Sermon Transcript:  January 22, 2012                  The Third Sunday after the  Epiphany                The Rev. R. Allan McCaslin
Readings: Jonah 3:1-5, 10; Psalm 62:6-14; I Corinthians 7:29-31; Mark 1:14-20

From the Book of Jonah, “And the people of Nineveh believed God.” I speak to you in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

      One of the many things that I like about the Old Testament is that, while it is very clear that God chose Israel to be a model and light to world about living in right relationship with God and neighbor, there is an overriding message that God will save whom God chooses to save: That salvation is not dependent upon birthrights or our national origin; it is, instead, a gift of God’s grace.

      Jewish teaching tells us that it is the righteous who inherit eternal life. And that righteousness is not simply about adhering to rules and regulations, but rather, it is a righteousness that comes from the heart: from the hearts of those who seek and listen to God and, in seeking and listening to God, they choose to live righteous lives. Righteous lives are measured by how we keep God’s laws of which the Ten Commandments are supreme. As the Psalmist would say, the righteous place their hope in God because they recognize that God is their rock and their salvation. They are content to wait in silence for God. As Proverbs (20:7) says, “A righteous man walks with integrity,” or as Matthew (13:24) says, “The righteous inherit the Kingdom of God.” 

      Christians say that it is our faith that leads to eternal life: That it is because  of our faith that we walk with integrity; that our faith in God is the reason  we have hope and are content to wait in silence for God. What we need to realize is that when Jews speak of righteousness they often mean the same as when we speak of faith because the fact is that we cannot be righteous without having faith and we cannot be faithful without being righteous. Our faith or righteousness is demonstrated in how we live every moment of every day; how we embrace God’s values; God’s commands.

    In studying the scriptures for this Third Sunday after the Epiphany, I was reminded that the Book of Jonah is read aloud from start to finish on the Jewish Day of Atonement – the Yom Kippur. The story of Jonah is not about saving Israel, but rather, it is about saving the Ninevites: the people who lived in the capital city of Assyria – Israel’s enemy. And this particular city, Nineveh, a city larger than Babylon, was an incredibly corrupt city. Knowing this about Nineveh, perhaps we can understand a little better why Jonah was so reluctant to go there. After all shouldn’t God be focused on the righteous: focused on us - God’s chosen people; God’s faithful people? Why should God care about these foreigners: these Gentiles? And that’s the point of reading Jonah on the most solemn day of the Jewish Year. It reminds Jews, just as it should remind us, God will save whom God chooses to save. And whom does God choose? All who believe God: every one of them! Jonah draws to a close in today’s Old Testament reading saying that the “people of Nineveh believed God …and God changed his mind about (judgment) and did not do it.”  All who believe God are saved. 

      This leads me to ask the question, do you believe God? Not do you believe in  God, but rather, do you believe God? When God promises to judge us, to be present to us at all times, to hear us, to watch us, to engage with us, to chide us, to save and redeem, do you believe God? This leads to another question: Does believing God change how we think, how we act, and how we live? You see, the other part of the story about Nineveh is what happened after they believed God and were spared God’s judgment. The people of Nineveh changed how they lived; how they treated each other. Nineveh became a center for learning and sharing the cultural arts; where all residents had access to fresh water and all her citizens cared for. We tend to think of God’s intervention in this world and our response to God, our believing God, as an ending. But God’s action and our choosing to believe God is always a beginning. Like the people of Nineveh, believing God should change our lives not just once, but every  day.

       Some have suggested that the entire 7th Chapter of St. Paul’s first letter to the Church at Corinth is anti-marriage and that could not be farther from the truth. Paul was very supportive of marriage and taught that fidelity, being faithful in our marriages, is a way to demonstrate our faithfulness to God, our righteousness before others. Remember, Paul was urging the Corinthians to understand that God has not saved us from  something, but rather, that by God’s grace, we have been saved to  a new way of life that furthers Christ’s reconciling light and presence in this world. Paul was convinced that Christ would return at any moment and, with a sense of urgency, begged his readers to live into their calling. So, Paul says if you’re single: stay single. If you’re married: stay married. Whatever your station, you have been called to a righteous and faithful life that demonstrates and embraces God’s values; God’s commandments. Paul says that  is what we need to be focused on. He was wrong about Christ’s return, and, yet, it didn’t dissuade him from believing God or choosing to live as a faithful, righteous man. 

      In today’s Gospel reading, we heard that story often referred to as “the calling of the disciples.” But, the reality is that it was quite some time before these men became “disciples.” A disciple is one who doesn’t simply listen to a particular teacher, but rather, a disciple seeks after their teacher and learns to embrace his teaching so that they become just like him.   In today’s reading, these men are attracted to Jesus as a teacher or Rabbi. But our familiarity with this story can cause us to miss a very important and unique point of Jewish teaching. When Jesus calls these fishermen, he is reversing tradition. Jewish students would seek out their rabbi/teacher and yet here, we find the reverse: the rabbi seeking his students. This is very much like God calling his prophets in the Old Testament like Jonah. And Jesus, using the image of fishing for people, reminds us that we are saved tosomething: that we have a purpose that goes beyond mere learning; it is a call to action in this world; an action that comes not from simply within us, but rather, from God who says, “I  will make you fishers of people.” 

     And all of this occurred after John the Baptizer was arrested. In other words, as John’s ministry ends, Jesus’ ministry begins and, with John’s arrest, we are reminded that Jesus begins his ministry in a world that clearly destroys God’s prophets. This brings us to the heart of Mark’s gospel: Mark says that Jesus came proclaiming “the time has been fulfilled. The Kingdom of God has come near.” That, regardless of whether people believe or don’t believe, God is acting now and God continues to act today because God keeps God’s promises. I shared with a parishioner this week, that the key to understanding the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ is found in the gospels and, in particular, Mark’s gospel which tells us God is faithful; God fulfills God’s promises to God’s people. And who are God’s people? All who believe God. 

      Jesus came teaching that the Kingdom of God comes to all of us in humility, one soul at a time, asking us to believe God and to “follow” Christ. God’s kingdom requires human collaboration. Thus, it is not just outright established like some physical Kingdom, but rather, it is a spiritual realm and process of continuous conversion and turning to God. It begins with people believing God and then letting God do what God chooses to do in us and through us so that, embodying the grace, forgiveness, and love of God in every aspect of our lives, we can enable others to believe God.  

      Jonah wondered why God was interested in Nineveh – a gentile, corrupt city – rather than focusing on the righteous people of Israel. We might wonder why God would care about the unchurched in West Memphis, especially those who are so very different from us. I mean, after all God, we have our own  needs to care for and look after. Jonah learned that God will save whom God chooses to save. So, Jonah took the message to Nineveh: the people believed God and their city changed her course for the better. Paul believed God and was counted righteous among men. The Psalmist believed God and his soul was content to wait in silence. Jesus calls us to believe God and become his disciples; to be his life changing presence in this city; to become fishers of people.  
 
      Do we believe God? And does our belief change how we think, act, live, and demonstrate God’s unconditional love and grace as the body of Christ in this community? Every time we offer a meal, give the thirsty something drink, visit the sick, bind up the wounded, or welcome the stranger, we demonstrate that we believe God who said, "as you have done to the least of these ... you have done to me." But notice, my beloved, these are all action words. Our faith is never static: Believing God is a call to movement. The people of Nineveh believed God and God spared them. Could that be said of West Memphis? If so, perhaps it’s time to go fishing. Amen.