HUMAN BEINGS AND DEFINING MOMENTS

Hebrews 2:14-18, Luke 4:16-30

Growing up, I was fortunate enough to know my Great Grandmother (my Grandfather's mother). We called her Oma. She lived in Merrickville, Ontario. Each summer we would take a week's vacation to visit her. And she would spend each winter in New Jersey, with my Grandparents--(not everyone escapes to Florida for the winter...some come south to NJ).

I can remember Oma used to say she thought that when I grew up I would be a minister. In fact, I can remember during some of those visits as a child, playing church and being the minister, complete with:

* Hymns
* Readings
* Sermons
* Offering (the best part)
* Communion (not everyone comfortable with this)

Her vision for my career stuck with me, and at times I might even feel some guilt for not choosing such a career path, although I'm not sure we are the ones that choose that. But I learned something both from joining the church and from becoming a Deacon, and that is in our reformed tradition, we are all called to be ministers. This is because we all have a direct line to God and a personal relationship with God. And as Deacons, we are called on by the church to take responsibility for certain specific ministries. So, in that way, I feel I am fulfilling Oma's vision for me.

That may be a bit of a stretch, but it reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from Benjamin Franklin:

"So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable creature, since it enables one to find or make a reason for everything one has a mind to do."

With our role as ministers in mind, I would like to turn to the scripture readings.

From today's Hebrews scripture reading, we clearly see that Jesus came to us on earth, fully human. It says, "He had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect." It is this aspect of Jesus that I want to focus on as we think about the scripture reading from Luke. First let's frame the scene. Here's Jesus, whose life up to this point we know very little about. We know of his storied birth, but very little of his youth and young adulthood. We know he was a carpenter, as his father was. Following the chronology in Luke, we see Jesus as a boy at the temple, his baptism by John the Baptist, the temptation of Jesus by the devil for 40 days, and then we come to this scene in Nazareth where Jesus comes to the synagogue, like any other Sabbath, reads from the scroll of Isaiah, proclaims, "today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing," and begins his ministry.

I have to admit, that I got turned onto this passage by reading a book of fiction, not from reading the Bible. When the DaVinci Code came out, like many, I was enthralled by this thriller, and when I was finished reading it, I looked for other writings about one of it's central historical figures...Mary Magdalene. So I began reading a historical novel about Mary Magdalene written by Margaret George. I found this book fascinating, not necessarily for it's depiction of Mary, but since she was a follower of Jesus, it presented a storybook reading of much of the life of Jesus.

In a novel, characters often face an event or decision that will shape the rest of the story. In Margaret George's telling of this event in Nazareth, this is such a moment for Jesus. This is the moment he changes from that carpenter from Nazareth into something so much more. You really see it as the beginning of this wild and chaotic struggle that becomes the rest of Jesus' life on earth. And it starts right here as he essentially introduces himself as the Messiah. And based on the reaction he gets from his hometown, you can see that this isn't going to be an easy road.

Now, when you think of Jesus, the human being, you can figure what he must be going through on this morning as he came to the synagogue. Not only is he getting ready to speak in front of a large group of people, but he is about to make a bold, controversial statement. One that will forever change his life, and I would argue, the course of human history. And I thought I had butterflies this morning. You can imagine him sitting there during the prayers before the reading of the scriptures contemplating whether he should really go through with this.

After all, here's a man who's about to kick-off a ministry that is all about turning the world upside down.

Think of the current condition of the world he lives in.

* Everyone's waiting for this Messiah that is supposed to lead the Jews against the Romans.
* Self-proclaimed messiahs are popping up all over the countryside.
* Religious leaders are stressing strict rules of conduct for all aspects of one's life, while corruption flourishes.

Now Jesus comes along and is nothing like what is expected. He:

* Challenges the religious leaders.
* Says "you've got it all wrong."
* It's not about strict rules, etc.
* It's about love, generosity, caring for the weak and poor.

This is not what people wanted to hear. I think they were looking for a list...do this, this and this and you will be saved, and that's not what Jesus brings them. And here he is now in his small hometown where people know him and he needs to decide whether he'll go through with this.

This event is a real defining moment, not just in the life of a 30-year old carpenter, but Jesus' decision to go through with his ministry is a real defining moment in the course of human events. After all, think of how different the world would be if Jesus didn't make that proclamation and didn't go through with his ministry.

