Choices

Can you recall being given money for a gift, maybe for a birthday or Christmas?

I don’t know how you work but whenever I’m given money as a gift, it takes me ages to choose how to spend it! The choice is overwhelming!

That’s kind of what I see when I open the scripture for this morning.

It seems that everything before us today is about art of choosing.

Let’s get on the Gospel train and take a ride shall we?

If we open Ephesians 1:3-14: what are we introduced to?

Well, probably the simplest way of putting it is, like so many of Paul’s writings, it introduces us to the universal nature of the Christian calling.

As modern travellers, it is hard for us to really understand what a revolutionary message that was. We look at it and think “God loves everybody, isn’t that Fantastic!” Paul was living in and writing to communities whose response was more than likely “What, you mean God loves them too!” Is anyone else reminded of Luke 15:11-32?

You can just see it right? You have one group of people who’ve tried to follow The rules and do all the right stuff; and they get told “Oh wait, there’s more to It! Can you picture the confusion and frustration?

In fact, some of you may have seen it or experienced it, someone performs an act of love or shows grace: more often than not someone says “But it doesn’t work like that! “Love is a good thing, but it should fit this box!

Well, that’s the point, there’s no box! In fact, that should be a takeaway every time we gather.

The love of God as displayed in Jesus is far bigger than we could ever come to grips with. In fact, you could probably live five lifetimes and still not get it.

So, what is our job or mission based on this scripture?

I believe our job here, is to try to understand that we, and I use the global we; have been chosen for a Holy calling: Now as you hear those words, please grab hold of something to Prevent yourself falling into the trap of “Oh no holy means perfect!”

No, it doesn’t! I don’t know why but for some reason holiness comes across to me; as being open, loving and honest. Here’s our first sermon pause for today, take a moment to think about what living a holy and devoted life means to you. We all know the message of Christ is about serving: How are you being called to serve? How are you being asked to display the holy?

It might be as simple as reflecting on what love means to you and thinking about how you might be called to share it with others, I’m sure like me you have people in your life that are always happy to see you and spend time with you? They treat you as if you are the most important person ever?

That is the kind of love on display to us today and the kind of love that we are called to display to others as part of our role in the community of God. And yes, dear ones! It does mean loving those who may seem unlovable, those whose worldviews both confuse and annoy us. Those whom we want to correct every time we interact with them (Even in the church)

Does this mean this call to love is straight forward and easy? No, it takes time, risk and communication: Here’s the good news: we are not alone, we have God and each other.

Here’s our second pause for today who do you carry ingrained ideas about that you are being called to love? Take a moment to think about that.

Our journey into the art of choosing continues as we open our gospel today.

As we look at Mark 6:14-29, we can be forgiven if the first question we ask is “Where’s the hope here?” Mark’s account of the death of John the Baptist puts at the opposite end of the relational and choice experience.

While Ephesians radiates hope and possibility and eternal nature of God’s love:

Mark’s Gospel places us at the centre of a story coloured by ego and fear.

You’ve heard me say before that one of the things I find interesting about mark’s Gospel is that it offers us a very raw, no frills look at life and relationships, the interaction between John and Herod fits that category perfectly.

Herod is portrayed as man struggling with his place in the world and the choices before him.

Mark paints Herod as respecting John as holy man, but he’s in conflict with his image and the expectations of his community – does anyone else see a parallel between Herod and Pilate?

There are lots of comparable elements here aren’t there? Both, Herod, and Pilate cave under social and political pressure: rather than standing out. Both John and Jesus stand out and are killed for it. We are again confronted by the question “Where’s the hope?” As John’s followers are faced with the reality of death. Their hero dies.

Perhaps the idea here is, that sometimes we must see how life can be:

With all its complexities, colours and confrontations; and in spite of how that can get, we still have a choice to be involved in the creation of something New and life giving.

If we need an example of how our calling might work, we just need to look a bit further on, one verse down in fact; to the feeding of the 5000, there we see the Lord’s followers not knowing how to view their situation and Jesus is saying to them “look through my eyes”

The other scripture that comes to mind is Luke 14:12 12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Both of these stories, remind us that when we make the choice to look through The eyes of God things change.

Today, we are being given the chance to view the world and ourselves through two diametrically opposing viewpoints.

One shows a life of fear, ego, and timidness: The other shows us what a life of openness looks like and how that can change the rhythm of world.

The choice is ours; the choice is yours!

We can choose to hide behind an image or let love shape our image. We can choose to put love in a box either ours or societies.

We can choose to say “I have my understanding of love- thank you”

We can choose to hide behind our theological signs.

Or we can choose to love let break the box, burst the dam and flow where it wants: as it does with the cross and the empty tomb.

We can choose to speak the all too easy language of unforgiveness or give ourselves permission to both speak and hear the language of forgiveness.

We can choose to either live lives of limitation or we can choose to live a life filled with questions and what we could call “a vulnerable celebration”.

Now, take minute to breathe out, relax.

Now I know there are a lot of choices to think through and to choose. But my heart, is filled with gladness as I think of all the hands we have to hold as we choose.

God bless you all. May love and Grace be the languages you hear and speak.

Amen!