{"id":1212,"date":"2010-01-12T16:51:57","date_gmt":"2010-01-12T16:51:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=640"},"modified":"2010-01-12T16:51:57","modified_gmt":"2010-01-12T16:51:57","slug":"youve-been-called-aldred-neufeldt-jan-10-2010","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/?p=1212","title":{"rendered":"You\u2019ve Been Called – Aldred Neufeldt – Jan. 10, 2010"},"content":{"rendered":"

Text: John 1: 19-51<\/span><\/h3>\n

Introduction<\/strong> <\/font><\/p>\n

I sometimes think of the time between Christmas Eve and the New Year as one of shutting myself off from the problems of the world \u2013 of cocooning with family and friends.\u00a0 Radio or television newscasts are left silent, as attention is given to connecting with others in traditional, and sometimes new, but deeply meaningful ways. <\/font><\/p>\n

Yet, problems of the world continue to persist.\u00a0 And, it didn\u2019t take long for a particularly nasty one to intrude on many of our lives this year. Airport security became the top story on Christmas Day when a young man on a plane to Detroit tried to ignite an explosive smuggled aboard in his underpants.\u00a0 What an idea!\u00a0 <\/font><\/p>\n

Even though the attempt failed, there were predictable sequelae \u2013 stringent new rules in airports, long lineups and missed planes during the busiest travel time of year, millions of dollars committed to buying new technology – \u2018full-body scanners\u2019 \u2013 all of which grabbed our attention, followed by debates about whether scanners are preferable to \u2018body searches\u2019 and \u2018pat downs\u2019, and whether any of these are likely to make a difference.\u00a0 In our household Erna becomes particularly exercised about what she sees as the silliness of these measures, and how they\u2019re not likely to be effective in forestalling another security threat in any event. <\/font><\/p>\n

One might jest by saying that at least our attention got diverted from the fears of a flu pandemic that were front of mind before Christmas; but, that would be trading one set of fears for another. Both fears \u2013 of flu pandemic and suicide bombs \u2013 are based on some substance.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/font><\/p>\n

The substance behind the suicide-bombing attempt is that there are people who feel so strongly called to a mission, that they\u2019re prepared to kill themselves and others in order to provoke terror. This kind of mission, and others like it, are terribly misguided \u2013 It was good to see Muslim leaders from Canada and the USA, late this week, speak to the inconsistency between such kamikazi missions and what is commonly understood to be the message of the Koran.\u00a0 But, misguided as it is, one can\u2019t but be impressed by the depth of conviction someone like this has in his call.\u00a0 Too bad such conviction isn\u2019t devoted to pursuit of more life-giving ends. <\/font><\/p>\n

What this and other acts like it show yet again is something of the lostness and despair in the world.\u00a0 Unfortunately, airport security responses, no matter how stringent, won\u2019t address either the roots of the bomber\u2019s beliefs, or our collective fears that are stimulated by such attempts. Something more fundamental is needed <\/font><\/p>\n

God\u2019s Call to Change the World<\/strong> <\/font><\/p>\n

In some ways it is symbolic that this most recent bombing attempt occurred during the Christmas season.\u00a0 It is a time we\u2019re reminded that God sent quite a different message to the world, a message to which we are witness. The situation today is not so different really than that of two millennia ago.\u00a0 Marilyn spoke a little of this last week in her sermon on the mystery and awe of the birth as reflected in the arrival of the magi who followed the star to Bethlehem \u2013 and, of the threat felt by Herod and other leaders of the day on hearing of this.\u00a0 There were no full-body scanners those days, and Roman soldiers or temple guards weren\u2019t too worried about doing full body searches.\u00a0 More brutal means were available if needed \u2013 as demonstrated by Herod when he ordered the slaying of all children under age 2 in Bethlehem (Matt. 2:13-18).\u00a0\u00a0 <\/font><\/p>\n

Into this world God sent the Christ in the form of a child.\u00a0 He, too, had a calling \u2013 one He was prepared to give his life for.\u00a0 But, His calling was the exact opposite of the would-be suicide bomber\u2019s.\u00a0 It was to change the world; nay, to redeem the world from its obsessions with power and violence.\u00a0 <\/font><\/p>\n

The Jesus Way<\/strong> <\/font><\/p>\n

The Jesus articulation of God\u2019s call is set out in the 4 Gospels.\u00a0 Of these, the first three describe many of his activities and summarize his teachings. But, it is the fourth \u2013 the Gospel of John \u2013 where I find most help in thinking about who Jesus is, and how he went about fulfilling the call.\u00a0\u00a0 The Gospel of John is filled with language, metaphor, and imagery that grips the reader.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIn the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 <\/font><\/p>\n

