Sermons
A Message by the Rev. Harvey G. Throop
Palisades Presbyterian Church
San Diego, California
September 20 , 2009
Responding to Christ
(John 1:35-50)
“When Jesus turned and saw them following,
he said to them,“What are you looking for?”
(John 1:38)
If I were to ask you to write an account of your Christian journey, how would you begin your story? How and where did it all start? Were you born into a Christian family and your faith was just a natural part of your childhood experience? Was there a special experience or encounter that changed your life? Was there an individual who impacted your life? How did you become a Christian? How would you answer?
I have no doubt but that each of our stories would be both interesting but also unique. Our experiences would span the gamut, so to speak.
It's interesting to read through the Gospels and discover the ways in which various people became followers of Jesus. I find it fascinating to read about the encounters out of which they became drawn to Jesus.
The unique thing about their beginning, however, was that the particular circumstances from which they were called were different from that of anyone else and the particular service to which they were called were also unique from each other's.
The same still holds true for us today. The discipleship to which I am called is different from the discipleship to which you are called. And each of our discipleships differs from that of our neighbors.
Perhaps the most important question with which each of us must deal is to identify what the nature of our discipleship to Jesus is all about. In what is it going to issue? What is going to set it apart from the discipleship of anyone else?
When one studies the Gospels, one of the first things one notices is that every time Jesus meets an individual, he conditions his call to discipleship to that particular individual's unique situation. We see this very clearly in the first five chapters of the Gospel of John.
In chapter 1, for example, John the Baptist is standing with two of his own followers and when he sees Jesus, he says to them, “Look, here is the Lamb of God” (John 1:36). So these two followers of John hear his words and they take off after Jesus. Jesus sees them coming toward him and he asks them, “What are you looking for?” (John 1:38). That sounds like a rather abrupt question.
We might have expected Jesus to say to them, “Hey, nice to see you guys. Are you going to join us?” Instead, Jesus asks, “What are you looking for?”
New Testament commentator, William Barclay, writes about these two and he poses some interesting questions. Who were these two … legalists, looking for profound conversations and discussions about the law? They could look elsewhere. Were they militants looking for a revolutionary leader who would commit to overthrowing the Roman government? Forget it. Were they humble men of prayer seeking the lifestyle of a monastery? They could join with the Essenes (Barclay, The Gospel of John , The Daily Study Bible Series, Westminster Press [Philadelphia, 1956], p. 69, 70).
“What are you looking for?” It was a blunt and even harsh-sounding question. Whatever their agenda, these two men respond to Jesus by following him.
The next time Jesus calls someone, it is Simon. Jesus looks at Simon and says, “So you're Simon, the son of John? You shall be called Cephas -- Rock! He doesn't call Peter with a question, “What are you looking for?” Rather, Jesus calls Peter with a vision of what Peter might yet become -- Rock. Peter? What a joke! Peter: the guy you could never trust; the guy you could never count on; his word is never any good. One day, he's hot – the next day, he's cold. Jesus calls him to discipleship with a vision of what Peter might yet become – ROCK!
The next person Jesus calls is Phillip. Jesus says to him, “Follow me” (John 1:43). A direct order. Notice that. Jesus always addresses the will – not the emotions.
“Love one another” is a command to the will. We are called by Jesus to love all kinds of people – even people we can't stand. Jesus is not summoning us to have warm and tender feelings for unlikable people. He is asking us, rather, to serve their best interests. One can never command another person's emotions. But you can command their will. Jesus says to Phillip, “Follow me.”
The next person Jesus calls to discipleship is Nathaniel. Jesus says to him, “Ah, an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” (John 1:47). That's a humorous compliment. “Israel”, of course, means “Jacob.” Jacob, as you know, was one of the trickiest persons in the Old Testament. He conned his brother, Esau, out of both his birthright (a double share of their inheritance from their father) and the blessing, the words bestowed on the oldest son by a dying father. Jesus is saying of Nathanael, “Ah, a Jacobite in whom there is no Jacob.” It's kind of a subtle humor – a compliment.
Next, we turn to John 3 where somebody else is called to discipleship. He is not called with a harsh question. He is not called with a vision of what he might become. He is not called with a command, “Follow me.” He is not called with a compliment! This person is an adult theologian of another religion who is getting on in years. He is called with the phrase, “You must be born from above” (see John 3:7). (The traditional reading of this phrase is, “You must be born again).
This phrase is perfectly appropriate for an older adult theologian of another religion. But I am not certain that this kind of vocabulary is of any use to anybody else. Jesus was of that opinion. Perhaps that explains why Jesus never used it with anyone else except Nicodemus – an older adult theologian of another religion.
