This sermon was preached on June 23, 2024, and was part of a livestream that can be viewed here.

Good morning, Christ Church! It’s good to be with you for worship today and to get to preach and lead the service while the staff is away on their Guatemala mission trip. 

For anyone I don’t know, my name is Bill Walker, and I used to serve as the Director of Vocation here at Christ Church. I now lead a campus ministry organization at UT called Hill House, where we also talk about vocation with students. In addition, we host dinners, discussions and lectures on a variety of topics that are confronting Christian students at a University like UT, and try to resource them for the integration of faith and their education. For example, this Fall we’re doing a series on “Faith & Reason,” and there may be opportunity at least once or twice for Christ Church to participate as well.

Last weekend, on Sunday evening, many of you were part of Father Matt Dampier’s installation service as the new rector of Christ Church, which I attended as well. And I did so gladly, but I didn’t come with an expectation necessarily to be so moved by it. I guess I thought, this is an important but mostly formal inaugural induction ceremony of some kind. But wow, I found it to be much more than that.

Of course the backyard party afterward with everybody was fun, but the service itself especially was quite touching and challenging in many ways. And I won’t mention everything that could be remembered, but several things in particular stood out from Bishop Todd’s sermon that speak prophetically and pastorally not just to Father Matt, but to our church in particular, and to Christian in our time in general.

The passage that he most drew from was Joshua 1:7-9. That fairly famous and almost cliche coffee mug or Christian t-shirt verse: 

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. DO not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” 

Bishop Todd commented that another way to understand the sense of the Hebrew phrase for “be strong and courageous” is, “do not be alarmed.” Why? Bishop Todd further commented: Because you are in the care of another. You are in the care of another. Do not be alarmed. Be strong and courageous. Because you are in the care of another. 

Let’s pray. Oh God, as Christ Church, and as your followers, we do wish to be people of strength and courage who are not afraid and who are easily alarmed by the many threats and challenges we may face. Teach us, Lord Jesus, to trust you, and guide us into truth through your word this morning we pray, Holy Spirit. Amen. 

Recently I read as part of a book club I’m in The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. The subtitle for the book is, “How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness.” 

Now, I know I just quoted Bishop Todd and Scripture basically saying, “do not be alarmed.” And yet, admittedly, this book is trying to sound an alarm – but for good reason, I think. And the alarm is being sounded for reasons that many of us probably already recognize. But research and the evidence in the book confirms even more what some have feared, which is that, indeed, our smart phones and screens are doing something harmful to all of us, but especially to our young people. Our smart phones and screens already have done harm, unfortunately. 

Now, that’s a very serious topic that deserves our attention, but that’s not what I want to focus on this morning. Rather, another part of this book, The Anxious Generation, takes time to diagnose our current cultural moment a bit more. Not just the technological and virtual features of it, but other things as well. And this builds on to a previous book by Haidt called The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting Up a Generation for Failure. 

See, the thesis of Haidt’s The Anxious Generation could be summarized this way: “parents have underprotected their kids in the virtual world and overprotected them in the real world.” And this needs to be reversed. 

Isn’t that interesting? Because it’s not something that we might all immediately recognize. The underprotection in the virtual world, sure, but overprotection in the real world – that’s perhaps less obvious, and where I think I think we and I have some more learning to do. 

The basis for this claim of overprotection is that kids, by and large, especially between the ages of say three and ten, very much need what Haidt refers to as “free play.” And free play is characterized by a few things: regular experience of relatively unsupervised, relatively unstructured, and relatively risky play and activity with other children – preferably of different ages, and preferably outdoors. 

As soon as you hear that, if you’re like me, you’re thinking, oh yeah, of course that’s what they need. It’s almost like I knew that already. But for a variety of reasons, we’ve taken more and more of this play time and free time away from kids in the last few decades. 

And so this isn’t just about smart phones. Actually this trend of decreasing free play, Haidt argues, started largely in the 80s and 90s. And there are many reasons he gives for this. I’m not going to list all of them, but it has to do with things like families having fewer children, not trusting or knowing their neighbors as much, a lot more undue focus on kids’ achievements, grades, college readiness, and so on. 

It’s worth mentioning, and you can probably tell that this doesn’t describe everyone’s situation, but more so the majority middle and upper-middle class demographic. But it is a major trend.

And Haidt’s point here is obviously not to say that we shouldn’t be very watchful and careful when it comes to our kids’ safety. There are all kinds of appropriate and wise measures that should be taken to protect young people and all people. This is not a call away from that responsibility.

We live in a sinful and broken world where very bad and awful things happen all the time. The problem is, we hear about so many of these bad things all the time. We hear about bad things, and know about bad things, much more than people in the past – because of our technology, our news, our information. And because bad news does sell, and it’s addicting. 

Bad news is addicting because it’s hardwired into human psychology to be alert to threats. To be alarmed. It’s how we have survived in many ways over millennia – by being aware of and avoiding danger. 

Haidt gives this addiction a name for our own time. He calls it “safetyism.” Here is a definition:

“Safetyism refers to a culture or belief system in which safety has become a sacred value, which means that people are unwilling to make trade-offs demanded by other practical and moral concerns.”

Does this sound familiar to us? Does it describe our culture? I think so. Not everyone. But it is a major trend that we’re seeing and we’re experiencing. 

Hopefully it’s not too soon to use this example, but it seems like COVID really did illustrate this as well as anything. There were necessary and good safety measures put in place, especially when we had such little information. Protecting the most vulnerable was a proper and good concern. But in some instances, people and institutions really might have taken things too far. 

“Be safe”, “Stay safe,” almost become the new standard greeting used in conversations and salutations. Which again, is not all bad. And there were reckless responses to COVID, and many people did die. So it’s not easy. There’s a balance here. 

But I think you get my point. Safety is one of our absolute highest values and even what you could call an addiction or an idol, for many in our culture. 

If the goal of human life were simply to survive, and be safe, then this might be ok. But we all know that life is about much more than that. Certainly the Christian life is. And we can’t live in a state of constant fear and alarm. 

Maybe you’ve heard this cited before about commands in the Bible, of which there are many, and of course we know the Ten Commandments, and the Beatitudes. But what is the most frequent command in all of Scripture? It’s something like, “Do not be afraid.” “Fear not.” “Trust in the Lord with all your heart.” “Do not worry.” “Be anxious about nothing.” And on and on I could go. All of these commands fall back on one single principle. “Have faith, for you are in the care of another.”  

Look, we all know, the world is not safe. It’s not a safe place. It’s somewhat safe in this part of the world than in other places. It’s probably safer here than in Ukraine, Sudan, Gaza…

But we’re not.. We’re not that safe either. There’s clearly a strong correlation between cancer and living in advanced industrial societies like ours. Much of the food that we eat and the air that we breathe is less safe than it used to be. From heart disease to car accidents, there are many dangers. And yes, there are steps you can take to eat better and drive more safely or drive less, and those are good things to do. But we absolutely cannot ensure our safety or the safety of those we love. 

So what really is the lesson that Jesus is giving here, and that God would have us head when it comes to fear and anxiety and safety and insecurity. And faith? How exactly are we supposed to be strong and courageous in a dangerous world? I mean, the disciples had Jesus himself in their boat, and they were still very afraid. I’m sure I would have been too.  

And you know, unfortunately, the answer does not appear to be: if you’re in a storm, cry out to Jesus, and he will calm it down. He will rescue you. That is of course what happens in this story. But it’s not often what happens in our stories. Sometimes the storm persists. Sometimes the storm gets worse. Sometimes it even overwhelms and overtakes us or our friends. Our loved ones. So no, I don’t think the takeaway is that Jesus is merely our rescue boat. 

There was one more thing that Bishop Todd promised to Father Matt last week that is worth mentioning here. He said, and I’m paraphrasing: “Matt, if there’s one thing I wish for you, it’s that you would look back on your time as rector at Christ Church, hopefully many years from now, and be able to say that, you were companioned by God. And that there was a strength and a courage that was available and that you enjoyed, but that it was not yours. It was from another.” 

