Sermon by The Very Rev Chris Yaw, 1/18/2026
Lessons:
John 1:29-42
The Call of the Disciples
Beloved Brothers and sisters in Christ...
When I talk to people who have a problem with faith, I often find that the problem they have with God - is actually a problem with a particular interpretation of God.
They have a problem with the kind of God they have been brought up with, exposed to in churches, history, or the media, 'If God is like this,' they say, 'Then I want no part of him!'
And let me say, that once they explain the kind of God they're talking about, I almost always agree -
Because I have experienced the same thing - and it happens when our theology is mis-shaped.
It's when it becomes shaped more by the culture, economics, politics, societal bias, and populist stereotypes - than by a clear take on Christianity as it's found in an honest reading of scripture, in conversation with tradition, and a good healthy dose of reason.
Here's an example -
Suppose you lived 200 years ago, south of the Mason-Dixon line and you grew up as a rich, white man on a plantation.
Your very livelihood - you, your family, your city, and state were directly tied to the slaves who tended your fields, took care of your children, and kept up your house - whom you routinely kept in line through beating, intimidation, and paying little or no wages.
Your slaves undergirded your household budget, your town's financial solvency, indeed your entire state's economic viability. The institution of slavery was as acceptable and American to you and everyone of your white friends, as apple pie and the 4th of July.
Did you go to church?
Of course - everybody did.
Then how on earth did you listen to the loving, liberating, life-giving message of the Bible and justify this devilish institution, and indeed your own brutality?
Simple - you put on the lens of your economic well-being, societal norms, and popular politics - you did what most people did - you not dive very deeply into your faith, especially because it so thoroughly justified your lifestyle - rather you settled for the culturally conditioned faith that was handed to you.
This is something we all do - human beings are wired for acceptance and belonging. Now, I'm not sticking up for slaveholders - but I am saying that the pull and tug of the cultural components of our humanity are a strongman whose grip is nearly impossible to escape.
And so you would sit in church as that Southern slave holder and note that Genesis 16 tells me that Abraham had slaves, indeed that Leviticus 25 permitted the Israelites to own foreign slaves - and that St. Paul, in Ephesians 6 instructs the early Christians, 'Slaves, obey your earthly masters...'
You would also note that in Genesis 9, Noah curses Ham - which we'll equate to Canaan and falsely link to Africans (because why would we ever question the preacher!) - then we'll read God's judgment in verse 25 that 'a servant of servants shall he be.'
And we'll read Romans 13:1 - that assures us that 'there is no authority except from God' - thus making you, a slaveholder, a God-ordained authority - and any resistance as rebellion against God - and that any sort of punishment, no matter how brutal, was 'discipline' and not cruelty.
And you even come to believe that slavery is benevolent, after all Ephesians 6 tells masters to treat slaves justly - and the entire book of Philemon - an entire New Testament book! - is written by Paul to send a slave named Onesimus back to his master - thus making slavery civilizing - even evangelizing, as masters are able to introduce Africans from those heathen cultures to a 'better way' - and offer their physical punishment - as loving correction.
OK - then what happened when the scriptures became inconvenient - like Galatians 3 'Neither slave nor free - but all are one in Christ.'?
We would find another way to interpret that - perhaps as spiritually - not literally - that slaves partake in spiritual equality - not social equality.
And we need to flat out ignore a bunch of other texts - like Exodus 21 - that kidnapping is punishable by death. Amos 2 that condemns selling the righteous for silver -
Luke 4 that proclaims liberty to the captives - And even Matthew 7 that reminds us to do unto others as we would want done unto us.
This kind of theological dodge 'em meant that you did not allow your religion to actually take root in you - you weren't taking your religion seriously - or looking to your religion to find God - but to justify yourself, your lifestyle, and the status quo.
After all, if you allowed the Bible to actually speak to you - that would be way too dangerous and costly.
Instead, you would pick and chose verses - that propped up your preconceived prejudices and predilections - thus elevating your behavior to a divine level! And we all know that the hardest soldier to stop is the one who's not fighting for country or family - but for God Almighty!
I think we can all see why it's so important for you and me to take our religion seriously! How many lives would have been spared, how much suffering would have been lessened, how much better off would America have been - with 1, 2, 3, or 50 fewer years of slavery in this country?
And how important it is in our day as we evaluate the killing of drug boat drivers, protests in Minneapolis, and ICE arrests on the rise all over?
