And In No Particular Order, Now- We Are Drawn
I first want to thank God and everyone involved for this opportunity to serve God here in this wonderful setting of Burke’s Garden and Bluefield. I realize what a unique and precious opportunity this is, and I ask for the help of God and of everyone to serve this community to the best of my ability.
Today’s Gospel lesson begins with Christ saying, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” This continues the discourse we have heard in previous weeks about bread; the miraculous feeding of the 5,000 and the manna from heaven. Now, he explains that he is the bread of heaven, come down to sustain and provide salvation for humanity. Christ has come to draw people to God and, through Him, to salvation. The word used meaning to draw is the same word used when Jesus commands those who are fishing to pull in their nets once they have captured their haul. It carries with it a connotation of pulling one in against their will. A meaning of capture in spite of resistance. It is being drawn, coming to God, not by your will, but by the will of the Divine.
I understand that completely. If you knew me seven or eight years ago, the thought of me going to a seminary to prepare to go into the ministry is not one of the first things you would have expected me to be doing in a few years. First of all, I was not attending church on a regular basis. Due to some conflicts at my home church, St. John Lutheran in Saginaw, Michigan, I had stopped attending worship there on a regular basis. I was “church shopping,” going to other churches trying to see if there was something there that would connect with me. I still believed, but I wasn’t active in my relationship with God.
That changed on a February weekend in Toledo, Ohio. I had been coaching high school football in Saginaw, and the school at which I was coaching hired a new head coach. The new coach wanted his staff to get together and bond. So he had all of us got to a clinic in Toledo. I was going to be coaching the offensive line; the big guys who open holes for the runners and who protect the quarterback. There was an offensive line coach from a major college who was coming to the clinic, and I really wanted to hear his presentation. Before I went to his presentation, I wandered through the vendor area, looking at the different products that companies were showcasing to coaches. I wanted to go to the Riddell booth, to see some new equipment. But there was a long line to get into the Riddell booth; they were also giving some stuff away. While I waited and inched forward, I noticed I was standing in front of the booth for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. I was a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes when I was going to college in Alma. Actually, the weekly meetings were about my only “church” attendance while I was in college. So I was familiar with the group, and was looking at the materials they had on their table. That’s when the young lady who was staffing the booth struck up a conversation with me. We chatted about the FCA and our experiences with it; she was going to the University of Toledo. After a while, the line began to move and it was my turn to go into the Riddell booth. But before I left her area, she reached underneath the table, and handed me a book. It was the FCA’s printing of the New Testament, and included profiles and testimonies of various athletes and coaches. She gave it to me and said, “I think you need to read this.” I was taken back by the boldness of her statement, but I took the book, thanked her and put the book into my bag. The time was approaching for the presentation I wanted to hear, and so I went to the assigned room. There, I found a sign taped to the door saying that the coach’s flight had been delayed, and his presentation would be rescheduled for later in the day. Disappointed, I looked at the clinic schedule and did not see any presentation I wanted to go and see. So I sat down and went through the bag of materials I was dragging around. Then I pulled out the New Testament I had just been given, and I flipped through it, and I began to read it. I had read the Bible before, but now, it was speaking to me. Paul’s exhortations to the fledgling churches, and the testimonies of the Gospel writers spoke to me. The story of God’s love for me became personal. That Sunday, after we drove back Saturday night, I went to church and have hardly missed a Sunday since, because through a new coach, a pretty and persistent co-ed and a delayed flight, God was drawing me closer.
After I had been attending worship on a regular basis, I asked Pastor Paulette words any pastor longs to hear, “Is there some thing I can get involved with here at the church?” Soon, I was on three committees and helping to lead worship. After one service where I was the assisting minister, one of the nice older ladies of the congregation came up to me and said she thought I should become a pastor. The ministry was nowhere on my radar. I enjoyed my job working for the Saginaw Public Schools. I ran a lot of programs that provided opportunities for kids and that I enjoyed being in charge of. A few months later, I was elected to be the Church Council’s Vice-President. That meant I needed to write an article for the monthly newsletter. After the first article came out, another one of the older ladies came up to me and said she enjoyed the article, and asked if I had ever thought of going to seminary. Then I found out there was a scheduling mix-up, and the Sunday set aside for the Church Council to lead worship conflicted with the cruise the Council President had purchased, and so I needed to prepare a sermon in a couple of weeks. I was able to put a sermon together. After the service, a whole group of the older ladies came up and said I really should think about going into the ministry. Since there was now a group, I decided to look into the process to find out a reason why I couldn’t go into the ministry, and I could get them off my back. I went to the websites of the ELCA and different seminaries to find out more about the process. I realized it was possible, but it would require me quitting my job, and moving away from family and friends. But the more I learned, the more it seemed not only possible, but also felt like the right thing to do. I talked to my parents. I’m an only child, and at the time, my father had just turned 75 and my mother a few years behind. They had both had a variety of health issues and I would go to their home regularly to help with things around the house. After several conversations, they said this was something they felt I was being led toward and not to let my worries or concerns about them get in the way of what I was being drawn to do. I met with my pastor and she explained the candidacy process to me and listened as I shared my concerns. At the same time, issues at work were leading to my job being less rewarding and less secure. All of this weighed on me one Sunday when I went to worship. I sat in the pew, not focusing on the service, but lost in my own thoughts and prayers, asking God “What do you want me to do? Is this really the path you want me to take?” I wasn’t really asking for a sign, but just something to let me know that this was not just something coming from inside of me. And as I stood to hear the Gospel, it came that day from Matthew, chapter 16. “Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.’” And through some wonderful ladies, my pastor, my parents and the Gospel, God was drawing me closer.
While this is part of my story, we all have our own encounters when people did things that helped to draw us closer to God. We all have people who gave us directions, nudges, pushes and shoves that have helped us hear God’s call for us. We may have acted, knowingly or unknowingly as an agent to move someone toward Christ. It may have been something we said or did. We may have done it intentionally or have absolutely no recollection of the event.
We may feel like Elijah from today’s first lesson, that we “are no better than our ancestors” and we are worthless. But God has a purpose for us, just as there was a purpose for Elijah. God sent an angel to provide for Elijah so he could carry on his mission. God has sent messengers for each and every one of us to direct us so we can carry on our mission. But more importantly, God sent us His Son, Jesus Christ to be the living bread of salvation for us. God sent Jesus so we may be drawn to him, so that we may believe in him and so that we may live forever.
All we can do is be open to the will of God. We may be used to help draw people closer to God. We can invite them to church. We can be willing to sit with them and listen to them and their concerns. We may not be able to help them, but we may be able to share their pain and problems. We can point out something we see in someone, a gift or an ability, and praise them and recognize their talents. The reinforcement you give them may be the nudge they need to boost their confidence. We may be being drawn closer to God by other people. They may come to us to help carry our burdens or recognize our gifts. They may be opening our eyes to new perspectives, opportunities and situatio
We must be open to what God wants of us. After all, when we pray the prayer Jesus taught the Twelve, we ask for God’s will to be done. Why can’t it be done through us?
Because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the living bread from heaven, that he gave his flesh for the life of the world; because of our belief and faith in Jesus Christ, that He is the Son of God who came down, lived, was tortured, died and rose again for us; because we have been drawn to God by Christ, our sins are forgiven and we will rise again upon the last day. As the Psalter wrote, “
I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.
This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord, and was saved from every trouble.
O taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in him.” AMEN.
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