So I think that’s the first truth here. First, Jesus is with us in the storm. He has been in every storm that any of us or anyone else has experienced. And he is closer to us than we are to ourselves in our own storms. 

And secondly, Jesus is more powerful than any storm. He has power over the storm. He will outlast the storm. He has outlasted the storm. One that bore the consequences of all the storms we’ve caused or been cast into. So yes, we too can outlast any storm. 

I turned forty this week. And I mention this because any birthday, any aging milestone, even any anniversary – it has the potential to of course prompt reflection, and reflection that is based on gratitude. And truly that is where most of my reflection has been directed. It’s directed toward that for which I am grateful in my life. 

But there’s another part of the reflection that points to places in my life and heart where I do not yet fully trust and reflect Christ to others, you know? And where I want to. But I think there’s still some fear in me. Fear of failure, fear of not having enough, fear of the disapproval of others. 

I would have liked to be able to say that by age forty, I have overcome these fears. But in truth, they are still there, however small or big sometimes. 

And that’s where this story challenges me the most. Because it’s one thing to try to trust that Jesus is ultimately going to rescue us and calm the story. And that is comforting. It is part of our faith to hold to that. But I think even more profound than what Jesus offers to us, is what Jesus can offer to others and to the world through us when we trust him, and when we live with deep, abiding trust in him. 

When we live with a confidence that Jesus is with us and more powerful than whatever circumstances we are facing – when we are unalarmed in the face of threats and insecurities – we invite and we empower others to live with that same confidence. And then you begin to imagine what is possible when a whole community does that together. The good news that can get proclaimed with that sort of love and peace and care for God’s justice and purposes in the world. It’s astounding, and it’s what we’re being called into through the story to us this morning. 

And while Jesus is the source of our faith amid the storms, he’s also the model for our faith. He too had to put full trust in the care of his heavenly Fand walk by faith as fully human. And he did this for us for our own inspiration and instruction.

So let me leave you with this question: Are there any places in your own life where inordinate fear is holding you back and keeping you from the life of flourishing that God wants and has for you? Has fear grown too powerful? 

Imagine Jesus asking you the question, “Why are you afraid?” And let yourself feel safe enough to give an honest answer. And then, consider how you might respond to the invitation to redirect your faith toward the one who is always with you in every storm and stronger than any storm. 

I want to close be simply reading the words of Jesus from elsewhere in the gospel:

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”– John 16:33

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

[The audio for this sermon can be heard here, and the video of the whole service is available on YouTube.]

July 10, 2022: Deuteronomy 30:9-14; Luke 10:25-37

Recently I got to spend most of the week between Sundays at Seattle Pacific University’s Center for Faithful Business. I had a research fellowship to spend time at their library, and they have a really unique collection of books on Faith and Business. And I’ll say more about what we did for that week in a moment.

But also there’s this longstanding gathering that’s been happening for years now at Christ Church called the Faith & Business lunch. And we’re on a break for the summer, and I don’t know what it will look like in the Fall exactly yet, but regardless, this has been an important part of my work as the Director of Vocation and of the Vocation Initiative these last three years. 

And so the subject of Faith & Business and Faith & Work is especially on my mind, and the Deuteronomy passage for today begins by talking about God’s promise to bless the Israelites with abundant prosperity in all of their undertakings — in their farming and raising of livestock, and raising children, basically their whole economy life and livelihood — which you could call that their business. It’s not only their business, but it certainly includes business. At least by ancient Middle Eastern standards. 

Like most churches, we have many members of our congregation working in the marketplace in various capacities. Business itself is the biggest area of employment in our society — and in the world — in terms of both the percentage of people in the labor force and just on the basis of overall economic value that is created by businesses.

And even if you don’t own a business or work for a company, or a corporation of some kind, you are part of the marketplace. As a consumer, at the very least, but often more than that. If you work in government, a non-profit, or even if you’re just the manager of a household budget — even an individual budget – you are a participant and agent of commerce and of exchange that is contributing to and being affected by business, by money, by the economy, by the marketplace.

And God cares about that. God cares about that a lot. God cares about all of it, and how we as the body of Christ, we as the church, as followers of Jesus, spend our money and interact with people in and through the marketplace – in and through business. Every purchase – every decision — can have spiritual and theological weight.

And we see this — this blessing of and concern for economic and commercial activity — in Deuteronomy chapter 30! 

So that’s where we’re going to turn for a moment.  Let’s pray.

Duet 30:9-10

30:9 and the LORD your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all your undertakings, in the fruit of your body, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your soil. For the LORD will again take delight in prospering you, just as he delighted in prospering your ancestors,

30:10 when you obey the LORD your God by observing his commandments and decrees that are written in this book of the law, because you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

Now there may be something about this verse might make us feel a little uncomfortable. It has that sound of a touch of the health and wealth, or prosperity gospel, as though to say that if we just do what God asks, we’ll get what we want.

But the prospect of abundant prosperity is tempered significantly by verse 10. The promised blessing is for those who obey the voice of the Lord and keep the commandments. Verse 10 calls the people to continually return to the Lord with their heart and mind, a deliberate reference to the Shema prayer in Deuteronomy 6 that commands the people to love the Lord with all of one’s heart, mind, soul, and strength.

Which implies as well the love of neighbor as oneself. Jesus ties this command inextricably to the the love of God when asked in Luke 10 what the greatest commandment is. And then we’re given the example in that same chapter of the Good Samaritan as a standard for what this means — someone who gives very sacrificially and at great risk to himself for the sake of a stranger.

And so, for someone who is trying to justify themselves, like this teacher of the law — right, he wants to know, am I off the hook since I’ve so obedient — Jesus provides no justification, does he, for anything conspicuous consumption, chasing after wealth in a world that experiences poverty and pain. You just don’t get any of that here. 

And this parable is really only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all that Jesus has to say about wealth and prosperity:

E.g., Jesus in Luke 6:24-25

“But woe to you who are rich,

for you have already received your comfort.

Woe to you who are well fed now,

for you will go hungry.”

Or later in Luke 18, with the exchange between Jesus and the rich young ruler. When the man went away sad after Jesus instructed him to sell all of his possessions and give to the poor, 

24 Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! 25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

Ok, but this rich young ruler is a lot like the teacher of the law in Luke 10 who asks, who Is my neighbor? He’s not asking, “how do I seek the Lord with all of my heart?”  No, he’s asking, something like, what is the minimum I need to do to get God off my back. To go on with my life the way I want. 

So while there is great tension throughout the Bible between warnings about wealth and blessings in the form of wealth, there seems to also be consistency when it comes to God’s concern about our hearts. Just as in Deuteronomy 30, when God says, I will bless you as you seek me, and draw near to me, and love me, and obey me. 

Just one more biblical reference that helps us here. With this whole subject of wealth and obedience, and how that relationship works, the story of Job comes to mind. Job had all of this prosperity in spades — livestock, agricultural produce, a large family, a big household business, essentially, with many people probably working for him. And God was pleased with Job in the story, in the midst of his abundance. God recognized that Job was a righteous man and he was wealthy. 

And despite the counsel from his friends, nothing he did led to his later misfortune. It wasn’t tied to his deeds or to any unfaithfulness.  

As part of our orientation into my research trip to the Center for Faithful Business, we spent about a month leading up to it having a weekly hour-long seminar in which we read and discussed several things, including a book that told the story of a particular company called Service Master.

Service Master started as a janitorial service company that provided cleaning and home and commercial property maintenance services of all kinds. And then it grew over several decades, went public, and acquired a number of other brands and companies in the service sector that are still around and that you would recognize — lawn care, pest control companies, home warranty and appliance services, these kind of things.

