Jonah 3:1-5,10; Mark 1:14-20
January 25, 2015
© 2015
A man who was a high school industrial arts
teacher came to church for special occasions with his wife who was a deacon in a
church I served. He was pleasant but clear he was not a believer. Our high school
youth went on summer mission-work trips. One year he came to me and offered to
go with the group saying, “I’ve got tools and skills for this kind of work, and
I’d like to help. You know I’m not a believer, but I promise I won’t do or say
anything to undermine anyone’s faith. When you have study and worship, I’ll
just go in another room.” After three years of going on the youth mission trips
he joined the church. He said, “As I sat in another room listening, I was
impressed with how real and important Jesus was to these young people, and I
wanted to follow Jesus too.” A couple of years later he became a deacon.
He heard Jesus: “Good news! Your time to turn
around and come home is here. Nothing can stop God from welcoming you to a new
life of exuberant confidence.”
God’s good news is not just for those whom
Jesus is calling for the first time. As we see in Mark 1:14-20, Jesus’ call is
good news for all of us.
Now
after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of
God, 15and
saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent,
and believe in the good news.” 16As Jesus passed along the Sea of
Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for
they were fishermen. 17And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I
will make you fish for people.” 18And immediately they left their nets and
followed him. 19As he went a little farther, he saw James
son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20Immediately
he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired
men, and followed him.
John the Baptist introduced Jesus and his
ministry, which Jesus kicked into high gear after John was arrested. This shocked
Herod Antipas who thought he had eliminated John’s troubling preaching only to
hear that Jesus preached the same message, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near;
repent, and believe in the good news.” Like the game Whack a Mole, Herod got caught in a game of Whack a Prophet.
Many sermons on this passage focus on the
pairs of fisherman brothers: Simon and Andrew, James and John. But it also
invites us to see, understand and respond to God’s good news.
God’s good news is that “the time is
fulfilled.” The start of Jesus’ ministry was the turning point in God’s plan to
redeem humanity. Jesus’ preaching invited people to an unprecedented opportunity
to participate in God’s redemptive plan. Whatever they might have been waiting
for, the decisive moment had arrived. The rest of the New Testament extends the
propitious moment even to us.
All through Hebrew history God’s people had
been waiting for the Kingdom of God to dawn. They saw a few brief glimmers such
as the good years of David and Solomon, but from Moses to Nehemiah and Ezra
they mostly experienced yearning and disappointment. Jesus preached that heaven
had come to earth for those who would believe in and live in it. For us too,
God’s good news is to live in the exuberant confidence of the Kingdom of God
regardless of our circumstances.
Repent just means to turn around. Repentance
is not about feeling miserable or wallowing in guilt, shame and regret.
Repentance is God’s good news that we are no longer captives of our past but welcome
to turn toward home.
In our time people say they “believe in” God
meaning they believe God exists. About 25 times the New Testament speaks of
believing in Christ in the sense of trusting Christ for the totality of life,
but only a couple of times affirming God’s existence. Mark 1:15 is the only
place the New Testament says to “believe in” the Gospel. This is living daily as
a resident the Kingdom of God.
Though Jonah preached to Nineveh in a spirit
of judgment and hostility rising out of ethnic, cultural and religious
prejudice and hatred, his message was God’s good news to the people of Nineveh.
They turned around, and God was merciful.
John the Baptist had introduced the four
fishermen to Jesus so when Jesus called, they received and followed God’s good
news! It was their time to turn around. God welcomed them to a new life of
unlimited exuberant confidence.
You may feel that Highlands Christian Church
is marking time on this interim journey between pastors. However, I tell you
with considerable confidence the time is fulfilled! Now is God’s time of
Kingdom opportunity for you! You are not waiting for a new pastor. God is
preparing you for a new pastor, whom God is also preparing for you. The
spiritual fervor and hunger of people in this congregation is readily apparent.
God is among you! So Jesus’s call to repent is a call to leave behind your
limitations. Believe in God’s future for Highlands Christian Church by living now
what you believe God’s future is for you.
You may feel your life is in a holding
pattern. That tug deep inside that wants more is the Holy Spirit saying, “Now
is your time! The circumstances you think are hindrances are God’s opportunity.”
The Kingdom of God may seem obscure, but Jesus wants you to know that it has
come near, not at an exotic, unattainable distance but in your small daily details.
So let go of your regrets and inhibitions, your uncertainties and inadequacies.
God is welcoming you to exuberant confidence as a resident of the Kingdom of
God, which while hidden from ordinary folk is your most enduring and
substantial reality.
Joe was a developmentally disabled man who came
to the lunch with worship the church I served in NJ had for street people. He helped
set and clear the table and played a hymn on his harmonica as part of our
worship. One day he said, “I’ve been working on something special for today,”
and played Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus. A dozen or so unlikely people got a
taste of the Kingdom of God!
Good News! Your time to turn around and come
home is now. God welcomes you to a new life of exuberant confidence as people
of the Kingdom of God.
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