Sermons

The Call: Step Up and Change the World

When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.” From that time, Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Immediately, they left their nets and followed him. As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James, son of Zebedee, and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately, they left the boat and their father and followed him. 

Good Morning and welcome to this odd thing that we call Zoom Church. It is not my favorite thing to do, and I hope that all of us from different parts of the DMV are safe and warm today. So this morning, we heard a gospel that seems to parallel what is happening in the world. John, Jesus’ cousin, has been arrested, and John, the one who has been crying out in the wilderness, the one speaking to Rome and the religious authorities, saying things they did not want to hear, has been scooped up and taken. This Public Witness, which has always been risky, is now even riskier; perhaps the authorities felt that if they went and got John, it would end this latest round of an oppressed people speaking out. Perhaps they could bully the population into silence, into obedience, into capitulation. 

Jesus must have known that as a lone voice, he had things to say, and unlike John, who had followers, he was alone. In looking for followers, he does not have what we would call a soft opening. He immediately says what John had said before him. He begins to preach the same sermon John preached: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” That is not the way to keep his head down; he calls out this dangerous political message. He then steps up and says to these men, come, follow me, and become fishers of people. 

Jesus doesn’t retreat into safety; he steps forward into public ministry. 

It is an invitation, and the men immediately turned, laid down their nets, and followed. So much is going on in this ancient story: it is not just that Jesus is echoing John’s call to repent; Matthew will continue to teach throughout this year. It is that repenting is turning: we turn to something new, we see something new, and act in a new way. So when Jesus says, “Repent,” and then follows up with, “Come,” the men who will be the most named disciples will physically turn towards him, lay down the old ways, and follow, becoming fishers of people. We hear this story, and we too are invited to turn and to follow, seeing new things and doing new things. 

We are not only invited to repent of our individual sins but also to turn together as a community. To ask: what habits, what comforts, what patterns of life keep us from following Christ more freely? Where is Jesus calling us to turn, to leave behind what is safe or familiar, to walk toward the unknown with him? 

Many of you know that I have been here in DC for over ten and a half years. I love this place, what I get to do here, and who I get to serve. Yet, I have a deep connection to Minnesota, a place where I got sober, a place where I emotionally grew up, a place where I heard a call to ordained ministry, a place where I have family, and a place where I love a terrible baseball and football team. 

So, like most of the nation, I have been keeping an eye on Minnesota, and it feels personal again. Again, we witness a city where a general strike, over 50,000 people of all walks of life, whatever they believe or don’t believe, walked in -38 degrees below wind chill, calling for peace in the streets. Calling for ICE agents and our administration to repent, to turn away from acting like the slave patrols of old, going house to house demanding that people produce papers that they are supposed to be here. As I write this yet again, the part of the city where I lived is again the scene of another death. 

Our Bishop, also a daughter of Minnesota, said this yesterday at a press conference about the general strike and what the people of Minnesota are calling us to do. Bishop Mariann said this, “Join us in sending a message to all our elected officials that no agency should have license to arbitrarily arrest and detain people without due process, to harm and even kill those who bear witness to what is happening. This is a bright-line moment for our country and our values. In our varied and united faith traditions, love of neighbor is not optional.” 

This is stepping into public ministry, Bishop Mariann, the 107 faith leaders arrested at the airport, and a call to have our government stop harassing people and do what our many faith traditions call for, the love of neighbor. To repent of the brokenness of this time and of historic times. I have heard that the Border Service and ICE are acting like Nazi and perhaps that is true. A content creator, Jade Bryant, and my friend, the Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas, gave me a better analogy of the practice of American slave patrols. 

Slave patrols were made up of white men on horseback carrying whips, guns, and authority, whose purpose was to control and terrorize enslaved African people. These patrols were authorized by law to stop, question, search, and brutalize anyone they suspected of being an escaped or rebellious enslaved person. They enforced slave codes that forbade movement without written passes, punished resistance or gatherings, and sought to prevent uprisings. In many places, patrols operated with near-total impunity, using violence, intimidation, and surveillance to maintain white supremacy and the economic system of slavery 

I talk about Slave patrols because it is the system that we have been handed down; this is the original sin of this country and the one that we are called to repent of. Controlling Minnesotians who are people of color is an old playbook, and I ask us to name it because that, too, is the work of repentance. 

Jesus calls his disciples, and they physically turn towards him. They move, and like repentance, we are called to turn and keep our eyes on Minnesota, not because it is news but because it is an old story of control. If we are called to bring more light, more love, and more goodness into the world, it is the both/and of the world. It is a call to end an occupation and to acknowledge that we still need to repent, lament, and change what has happened in our country. The butcher bill that was paid and continues to be paid by people of color in our land. That is what is happening to brown and black immigrants in Minnesota and in our nation. 

Minnesota is not the end of this; it is coming attractions to the rest of the country who disagree with this admin. I am saying that we need to know our story so we can repent and change the ending. This time, owning our part and making amends, then we can love our neighbour and truly step into the world that Jesus calls us to as well. That is what is being called from us this morning, and I ask, how do you step up and step in to change this world for the better of us all? How do you own the whole story, repent, and turn and heal? 

Being out in the streets, delivering food to people who are afraid to leave their homes, walking school buses, and going to accompaniment hearings are all responses. Minnesota out in the streets at a general strike, being calm, playing drum kits on bridges, dancing in the streets are all responses. Our gathering on Zoom is a response to the deaths of Renee Good, Keith Porter, and Alex Pretti; it is not the last word. Who we are, how we heal, how we bring the kin-dom is the final word, ultimately, as a Christian, it is Jesus who has the last word, and for others, it is an ethical mindfulness, a good orderly direction, or the divine spark. It is whatever moves you to step up and change the world. 

May it be so.

Amen