But what’s so interesting about Service Master is really two things: It’s four values, and its growth and success over such a longer period of time. Very few public companies if any have had as long of a stretch as Service Master did in the latter half of the 20th Century of growth in profit year after year.    

And here were their values:  

1. 1. Honoring God in all we do (not used for the basis of exclusion! The opposite, in fact… never a test to see if someone was Christian. They also left this open to interpretation for folks who were not Christian. When they did business in Japan, for example, they changed the object to honor the truth, which was friendlier to that religious context) 
   2. Developing people
   3. Growing profitably 
   4. Pursuing excellence

One of the CEOs of Service Master, Bill Pollard, would give his employees, his managers and other executives — all those in leadership — a set of blocks and balance beam, like a seesaw almost. I tried to make an illustration of this in my powerpoint but then I just went with an image.

The honor God block is the only one that’s shaped differently, and it’s the fulcrum or pivot point on which the balance beam rests. The other three blocks are the other three objectives: develop people, pursue excellence, and grow profitably. 

But what you find when you try to lay the three pieces out and balance them is that they constantly slide and move, and it’s very hard to keep the beam from tipping to one side or the other. And that was Pollard’s point — it takes constant work to assess and adjust and return to the values and objectives of the company to make sure that all four of these pieces are in the right place. 

And the key to the four objectives for Service Master, according to Pollard, is that the first two objectives: Honor God and Develop People, were end objectives, end goals. In other words, they were the purpose and aim of the whole enterprise. To pursue excellence and grow profitably, those were still important components, but they were means to the end — not ends in themselves. 

This essentially meant that the company was at least committed in principle to never treating people as means or objects. They were always to be treated as subjects. That is to say, they were seen as made in God’s image and loved by God, and treated as such. All people. Customers and clients, yes, but also employees at every level, suppliers, the broader community that’s affected by the business that’s done — all stakeholders, not just the shareholders, are considered in how the business is conducted. And profit is not the purpose. It’s just the tool. 

In other words, people can never be your means to a profitable end. And to put a finer point on it: People shouldn’t be your means to a profitable end. Neither should they be your means to the end of some other good mission or purpose. 

One of the most memorable things I ever heard in seminary was from an Old Testament professor who taught the course where we read the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, including of course Deuteronomy, and he said the most common problem he sees with young pastors going out into leadership of churches after finishing their divinity degrees is that can easily start caring more about preaching, programs, and growth than they care about actually loving their people. 

Bill Pollard said something similar about his leadership of the Service Master company: He said when you give employees a higher purpose to work for than merely getting the job done or getting their paycheck, it’s very helpful and motivating. But if you’re only giving this a purpose or mission to work for so that they’ll help you achieve your goals more than theirs, then they can tell, and it’s not going to work. 

So for Service Master, the objective for developing people was not merely to get them to be better at doing what you needed them to. It was actually to see them fulfilling and living into their God-given potential and uniqueness, even if that took them away from the company or led them somewhere you’d prefer them not to go. 

Most of us probably know the name John D. Rockefeller, the very wealthy and successful oil business tycoon and founder of the Standard Oil Company in the 19th Century US, etc. He was the first multibillionaire, you could say, in today’s dollar value also a great philanthropist and did many good things with his money. I recently read, though, that when some of his workers was asked about all of this, and what they thought of him, they replied they wished he would have paid them a higher wage for their labor.

This lesson applies to all of us. How are we treating people? As a means or an end? You may not be trying to maximize shareholder value, but we all have different self-interested aims. How do others factor into this for you?

Households and even churches, as organizations, function in much the same way. There’s certain things we’re trying to accomplish. It’s so easy to slip into treating people as means, objects, instruments. Business or not. 

And I take this to be a key takeaway lesson from the Good Samaritan too. The Priest and the Levi are going about their business. They didn’t want to be inconvenienced. Helping him would have gotten in the way of their plans. Or it might have also broken some kind of purity law — which of the commandments are the greatest?! That was the question that was being asked by this teacher of the law, and this parable answer him on several levels.

So this is the question we can ask ourselves: in your work, in your business, in all of your undertakings, how do you see people? Do you see them as God’s image bearers? Do you see their dignity and their unsurpassable worth? Because that’s how God sees them. And that’s how God sees you and me. 

So in your work, and in your business — and in everything you do— may the Lord delight in abundantly prospering your every endeavor, as you seek the Lord and turn to him, to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. Amen. 

[The video for this worship service and sermon can be found here.]

I was at the airport recently and noticed a couple of magazines fairly prominently displayed that had cover articles about Jesus, which I thought was a little bit surprising. But then again, this was close to Easter, and there are still millions of Christians in this country, so it makes sense from a marketing perspective at least. One was Life Magazine, and the other, National Geographic.

Both articles were the feature stories, and they were special additions — you can see them here — looking at the life of Jesus, his importance, historically, as one of the influential individuals who has ever lived, and specifically even the events leading to his death, according to the gospels. And both accounts were more or less faithful. The National Geographic piece in particular was very well written and researched. 

In fact, in reading these two stories — I bought both magazines — I was deeply moved and drawn into these portraits of Jesus. Because they were compelling, and I found my faith strengthened by them. 

Which is interesting, because neither of these magazine’s are written from a faith-based point of view. Neither of them assumed any believe in God or Jesus as the Son of God. And yet, when it comes to the details of the life of Jesus and the gospel records, there was little question at all about 1) the truth of many of these events, and the respect and reverence that is due him in the story, for how he conducted himself, and how he suffered and was willing to suffer. Why is that?

So I want to explore this for a minute and ask, what is that we notice about Jesus that is so attractive here? And yet, that is also so hard to actually believe? 

And I want to suggest two primary observations: one, Jesus is boldly confrontational! He’s not afraid of conflict. He’s courageous. He’s full of conviction and clarity of calling. And yet, just as much… while confrontational, he’s also compassionate and tenderhearted! He’s humble. And as it is says in Philippians 2, he’s obedient and submissive to God’s will, even to the point of death on a cross.

Earlier on in the gospel stories, Jesus doesn’t want people to spread the word about him. Biblical scholars call this the messianic secret. So for example, when Jesus raised Jairus’s daughter from the dead in Luke 8, he told everyone there not to say anything about what they saw. Why? Because it wasn’t his time yet! He still had things to say and do before the Passover, and before the authorities succeeded in their plots against him. 

In the chapters and days leading up to Passover and his turn toward Jerusalem, though, this changes. It’s like he starts saying, bring it on. He’s happy for people to talk about him and hear more about who he really is, because political tension needs to be built up. He is in control of this whole process. He’s confronting the political and religious leaders on his terms, not theirs — and in his timing, not theirs.

And when he enters Jerusalem, it’s already a highly charged and volatile environment due to the significance of Passovers remembrance of liberation from slavery in Egypt. There are probably tens of thousands more people than usual in maybe a 50,000 person town. It’s kind of like being in Austin during ACL or South by Southwest! Hundreds of thousands of people to our couple of million. So it’s big scene, it’s a bit stressful, chaotic, rowdy… and security is on high alert. 

So the stage is set, and Jesus takes advantage of it. In fact, he really steals the show. Only he does so in a way that no one would have expected. He’s riding in a colt — other gospels say donkey or foal — either way, the meaning is the same. It’s not a war horse. 

The custom for a truly imperial or royal procession would have been for someone like Herod or Pilate or Caesar or whoever to ride into the town on a stallion — some magnificent animal with an army escort and heavily outfitted brigade of soldiers to signify conquest and victory from the battlefield. This great expression of worldly power, saying, look at me! A celebration of successful violence and killing — forced subjection of another people.

Jesus’s procession receives a similar treatment by the crowds — palm branches, cloaks, indicated royalty and honor and so forth — but none of the actual prowess and weaponry of a military procession. That’s not the way the Kingdom of God breaks in. 

