The
Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany
"Responding to the Lord’s Presence!"
Luke 5:1-11
Preached at
By Pastor Dennis R. King
The
Grace and Mercy of our Lord, Jesus Christ, be with you all. Amen.
How do we respond in the Lord’s
presence? How do we respond when the Lord comes into our midst and calls us?
How do we respond in the midst of the presence of others? Some of you might
recall an incident that happened in this country when Queen Elizabeth came to
visit. She came to the home of a 67-year old woman. Naturally, this woman was
elated to have the Queen come to her house. When the Queen came through the
door she rushed to meet her and wrapped her arms around her to greet her. She
was happy and elated to welcome the Queen to her home. Those in the Queen’s
party were shocked because they knew that a commoner should not touch the
queen.
How might you act in the presence of
the Queen or somebody in authority? How
might you act in the presence of God, Himself? Suppose Jesus was to come,
visibly before us this morning, how would you react? What would you do? Would
you be the first one out of your pew to rush up here and give Him a welcoming
hug? Or would you be the first one to the door to get out of this place? No
doubt there would be many who would sit in their pews in awe, or amazement, or
wonder, not knowing how to behave in the presence of the Lord.
There was a preacher who proclaimed a
message from the pulpit that was questioned by one of his colleagues. His
message was a little different from what you hear every Sunday morning. Let me
paraphrase a little bit of it for you. The pastor talked to people about how
they should come into the church and how he wanted them to sit during the
service and be quiet while he was preaching. He said to them that he would
appreciate it if they would wait until after the service before they would use
the restrooms. He just taught them how to behave in the sanctuary. Another
pastor on hearing the message chuckled to himself and thought that was a
foolish way to proclaim the Gospel. Then he stopped himself and thought about
this pastor and the people that he was proclaiming the Gospel to. He thought to
himself, “Well, in his situation some of people he is proclaiming the Gospel to
were just a few weeks ago having serious problems with alcohol and drugs. Some
were going through painful divorces and some had even been in jail. They really
did not know how to act in church for some of them had never been in church
before. He thought about that and he thought to himself,
“Would that ever happen in the church where he was serving?” His first response
was, “Certainly, Lord, we would not want that to happen here!” As he pondered
it more, he thought what a tragedy that would be if it never happened in the
church where he served.
Some people may not know how to act in
the presence of God. And we need to be teaching them. How can we teach them if
they do not come into our midst? And how can we teach them if we do not accept
them as people who do not know how to act in the presence of the Lord.
There was a church in the country of
Jesus was a bit of a liberal
particularly when it comes to coming in to the very presence of God. How can we
maintain a proper distance from God? How can we maintain the stern, cold,
stained glass demeanor often associated with worship when Jesus teaches us to
address God asj “Abba” that is daddy? This reminds me
of a story of a young boy who burst into the King’s chambers. The boy was
skipping and singing as children do, completely oblivious to these somber
surroundings. Suddenly he was interrupted by an armed soldier, “Have you no
respect, lad. Don’t you know that the man on the throne is our King?” The boy
wriggled out of the soldier’s grasp and danced away and said. “He is your King,
but he is my father!” Then the boy bounced up on the lap of the King.
Some people could never approach God
with such freedom. They feel that religion must be painful if it is to be
authentic. Were you aware of the fact that anesthesia to diminish the pain of
childbirth was introduced in the late 1840’s. It was the male elders in the
church who objected to its use. After all, they said, God said that in sorrow
thou shall bring forth children and there is to be pain with that. Now it was
not until 1853 that Queen Victoria allowed herself to receive some chloroform
while giving birth to her seventh child that the criticism began to fade. None
of the church men had the nerve to criticize the Queen.
Some Christians have that attitude
toward worship. They do not have the freedom of Jesus. Instead they see Jesus
as a bit of a liberal in how He approached God. He was a liberal in the kind of
people He brought into the presence of God. It would be interesting if Jesus
were to march in here with a group of His disciples or followers. Would we know
where to seat them? Think about it. Who were Jesus’ followers? There was the
man who running among the tomb stones at the town’s cemetery and cutting himself with rocks and screaming at by passers. Next to him
might be the man, Bartimaeus. Could you just hear Bartimaus singing, “Amazing Grace,” especially that part
“Was blind but now I see?” We would have to create an “Amen” corner just for Bartimaeus. What would you think about the way some of
those folk would be dressed? I suspect there would even be a woman in their
midst who had committed adultery and Jesus had protected from the mob. We could
look through scriptures and come up with more of those folks whom Jesus has
“called” to Himself. Remember Simon and the Sons of
Thunder. With nicknames like Sons of Thunder, these men were not quiet people.
They probably were very loud and boisterous people.
Some people do not know how to act in
the presence of God. Do we know how to act in the presence of God, in the
presence of Jesus? Maybe none of us really know how to act. Yet, I suspect that
when Jesus comes into our midst. Or when we realize that He is already here
with us. We would have a whole different way in which we would come through the
doors into this place. First we might be aware of our sinfulness like Isaiah,
“Woe to me, for I am a man of unclean lips.” Or like Peter, “Depart from me,
Lord, for I am a sinful man.”
Some of you may have seen a movie
entitled “I’ll Cry Tomorrow.” It is the story about Lillian Roth who confessed
that she was absolutely powerless trying to overcome her problems with alcohol
until she was finally able to utter three little words, “I need help.”
In the presence of God, Isaiah and
Peter finally realized that they were sinners and needed help. Such an
acknowledgment is necessary if we are to be all God means for us to be. We need
help. I need help. They also discovered something else. They discovered as they
looked to Jesus for help that He had a mission for them. Isaiah heard the voice
of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send and who will go for us?” Isaiah found
himself saying, “Here I am. Send me.” Peter heard Jesus saying, “Don’t be
afraid. From now on you will be a fisher of men.”
If we feel ourselves in the presences
of God, we, too, recognize our need for help and our responsibility to go forth
in mission. The good news is that God is here. He is seeking to make himself
known to each one of us. Do you sense His presence? Are you aware of your own
inadequacy? Do you feel a call to service? How do you act in the presence of
the Lord? How do you act in the presence
of somebody with authority? First, do not be afraid. Second, confess your need.
Third, listen to the mission that He has for you. Amen.
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