Sermon 2/4/2001
Commitment -
Isaiah 6:1-13, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Luke 5:1-11
Commitment. The trait of sincere and steadfast fixity of purpose. An engagement by contract, possibly involving financial obligation. The act of binding yourself (intellectually or emotionally) to a course of action. Dedication, loyalty. A message that makes pledge. These definitions and synonyms for the word commitment flesh out its meaning, indicating what a powerful word it can be. Commitment is a promise, a binding agreement to do something, behave in some way, fulfill some action. Commitment may mean compromise, or sacrifice. It may mean making a long-term promise to something difficult to do. But a commitment is something that holds us to our word, makes us accountable to someone or something, and urges us to complete whatever our responsibilities might be.
Our gospel lesson for today brings us a story of commitment that still somewhat shocks and surprises us, no matter how many times we have heard it. A few words from Jesus, a strange catch of fish, and some fishermen are ready to follow Jesus wherever he bids them go. For all the ideas and understandings we have of what it means to be committed to something, we cannot fathom quite how or why someone would do this - drop their things, and blindly follow into the unknown. We are committed - to our jobs or our studies, to relationships - families and marriages. We are committed, we say, to following God too. So why does this story shock us so much? Yes, we have commitments, but perhaps they do not require so much of us as we usually think. When was the last time you made a sacrifice for God? Think carefully - when did you make an actual sacrifice - an act of giving something up in order to better follow God's will? When was the last time you did something you did not want to do, because God prompted you to do so? When did you last do something that made you uncomfortable, something you were nervous about, because you could hear God's voice leading you in that direction? Are you committed to following God? If you answer yes, you may find yourself face to face with a situation that forces you to discover just how committed you are.
The gospel lesson for today says that "the crowd was pressing upon [Jesus] to hear the word of God". Why were they pressing on him? What were they so eager to hear? The people in Jesus' day had many struggles. They were occupied by the Romans, unable to live freely in their own land. Most probably had jobs that allowed them to just make it, but it was surely a struggle to provide for the family. They were faithful Jews, but were faced with corruption from the leaders. These people wanted a messiah. They needed hope. They needed to see that God truly cared for them even through all these trials. So they pressed upon Jesus. Perhaps it was their vulnerable state that made them so willing to follow where God commanded. Perhaps it was their upbringing, a more internalized sense that when God calls, a person responds. Have we lost some of that inner-prompting, that inner-understanding that when God speaks, we should answer? Are we less committed today than people were in Jesus' time? Jesus spoke two words, "follow me", and found ready and willing disciples. If Jesus came to us today, could we make the same decision? Could we leave friends, family, careers, comforts of shelter, knowing where our food would come from?
The sacrament of Holy Communion is also a story of commitment, between ourselves and Christ. A Rabbi Zola Levitt, a Messianic Jew from Israel tells this story of the Covenant Cup, one that symbolizes the commitment God gives to us and seeks from us. Rabbi Zola told of the Jewish tradition of a young man and his father going to the home of a young woman to whom he hoped to become engaged. When the father and son arrived, they would negotiate the price of marriage with the young woman's father. After a deal was reached, the young man would enter the adjoining room where he would be alone with the young woman. He would take his family's Covenant Cup, fill it with wine, and place it before the young woman with these words - "I set my Covenant Cup before you, it is my blood. Take and drink this cup, and seal this covenant to be mine." The young woman then had 2 choices. Take the cup and drink, thus sealing the covenant with the young man, or refuse the cup and wait for another groom. If the woman took the cup and sealed the convenant, the young man would next report in a voice loud enough for the fathers in the next room to hear him - "I go now to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you to myself, so that where I am you may be also." This engagement ritual was a ritual of commitment. Through the covenant cup, the young man promised to marry the girl, promised to prepare a place for her, and promised to return for her at a later time. The young woman promised to wait, to be faithful, and to marry the young man upon his return. On both sides, through the covenant, there was a commitment.