It’s not coercive. It does not seek to harm anyone or force itself, but it does still pose a threat. It’s subversive. Because it exposes the current power structures for they are. Oppressive, fragile, impermanent. Fear-based. Manufactured.

Because remember, Jesus is still claiming to be King here. He’s not denying it. He lets the people say it! And when the Pharisees ask him to rebuke them, he refuses. And what does he say? “I tell you, if these were to be silent, the very stones would cry out.”

It’s kind of like Jujutsu! I have a friend who’s gotten really into Jiu-jitsu, and he has his whole family doing it now, so I’ve been curious about it, and I’m aware of its uniqueness in the world of hand-to-hand combat and martial arts. Here’s how Jiu-Jitsu is defined:

“Jū” can be translated as “gentle, soft, supple, flexible, pliable, or yielding”, and “jutsu” can be translated as “art or technique”. “Jujutsu” thus has the meaning of “yielding-art”, as its core philosophy is to manipulate the opponent’s force against themself rather than confronting it with one’s own force. These techniques were developed around the principle of using an attacker’s energy against him, rather than directly opposing it.

And I especially appreciate the artful aspect and reflex of this strategy, because it really does describe what Jesus seems to be doing here. When he comes into town on the colt, it’s street theater. It’s performative.

He’s orchestrating a dramatic re-depiction of who the real King is in the story. It’s political satire — a parody and counter narrative to the prevailing storyline of the day. Who is Lord? Jesus or Ceasar? The people give their answer, which is the true one, whether they understand the implications of that truth or not. 

And so the meaning of Palm Sunday begins to become clear to us. Caesar’s kingdom, the empire of Rome, rules by fear with threats of violence, demanding submission. God’s kingdom, the kingdom of heaven, rules by faith with a promise of peace, inspiring joy.

You see because again, while yes, Jesus is boldly confrontational, contending for justice, claiming his rightful seat on the throne, we see as well that he’s humble and tenderhearted, submissive and obedient to the Father’s will. 

He’s gentle. He’s lowly…. As Tim Keller said once in a sermon: “Jesus was the most humble man, but he was by no means modest.”

So his humility isn’t modest or timid. It’s strong and courageous.This kind of bold humility is very rare, isn’t it! These two things don’t tend to go together. Most of us are prone to one or the other. It’s fight or flight:

We’re afraid of conflict and avoid it. We run away from it. Or we’d rather downplay it and sweep it under the rug. 

Or, maybe we’re not afraid of it, and we even like it, but we go into it with hostility and condemnation. This is cancel culture, call-out culture. 

Jesus somehow manages to do neither. He faces conflict, and engages in it, but he does so with grace and truth, with boldness and tenderness together. 

After the triumphal entry, in the next couple verses, it tells us that 

41 And when [Jesus] drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes… Luke 19:41-42

And then he goes on to predict their pending judgment… 

Jesus is agonizing, mourning, and deeply distraught. Because he loves Jerusalem and everyone in it! He’s brokenhearted that so many of his very people have rejected the Kingdom he has come to bring them. Sure, some of them just laid down some cloaks, or waved Palm branches, as it tells us in John’s gospel. But they still don’t get it. And as the story unfolds just a few short days later, some of these same people demand that Barrabbas the insurrectionist be released instead of Jesus.

And this is where we begin to see ourselves in the story most clearly. For we too have laid down our cloaks and waived our palm branches for Jesus — we attracted to his boldness and power, his willingness to stand up for something and confront the hypocrisy of the authorities!

But then the invitation comes. Will you pick up your cross and follow me? Will you deny yourself and trust that this really is the way? Many times, like the crowd, we too choose Barrabbas a few days later. 

Because trusting in God’s kind of peace, and God’s kind of security is hard, isn’t it? Standing for the the things Jesus and his Kingdom is costly, scary, lonely. The peace and protection, the peace and security of the world is appealing!

This Holy Week friends, I want to pose a question. We’ve called this year’s Lent a graceful one, and really, it always should be. But as we approach Maundy Thursday and Good Friday this week, may you carefully consider: Which peace and security are you trusting in and standing up for? Is it God’s, or is the world’s?

If it’s the world’s:

1. Maybe it’s money. Money’s a big one. It has a hold on many of us.
2. Maybe it’s power and control. Or maybe it’s politics, which is closely related. Maybe some of us need to ask, have a made a god of my country or my political ideology? Do I see the log in my neighbors eye before the spec in my own when I disagree with them? 
3. Or maybe it’s the approval of others. 

These tend to be the big three: money, power, people. Some would add pleasure as a fourth (food, sex, other sensual gratifications). What is lording over you? Where is your heart? Redirect it this morning. Confess and repent, and let us remember Paul’s words:

5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

Amen.

This is the manuscript for a sermon I preached at Christ Church Austin on Feb. 15. Here is the audio.

As you all know if you’ve been with us, we’ve been talking about vocation again in the new year– specifically our common vocation as Christians, and how we are all called to not only particular areas of work in our lives as part of God’s mission in the world – but also in general to wholeness and holiness as disciples of Jesus Christ, loving God and loving others in all that we do.

And we’ve been looking at Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount in the gospel of Matthew, primarily chapter 5. As Father Matt talked about last week, we see that Jesus is telling his disciples – telling us – that we’re salt and light, that we’re a city on a hill! This is what we’re supposed to be. This is who we are. Not abolishing but fulfilling the original intent of the Law. Reflecting God’s character!

And holiness is attractive, it’s evangelistic, it’s compelling. It’s good for us.

I’ve had the chance recently to be part of two different Fuller Cohort retreats with folks from Christ Church. Many of you have heard us talking about this. Fuller Cohorts are one of the main ways that we’re inviting everyone in our church into a dedicated season of vocational and spiritual formation – for one year in a group of about 20 other people and in several small groups, learning new faith practices together and discerning vocation in a community and retreat setting. We’re doing this both with people in our church and with others in the city who are part of other churches as part of our desire to serve and invite others into this beyond just our congregation.

And something we talk about in the Fuller Cohorts is that the most common setback in the journey of discipleship isn’t actually knowing whatto do – it isn’t knowingour calling or vocation exactly– this is often what we are tempted to focus on the most – but rather, the more common setback is actually just being able todowhat God is already calling us to do! Indeed, though sometimes we might lack clarity, we even more often lack the conviction, the courage, or the commitment we need to do what God has asked.

Now, of course we care a lot about vocational discernment and discovering what God is calling us to do in our lives – how we’re gifted, equipped, unique…. And especially as it relates to understanding and appreciating that God cares about all areas, every arena of our lives, and that our daily work is the primary place we’re called to live on mission for God!

But even more important than this, even more primary in our lives as disciples, I think we should say – and even more difficult— is the call to wholeness and holiness, and actually living that out. Doing what God has commanded us to do in loving God and others. It’s easier to know than it is to do. At least, it is for many of us – certainly for me it is!

Because if we ask, for instance, why is there so much suffering in the world? Why is there unhappiness? Why is there so much anger? Why is there so much infidelity? Why is there so much dishonesty/deception? These problems that Jesus talks about in the gospel reading today…

Is there anger, lust/greed or deceit in the world because we don’t know our true vocations? Or because we don’t have our dream jobs or ideal life circumstances? Well, I think that plays a role, and is perhaps partly to blame….

But no, ultimately, that’s not the main reason!No, it isn’t for lack of information about what to do or even how to do it. Rather,we simply are not able to do what God has commanded and called us to because it’s very hard! And we’re prone, we’re predisposed, we’re just incapable of fulfilling God’s law.