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Taking our religion seriously means giving more space to that inward voice - more cultivation - more attention.
That's what discipleship is all about.
And it's hard - very hard!
What is needed is a purity of heart - a grounding in humility - a willingness to risk and do something uncomfortable, inconvenient, unpopular, and perhaps even dangerous - in order to simply let the faith speak for itself.
And as I look around - I see that in droves.
I see your light.
I see your care.
I see your kindness.
I see your purity of heart.
I see, love, and appreciate, your love.
And as we make love our first quest - it will not go unrewarded.
This is what we see in today's Gospel
It's a unique story isn't it?
It's John the Baptist, his identification of Jesus, and the first calling of the disciples.
Did you notice that this is not Matthew, Mark, or Luke's Jesus - it is definitely John's version?
In the more popular versions, we see Jesus arrive on the scene at the River Jordan - where John baptizes him. But not in this Gospel - Jesus is not baptized here!
John's job is just to identify Jesus - pointing twice: "Look! Look!"
And did you notice that John identifies Jesus - well before he has done anything!
Before Jesus heals anybody, feeds anybody, or even preaches: Jesus is identified not just by John but by Andrew and Peter not for anything that Jesus has done, but for who he is - there is something about him that resonates deep inside of the hearts of people who are looking for him.
And we have more than one or two of those people here today.
Did you look at your bulletin covers?
Two paintings by Dieric Bouts, from the Netherlands - who lived in the late 1400's.
The first image is with John and Peter and Andrew, depicting today's Gospel as John points to Jesus, "Look!"
Now look at that second image - where the disciples have been replaced!
Do you know by who?
It's the patron - the person who paid Dieric to paint the painting.
Apparently, the patron wanted this image of himself as a modern day disciple -
He wanted this image to say something to him: "I have found the Messiah!" as he bows down in recognition and honor.
Like this patron - are you and me - looking for Jesus - in search of love.
This is what the Bible - Jesus - our faith - is here to satiate: that very common hunger - as St. Augustine famously put it, 'our hearts are restless until they rest in God.' As Bono and U2 famously sang, "Love has come to town."
And Jesus, love incarnate, comes on to the scene to fulfill a universe of people whose hearts are yearning for love, the most profound, most important, continuous yearning of infants, children, and adults: We are all looking for love.
The early disciples in this story found God because they were looking for God.
I was reading an expose on Jeffrey Epstein the other day. And they interviewed the man at Bear Stearns financial who hired him into the finance world. This was Epstein's first boss - who said his criteria in hiring Epstein was 3-fold: he was poor, he was smart, and more than anything - he wanted to be rich.
Very few people get rich by accident. You've got to want it - sometimes more than anything - you've got to be looking for riches.
It's the same for love.
You want love - look for love - which is what these disciples were doing - they were looking for love. Ever wonder why Jesus didn't call the religious elite - or even the local rabbi to join his group of 12?
Maybe because religious training was not the most important criteria - it was a heart searching for Love - looking for God - and the more religious we get, the more tinged and seared we can get by the institution - so that upholding the constructs we have established that purport to honor God - become more important that God himself - or herself.
While their culture, like ours, dictated all sorts of societal norms and religious expectations - these disciples were willing to go outside of that - to defy who society said was God - what society defined as proper religion - and pay attention to their spiritual selves - obeying the deep yearning of every human heart - and discover it on their own.
The call to the disciples was answered by their spiritual selves - same as you and me.
Whenever I hear someone say, "I'm spiritual, not religious!" I say, "Me too." I don't want religion to get in the way of God. Religion tried to trip up Jesus - it's at work trying to trip us up today. Of course, being spiritual AND religious is arguably better - but I'll take the former over the latter any day of the week.
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So the upshot for you and me is: in what ways are we cultivating our spiritual selves? To hear God's voice? To respond to the call? Is it the priority we want it to be?
How are we resisting the call of the culture to take on its version of God - versus cultivating the one we are coming to know through the discipline of scripture, tradition, reason, community, and prayer?
And in what ways are we on the lookout for love, listening to that inner voice, as we cultivate true religion?
As we go from here: remember that Love has a job for us - to Lean into that beautiful spirit of yours, listening for that voice to help you shape your faith.
Your spirit can be trusted to identify and walk in love.
Amen.