Likewise, for us as Christians, we have a ritual of commitment through the Eucharist. Jesus said to his disciples, "take this cup and drink. Do this to remember me." When we take the cup and the bread today and every time we take communion together, we are renewing our commitment. We are saying once again that we are committed to our relationship with God. God says, "Remember me" though the sacrement of the Eucharist. God promises to prepare a place for us, and to return to us, and to receive us as God's own beloved. We have a part to play too, a commitment to keep. By sharing in this communion meal, we act the role of the bride. We promise our faithfulness. We promise our steadfastness. We promise to turn to no other. How true are we to our commitments? Undoubtedly, life is sometimes a struggle. There are many obstacles and setbacks, and keeping our commitment to God is hard work. Yet there are blessings. God is faithful, and through this covenant cup of holy communion God promises to stand by us, to make a place for us in heaven, God's home. We must only accept this cup, and keep our commitment too. If we drink from this cup, and eat of this loaf, we are making a commitment.
Are you ready to do your part? Perhaps today God does not call us to do things as drastic as leaving our lives at the seaside and to follow an unknown man. Or maybe God does urge us to be so bold, but we have just become too sure that God would not ask these things of us. A seminary professor once said to my class, "don't look to see where your gifts are to know what God wants you to do. Look for where your gifts aren't, but where your fears and doubts are. This is where God will call you." Our scriptures are filled with person after person called into unlikely situations. Aaron was a gifted speaker, and Moses was slow of tongue, but God still called Moses to lead the people to freedom. David was a shepherd boy, but God called him to fight a giant. Sarah was advanced in years, but God called her to bear a son that would begin a great line of God's servants. Paul was a strict Jew, persecuting Christians, but God called Paul to spread the gospel to non-believing gentiles. Mary was an unwed virgin, but she was chosen to bear the Christ child. Simon Peter was a fisherman, but called God him to be the rock upon which the church would be founded. God calls us from all places to fill unlikely roles. But as God provided for Moses and David, Sarah and Paul, Mary and Peter, God will provide for us. God challenges us and pushes us, but God does not give to us more than we can bear with God's help.
So, to what task is God asking you to commit? Are you ready to accept the covenant cup God places before you? The popular Christian band "Newsboys" has a song entitled, "When You Called My Name." The lyrics describe a person who is making a commitment to God, but struggles with the difficulties of staying faithful to the call. "I want to preach the Word, they want massages. I check chapter and verse. They check their watches. Some days I must admit I still don't get this. Could be it's time to quit when days get like this. I slip into the night, then stumble toward the light, wake up and try again. When you called my name, I didn't know how far the calling went. When you called my name, I didn't know what that word really meant. When I recall your call, I feel so small. Could be I'm losing touch, could be they don't care. Lord knows I don't know much, Lord knows I've been there. I trip toward my retreat, I fall down at your feet, get up and try again.When you called my name, I didn't know how far the calling went. When you called my name, I didn't know what that word really meant. When I recall your call, I feel so small. I start losing heart, and then it comes again. Lifted from despair by the prayers of someone."
From the prophet Ishaiah we read, "I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me." We don't know if Isaiah was equipped for the task God set before him, or if he was confident and secure. We only know that Isaiah was ready. He was commited to answering God with a simple "here I am, send me." He did not put conditions on how he would follow God. He did not ask questions or try to get out of the job. He committed himself to following God's task. Here I am, send me. The Covenant Cup is set before us today, with a message from God. God speaks to us and says, "I go now to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place fo you, I will come again and receive you to myself so that where I am you may be also." If we take the cup, we seal the covenant, and commit ourselves to the pledge with God. Who will come to the table? Let us, like Isaiah, respond saying, here am I God. Take me.
Let us pray: God, we choose you, by choosing to share in your covenant cup this day. You have promised to be with us, and you prove your love to us through sharing Christ with us. We, too, are commited through this covenant, to be faithful servants of your will. Help us to be strong and bold, that we might follow you wherever you call, just as the fishermen did so many years ago. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.