Where Do We Stand? Matthew 4:12-23

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy.” (Martin Luther King, Jr).

If there is a common theme in the readings today, it is transition of power: How do we go about it and how do we live in it? Where do we stand in the times of challenge and controversy?

We hear words of hope in a short passage from a much longer poem in the book of Isaiah. The land that has been cursed, Zebulun and Naphtali, which was captured by Syria, shall be the site of new hope. The rod will be broken, the yoke and burden of slavery, will be lifted as it was in the day of Midian. This day of Midian is the final battle where God’s people were set free from the Midianites to enter the promised land and God’s favor again. It is the song that is ready to announce that the leader that will arise will be called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty Lord, Prince of Peace.” It is an amazing time of change with the transfer of power going from the oppressor to those who have been oppressed. Those who live in the shadow of death will now experience the light of new life—a victory for God’s people. It is a time of challenging the social order and the controversy over who are God’s chosen people.

From 1 Corinthians, we hear that there is conflict among the people of Corinth. It is reported by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling. Some are claiming greater authority in the faith because they have been baptized by important leaders within the Church. This early conflict centers on whose teaching they will follow. Some of the people are following Apollos, some Paul, some Cephas aka Peter, and some are claiming Christ.

Paul’s observation about the controversy of who to follow is as cryptic and concise today as it was almost 2000 years ago: Christ is not divided. We are not baptized in the name of our pastor nor in the name of our denomination nor in the name of government leaders. We are baptized in the name of Christ. We are baptized into Christ’s death and raised up with him into a new way of living together. The power and authority of our lives has been transferred, from us and our imperfections, to the perfect one who makes us right with God, the one who died upon the cross for us.

This message of the cross is challenging and foolishness to those who don’t believe because it seems implausible that one person’s death can have any influence on the living. And, if the cross were the final statement of who this Jesus is, we would all be fools, but the cross is not the final statement. It is the resurrected, living person of Jesus that makes the difference as he continues to create controversy, challenging our lives of comfort and convenience.

In our Gospel reading, with Jesus, we hear that John the Baptist has been arrested. Now it is time for Jesus to take the baton, or the torch that has been lighted by John, and continue the proclamation of the new relationship with God. “The kingdom of heaven has come near.” It is time to rethink who and whose we are. It is time to stand up and be counted. It is time to gather all of God’s people and to prepare them for the great wilderness journey, a journey from a world of trying to make themselves right with God through the law to one of living in the righteousness of Christ freed to love our enemy and to pray for those who persecute us. It is a time to challenge the powers of our world and to enter controversial times of peace.

As leadership transfers from John to Jesus, we witness the calling of Jesus’ first disciples: Peter, Andrew, James and John. We witness the power of what a new vision and dream for the world can do for young people who are looking for change. Then with these new disciples, we witness the first fruits of Jesus’ teaching and healing ministry that challenges the world order and initiates the controversy of who this Jesus is.

Today’s stories of transition are not about the good old days: a time that used to be; they are not about recapturing some glory of the past. They are stories of hope, with dreams of a better way of living where our historic prejudices, myths of ethnic superiority, and preferential treatment of the wealthy at the expense of the poor no longer exist. It is not about reclaiming comfort and convenience, but gladly entering challenging times and the controversy that surrounds them.

Although a coincidence, it is amazing to me that these texts have been set aside for us, have been assigned to us, for this week, during the changing administrations in our government, in this time of transition in our lives, in this time of division and struggle. I couldn’t help but think of these texts as I listened to the inauguration of President Trump because of the deep divisions that have created conversational impasses based on who we voted for, seeking comfort and convenience of like-minded people, rather than entering the challenge and controversy of open disagreement for the sake of a common goal.

Let us remember in Martin Luther’s words that we are to be “in the world but not of it.” In baptism, we are of Christ’s body for the sake of the world. We are of the mind of Christ for the salvation of the world. We are of God’s justice and individually ambassadors of it for the peace of the world—but we are not of the world. No, we are not of the world, we are of Christ who challenges the world, raising the controversy of leadership.

We are created in God’s image with the gift of faith. Believing in Christ’s authority and his healing presence, we have the power to be the children of God. When we awaken to this reality, we begin to see that the good old glory days we remember are not the past but the days yet to come. In the body of Christ, in the shadow of the cross, and in the morning of the empty tomb, we must, as Martin Luther King, Jr. said, learn to live together as brothers (and sisters) or perish together as fools".

As we learn to live together in the mind of Christ, let us pause for a moment along the sea (of Galilee) to hear Christ’s calling, witness his authority and healing presence, and then proclaim his fulfillment of all righteousness in prayer. Please join me in this prayer I’ve adapted from one written by David Scherer, Contextual Learning Coordinator at Luther Seminary in St. Paul.

God of many languages, speak love to us. God of many nations, welcome strangers among us. God of many expressions, sing joy through us. You are one. We are many. Humble us. Hold us. Save us. Send us. Shelter us and guide us in these challenging and controversial times. Amen.