In fact one of the most common way we seek to be fulfilled in America, at least for a certain segment of the population, is by pursuing a dream job, career or image of yourself. You know that saying, “Do what you love!” Pursue your passions! If it were only that simple! If it were only that easy…

A friend in the church sent me a quote this week from Eugene Peterson that touched on this very point:

“Having a good job doesn’t mean that we’ll do it well. Having the right role doesn’t guarantee righteousness. Saul, for example, had good work to do, yet he — as Israel’s first king — failed at his job. We can’t look to our job, our positions, for righteousness… Jobs are important. Things need to be done. But no job is perfectly suited for carrying out God’s purposes. The key to living vocationally — that is, being “God-called,” Spirit-annointed — isn’t getting the right job or career but doing kingdom work in whatever circumstances we find ourselves.” — Eugene Peterson, Leap Over a Wall

Peterson is talking about the call to wholeness here– to an integrated life. One in which the chief goal isn’t the right outward appearance, title, job or image, but rather the same character of holiness in every area of our lives, whether at work, at home, or in the community or church.

And in Matthew 5:21-37, Jesus is talking about three big things that get in the way of our wholeness, our wholeness, our integratedness – our love of God and our love of neighbor: Specifically, 1) anger, 2) lust and 3) dishonesty. And I want to spend time primarily on anger today.

 “Anger and contempt are twin scourges of the earth. Mingled with greed and sexual lust, these bitter emotions form the poisonous brew in which human existence stands suspended. Few people ever get free of them in this life, and for most of us even old age does not bring relief.” Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy, 150

If you think about it, is there is anything more human and more pervasive than sex and violence? There’s little wonder that these are the two things that are repeatedly cited as the areas of our greatest problems in life by the media.

Every age, and every era, has its own set of problems and sins. We are not any more sinful today as a human race than we were fifty or a hundred years ago, believe it or not. No, we were just as sinful then as we are now.

However, there are still particular ways that our sin tends to manifest itself that are perhaps more noticeable now than in previous time periods.And it seems to me that there are a few key ways we could characterize our current cultural climate if we’re just looking at our society here in North America: We are angry. We are lustful. We are dishonest.

Murder/Anger/hatred/contempt/vengeance:

²¹ “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ ²² But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

²³ “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you,²⁴ leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

Now, Jesus is not saying that it’s wrong to get mad about some things! In fact, Jesus himself elsewhere models an appropriate righteous indignation toward injustice and hypocrisy.

Indeed, even in this very passage, it seems, Jesus is surely expressing anger particularly at those in the next section who were divorcing their wives for illegitimate reason and because of the lust in their hearts that they had toward other women. Women could almost never divorce men. It was always the other way around, and there were many cases of men taking advantage of this and leaving their wives tremendously vulnerable, disgraced and consigning them to lives of shame or even prostitution. And I think it’s safe to say that Jesus was justifiably mad about this.

But the kind of anger that Jesus is calling sinful here is different. These words, “Raca,” and “You fool,” are expressions that belittles someone and calls for their elimination. To say a person is dead to you, essentially. That you judge them to be worthless. It’s a demeaning, dismissing and dehumanizing statement. It comes from place of contempt and is similar to a feeling of hatred that we might have toward someone.

And it’s a big deal if anger gets a foothold. So much so that Jesus goes on to say, first go and be reconciled! Before you worship. You can’t have right relationship with God when you haven’t done everything you can to have right relationship with your neighbor, your brother or sister. These teachings are not just for individual behavior or relationship with God. These are the social standards of the Kingdom of God. On earth as it is in heaven.

So yes, some of us might really struggle with anger and hatred toward someone, and if so, this calls for repentance and reconciliation. But I also want to suggest that one of the ways anger manifests itself in our time,while it can be like I’ve just described it, more often is in a subtler fashion that’s not always easy to trace. So while we may not necessarily harbor hatred toward one individual or another, but may nonetheless be holding on to anger and letting it fester in other ways that are potentially just as destructive.

Many of us carry a supply of anger around with them.Henry David Thoreau called this a “quiet desperation” that many people just live with. In our time, it might show itself in something as minor as road rage, or maybe just in response to Austin Marathon detours and traffic!

But it could also be something as serious as a mass shooting, of which our country has the highest rate of any other in the world by far…

“Angry people live in angry bodies.” Bessel A. Van der Kolk, The Body Keeps the Score

Oliver Burkeman, Age of Rage (The Guardian, May 11, 2019):

We’ve built a world that’s very good at generating causes for anger, but not very good at giving us anything constructive to do with it. We live in denser settlements, and thus more frequently have gripes with people who are complete strangers, which means there’s no pre-existing relationship to discuss and process. [I can’t talk to you after you cut me off in traffic!]

We face big, systemic forces that feel very threatening– automation, globalization, etc.–  but that offer few ways for individual people or communities to turn their anger into change.

Social media is unsurprisingly one of the best example of this.

The algorithms of the attention economy relentlessly expose us to enraging stories and opinions, for the [simple] reason that anger spreads more virally than other emotions– so you’re more likely to click, like, share and stay glued to Twitter or Facebook when you’re furious…online, the diet of outrage can be customized precisely to include whatever drives you, personally, up the wall. It’s not so much that social media platforms are full of bigoted trolls and [extremists] with [ignorant] opinions, but rather that, however many there really are, the platforms are designed to ensure you can’t avoid the ones who infuriate you the most…

At the same time, however, the targets of online anger are much more likely to be beyond the reach of productive conversation,either because they’re large and vaguely defined constituencies[, or because it’s someone we know but only maintain a virtual relationship with..]

And the ego, our sinful nature, seems to find its energy precisely by having something to oppose!

So what are we supposed to do with all of this? Well, there are all kinds of self-help, anger management and I’m sure techniques and tactics that you’ve heard or could read about, and some of them are probably quite useful. But as Christians whose common identity and calling is based on Christ’s adoption of us and loving sacrifice for our sake, I think the first thing is to remember what God has already done about all of this.

One of the things that’s helpful to remember when it comes to anger is how much Jesus took on not merely the sin of the world on the cross in general, but also anger, lust, and deceit in particular.

When we look at the cross, one of the things that we’re seeing is, yes — God’s extravagant love of us, and yes we see God’s judgment on our sin –but we also see the tragic and horrific outcome of the human cycle of anger, and rivaly, and blame itself, that leads to the murder of an innocent and righteous man. Jesus’s death shows the bankruptcy of all human justice systems, all failed attempts on our part to be righteous judges of each other. Yes, the Roman system was particularly cruel, but our modern systems have brokenness and darkness in them as well.

The Romans, like many empires and civilizations before them, devised a mechanism that they thought would periodically diffuse rebellion and uprising by publicly shaming, blaming, torturing and killing someone for whatever problem their society happened to be facing– whatever was threatening their sense of security in the world at the time. t’s really a distraction tactic, and it only works for a little while before you have to get angry, blame and execute somebody else. Violence only temporarily suppresses the mob.

But what God does is expose us all for what we truly are. A human race universally infected with the virus of anger and violence, and none of us is innocent. No merehuman sacrifice can take away the sins of the world, no scapegoat can possibly carry the weight of all of humanity’s anger and suffering. But God can. And Christ does – in his human and divine nature. Only he can represent all of us. Only he can stand in our place and remove the stain of our self-righteous anger.

The one true victim who really is innocent is also the one who has the power to forgive us for our sins and our anger. And this same Savior tells us to forgive as we have been forgiven. The source of our patience, our long suffering and our own ability to extend mercy to those who anger us is not found within ourselves but is Christ himself. He enables us to resist anger, to resist bitterness and resist resentfulness. His Spirit softens our hearts towards even our enemies.

That God does not condemn us for our violence against Christ which we ourselves commit – that’s the all-sufficient cooling agent we need to put anger aside.

Living into our common vocation to holiness and wholeness draws entirely on this deep well that puts out any and every fire. It reminds us that none of us is important enough to hold a grudge, to remain unforgiving toward someone, or to feel scandalized or offended for too long.

Now it’s important to recognize that there are situations that some of you are in that probably that feel like the exception to this. You’ve been truly hurt and harmed in a way that you never should have been. Forgiveness perhaps feels impossible, and anger never seems to go away. If that’s where you find yourself, know that God is patience with you as well. And that Christ was and is present to your sufferings. Your sufferings were also his sufferings on the cross.

