Sermon 2-6-22
Grace to you and peace from God our creator and from our lord and Savior Jesus the Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, amen.
Imagine, at that lakeshore, Peter and his fellow fishermen, exhausted, as they ended a long and unproductive night of fishing. Along comes Jesus, who tells them to go into the deep waters and try again. They do, somewhat reluctantly, but then are shocked at the size of their catch – so big, their boat starts to sink from the weight of all that fish!
At this miracle before their very eyes, Peter makes a correct assumption – this man must be from God. When Jesus commands, stuff happens. But this realization terrifies Peter. Peter falls to his knees in awe and blurts out that he is a sinful man. It makes me wonder if that is Peter’s way of expressing his confusion - how is it that this holy person, this man clearly blessed by God, would deign to be among these ordinary people in this ordinary place? More specifically, in an ordinary fishing boat, in the middle of some sweaty men and stinky fish.
Peter grew up in a religious tradition where there is clear separation between sacred and profane, between holy and ordinary, where God is and where God is not expected to show up. The holy is set apart and protected… and not always necessarily FROM us, but FOR us too. The sacred can be dangerous and unpredictable, and so, for everyone's safety, the boundary between holy and ordinary is crossed only at one’s own risk, as we heard in our Isaiah reading.
Though we are thousands of miles and thousands of years removed from the worldview of Peter and his people, we still BEHAVE as if this is true. That God can only be found in some places rather than others, and only at certain times, or in certain circumstances. And sometimes this idea gets picked up and amplified by none other than the New York Times.
Of course I am talking about a recent opinion article shared by the New York Times. In this article, already limited in its accessibility behind a paywall, a pastor from a small fundamentalist denomination claims to know where God does and does not show up. She writes that with the pandemic being “managed” with masks, distancing, and a milder variant, all churches should cease any and all online options, in order to focus back on physical gatherings and get people “back in the pews.”
You may have noticed all through the pandemic, social media posts have been passed around the internet with a similar theme: “You can’t REALLY worship from your couch” - as if everyone who has chosen to participate in worship online is by default lazily sipping coffee in their pajamas on their couch, rather than being bothered to get dressed and get in their car to “show up” for worship.
On this day, however, when we are resuming in-person worship in the hope that the cases of Omicron continue to fall, it’s still important to remember why community is important in ALL the ways that you and your family are able to connect.
Yes, even community from your couch.
You may not be able to leave your couch if you struggle with a chronic illness… but you can sing and pray while worship is streaming. You CAN experience the power of God’s presence, even if you aren’t able to be with everyone every Sunday … maybe your children are throwing up all over the couch, or your anxiety or depression are keeping you to your couch, or your autistic child is having a hard time and the couch is a safe place for them today. We see you, those of you who are on the other side of the camera, and we value you, and we love you.
Christians need community, and community comes in many forms. We can contribute cards and share Facebook posts and prayer requests and email encouragement and tithe from literally ANYWHERE now. We can serve, sacrifice, encourage, pray, and do life together both online and in person. And actually, many of us have been doing it for years already. Online options are here to stay, and this is a blessing from God.
We can’t be all things to all people. But our call as communities of faith is to do what Jesus did – meet and love people where they are at, in all the miraculous ways we can be embodied together, however that may look like.
Isaiah met God in the temple - and God could barely fit and then God sent him out.
Jesus met the crowds by the lake on a workday, and not in the synagogue on the sabbath, as he has already done previously. Jesus met Peter and called him to discipleship in the middle of a precarious boat among smelly fish and smellier guys.
Jesus showed up for the crowds, for Peter, and for us to show us that the holy CAN be found in the ordinary. That God is not ONLY found in the church building - no matter how beautiful the newly redone pews look. The church is not active for only one hour per week. The church is a body of people all the time - it’s on the internet, on your couch, and sometimes even in pajamas, at all hours of the day and night.
This article that I’ve mentioned is not the only reason that the New York Times currently is making people irate. It also recently acquired the now infamous online word game called “Wordle” - perhaps you’ve heard of it? May I be so bold as to suggest some future answers to the Wordle game.... Words that the New York Times, that pastor who wrote this article, and all of us can benefit from being reminded of, such as: world, agape, boost, links, pivot, and unite.
And maybe you can think of a few words to add as well … but just remember, the word CHURCH - C-H-U-R-C-H - does NOT fit. The Church cannot be contained by those 5 green boxes… nor can it be contained by the limited imagination of pastors and other church leaders… nor can it be contained within boundaries, temples, boats, expectations, and limitations… nor can it be contained by death itself. Jesus always breaks nets and boxes, and we as the church are called to do the same. Thanks be to God. Amen.
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