Turn to John 4 where Jesus confronts a woman at a well. What does he say to her, “You must be born from above?” No. That would have been totally meaningless to her. Is there a compliment? No. Is there a command? No. Is there a vision of what she might become? No. Is there a harsh question, “What are you looking for?” No. Jesus says to this woman, “You must drink of the living water” (John 4:10). That makes sense to her.
Turn to the next chapter, chapter 5. There, you find Jesus coming up to a sick man who is lying by the pool near the Sheep Gate. The man has been lying there for 38 years. That's a long time! But he has managed! He says to Jesus, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up…” (John 5:7). That means that he's a beggar. But he's managed!
Does Jesus come up to him and say, “You must be born from above?” No. He asks, rather, “Do you want to be made well --healed?” (see John 5:6). He asks that because if the man is healed, it's going to be a different kind of life for him. He's not going to be able to stick out his tin cup and ask for dimes, quarters and dollar bills and expect people to feel sorry for him. Most likely, he doesn't have a profession if he's been crippled for 38 years. It's going to mean some huge changes to him. So Jesus asks him, “Do you want to be healed?” That's his call to discipleship.
Every time Jesus meets a different person, discipleship is offered to that person in a different way – a way appropriate to that particular individual. We must never get hung up on somebody else's vocabulary. That's not going to mean a thing. The nature of your discipleship and mine is going to be different from each other.
In the Gospel of Luke, when we read of Jesus' encounter with the rich, young ruler, Jesus didn't say to him, “You must be born again,” or “You must drink of the living water.” No, he said to him, “Go and sell all that you have and give to the poor; and come, follow me” (see Luke 18:22). This is the only occasion when Jesus used that summons, and he made it to a rich, young ruler.
Whenever Jesus called people to discipleship, he used language appropriate to the individual. But a person's response to his call always compelled that person to let go of their old ways and habits and exchange them for new ways and attitudes, consistent with those of Jesus.
I don't know how Jesus' call to you was expressed. I don't know how or when it came. But I do know one thing. I do know that he has expectations. He wants us to answer his call with our feet.
What does one do? Where does one go? Some folks, in following Jesus, choose to follow quietly -- working with their families, neighbors and communities. Others opt to follow noisily - protesting, marching and picketing. Some folks may choose to work in slums, soup kitchens or homeless shelters; others choose to enter politics. Some folks may decide to work in prisons, in after-school tutoring programs or in churches where they can do all kinds of worthy things; while others may decide to help out as volunteers in hospitals or nursing homes.
Where exactly have your feet taken you as a result of your decision to follow Jesus?
Frederick Buechner has written: “Our feet may drag some days and, sometimes, we may wonder why in God's name we ever thought we heard God's voice calling us. But, if the feet keep following, then sooner or later, they will lead us to where our service to Christ can express itself.”
God gives each of us gifts. God gives some the gift of music or art or athletic ability or writing or speaking or listening. God gives some the gift of skillful hands. Some are unusually gifted with a brilliant intellect. Some have the gift of a quick wit. Some are gifted to teach. Some have the charisma of being sensitive toward people in need. Compassion is an extra, special gift that produces caregivers. These are persons who can use their gift to help God reconcile enemies, resolve conflicts between neighbors, and make for peace and good will.
Do you begin to see what Jesus was saying? What tremendous possibilities there are in every life. God can perform even miracles through lives that are committed to him.
We can be a friend. We can pray. We can telephone. We can write cards or send e-mails. We can put in our witness for Jesus Christ. There is no end to the possibilities available to those who are interested in investing the little that we have for our Master's work.
As we look around, we see many people volunteering their gifts for the common good of this church and our community. Some keep the church in touch with persons confined to nursing homes. Some attend to AIDS patients. Many sing in our choirs, serve on committees, teach young people, comfort the hurting, volunteer to help in the office, facilities and grounds, give time for Military Outreach or for Presbyterian Urban Ministry or voluntarily serve in so many other ways that would take me a long time to enumerate.
The whole essence of what Christian discipleship is all about -- individually and together -- is following Christ. His words "Follow me" ought to monitor all that we do , say and think , no matter who we are, where we are, or in whose company we find ourselves. Always, we need to ask ourselves: is this activity, decision, or goal consistent with following Jesus?
While Christians will never be in total agreement on what it means to follow Jesus, we must always be committed to doing that which we believe Christ is leading us to do. What always matters most is whether one is being faithful to what one understands is meant as following Jesus.
We all claim to have confessed Jesus as our Lord. That's fine. It's a good first step. But what are we doing in his name? How have we responded to his call to us?