So what I’d like to do to close is to invite you all to take a minute in prayer to simply make room for the Spirit to speak and reveal anything to you– especially concerning whether there’s any anger – or lust, or deceit – in your heart. So I’ll leave a moment of silence now before praying.

Oh God of peace, who is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in love! We rest in our identity in you as your beloved. We long to simply enter into our blessedness and enjoy your presence.

But indeed, we confess that we have anger against our neighbors. We have lust and deceit in our heart, and we want to be rid of these things. Oh God will you sooth our hearts with your comforting and gentle words. Take away our frustration. Release us from contempt, resentment, bitterness and even irritation.

Chase out any anger that resides in us. Lord we know that your perfect sacrifice for our sake takes away the sin and anger and lust and lies of the world.

When we feel angry due to unmet expectations. When pressure and conflict make us feel surrounded, remind us that I am surrounded by your presence.  When you are with us, there is no need to win or prove ourselves or be right. Please remove our anger towards others and replace it with trust in your provision and care.

We know that satisfaction can only be found in you. Melt any judgment or unforgiveness that might have a place in us, and forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray, Amen.

[This is the manuscript for the second part of a two-part sermon on Vocation preached at Christ Church on Oct. 13, 2019. The audio can be found here.]

Last week I talked about some of the reasons why we might doubt that everyone is called and everyone is commissioned. Some of the these reasons might be just difficult circumstances in general, for you or for others, and how the sinful and broken world we live can prevent some of us from living into our vocations at times.

Or, sometimes vocation is unclear. Sometimes it’s delayed. Sometimes we’re called to do things that we just don’t want to do, or that we aren’t prepared to do – we feel inadequate. But vocational formation, like spiritual formation, is a process, and God will equip us. Remembering that our identity doesn’t come from what we do but from Christ and from the gospel, and we discover our vocation then as derived from that identity and in community with others.

But the challenges of vocation in the modern period are unique in some ways.

Here’s what author Os Guiness says about that.

“First, the search for the purpose of life is one of the deepest issues of our experiences as human beings. Second, the expectation that we can all live purposeful lives has been given a gigantic boost by modern society’s offer of the maximum opportunity for choice and change in all we do. Third, fulfillment of the search for purpose is thwarted by a stunning fact: Out of more than a score of great civilizations, ours is the very first to have no agreed-on answer to the question of the purpose of life. Thus, more ignorance, confusion – and longing – surround this topic now than at almost any time in history…” – Os Guiness, The Call

So, this morning I want to go back and look at three distinct periods in church history, and the way that Christians in each of these times and places tended to understand this biblical idea of calling. Those three periods of Western Christian very simply are 1) the early church, 2) the medieval Church, and 3) the Church of the Protestant Reformation.

And then I want to ask, for today, and in our age, what can we learn from these previous eras and Christians who’ve gone before us about vocation, and then what else can we remember biblically that will guide for our present moment, which is different from these past eras? As Anglicans, Tradition does have authority for us – not as much as Scripture, but it’s still very significant.

So first, the early Church – what we might also call the Apostolic or AnteNicene Era: Simply put, the situation of the first Christians was that they had minority status. Which is to say, to be a Christian was not normal, and Christians were not widely understood or appreciated as a group. Rather, they were much misunderstood, considered by some to be a nuisance if not also viewed with suspicion and even seen as threat, which at times led to their sporadic persecution. It wasn’t systematic or constant, but it was enough to make you think twice before becoming a Christian – because it was definitely going to cost you significantly in one way or another, and could actually cost you your life.

So right away we see some significant differences between the early Church social situation and our own that many of us are probably already familiar with. But look at a few examples of the reputation that many Christians seem to have at the time. This description given by Galen, a Roman physician who generally held Christianity in contempt, admits that in their

“self-discipline and self-control in matters of food and drink, and in their keen pursuit of justice,” these often lower-class and ill-educated Christians “have attained a pitch not inferior to that of genuine philosophers.”

The Roman satirist Lucian, holding Christians up to ridicule, noted that they

“that they are all brothers one to another… So if any charlatan and trickster . . . comes among them, he quickly acquires sudden wealth by imposing on simple folk.”

Even the forcefully anti-Christian emperor Julian, who tried to restore paganism in the 4^th Century, had to admit that

“the impious Galileans (Christians) support not only their own poor but ours as well.”

So what then can we say about vocation in the early Church? Their primary understanding of calling – and this I believe we can say is the primary understanding of vocation in the New Testament – the early Christians believed that their call was to become Christians.

Because to become a Christian was to be truly set apart! It was to follow Jesus! It was to be different. It was to be misunderstood. It was perhaps even to be despised and persecuted.

They refused to participate in the sacrificial rituals of paganism. They refused to make offerings to the Emperor or to recognize him as their Lord. To say that “Jesus is Lord” was in fact a politically subversive claim and a statement of allegiance that called into the questions the sovereignty ad divinity of Caesar.

Ok, so become a Christian was a very big deal. It was a calling, it was a decision, it was a weighty sacrifice that had implications for your whole life – your relationship with your work, family, government, the culture around you… everything. It could exclude you from all kinds of privileges.

And most people at this time, like most people in history, did not have the mobility and the options that we do today in terms of job options and social location. People did not ask, when it came to calling, what I am going to do with my life – that question was usually already answered for them. It was especially answered for you if you were a woman, but even men were also severely limited for the most part.

Now, the Middle Ages, which is a huge span of time and a complex time of history with all kinds of significant things going on, but in general, with regard to vocation for Christians and the Church, here’s what we can say.

Whereas in the early Church, Christians had minority status, in the Medieval Period, Christians enjoyed majority status. Christians was not only legal but it eventually become the official religion of the government – not only of Rome before it fall but also of Western European civilization in general. Sometimes this whole period of Church history has just been called Christendom – Christendom because it is a time when Christianity has occupied a prominent place in society – not only through the church, but in the wider culture and political and economy dimensions of civilization as well.

So to just be called a Christian, and to be identified as Christian – to be associate with Christians – did not necessarily come with a whole lot of sacrifice and commitment. Even though it still should have.

But in a context where Christians have majority status, what does calling and vocation look like? Well in the early days of Christendom, some sensed and responded to a call by God to removing themselves from society and pursue some kind of life in the wilderness or desert for a season, or even for their whole lives.

The purpose of this was to prepare for union with God by ridding oneself of attachments to any kind of worldly status, possession or power, and to embrace a simple, quiet life of contemplation and asceticism and spiritual readiness for death. St. Antony of the Desert is one of the most famous examples, but there were many others. In this way, these monks sought to retain the connection between their own voluntary martyrdom with those who were forced into martyrdom during the years of the early Church.“Bloodless Martyrs,” they’ve been called by some.

Vocation during Christendom and the Middle Ages later took shape through the beginning of Monasticism and religious orders like the Rule of St. Benedict. The idea behind Monasticism in part was that, because most everyone in society claimed to be a Christian, the Church was losing its distinctive witness to the culture. People could be Christian and pretty much look like everyone else.

Someone who was called to a monastery, whether they were a man or a woman, was responding to a genuine sense of vocation to participate wholeheartedly in “religious life” – prayer, manual labor, solitude, regular practice of silence and study, and a vow of poverty – a renunciation of the material world. So interestingly, the vocation to be different, distinct, and set apart for the gospel and for one’s witness to Christ was being exercised just as it had been in the early Church, but the new context required a very different form of faith.

Later on in Christendom, however – particular in the late Medieval period, Christian vocation became something of an entitlement for priests and friars only. Monasticism still existed, but many clergy in the Roman Catholic church were abusing and disregarding the holiness of the calling to the priesthood and to “religious life” as it was called. And this is what set the stage for the revolutionary understanding of Vocation during the Reformation.

