January 2006 Archives

Come, Follow Me
Mark 1:14-20
January 22, 2006
Rev. Nancy Pfaltzgraf

Good morning. My name is Miriam. The story you just heard, from the book you call the Bible -well it's a story about my husband Simon and my brother-in-law Andrew and an encounter that changed our lives forever. Your Bible tells such a small part of the story and I thought maybe if you understood a little more about what we experienced it just might change your lives as well.

I've known Simon literally all my life. We lived in the same village, our homes were on the same road and our mothers were best friends. That's probably why, soon after I was born, our fathers sealed the covenant of betrothal. Even before we could walk or talk we entered the first stage of marriage!

As we grew up, Simon had such great plans for us. He knew God that wanted great things for him. I knew it too. He had such fire, such passion, such love. Well, anyway, when we were six years old we were finally old enough to go to the Synagogue for school. It was called Beit Sefer. It was so exciting, we got to study the Torah -the sacred writings of our people; the writings you call Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In fact, our main task in Beit Sefer was to memorize the Torah -the whole thing. Now this wasn't as hard as it would seem, you see we'd already heard many of the stories, time and time again from our mothers as we shared some special times after our evening meal. I looked forward to learning the Torah so I would be able to share it with my own children. But Simon had bigger dreams than that. He thought if he stidied hard and showed real promise he's be able to stay in school and maybe even make it all the way to becoming a Rabbi. I didn't think that was going to happen, not because Simon wasn't smart enough, he was brilliant; but because our families did not have a lot of money and it seemed like only the boys from the best families made it that far.

Well, don't you know he did it! At the end of Beit Sefer when most of the boys and left school and began to apprentice for a family trade and all of the girls began to focus only on learning the skills of running a household, Simon was admitted to Beit Talmud. Only the best of the best made it to Beit Talmud and Simon was one of them. I was so excited. Maybe he could make it. Maybe if he studied hard and really proved himself by quickly memorizing the rest of what you call the old testament he could apply to one of the Rabbis and enter Beit Midrash. If that happened, if one of the Rabbis choose him to be a disciple he would be deemed the best of the best of the best; he would learn everything the Rabbi taught, do what the Rabbi did and eventually become a Rabbi. And I would be a Rabbi's wife!

Well, study hard is just what Simon did. In very short order he had accomplished all the required memorization and he went to Rabbi Micah to make his application. Well, Rabbi Micah really grilled Simon. He had to make sure Simon had what it took to learn what Rabbi Micah taught, to do what Rabbi Micah did and eventually to become a Rabbi just like Rabbi Micah. Simon answered all the questions with his characteristic fire and passion, and then he waited for Rabbi Micah's decision, hoping that he would hear the words "Come, follow me." That's what the Rabbis said to those they choose to become their disciples.

After twenty-four long agonizing hours Rabbi Micah called for Simon. "Simon," he said, looking all dignified and proper, "you are a bright young man. You've studied hard and done well, but you're too fiery to become one of my disciples. Your father's a fisherman, I believe. Go back and join him. Learn the family trade; you're not cut out to be a Rabbi." Needless to say, Simon was crushed. But once you've been turned down by one of the Rabbis, you're pretty much done. So Simon went home and joined his brother Andrew learning from their father the skills needed to be a fisherman. We were married soon afterward.

Several years later a man name Jesus came into the Galilee. I heard him talking to a group of people one day as I was coming home from the marketplace. He was saying something about the malkuta da Alaha. It's a phrase your Bibles translate as the kingdom of God. Boy, did you get that wrong. Malkuta da Alaha is God's empowering vision. It's God's "I can do that!" And this Jesus, well, he said that malkuta da Alaha was here now, available to all of us, because God expected great things from all of us, not just the Rabbis and the priests, not just the scribes and the Pharisees, but all of us. He said we just had to, what do you say? "Repent" and believe it. In other words we just had to leave our hopelessness behind and claim the power of God within us. "Within us?" I thought. How could that be? Within us? I had a very hard time believing it could be so. Later that night as we took our evening meal, I told Simon about what Jesus said. He was just as confused as I was. But he said, he'd heard stories about this Jesus; heard that Jesus had begun to heal people with just a touch or a word; heard some people saying that Jesus was a new and powerful Rabbi, with a new interpretations of our sacred writings.

