We are asked to be about more than talking.
To be about more than focusing on things inside this building, and more on going out and doing.

Our keynote speaker Brian McLaren reminded us that being disciples isn’t about bringing people into the church, it’s about going out, into the neighborhood and BEING the church.

Now for some of you – maybe even a lot of you – this is as uncomfortable a task as when Chad asked you to change pews last week.
Go out?
Be the church out there?
But I like it in here.
It’s safe.
And I know people.
And my pew is comfy.

I get it.

This is no easy task.

But there is a lot of work to be done still, and if we don’t do it.  If we don’t go out and show the love of Christ to the community around us, the love that WE have received from God first – then who will?

There’s a story from the Old Testament, when Moses was giving one of his many arguments to God as to why he was the wrong person to lead the Israelites out of slavery – and God simply asked Moses – what’s in your hand?
For Moses – it was a shepherd’s staff, and God used that staff to make all sorts of miracles happen.

Moses didn’t go out and get something new.
He didn’t do something he had never done before.
He simply took what he knew and let God make it holy.
He let God set him apart for the work of God.

And look what happened.

This same thing is being asked of you today:
What’s in your hand?

Today, I want us to imagine.

I want us to imagine together how we might be invited to join God already at work in the world.
I want us to imagine together what it might look like to make the world a better place for God.
I want us to imagine together what our own personal gifts and talents and passions might have been set apart for.

God is already at work in the world.

We can either sit here, safe in our pews, surrounded by people who look and think and believe a lot like us, or we can go out.

God will love us either way.
God calls us beloved no matter which one we choose.

But we can go into a broken, hurting, needy world, and share with them the love we have been given.

So as we watch this video, as we are reminded of the prayer that Jesus prayed for his disciples, for us, and for the world, I want you to imagine what these words might mean for you.

Jesus has called you.

Jesus has sanctified you.

Jesus is sending you.

Now what?

Video

http://www.theworkofthepeople.com/jesus-said-these-things