So begins the Gospel.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/font><\/p>\n

This opening has been seared into my brain since high school.\u00a0 Miss Wiens, one of our teachers at Rosthern Junior College, was something of an oddity to us teenagers.\u00a0 She was from Kansas. Few of us had ever been out of Saskatchwan. She wasn\u2019t married \u2013 an \u2018old maid\u2019 we thought her \u2013 though, in retrospect, she wasn\u2019t that old (only in her \u2018\u201940s) and, later, she did marry.\u00a0 She was gangly and awkward.\u00a0 But, she was also an enthusiast.\u00a0 She taught English and Bible with flair, moving us beyond the immediate content to think of meaning.\u00a0 In later years it was commonly agreed by those of us who went to university that, of all our teachers, Miss Wiens had best prepared us.\u00a0 But, that was later. <\/font><\/p>\n

So it was one day that she stood there at the head of our Bible Study class, and with great intensity and considerable drama began:<\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In THE beginning\u2026..was the Word ( a breathy \u2018whu\u2019 sound to \u2018Word\u2019) \u2026..THE WORD, she repeated\u2026\u2026AND\u2026..the Word was WITH\u00a0 God\u2026.. AND\u2026..the Word WAS (with heavy emphasis, and voice lowered just a bit) \u2026 WAS God. <\/font><\/p>\n

\u201cIsn\u2019t that beautiful?\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cGod, out there \u2013 in eternal silence \u2013 He sent Jesus to be THE Word! \u2026 The Word that offers hope to all of us.\u201d <\/font><\/p>\n

In my sixteenth or seventeenth year I wasn\u2019t quite ready to accept her judgment of beauty; BUT, that lesson has stayed with me ever since. <\/font><\/p>\n

Today\u2019s lesson text begins after that Prologue, and transports one to the world of the Evangelist as he introduces the beginning of Jesus\u2019 ministry.\u00a0 From verses 19 through 34 we have an account of John the Baptist as Witness to Jesus as the Christ, the \u2018anointed one\u2019 \u2013 first in response to the inq
\nuisitors sent to him by the Pharisees (v. 19 \u2013 28), and then in conversation with his disciples when Jesus is walking by (v. 29 \u2013 34).\u00a0 The message from the Baptiser is that this Jesus is the Lamb of God \u2013 someone who has been sent by God, he is God in the flesh \u2013 someone who baptizes not with water, but with the Holy Spirit. <\/font><\/p>\n

Then, from verses 35 through 51, we have an account of how Jesus begins to actively respond to the call God has given him.\u00a0 One man by himself can\u2019t accomplish the mission by himself.\u00a0 Jesus, while fasting in the wilderness, has already dismissed that option \u2013 rejecting Satan\u2019s offer to give him all the nations of the world. God\u2019s call is only meaningful if people willingly choose to follow.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/font><\/p>\n

So, he assembles about him a change team, a group of men and women who He will teach, and who will become the nucleus group to begin the work of transforming the world.\u00a0 This approach resonates with us Mennonites.\u00a0 We sometimes make light of our habit of having committees and task forces studying new and better ways of being church \u2013 but, at the heart of it all, we know that unless the people are involved, making change will be half-hearted at best. <\/font><\/p>\n

Only 4 members of the Jesus Team are mentioned in the Gospel of John \u2013 Andrew and Simon Peter, Philip and Nathanael.\u00a0 They\u2019re not exactly an inspiring lot when we first meet them.\u00a0 Andrew and Peter are both fishermen \u2013 pretty ordinary workmen.\u00a0 Andrew seems the level-headed one; but, his brother Peter, the one who later becomes the leader of the church, seems quite impulsive \u2013 he jumps out of the boat to walk on the Sea of Galilee, only to sink when he realizes he\u2019s out in a storm, and Jesus has to save him; he can\u2019t stay awake when Jesus prays at the Garden of Gethsemane, only to take out his sword and cut off the ear of a slave when Jesus is arrested; he promises to be loyal to Jesus through thick times and thin, only to betray him shortly thereafter. Philip, likewise, is rather ordinary. One sometime wonders what Jesus saw in him. His contribution to feeding the multitude is to tell Jesus that even with 6 months wages they couldn\u2019t be fed (6:7); and, when the Greeks ask him to see Jesus, he doesn\u2019t know what to do \u2013 rather he has to consult Andrew (12:21-22).\u00a0 Yet, this is said to be the same man who later brings the Good News to the Ethiopian in the desert, and is credited with starting that branch of the church.\u00a0 Then there\u2019s Nathaneal1.\u00a0 He seems to be a dreamer \u2013 Jesus first saw him under the shade of a fig tree \u2013 one might well surmise that Nathanael was there to pray, meditate and study. <\/font><\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t a top-down strategic plan of change \u2013 developed by leaders of the most powerful government of the day, nor by leaders of the most influential religious organizations in the world.\u00a0 Far from it.\u00a0 The Jesus approach is to empower very ordinary people to achieve extra-ordinary things.\u00a0 As we know, from both the Bible story and later history, this initial motley group of people not only rose to the occasion, but launched changes that would have been unimaginable at the time.\u00a0 <\/font><\/p>\n

