Fifth Sunday After Trinity (2 July, 2018)

You Don't Find Him...

And he said, "Go out and stand on the mount before the LORD." And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.  And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.  And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"  He said, "I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away."  And the LORD said to him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria.  And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place.  And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death.  Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him."  So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him.  And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, "Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you." And he said to him, "Go back again, for what have I done to you?"  And he returned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him.  1 Kings 19:11-21

A Miktam of David. Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.  I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you."  As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.  The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips.  The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.  The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.  I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.  I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.  Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.  For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.  You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.  Psalm 16

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."  Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?  For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.  For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.  For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.  1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.  Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.  For "Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.  For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."  Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good?  But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.  1 Peter 3:8-15

On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on Him to hear the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and He saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.  Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, He asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the people from the boat.  And when He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."  And Simon answered, "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets."  And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking.  They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.  But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord."  For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men."  And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.  Luke 5:1-11

There's an older joke style where some clever line is said, then reversed.  "In (despotic nation) you don't find the party, the Party finds you."  There are times where it seems that the entirety of history is a complete reversal of human expectations.

Some demand there be proof, while others want to understand every little detail.  We think, quite arrogantly, that we feeble humans can somehow reach up and take hold of God and drag Him down to us.  We think we can twist His arm and coerce Him to serve us.  Ever since the Fall we've tried to find God or find our own way to Him.  We've tried idols, towers, deified humanity, oracles, voodoo, fortune cookies, horoscopes, magic 8-balls, getting "one with nature," and pietism.  None of these aid us in finding God.  And without God, we have nothing good.  The harsh truth is we cannot, but our own reason or strength, find God and climb up to meet Him.

We didn't have to.  God found us and came down to be us.

When Jesus was starting His ministry on earth, He sought out a core group of students who would go on to be the founders and leaders of the restored faith.  These twelve men did not seek out Jesus, through means mundane or divine.  Rather, Jesus found them.

For no apparent reason at all, Jesus step into Peter's boat and used it as a podium.  No explanations, no rationalizations, just simple invasion.  That is what God does quite frequently to humans.  We're wandering about, all happy and ignorant, thinking we're working our way closer to some divine status, when all of a sudden the whole world is turned on its head!  A God who becomes human, takes on the punishment set aside for breaking His laws, and unconditionally forgives the very people who kill Him?  Even before that, before all the miracles, raising people from the dead, healings, transfigurations, calming of storms, and parables, this God tells a professional fisherman that the very thing that will not work will result in a catch.  And it does.  What kind of God is this?

The kind that humans cannot find by their own reason or strength.  The kind that the sinful human cowers in fear of when He shows up in their fishing boat.  The kind the humble fisherman begs to leave, since he knows that he cannot stand in the same place as the Holy One.

The kind that chooses to save all humanity by dying on the cross and rising again.