"Lead,
Follow...Oh, Never Mind!"
January 20, 2008
Dan Wilkie, TEI Graduate, Assistant Minister
Scripture Readings: John 1:29-42
This passage from the Gospel of John has always been one of the most
important in the New Testament because it helps us recognize and
understand who Jesus is, his mission in the fulfillment of scriptural
prophesy, the blessing of his ministry by God, and the calling of his
first disciples and ultimately what that means to us as Christians.
When John calls Jesus the Lamb of God who takes away the sin
of the world, he is referring to the Greek translation, that means
suffering servant, one who bears or takes away our burdens, and thus
fulfills the prophesy of the sacrificial lamb. However, it is pointed out
in the UCC Sermon Seeds that according to Gail R. O’Day and Susan E. Hylen
lambs were not used for sin sacrifices, but only for the Passover
sacrifice, which remembers the liberation and deliverance of the people by
God, their conclusion is this Jesus as Passover Lamb, liberates the world
from slavery to sin by bringing the world into fresh contact with the
presence of God, so that human alienation from God can end. How this
ultimately happens is the story of the Gospels and the heart of the gospel
message.
To truly realize just how little understanding most of the
disciples had about Jesus, one only needs to read a gospel from beginning
to end, for example in this gospel when asked a life changing question by
the one proclaimed as the Son of God, they ask for his address, but
ultimately when Jesus refuses to simply answer their question, but instead
challenges them to follow him and see, which after they take the challenge
finally come to understand and become dedicated followers.
This raises some serious questions for the church today
because it begs the questions who and what are we seeking? Are we really
seeking the person Christ and what his life represents, that calls us to
action and sacrifice, or are we seeking simply the theology of Christ that
brings us comfort of mind or is there some place in our lives for both?
Perhaps for many of us in the UCC this may indeed be one of our most
difficult questions, because I think most of us, myself included have a
difficult time with the blind obedience without question, with personal
testimonies without reflection, and too much praise seems almost unreal.
Does this mean we lack faith or belief, on the contrary I think not, while
some might say this shows a lack of faith, I maintain that this is
healthy, for God gave us the powers of reason and discernment, and using
them does not in any way show lack of faith, but rather it allows for us
to make decisions about our faith we can follow freely and honestly, even
changing our minds about certain aspects of our faith journey as
understandings of scripture and the realities of science and technology
emerge, thus avoiding the pitfalls of blind obedience to doctrine and
dogma which may be contrary to these new understandings. For instance
would jumping 80 feet from a cliff into a pool of water be an act of faith
or an act of stupidity? I would answer, if one knows how to swim and
takes the time to discern how deep the water is and learn where the rocks
are the act itself would become an act of faith, other wise it would be
sheer stupidity, even Jesus himself says not to put faith to the test.
However, like so many things, I do think that it is possible
to take our skepticism and reservations too far, becoming lost in
abstraction and theology the paralyzes us and stops us from living the
faith we are called to do. My father had a saying for almost every
situation, and I remember a situation where I was having trouble making a
decision, he looked me straight in the eye and said either lead, follow,
or get the heck out of the way. I think he was so right, because there
comes a time in life when the thoughts have taken place, the reflection is
over, and one has to make a decision, take some type of action for better
or worse.
I like to compare this to a committee or board meeting where
action must be taken on an agenda item, the subject is brought up,
discussion occurs, a motion is made, further discussion is had, but there
comes a time when discussion and debate must cease and a vote taken, and
some sort of action must happen. However, if you have been around very
much, as I have, you probably attended board meetings where everyone
wanted to be a leader and tell everyone else how to do something, or
everyone wanted to be a follower and sat there waiting for someone to
finally do something, and ultimately these types of meetings ended in Oh
Never Mind, why did we even bring it up frustration over took the board
and nothing happened.
In our faith, as I mentioned earlier, a certain amount of
skepticism is healthy, but in all reality there comes a time when we must
act as people of faith. Nothing great every happened without action.
One of the prime examples of this kind of action is found in
the leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. whose life and legacy we
celebrate tomorrow, he was and would have always been a great leader no
matter what, but what made all the difference to the civil rights movement
was that he believe in action, he took a stand and was able to inspire
many others to follow him. They took action, supporting him, and so many
others as they fought the difficult struggle for equality. With the
support of so many diverse people, the issue became difficult for those in
power to ignore any longer, and while Dr. King did lose his life, the
stage had been set for change with the result being the laws we have
today, and a guide for the continuing struggle for all those who face
injustice and oppression. .
So maybe for us,
like Dr. King and so many others who have given their hearts and lives to
Christ, the answer really is simple, maybe it is indeed found in Jesus’
reply to Andrew and Simon, follow me and I will show you. Maybe we really
need to spend more time trying to understand the personal Jesus rather
than the theological Jesus by thinking less and acting more, not out of
blind obedience, but out of blind love. Maybe we open our hearts and minds
to let Jesus be the leader so that we can truly be followers. Maybe in
all this we too can find the same excitement that John felt about Jesus,
maybe this excitement will help us overcome our reservations about Jesus
and allow us to share the good news more with others, through our words
and actions.
What are we willing to sacrifice to make these things happen,
what are we willing to do to learn and grow in our faith, are we willing
to examine the ways we think and act, towards each other and all of God’s
creation? Are we really ready to follow Jesus? The answers lie within
each of our hearts and only we can find the answers.