The next day I went down to the place where Simon and Andrew were fishing to bring them their noon meal. While I was there this Jesus, this new Rabbi, came walking along the shoreline. He seemed to be watching the fishermen. "What's he wasting his time here for?" I wondered. "why isn't he in the synagogue with the other religious types debating the meaning of the law and finding new ways to make the rest of us feel inferior?" But as I watched him, watching them, I could almost feel the love that poured out from him. Then, after he stood there for a while, he called out to Simon and Andrew, "Come, follow me..." he said to them. "Come, follow me..." I could hardly believe my ears. Those were the words Rabbi's said to would be disciples only after long hours of grilling to make sure they were the best of the best of the best. Surely Jesus could see that Simon and Andrew were well beyond the age for potential disciples. Surely he knew they were not the best of the best of the best or they would already be some Rabbi's disciples. Surely he knew they were among the nobodies, the not good enoughs. "Come, follow me; use who you are and what you already know to help me proclaim God's good news. You're the ones I want. You're the ones I need. Come, follow me..."

I could see it in Simon's eyes, in the way he straightened his back and moved his body. The flickering flame of passion, that had all but died when Rabbi Micah sent him away, was back! Simon was alive again, for the first time in years. This Jesus, this healer, this new Rabbi, he thought Simon and Andrew had what it took to learn whatever it was that he had to teach, to do the things he was doing and to become like him. Even before he stepped out of the boat, I knew what Simon would do, knew what he would say. And I knew a new adventure was about to begin. But what I didn't know was that I too would be included in Jesus group of disciples. This Jesus didn't just choose men, like the other Rabbis. He said all people -even women- had what it took to learn what he taught and do what he did and become like him. He said all people were important in God's sight. He said all people could had a special gift, a special purpose, something important that God wanted them to do. He said God's dream, God's vision was in the depths of each and every heart.

"Come, follow me..." he said to women and men, young and old, rich and poor, "and be who you were created to be."

"Come, follow me..." he said to the sinners and the outcasts, "and do great things for God."

"Come, follow me..." he said to the blind and the lame, "and teach others my compassion and hope."

"Come, follow me..." he said to the tax collectors and the prostitutes, "and live my forgiving love and healing grace."

"Come, follow me, learn from me, become like me. Be my love; be my compassion; be my healing and hope for the world. You can do it. In fact when you open your heart to the power of God's love, God's empowering vision for your life, you can do things far great than anything you could ever hope for or imagine. Come, follow me..."

I came today to remind you that Jesus is calling you as well. I came to remind you that God has great plans for your life and for the life of your congregation. Just remember, Jesus wouldn't call you, if he didn't think you had what it takes to do what he did and be like him. You can do it. Leave your hopelessness, your helplessness, your fear; leave anything that holds you back from doing great things for God; leave it all behind, follow Jesus and embrace God's empowering vision for your life! With God all things are possible! You can do it! You can do it! You can do it!

Listen, I think I hear Jesus calling, "Come, follow me..."

Come and See
John 1:43-51
January 15, 2006
Rev. Nancy Pfaltzgraf

Time and time again, in my weekly conversations with my friend Yolanda or with one of my kids, one of them will say something like, "I saw this great movie I think you'd really enjoy."
My friend Cyndi, who lives in Milwaukee, is even more of a book-a-holic than I am. It seems as if she is always reading two or three different books. If she really likes one of them and thinks I would too, she tells me about it with great excitement.

Very frequently during my work-out circuit at Curves one of the women will talk about a new restaurant she has tried out and really enjoyed and then she'll encourage the rest of us to try it out as well.

Whether it's a good book, a great movie, a wonderful restaurant, an awesome place to take a vacation, or a new store with great clothes and fantastic prices; when we experience something good, we are eager to share it with our family and friends, especially if we think it will enrich their lives. Well, believe it or not, that's exactly what's happening in our scripture reading for today. The verses Marty read are part of a longer chain of events that begins in verse 35 when John the Baptist sees Jesus walking down the path and says to his disciples, "Look, here is the Lamb of God!" -the one I've been telling you about.[John 1:35] Two of those disciples then head out to see for themselves who this Jesus really is. Jesus notices them and asks them, "What are you looking for?"[John 1:38a] and they say "where are you staying?" [John 1:38b] Now, in truth, these disciples of John are asking far more than whether or not Jesus found room at the local Inn. The word translated as stay also carries the deeper sense of source or origin. So, in the poetry of John's gospel, what these disciples are asking is "where do you get the power to do what you do? Who is your teacher? What is the source of your wisdom?" And Jesus says to them, "Come and see." [John 1:39] Come and experience it for yourselves. They do, and one of them -Andrew the brother of Simon Peter- then goes and tells Simon. Next Jesus approaches Phillip with the invitation to follow, which he evidently accepts and then, after having spent some time with Jesus, he goes and tells Nathanael what he has experienced. But in Nathanael we encounter skepticism and doubt for the first time, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"[John 1:46a]

Now, brilliantly, Phillip does not attempt to argue, defend his statement or prove his point. He simply echoes the words of Jesus spoken just a few hours before, "Come and see." Experience it for yourself. Check it out and see if you think what I'm telling you is true. It works for me, see if just maybe it might work for you too.