That these were ordinary people is a comfort to us all.\u00a0 It demonstrates that one should never under-estimate either the gifts that ordinary people bring, or their persistence in pursuing a cause they believe in.\u00a0 I\u2019ve had that experience in the disability field.\u00a0 People who have first hand knowledge of why change is important \u2013 parents, disabled people themselves \u2013 are much more committed to pursuing a vision of a better life, through good times or bad, than are leaders from government or professional groups and others, all of whose interest tends to be fickle and short-term at best. <\/font><\/p>\n

That is how Jesus begins his response to God\u2019s call.\u00a0 From here on, throughout the rest of the Gospel, John engages the reader with the challenge posed by His message, one which replaces the world\u2019s addiction to power and deceit with such revolutionary ideas as that if one is to be a leader, one first has to be a servant; that one should love one\u2019s enemies, not curse them; and other teachings we have come to know well.\u00a0 People divide in the presence of this message. Either they commit themselves to Christ and thus choose life (like the Samaritan woman and the royal official from Capernaum in chapter 4 and the man born blind in chapter 9), or they refuse to commit themselves and thereby remain in darkness and a condition of lostness (like the obtuse paralytic in chapter 5 or the Pharisees at the end of chapter 9).\u00a0 So, the reader of the Gospel is also drawn to make this choice. <\/font><\/p>\n

Responding to the Call to Change the World Today\u00a0 <\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

This call to change the world continues to today.\u00a0 It\u2019s the core reason for the church. And, so, you and I are part of that call. <\/font><\/p>\n

My sense is that we don\u2019t often think about ourselves as being called to change the world.\u00a0 I don\u2019t.\u00a0 Yet, as Christians we share in that affirming and life-giving call to change the world as modeled by Jesus \u2013 we may not always acknowledge it, and occasionally lapse in our commitment; but, there is no doubt that, as a follower, one makes a commitment to pursue the call.\u00a0 The only question is \u2018how\u2019. <\/font><\/p>\n

As I was thinking about this, it occurred to me I might learn something by talking to others about how they would go about changing the world \u2013 given their gifts, their work or professional backgrounds, and so on.\u00a0 So I approached a number of people of different ages and backgrounds in our congregation to ask their help.\u00a0 All graciously agreed to play along with me on this. You know who you are. A sincere thanks, and apologies in advance if I misrepresent what you said. <\/font><\/p>\n

When I posed the question, the first response almost invariably was, \u201cwhat do you mean, change the world?\u201d I\u2019d explain about my sermon preparation, and that it was about how Jesus began his ministry.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/font><\/p>\n

And, then I\u2019d say something like: \u201cwe\u2019re all called to change the world \u2026 you\u2019re called to change the world\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/font><\/p>\n

\u201cWell, yeh\u201d would be the response, usually somewhat hesitantly, followed by some words to the effect that they didn\u2019t often think about what they were doing as being important, nor even potentially important, to changing the world. <\/font><\/p>\n

The first thing striking me about these conversations is that framing our task as one of changing the world helps sharpen how we think about what we might do \u2013 whether it is in our neighborhood or at work or school.\u00a0 From our conversations I would judge that such an idea is not exactly foreign, but it isn\u2019t a common way for us think about our Christian walk either. <\/font><\/p>\n

Second, these conversations, brief as they were, also revealed yet again the rich range of ideas on how
\n to go about changing the world than can come up when one invites people to think about the particular gifts they bring.\u00a0 Each one demurred at first: \u201cI\u2019m an accountant. I crunch numbers.\u00a0 I can\u2019t see how that can change the world,\u201d said one.\u00a0 Another: \u201cI\u2019m in the health care business \u2013 I manage a team of people\u201d.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m in the media \u2013 we report on changes\u201d.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m in electronic digital billboard advertising\u201d. And so on.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/font><\/p>\n

