Sermon by The Very Rev Chris Yaw, 10/15/2023, Matthew 22:1-14
Centering Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, may your will, be done through me.
A Pig and a Chicken are walking down the road.
The Chicken says: "Hey Pig, I was thinking we should open a restaurant!"
Pig replies: "Hm, maybe, what would we call it?"
The Chicken responds: "How about 'Bacon-n-Eggs'?"
The Pig thinks for a moment and says: "No thanks. You'd only be involved - but I'd be committed."
You all know a lot about commitment.
You have succeeded greatly because you know how to commit:
To your spouse
Family
Career
Exercise plan
Beautiful Homes
Diet
Financial plan
Church
Your faith in Christ.
When we act committed, we act like God.
God is committed to this world, to the human race, to you.
And I believe that the best way to respond to God's commitment to us,
Is for us to be committed to God.
The title of today's message is 'Going All In.'
Are you being asked to commit more deeply today -
Maybe to your family,
Work,
A diet,
A political cause,
To Jesus and your spiritual life.
Maybe you've never been committed but are feeling called to pursue it.
Maybe you were once committed, but then backed off, and are at a crossroad.
Maybe you're already 'all in' and want to go deeper?
God is here to give both direction and power -To help us figure out our commitment-
And to give to strength to carry out our commitment - to go all in.
In some way, in some area of our lives God is calling and equipping us to Go All In!
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Years ago, I found myself working in a television newsroom.
It was a career I loved.
The learning and writing fed my intellect.
And the daily appearances on TV in front of thousands of people helped feed my enormous ego...
And through the years, I felt increasingly called to do something else
To switch careers
To follow Christ in a new way.
This got jump-started when I was abruptly fired from a job -
And I took deliberate time to discern:
Where was God calling me?
What was I to do?
I took months off to do this!
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Story above monkey puzzle tree - need the right conditions to thrive.
We need to create the right conditions to hear from God.
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Eventually that call became crystal clear:
Ordination in the Church, of
Which led me to where I'm standing right now.
I had gone into my prayer closet.
I had a strong sense from God.
I became committed to this goal.
Maybe you're facing an important decision this morning.
Maybe you're trying to figure out which road to take.
Maybe you're deciding how to go deeper.
It begins with prayer.
It begins with the wrestling match, like Jacob and the angel, to get clarity.
It begins with patience, waiting on the Lord.
As you consider going 'all in' with God - what is God asking you to go 'all in' about?
Have you taken enough time to pray?
Have you waited on the Lord?
In an instant culture, we often expect instant answers,
But God doesn't always work that way, so are we being patient?
This was the problem Israel faced.
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After God miraculously freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, they found their backs against the wall!
Pharaoh, and his whole army, was bearing down on them!
With nowhere to go, but through the Red Sea, God miraculously parted the waters.
The Israelites walked through on dry land.
When the Egyptians pursued them, the waters closed, and their pursuers were killed.
Once on the other side, the Israelites grumbled for food.
Miraculously, again, God delivered them from their hunger and provided manna, quail, and water in the desert.
Then, Moses climbed a mountain to meet God for direction.
The Israelites, impatient and complaining as usual, decided Moses was never coming back.
In the words of today's psalmist
They forgot God their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt.
They got impatient.
- Envied the gods of their neighboring tribes and decided to build their own.
A golden calf -
It alienated them from God!
It kept them from the promised land!
Impatience can keep us from the promised land!
So many of our decisions are made out of impatience and forgetfulness!
We don't like to wait.
We complain - and want an answer now.
We forget the faithfulness of God.
And so we, too, can build our own golden calf.
Maybe that's where you are this morning.
Feeling impatient.
Wanting an answer.
St. Paul writes this morning:
Stand firm in the Lord.
Wait on the Lord!
Be steadfast!
God knows you're waiting!
Don't take the bait and make a bad decision out of impatience!
Stay committed to the course!
You're all in!
The same God who called you, will direct you!
Stay all in!
This was the problem an unfortunate wedding guest faced!
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Jesus told a story about a King who threw a wedding for his son.
But it's not about a King or a wedding -
It's about one day, God bringing the beauty of heaven to the earth.
And God invited his chosen people to check it out.
But their response was appalling -
They don't recognize it - they don't accept it -
They totally disrespected the Lord.
While they had considered themselves on God's side, they had never gone all in.
So the Lord said, 'Fine,' and instead, opened up the beauty of heaven to everyone.
They came out in droves.
They loved it -
Except for one guy
He had the same problem the others did and totally disrespected the Lord.
He, also, had not gone all in.
This story is meant as an encouragement from Jesus for you and I to go all in.
The closer we move toward God the more we act like God.
The closer we get to love, the more we act like Love.
And never have we been tested to act like God - than right now - in the shadow of a bloody war where Jesus once walked.
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What shock and horror have filled our hearts -
How rightfully infuriated - devastated - and vengeful we feel by the violent, inhumanity inflicted by Hamas.
Their murderous and sick actions are wholly inexcusable, whatever their beef.
It seems their aim was to inflict maximum pain, then to dare Israel to do its worst in response.
Right now, Israel is being asked to go 'all in' and figure out how God would respond.
Like the U-S, there are many in leadership who openly claim to be guided my God and a very moral religion!
Israel is facing the same delicate balance we did on 9-11.
But when you look at how violent and ruthless your aggressor was and is:
How hard it is to act with restraint!
To measure your response when you've been hit so hard!
To tame that vengeant streak we all struggle to contain -
To say no to 'the myth of redemptive violence.'
Israel should and must defend itself.
They have to go after their hostages.
They must bind the strongman.
But there are no good options.
Urban warfare is bloody and ineffective.
Civilian deaths are already mounting - the children, the children!
Israel's challenge is to respond to war crimes without committing war crimes.
Israelis, Jews, I know are good, solid, hospitable, fun, and funny people!
Arabs, Palestinians, Muslims, I know are good, solid, fun, and funny people!
Neither are vermin, dogs, rats, cockroaches, or evil people.
But we have been reminded that people can act that way and need to be held accountable.
So my prayer is for peace and justice, justice and peace.
Because without justice there is no peace.
Our job is to support peace and justice - it is to support the rebuilding and reconciliation -
Because some day there will be a negotiating table -
And the more we act out of peace and justice the easier it will be to achieve peace and justice.
Israel is being asked to go all in on the morality their country espouses - what a difficult job they have - and they need our support to do it!
You and I are being asked to go all in -
So what does that look like in your life?
I believe that as you and I take more intentional steps toward God, giving God more and more of ourselves, we will live more peaceful lives.
I believe that as you and I take more intentional steps toward God, giving God more and more of ourselves, we will create a more peaceful community.
I believe that as you and I take more intentional steps toward God, giving God more and more of ourselves, we will create a more peaceful world - to the joy of humanity and the glory of God!
If you believe it's possible can you say amen?