Now what can we glean from this? I would look again to the character of Jesus that Margaret George gives us. One of the most interesting aspects of her character Jesus is that he does not know who he is...that he's the Son of God...but he has a line to God, a personal relationship (not unlike ourselves), and he is following the will of God and putting his trust in God. And letting this be his guide.

Now we all face moments like this one Jesus faced, not necessarily with the chance to have the impact Jesus had on the world, but certainly with the opportunity to have an impact on the lives of others. These are our real defining moments, more so than a big sale or accomplishment at work or school, after all, if it's not us making that sale or winning that award, it would be someone else. It's opportunities to do what no one else is going to do, to change something in someone's life that wouldn't otherwise be changed, where we make a difference. And when we face these moments, we must choose between doing what we desire and what we know in our hearts to be right, but not necessarily convenient. It may be taking time to visit a homebound church member, or raising money for a cause, or traveling to Mississippi to help rebuild people's lives. These are opportunities we are all presented...and opportunities we can easily turn our backs to for one reason or another...but what if we listen to our hearts and allow ourselves to be guided by God...to make decisions, as we believe Jesus would. Think of how that would change these potential defining moments in our lives.

Jesus didn't do it alone. He had help...the 12 disciples...and a legion of followers. We also cannot do it alone. We need to work together and support each other...this is where I have personally found the church to be most helpful...because here you have a community of people that are ready and willing to make the sacrifices God asks of us, and I've seen it here, being the President of the Board of Deacons...you go into thinking I'm responsible for making sure all this happens (Advent Dinner, Shrove Tuesday, flower deliveries, sending cards, coffee, etc...) but people step up, take charge...and it's really much easier than you would ever imagine. People are ready and willing to be guided by the principles of Jesus...love, hospitality, and caring.

It's not a coincidence, these are the charges given by this congregation to the Deacons.

I'd like to end by citing a few examples from this year's board of Deacons:

* Lisa Carmalt -- Lisa is a pioneer in the Interfaith Caregivers of Trenton organization saw the opportunity to implement the Hands and Hearts program here at PCOL. With her dedicated efforts and the effort of Lori Pawar and Nolan the program was implemented. Lisa, Lori, Judy McCann and John Huchler are the group leaders dedicated to making the program work and bringing much needed help to church members and the community. This program is a real change in the way we serve each other.

* Keith Dewey -- Keith sang the offertory, "All of Me." Last summer I went to a Phillies game with Keith Dewey. I'm a big fan and have been to many games, but for Keith, this was his first major league game. This was a late season game at a time when there was still hope to make the playoffs and there was a large crowd of over 40,000 people and a lot of enthusiasm and energy in the crowd. Early in the game Keith turned to me and said "wouldn't it be great if there was some way to channel all this energy into doing something good?" I had never thought of it that way before. I imagine it didn't occur to most of the people there. I don't know that he's found the way yet, but knowing him, it wouldn't surprise me if he's working on it. When I asked Keith if he would take a leadership role in organizing this year's Shrove Tuesday dinner, he accepted, but said that he wanted it to be about something more than just fellowship and eating good, fattening food, not that he was against those things. Perhaps a speaker or charitable collection of some kind he thought. Well, as he spoke to others and we discussed it at the Deacon meeting, a plan started to take shape. He added a program that included a speaker talking about Hands and Hearts and also charged admission...at least one canned or non-perishable food item, which would be donated to the Crisis Ministry. An idea, I'm proud to say, he got with an assist on from my wife, Tina. But this is what happens when people think outside the box and talk about their ideas with others and work together. You have these defining moments.

My challenge to those that will remain on as Deacons after this year and the new deacons that will be nominated and elected in the coming months and years and really to all of us ministers here....

* Open up that line of communication to God.
* Look for these opportunities to do something different, to make improvements, and to better serve those who need it.
* When there are roadblocks or resistance, remember Jesus and what he went through on our behalf, in changing the world and let that be your motivation.
* In other words, be human, human as Jesus was...and have courage in your defining moments.

Let us pray,

Father God, we thank you for the life of Jesus, for the examples he set for us. We thank you for those who have had the courage to live by his example, and we thank you for that part in each of us that pulls and nags at us to follow his example. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

May 20, 2007

Paul Koch

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