Yet, on pursuing the question a bit more, we got into interesting and insightful conversations. <\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The accountant: \u201cIf I look beyond the actual number crunching, I can see how one could show business leaders the benefits of contributing more of their resources to charitable causes \u2013 like Bill Gates or Warren Buffett.<\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The health service provider: \u201cFor me change would be finding ways in which my team can better do their jobs without getting burned out\u201d \u2013 it is important that team members don\u2019t feel burned out!<\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The media person: \u201cInstead of just reporting on change, some individual reporters will take an interest in a change \u2013 and, follow it along \u2013 giving a report periodically \u2013 until there comes a time when the public becomes really interested.\u00a0 Think about Nelson Mandela. <\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The advertiser: \u201cIn large format outdoor digital marketing we both \u2018push out\u2019 a marketing message, and \u2018pull in\u2019 responses from people who walk by \u2013\u00a0 inviting them to respond to special deals by texting with their smart phone. \u2026.\u00a0 Imagine what one could do with a \u2018love your neighbour\u2019 or a \u2018random acts of kindness\u2019 kind of campaign. <\/font><\/p>\n

These are but 4 people from our tremendously rich and diverse community of believers.\u00a0 Imagine the diversity of gifts we have amongst us \u2013 each of us with our unique contributions.\u00a0 I can imagine God getting quite excited about that \u2013 after all, look what Peter and Philip and the others were able to accomplish with God\u2019s help. <\/font><\/p>\n

Of course, it wasn\u2019t what each of these people did individually that was effective.\u00a0 The God call, as reflected in how Jesus began his ministry, was to seek a group of people \u2013 who he would teach \u2013 AND \u2013 who would then work together on a common vision to change the world. With vision in place, it was then that individual initiative became important. <\/font><\/p>\n

The importance of a common vision \u2013 a plan, with priorities, also came up in our conversations. As we talked, ideas bubbled to the surface of what such a plan might be and how the gifts might have a role in the God call to change the world. <\/font><\/p>\n

It was clear that the Jesus approach, as laid out in the Gospel of John, still has relevance.\u00a0 The question isn\u2019t whether we\u2019ve been called \u2013 we have been.\u00a0 The question is how we go about responding \u2013 what is the plan, the divinely inspired plan, within which our individual, unique, wonderfully diverse gifts can be expressed in such a way that the world we live in can be changed?\u00a0\u00a0 <\/font><\/p>\n

We don\u2019t have to start from the beginning when we think about this.\u00a0 What immediately comes to mind is the work that TUMC did a year ago in examining our values and identity.\u00a0 The Listening Group came up with 4 initiatives, all of which fit right into the Jesus call.\u00a0 You remember them.\u00a0 These were to: Build on our experience of community to increase our welcome of all; prepare people for being engaged in God\u2019s mission through spiritual formation; initiate some local mission activity; think creatively on how to use our property spaces.\u00a0 Each of these complements the other, and is a facet of some larger God plan. <\/font><\/p>\n

There also are other possibilities.\u00a0 One that excites me is the Peace in the Public Square campaign Mennonite Church Canada has proposed.\u00a0 There is some interest in having a discussion group here in TUMC examine that idea as something we might get involved with. Calgary area churches have launched the first such campaign, as you may have seen in a recent Canadian Mennonite article.\u00a0 They purchase ads on Calgary\u2019s buses that say, for example, \u201cGive Peace a Chance \u2013 sponsored by the Mennonite Churches of Alberta\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/font><\/p>\n

Using public media can have a powerful effect.\u00a0 You might remember the billboard campaign in the mid-1980s led by Sean O\u2019Sullivan \u2013 a gifted politician who quit Parliament to become priest.\u00a0 On billboards around Toronto there was a suffering Christ on the cross, along with the words \u201cdare to be a priest like me\u2019.\u00a0 This provocative campaign generated a lot of attention.\u00a0 It still is active, as can be seen by a search of the Internet <\/font><\/p>\n

These are examples of a God Plan that invites ordinary people \u2013 you and me \u2013 to contribute our gifts whatever they may be \u2013 to venture out in faith to change the world.\u00a0 With God\u2019s help, the results may be extra-ordinary. <\/font><\/p>\n

You are called!\u00a0 I\u2019m called!\u00a0 We\u2019re all called! <\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/font><\/p>\n

Amen<\/font><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0View Archived Sermons\u00a0<\/font><\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Text: John 1: 19-51 Introduction I sometimes think of the time between Christmas Eve and the New Year as one of shutting myself off from the problems of the world \u2013 of cocooning with family and friends.\u00a0 Radio or television newscasts are left silent, as attention is given to connecting with others in traditional, and sometimes new, but deeply meaningful ways. Yet, problems of the world continue to persist.\u00a0 And, it didn\u2019t take long for a particularly nasty one to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons-a-worship-audio"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1212"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1212\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}