For Luther, everyone had at least two callings – to be a Christian and become part of the people of God, and to a particular line of work, which included not only one’s job if you were employed, but also marrying, tending to the home, parenting and grandparenting. Every occupation was a potential vocation for serving God, and this by most accounts was a very positive development.

This Reformation legacy that revived the sacredness of all areas of work and life for ministry and for the Church is central to our understanding of Vocation today. It’s also the inspiration for the “Every Arena” part of our tagline. Everyone Called. Everyone Commissioned – yes, into every arena.

Because yes, everyone is called and commissioned to make disciples in their places of daily work and life. No one’s questioning that. But does the work that do itself have any intrinsic value? Or, is it just a means to the end of sharing our faith and reflecting Jesus’s character in how we treat people?

What Luther stressed that hadn’t been emphasized much before, is how the work we do as such, is a good end unto itself, and is actually part of our worship of God. We work for God’s glory. We work because the work matters to God, and because it contributes to human flourishing (Genesis 1). Here’s Luther on this:

“Now you tell me, when a father goes ahead and washes diapers or performs some other mean task for his child, and someone ridicules him as an effeminate fool, though that father is acting in the spirit just described and in Christian faith, my dear fellow you tell me, which of the two is most keenly ridiculing the other? God, with all his angels and creatures, is smiling, not because that father is washing diapers, but because he is doing so in Christian faith. Those who sneer at him and see only the task but not the faith are ridiculing God with all his creatures, as the biggest fool on earth. Indeed, they are only ridiculing themselves; with all their cleverness they are nothing but devil’s fools.”–  Martin Luther, The Estate of Marriage

So when we say Everyone Called, Everyone Commissioned, in Every Arena – we are making the radical claim that God gets glory and delight from the mundane, ordinary work that we do in our daily lives. Our homes and our workplaces are cathedrals and sanctuaries!

John Calvin even says that work a means for our spiritual formation. It’s one of the ways God sanctifies us, in other words. And this too is part of our vocation.

There are several unintended byproducts of the Reformation on the vocation of every station, however: We’ve seen this in Protestantism in a few different ways:

• The tendency to overidentify vocation with occupation or social status
• the failure to acknowledge the instances in which certain kinds of work are harmful, undignified and dehumanizing (a certain interpretation of “Each person should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.” – 1 Corinthians 7:20)
• The Protestant Work Ethic: Max Weber coined this concept and accused Calvinists of making perpetual labor appear to be a sign of one’s salvation, which of course would be a gross distortion of the original Reformation vision and Calvin’s own theology of work
• The flattening out of all vocations: inadvertently succeeded in devaluing the call to ordained ministry and opened the door for the secularization of all vocations

Alright, so here are few takeaways from these three eras –early Church, Christendom and Reformation:

• Our call to be Christians is still primary.We’ve been saying that, but it’s worth repeating. To be a Christian is a big thing, and asks everything of us. It affects every area of our lives. And it’s costly. We do it together, and we do it by the grace of God, not in our strengths, but its sacrificial life. It’s learning how to die, and how trust Jesus every moment of every day.
• Our witness is more dependent on our faithfulness and our holiness than on our influence and our effectiveness. This is not to say that we will never be influential. But rather, to take a lesson from history and recognize that, apparently, our influence was most significant, when Christians were most faithful. And not the other way around. This is especially instructive for us in this moment as our influence appears to be waning in culture. The word from the Lord might be, as Jesus told Peter, what is that to you? (John 21)
• Thirdly, from the Reformation we did celebrate and embrace God’s call to us to glorify him in whatever we’re doing, however we’ve occupying our time – so that work, that time and energy offered up, as worship, as holy, because it matters to God. It’s all part of his creation, and we get to take care of it.

And finally, for today, in the turbulent uncharted territory of the present– at least in our North American and Christ Church of Austin context.

We do live in this transient, fast-paced, digital age of social mobility and unpredictability when it comes vocation. And as Christians, we can lean into this unknown space where are there are so many options that it’s overwhelming, and we trust the Holy Spirit.

We trust the Holy Spirit and we trust God’s voice, that God is still speaking now. And isn’t once and for all. God cares about each of us individually, when it comes to what we do. So when we are listening. When we are quiet enough, when we are still for long enough. When we rest. When we seek God voice. God can and does speak to us and guide is. We’re not just guessing here.

Biblical scholar Klaus Bockmuehl has a trinitarian way of thinking about vocation that might be memorable and helpful to some:

 The father gives us the cultural mandate to subdue and develop the earth. The Son calls us to discipleship and summons us with the Great Commission. The Spirit equips us for a task:“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good” (1 Cor. 12:7).

The New Testament reading for today reflects some of these manifestations or gifts in Ephesians 4: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers.

But this list is not exhaustive.We also find gifts listed in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12. Romans 12:3-8 in particular speaks to gifts that are extend beyond the body of Christ and that are useful for vocational work in the world:

 ⁶ We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with yourfaith; ⁷ if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching,then teach; ⁸ if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. Romans 12:6-8

Typically these are gifts, acts, strengths – things we enjoy doing that we’re also good at. There’s both an affinity and ability. So I think today something we’ve discovered as a Church that the Reformation didn’t emphasize is that our gifts and natural ability are from God for us as we have opportunity to use for the common good and for God’s glory.

And I would just add these final instructional words to that quote from Paul Stevens’ book The Other Six Days:

“There is no need to be “called” through an existential compelling experience to an occupation in society [necessarily…]. God gives motivation and gift. God guides. Work, family, civil vocation and neighboring are encompassed in our total response to God’s saving and transforming call in Jesus….So vocational guidance is not [just] discerning our ‘call’ but, in the context of our call to discipleship (early Church), holiness (Monasticism) and service (Reformation), discerning the guidance of God in our lives and learning how to live in every dimension [arena!] to please him.”

[This is the manuscript for my first of a two-part sermon on vocation preached at Christ Church of Austin on October 6, 2019. You can find the audio here.]

Vocation: “the way that we are specifically called, shaped and gifted to love God and others in a given season of life and work.”

And it is our mission during this season of our church life

“that every unique image bearer of God at Christ Church would understand better God’s work in their current setting, know their own vocation, and be supported, connected, and commissioned in that vocation.”

So you’ll notice I think that a lot of what we’re going to be doing in the coming weeks and months is derived from this mission.

I was in a meeting hosted by Austin Bridge Builders recently,which is a great organization is Austin that brings different churches and church leaders/pastors together to work on common ministry goals in the city. And this particular gathering was of people interested in the ministry of faith and work. And so I was asked to share about what we’re doing at Christ Church, and I told them about this tagline: Everyone Called. Everyone Commissioned. In Every Arena.

And the group loved it! These other pastors wanted to use it. And they were from like pretty big churches. Which made me feel good.

So it sounds nice, but I do want to ask: is it really true? It’s a bold claim. And I ask this question sincerely! Is everyone really called and commissioned? Everyone?

Maybe at one time in our lives, many of us really did strongly believe this, you know. And maybe you still do. But think when we are kids, and we were asked, what do you want to be when you grow up? Or in college, same thing… Or just being told, especially my generation, you can do anything, be anything you want –

“I can do all things through Christ who give me strength.” Philippians 4:13

Or, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, pans to give you hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11

Take these verses out of context, and it easily becomes a kind of permission for slip for uninhibited ambition and optimism. Expectation for the absence of suffering, setbacks, disappointments. Blissful fulfillment in every endeavor as long we work hard, stay positive and trust the Lord.

But as we get older and as we face difficulties in life, there’s a weariness and probably a doubt or even a cynicism that can develop around this idea that we’re called by God or sent to do something. Maybe at one point you were confident in it, but life happens, and now you’re not so sure. Or maybe you believed in having a calling in principle but haven’t ever really found clarity around your own calling. I think both of these experiences are common and need to be acknowledged.