That, my friends, is evangelism. The dreaded "e" word which comes from the Greek word evangelon meaning simply "good news." Evangelism -sharing our experience with a good book, a great movie, a wonderful restaurant, or the life-changing love of God. Evangelism -it's nothing more and nothing less than that!

Since my ordination, in almost every search committee interview, for almost every ministry position I've sought, one of the questions asked is always something like "how do you do evangelism"? My answer is always: "I'm not an expert in evangelism. I don't have any programs that are guaranteed to work. But since evangelism is 'sharing the good news of God's love, the excitement you have about your church, your faith, your
life with God,' my job is to make sure this community of faith is a place where you can experience God's extravagant welcoming love, reconciling power and healing grace, so that you have some good news to share with people you meet along the way."

Every week as we close our worship celebration, we say the words of our vision-mission statement. Every week we say that we "seek to embody and celebrate God's love by being a community that lives Christ's compassion and promotes justice, healing and wholeness of life; a joyous family where All are welcome to join together to grow in faith and love." Like the dream of Martin Luther King Jr. these words call us into a future of God's making. Now, I'm sure that there are times when we fall short of this vision. But I am equally sure that there are times when, God-empowered, we live it out in ways that bring healing and hope and love to those whose lives we touch. So, this morning, I want to share with you some of the ways I've seen this dream take shape and this vision take form. I want to share with you come of the good news I have experienced here.

I have seen people come here who have all but given up on God, people whose anger at God is so deep that it's amazing they even walk in the door. But when they did, no one tried to convince them that God exists or change their mind about God. They were just welcomed in love, embraced in joy and supported through all kinds of challenges until little by little they each came to see God's love and recognize God's presence in the hearts and hands and voices who sit in this sanctuary and gather around the fellowship table each week.

I have seen people who sing or play a musical instrument nurtured and loved enough that they finally had the courage to share their talent during worship. I have seen the love and affirmation they experienced and the joy they felt as they shared their gift. I have seen the way their gift then took flight and began to grow into something even more beautiful.

I have seen people who heard Christ call them to deliver one of the worship reflections yet they were scared to death at the prospect. I have seen them find courage in the knowledge that you would receive what they had to say with love and grace. I have watched as that experience opened doors in their heart and gave them the confidence to take up-front leadership roles not only here, but in other organizations as well.

I have seen people come who have been alienated, excluded, or wounded by other churches because of the color of their skin, the accent of their speech, their life-style choices, mistakes they made or questions they had about God. I have seen them tentatively walk through the doors, uncertain about whether they would experience rejection yet again. I have seen them find true welcome among you as you seek to live out the truth that "no matter who you are or where you are on life's journey you are welcome here," because no matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, God loves you.

I have seen people who would never have believed they could do it, volunteer to lead a study, because they felt Christ calling them to do it. I have watched people step up and take leadership in amazing outreach programs because they felt a world in need tugging at their heart.

I have seen people who are hurting and those who struggle with life-threatening illnesses wrapped in your healing arms and supported by your comforting love so that in you they experience the truth of Emmanuel -God with us.

I have seen people excited and filled with joy as they birth ideas and projects to raise money for hurricane relief and food security.

I have seen a deep passion for justice born as you work together to bring hope and joy to homeless and hurting people in our community.

I have seen a Christian Education program that went the extra mile to meet the needs of all of our children and youth so that each and every one of them can find their place and participate to their fullest capacity.

Time and time again, through your willing hands and loving hearts, through your grace filled smiles and tender hugs people have been touched by God's love and brought from fear to joy, from loneliness to community, from skepticism to faith. I have seen people try new things and stretch beyond the easy and the comfortable to take one more step into becoming who in God's grace we can be.

In this community of faith, I have experienced God's love, seen God's grace and experienced God's radical, extravagant hospitality! That's my good news. Perhaps it's good news that you too have experienced. If so, why not say to your friends, your family, those you work with or go to school with "Come and see." And if you are here for the first time, my invitation to you is also, "Come and see."