January 22, 2024 — “Doubts, or Faith?”

“And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the Israelites in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us; it flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Yet the people who live in the land are strong, and the towns are fortified and very large; and besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the land of the Negeb; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea, and along the Jordan.” But Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against this people, for they are stronger than we.” So they brought to the Israelites an unfavorable report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land that we have gone through as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people that we saw in it are of great size. There we saw the Nephilim (the Anakites come from the Nephilim); and to ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.” Numbers 13:26-33

The Israelites had crossed the Red Sea. Their enemies, the Egyptians had been destroyed behind them. They had come at last almost to the borders of the Promised Land. Here the people camped while the spies went to see the country. They passed through it and viewed the land and the people, and presently came back with their report. It was a wonderful land — a land flowing with milk and honey. The samples of the fruit they brought back were large and plentiful. Of course, the people were at once very eager to possess such a land, but the questions and the doubts soon came to possess them: “Are we able to do so?  What kind of people are they over there? Are they good fighters? Are they courageous? Do we have what it takes to defeat them?”

There were those among the people who wanted to move forward – and there were those among the people who doubted that this would be a good idea. In the end, the doubts won out – and the people were destined to wander for many years trying to discover and to learn ways to see how they can learn to trust the Lord. You see, their eyes were all right; they saw things as they were, but the question was, “What was behind their eyes—doubts, or faith?” That is the thing that really counts. Doubts will magnify our troubles, will make them look very great. Doubts will make our power look very small – and will make our ability to fight look as if we have no chance. We need to get rid of our doubts, look to G-d, and learn to trust with hearts of faith.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, there is a lot in our lives that cause us to doubt your presence. Help me to know you are with me at all times – when I am filled with doubt, strengthen my faith. Amen.

Pastor Dave

January 21, 2024 – Epiphany 3B

“Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.” Mark 1:14-20

What are we to do?  That is the 100 million dollar question for us today.   Jesus says “Follow me” and we think to ourselves that we are – we think our lives are models of faith and devotion – and still we hear these words “Follow Me” and we have to wonder:  “Is Jesus calling me?  What is he calling me to do? What are we to do?”  

I have found that it is hard to ignore a phone that is ringing. I see this happen in my home every day. When the phone rings, when someone calls and I see that the phone call is from a number I am not familiar, I have this feeling that it is someone trying to sell me something. I tell myself “Don’t answer it!”. But every time it feels as if I am about to walk on hot coals, so compelled, so conditioned I am to answer that call. Now, I bring this up for this reason: are we just as compelled to answer the call of Jesus? When it comes to being disciples of Jesus, and when it comes to seeking out people to join us in worship and service, we often find ourselves scratching our heads trying to find ways to bring people into our midst. In our gospel lesson this morning, my friends, Jesus is calling us – to go fishing with him – to go fishing FOR him. My friends, are we answering that call?

Anyone who fishes knows that fishing takes time and patience, fishing takes knowing the territory and knowing the conditions – the same is true for fishing for people. The radical nature of this text is that Jesus took ordinary fisherman and told them that everything was about to change – everything they knew or thought they knew about fishing, about family relationships, and about life would have to change. They would have to rethink how to fish – and not just for the perfect catch – but for all kinds of people; the imperfect as well as the perfect; the smelly as well as the well-groomed; the colorful and the plain. Jesus wants to teach us, and then to have us teach others, how to catch people in the net of G-d’s love, mercy and grace. 

Ultimately, fishing for people is not about techniques or programs – it is about the radical nature of leaving everything we know and going into the great unknown – and putting all of our trust in Jesus, our teacher and guide. The fishing will seldom be easy, it will usually be frustrating, and we will often find that our nets are empty. But there are a lot of people out there who watch us – as Christians – as people of the church, who wonder what we know about G-d, or this man Jesus. They are out there waiting for good news in their lives, waiting for the good news of Jesus Christ. And that is why Jesus calls us out to fish. Albert Schweitzer wrote about this text:

“Jesus comes to us as one unknown, without a name, as of old, by the lakeside, He came to those men who knew him not.  He speaks to us the same word: “Follow Me” and sets us to the tasks which he has to fulfill in our time.  He commands.  And to those who obey him, He will reveal Himself in the toils, the conflicts, the sufferings which they will pass through in his fellowship – and they shall learn in their own experience who he is.”

“Who He is” is Jesus, and He is looking for people who want to fish for people – looking for people who want to share the good news both in word and in deed – He is looking for you and me.  He will wait – though the fishing be difficult, frustrating, even dangerous – but he will wait, because, as Jonah learned, G-d is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. In other words he is patient as a good fisherman should be.  Jesus is calling – will you answer that call?

Pastor Dave