Getting with the Program (Sixth Sunday after Pentecost)

Sermons on YouTube… (No videos this week because of audio issues.)

It is often tempting, as we read through the parts of the Gospels where Jesus and his disciples are going from town to town healing people and doing miraculous things to imagine that this tour must be like World Cup matches coming to our town!  Everyone is excited and impressed.  Everyone wants to be part of what Jesus is doing.  And, like the Scottish and Norwegian soccer fans, there’s a whole group of people who are up for partying along with Jesus to the next big event!

We don’t really know how things went.  And often, our impressions are colored by a few reports of the evangelists who do indeed say that some people were impressed and that occasionally Jesus’ fame spread to other places.

But today, we actually get Jesus’ self-assessment of how things are going.  And while others may have been impressed, Jesus is clearly frustrated and kind of ticked-off!  Basically, Jesus is irritated that no matter what he does, people just don’t want to get with the program.  Jesus has announced the kingdom of heaven has come near.  God is doing new and wonderful things in people’s lives.  And Jesus is calling people to take notice and be a part of it. But although a few people seem changed, most just see this as a fun, passing distraction – maybe like if the World Cup games were happening here.

And so Jesus complains that when John the Baptist came along and preached all this stuff about “the axe lying at the root of the tree” and “burning the chaff with unquenchable fire”, it didn’t seem to change people in the long term.  They didn’t get with the program.

And then Jesus arrived on the scene, and he did wonderful things like healing the sick, raising the dead and preaching good news to those who had lost hope.  But that’s not seeming at this point to have much impact either.  People also are not getting with the program.

Yet rather than wonder what was wrong with those folks, this should give us an opportunity to wonder how it is that we can miss what God is saying and doing in our own lives, and why it is that it’s sometimes hard for us to get with God’s program as well.

I don’t know all the reasons those folks were having trouble getting with God’s program, but I can guess they may have been for many of the same reasons we face.  And sometimes for us, the reason can be that:

• We’re distracted by all of the bad stuff going on around us – Jesus uses this image of children playing in the marketplace and refusing to dance to a wedding tune.  Why not dance and rejoice in God’s presence and love and help?  Sometimes, it’s because we get so caught up in grief and anger and outrage of what’s going on around us that we just can’t see – or at least we have trouble emotionally investing ourselves in – any new and good thing that God is doing in our lives or the lives of others…

• We’re distracted by all the good stuff going on around us – yes, there is bad stuff and it happens all the time.  But, my life, and the life of my loved ones, is going OK right now and I don’t really want to upset that situation.  Besides, when I start to think of the problems God might be asking me to address, I start “doomscrolling”, and that’s usually counterproductive. So, yes I know I should probably make some changes and focus on people and things outside myself, but doing that consistently can be really hard…

• We’re sure God loves us, and so all this “change” stuff is really for other folks who need it more than we do.  One of the more shocking things in Jesus’ words is that he has harsh things to say about places like Capernaum, which is his base of operations!  And maybe that’s because people in Capernaum thought they were special.  And they were!  But that didn’t mean that they, also, didn’t also need to get with the program…

So part the call of today’s Gospel is to recognize the times when it’s hard for us to get with God’s program in our lives. But even more importantly, it’s important to notice how Jesus reacts to people who don’t get with the program.  And that’s because his words and works don’t end with today’s critique.  Instead, Jesus continues through the rest of the Gospel to:

• Call people to come to him, even when and especially when they’ve missed out before.  It would be easy to assume that after this critique, Jesus would give up on folks and walk away.  But he doesn’t.  Even his critique is intended to call people to come to him and follow in new ways…

• Offer people hope in the midst of the pain and difficulties of their lives, so that rather than the pain and difficulties distracting them from seeing God, they become opportunities.  There is this image of the “yoke” that Jesus calls folks to take up.  It’s not the idea that if you follow Jesus, no bad stuff will happen, but that when Jesus is with you, your load becomes lighter because Jesus is walking with you to help you…

• Journey towards the Cross, in spite of the fact that people don’t get with the program.  And he does that in order to show people the extent of God’s love and care, and to offer forgiveness even to people who haven’t gotten with the program…

So, remember that Jesus is still speaking to you and calling you to follow him in your daily life. Be alert to the ways in which the burdens and challenges and even the joys of life can distract you from noticing the work of God all around you.  And remember that even if you feel like you’ve missed getting with God’s program before, Jesus is still calling you anew to follow him into the future.

Amen.