And if that’s where you are, that’s ok! You’re not alone. There are many other Christians who have been that place and who are there right now.

For the past month, and for the next few weeks leading up to the Parish Retreat, a number of our small groups have been going through and are using a study of the book Called by Mark Labberton— the name of the book and discussion guide is called Called🙂 – and it’s a really helpful overview and introduction to what is meant by Vocation.

So I want to read a quote from the book itself that help us situate our understanding of this idea of vocation in 21^stCentury North America:

“The church in the West is immersed in a social context with seemingly endless choice that drive us to constantly reassess how to maximize our self-interest at every turn. This can move us to feel that we’re unable to fully follow God until we find that one special job or partner or activity that we think most satisfies us and God…”

“Middle-class America is part of the dominant culture and a small percentage of the world. The norm for most people includes neither adequate resources nor the freedoms we experience.”

Labberton continues:

“Not all of God’s people will find the perfect job, do the work that best suits their gifts or have the chance to express their most creative and particular, [fully developed or mature] selves. Poverty, injustice, [tragedy,] lack of education or opportunity, and circumstances in general keep many from [fully living out their vocations].”

And I think it’s important to say this is true in Middle-class America as well, not just in Majority World countries.

This reality of unrealized, unfulfilled vocation has to be named at the outset for us to have integrity in how we talk about vocation. It isn’t an afterthought. It’s front and center. And because of sin, it is the norm for so many people, past and present. Frustration, disappointed, confusion, delay, sickness, disability, regret, lack of opportunity, premature death, and so on.

This is the truth! This is life East of Eden. In Christian theology, this is the concept of the already and not-yet nature of the Kingdom of God. It’s near, and we can taste it – God’s original purpose for our lives and work with him isn’t completely lost, but it’s fleeting. It isn’t guaranteed here and now.We trust and hope and long for the full restoration and coming reign of Jesus over all things one day, when creation will be made new and healed and brought to its completion. But that day is not yet here.

So we live in the in-between. And to say that everyone is called and everyone is commissioned is not something we necessarily experience as true at all times and all places. It’s actually more of an eschatological statement! In other words, it’s like praying, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

At the same time, even if we find ourselves in difficult or even oppressive circumstances, that doesn’t necessarily mean that we don’t have a calling! Many people find themselves in situations of injustice, persecution, slavery… all kinds of evil. And yet God can still use them.

Vocation is dynamic and it’s in process. It can change based on where and in what kind of situations we find ourselves.

So it may not be something that we particularly want to do, but that’s never really been a biblical prerequisite for calling. It also may not be something we feel adequately prepared for or qualified to do!

From Abraham and Moses to Jonah and most of all, Jesus himself, praying in the garden for God to take this cup away from him…

Maybe you’ve heard that adage at some point in your life in church: “God doesn’t call the equipped. He equips the called.” It sounds a little bit cliché, maybe, but if we were to just look at some of the key figures called by God in Scripture, it seems about right!

One of the verses we’re holding up that guides us in this is found in Romans 12:1, as we saw last week, and it’s in the Vocation brochure — The Message translation:

^1-2 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.

And going to verse 2 in a different translation:

² Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Two quick takeaways here that are guiding how we’re approaching much of what we’re doing this year:

There’s both an inward and an outward call in this passage.

The inward part is the mention of transformation by the renewing of our minds – offering up our bodies and our lives as living sacrifices to God, in worship! One of the common Christian phrases used to describe this activity is spiritual formation.

The outward part, though, is also mentioned, and it comes at the end where it says that then we’ll be able to test and discern what God’s will is, what is good and pleasing and perfect. This is not as common of a Christian phrase, but we’re describing this more outward activity as vocationalformation.

Spiritual formation and vocational formation. Both are included in our mission and purpose as Christians. Spiritual formation is what is common to all of us. Follow Jesus, obey what he commands, offer our lives to him – love God, love others. This leads to our transformation.

But vocational formation sometimes has to be more carefully discerned. It’s more specific and seasonal/contextual/individualized (not individualistic though!). It’s particular to each of us, and to use our definition again, it’s the way we’re specifically called, shaped and gifted to love God and love others in a given season of life and work.

So when we say, Everyone called. Everyone commissioned — in Every Arena…There’s also this big open space between called and commissioned that isn’t described.

Calling ____________Equipping___________Commissioning

What happens in between calling and commissioning? That’s what we’re interested in. That’s where the equipping takes place.

Think about the disciples and all that happens between their being called and then being commissioned – between when Jesus says come and follow me, and when they’re given the Great Commission before Jesus’s ascension.

That’s our work! The vocation and spiritual formation between calling and commissioning, and we’re all in different places in that journey, and that’s ok.

But another key element is that it happens in community. It’s not a private, individual affair. It needs to get worked out in the church.  

When I first got here in May, in the first 24 hours, I was part of an intensive planning meeting– “retreat” – to build some consensus around what this whole initiative is about. Of course, there was already vision for it, and a job description and all of that, but there had to be concrete plan developed out of that vision and description. And in the process, we had to get clear on what it is we were even talking about with this idea of Vocation.

And so we wrestled with that for a while! It took time and some back and forth. It was bit of struggle– not in a bad way, but just different people, experience and perspectives trying to grasp at the same thing. In fact, that’s a good way to do it, but it takes time.

But I share that because it wasn’t easy right way to establish what we’re trying to say about vocation.

You’ve heard our definition of vocation and the mission of this initiative:

“Vocation is the way we’re called, shaped and gifted to love God and others in a given season of life” – and we want everyone at Christ Church to experience this!

But there was more to do than just defining vocation. Vocation isn’t an idea that stands on its own or starts with us – with the individual, with our own strengths, gifts or passions.

I like what Will Willimon says about this in regard to vocation:

“Vocation is not evoked by your bundle of need and desire. Vocation is what God wants from you whereby your life is transformed into a consequence of God’s redemption in the world.”

So vocation begins with God and with the gospel– God’s plan, God’s mission of redemption for the world, through Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit.

So it might look something like this:

It might seem obvious, but it’s probably the most challenging aspect of this whole idea. Vocation is not ultimate. It is derivative and subsequent to our purpose and identity that is given to us by God in Christ. The order of the four circles is very important.

The gospel– God’s saving work through Christ and the Spirit on our behalf

 Identity – God’s beloved, made in his image, and for relationship with him

 Purpose – To be loved by God and make disciples by loving God and others

 Vocation – The specific way we fulfill this purpose in a given season of life

And I think it’s safe to say that anytime we misunderstand or distort our conception of vocation, it’s probably because we’ve mixed up this ordering.

God’s love for us and our love for God is the start and finish of our vocation. – Labberton

Our identity stands completely on this. Everything vocational can be taken away in an instant.

God’s love is conditioned on anything we can do, and neither is our identity. We’re loved because we are. And that’s it. Grasping this, accepting this, and living in this, is the foundation of any sustainable vocation.

Even the mission and calling to love God and others, which is indeed our common vocation, cannot be sustained apart from our first being loved by God. He chose us. We didn’t choose him.

And finally, another way that we mix up the ordering of this sequence is by not only placing our sense of vocation and identity above God or his purpose for us, is by thinking about vocation is primary individual terms, rather than as a community and as a church.

When vocation or calling is referred to in Scripture, it’s usually in the form of a collective and common calling– one that applies to Israel, the church, or to all followers and worshipers of God.

In our society, the individual is often thought of before the group or the community, and career choices or what neighborhood we live in, what school we go to or send our kids to – these kind of questions tend to be discerned and asked at the private individual or at most nuclear family level.

In sum, it’s Life Together– We live and experience our calling with other human beings but with those in Christ’s family especially. My vocation can be discovered only in the context of our vocation. We discover and live our identity and purpose in Christ with and for one another. This is what we do as a church! (Labberton paraphrase) 

Everyone Called. Everyone Commissioned. Amen.