"Immediately, If Not Sooner!" a sermon by the Rev. Todd R. Goddard

Matthew 4:12-23 (NRSV)
12Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. 13He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
15 “Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 the people who sat in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death
light has dawned.”
17From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
18As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. 19And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” 20Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. 22Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.
23Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.

Prayer.

It was all the rage. In many places it still is. I'm talking about “Seeker Services.” These are worship services designed for the non-Christian, the uninitiated, church shoppers, the people who are on their faith quest. Seeker Services are usually characteristic of deeply evangelical, conservative, protestant mega-churches; churches with names like “Willowcreek” “Vineyard” “Maranatha” and “Saddleback.” Almost all are nondenominational. Many even go by the name “community.”

Rick Warren reports that seeker services have two purposes: “First, so that people without any religious background will understand everything that takes place, and
Second, so that members are proud to bring their non-believing friends to it.” (http://www.jesusjournal.com/articles/publish/article_43.html) This effort of Church Growth is often identified by the terms "user friendly," "seeker sensitive," "boomer targeted," or "market driven." (http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/shouldwe.htm)

As a result of this phenomena, many churches have left behind heritage and replaced traditional Sunday liturgical worship with a seeker service; complete with small bands, quick tempos, and repetitive lyrics; lively chit-chat, waving, and hugging; replacing contemplative and reflective approaches to worship with an environment of festive celebration. Well meaning pastors take workshops from the most successful examples of market driven evangelism, and enviously look to the thousands of masses crowding their parking lots every week-end.

Dr. Phil and Dr. Laura are the secular reflection of pastors Bill Hybels and Rick Warren. It is a stroke of genius that the Republican Party has allied themselves with this phenomena in the church. If Disney is the center of American secular religion, as many scholars have observed, then these mega-churches have become the similar Mecca for a generation of seekers.

Churches have sold 2,000 years of tradition, reason, and experience in an effort to jump on the evangelical bandwagon. As individualistic minded Americans, it makes perfect sense. After all, isn't it all about me? Whatever makes me happy must be good?

Many sociologist have observed that we are a nation of seekers. We can cite examples of friends or acquaintances who are on an endless treadmill of searching for their true identity, who they truly are. I have a cousin who lives in Boston. Every 10 years he reinvents himself. He's been a war protester, world traveler, and a divorced male nurse. He's been a father, a brother, a member of the Salvation Army, and now a practicing Buddhist. He forges his own path through life, and, sadly, everyone who attempts to guide him be damned.

William H. Willimon rightly observes that “we are a nation of searchers. And though intellectual curiosity is good, and though the Christian gospels all depict Jesus as inviting people to be on a journey, this image of our long search, our groping for God, is not at all how the Bible tells it. I'll summarize it simply: The Bible is not so much a long record of our search for God; rather, it is the amazing account of the extraordinary lengths to which God will go to search for us.” (Pulpit Resources, January 23, 2005)

God didn't wait for yet another in a string of prophets to come knocking at His door, asking “What's the news for today?” No, the prophetic age was over - and were did that leave God? God took the bold initiative to send His Son, Jesus, to seek after the lost, the least, the lonely. Jesus didn't sit back and allow people to come to him, based on the merit of his oratory or teaching skills. No, Jesus came to seek after people, to fish for men. He seeks them out, going against the conventional wisdom of his day. He calls after His disciples, reaches out and says, “Come, follow me.”

Our Gospel lesson for today is but one of many that records the limitless extent that God seeks us out, not how people seeks after Him. Zacchaeus climbed a tree to get a better look at a passing celebrity. Jesus stops, talks to him, and invites himself into Zacchaeus' home. Jesus is intrusive, resourceful, and relentless in reaching out to people.

After his death and resurrection, some of Jesus' disciples had disbanded and were walking to Emmaus, probably glad they hadn't met the same fate as their master. Jesus comes uninvited and walks with them, invites himself to their table, and takes it upon himself to reveal the scriptures and to open their eyes with the sharing of the sacrament. It's outrageous, the extent Jesus will go to seek out lives.

Jesus tells stories – parables upon parables – of how God goes to extraordinary lengths to search for us. God will turn a house upside down, like a widow who looses a coin, in seeking you out. God will pace the front porch, watching and waiting for the prodigal to return, for each of us to return to the Father. God is like the shepherd who isn't afraid of leaving 99 behind, just to beat the bushes for that one lost sheep.

As Jesus walked along the Sea of Galilee, he comes upon two brothers, fishermen, Peter and Andrew. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” There wasn't anything in the Gospel about Peter and Andrew seeking out Jesus. They were just sitting there mending their nets. You know, working the family business, simply trying to make ends meat. Likewise with James and John.

Immediately, if not sooner, Peter and Andrew, James and John – all of them – dropped their nets, stood, and started to follow Jesus. “Here is a Messiah, a savior, who just loves to seek and to save the lost.” (Pulpit Resources, January 23, 2005)

What are the implications for us today?

It makes me want to ask you “what are you doing coming to church on a day like today?”

I defy anyone to answer that they are here because they are church shopping, they like the people or the preaching, or that they are on some kind of spiritual quest. Because the Bible tells us differently.

Whether you are here today visiting for one worship service, or you are a part of the parish destined for a lifetime at Zion, you are here because it is Jesus who is seeking after you. You have been sought, summoned, and, thankfully, you have come. Jesus has been fishing for you all along – don't you know that? Those thoughts, those quiet thoughts that, yes, I need to get to church this Sunday; do you think they came from out of nowhere? Of course not. It's been the whisper of Christ all along!

Those feelings, those warm feelings you get remembering a hymn or singing in the choir – those good feelings you get for longing to return – those powerful feelings you have that overcome your senses when you hear the pouring of baptismal water or smell and taste the sacramental elements; do you think they came from out of nowhere? Of course not. It's been the heart of Christ working on your heart all along!

Consider all those little coincidences in your life, those strange happenings, those thoughts or feelings you've had difficulty putting into context – perhaps it's all a part of God's larger effort to fish for you, to entice you to “come and follow Jesus.”

No one knows more than I do that we all have a tendency to stray into the shadows for a time. We pitch our tent along the edge of sin and indecency. We tend to bed down with darkness, seeking after all the wrong things for all the wrong reasons. It would be reasonable for God to leave us to our own devices, to let us spiral down to our own self destruction. If it were up to us, we'd be quick to throw up our hands, and declare humankind a lost cause, and wipe the slate clean again with another cataclysmic flood.

But our ways are not God's ways. God vowed never to start over again. God took the extraordinary effort to send us His Son, Jesus, to camp among us, to seek us out, to claim us, to redeem us, and to save us. Faith is not so much about discovery, as it is Divine revelation. It is the self-giving nature of God, the self-disclosing nature of our Lord that makes a relationship with Christ possible.

As you go through life, its OK to be a little paranoid, to keep looking over your shoulder for the One who is seeking you out. Pay attention to those odd little thoughts, those strange little coincidences, those wondrous avalanches of grace that are bound to happen to you.

The search is over. You have been found. This is the good news of this day, as it has come to me. Thanks be to God. Amen.