Good Morning All!!
Ezekiel 2:3; “And he said to
me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who
have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me
to this very day.”
Wanted: Young, skinny, wiry fellows not over
eighteen. Must be expert riders, willing to risk death daily. Orphans
preferred. So
do you think you would have applied to be a pony express rider? Would you take any job if the description was
painfully honest? Would you take the job
that was described as low paying, on-call at all times, must be patient and
willing to live in a sleep deprived state for many days and often wear stained
clothes? Most of us would laugh that job
off until we remember that this is usually the first (and perhaps more) year of
a new parent. We tend to like the jobs
that have a “friendlier” description. We
would rather hear the softened version of what is going on.
It is possible that the prophet Ezekiel
would have preferred to hear a different description of the call that God gave
him. Most preachers would not like to go
to preach to rebels and more specifically, a nation of rebels. Most preachers want to hear about successful
outreach programs and active Bible studies.
They want to hear about vibrant volunteers and a congregation that
friendly and welcoming to strangers.
Unfortunately, most preachers get called to congregations that are
rebellious and have been for generations ongoing. They are called to serve there because that
is where the sinners are; those people who are desperately in need of God’s
grace; people like you and people like me.
God calls pastors to go to places that need
to hear his grace and mercy. This place
of rebellious people, this church for that is what the church really is; it is
a collection of rebellious people who confess their faults, sins and
shortcomings and who desperately need God’s mercy and come together for comfort
and support. We come together to share
our pain and to share our joy. We come
together as God’s redeemed people, cleansed by his baptismal grace. We are made new; we are made whole and given
the wondrous gift of salvation.
We will slip and fail in keeping God’s
will; we will rebel and try to go our own way but God, in his mercy, will keep
calling us back to the life of repentance in that baptismal grace and restore
us to our place in his family. We are a
rebellious people but, more importantly, we are a redeemed and forgiven people;
we are chosen by God to be his family, to be his people, to be his church. So we struggle each day, seeking to do his
will, sometimes succeeding but sometimes failing but always forgiven by our
loving and merciful Father. God, in his
mercy, made you new; so go out and be new.
Father, too often I rebel against your will and
experience the pain of its failure.
Forgive me when I fail. Pick me
up and guide me in your path. Lead me to
be the servant you need and the disciple you desire. Guard me from all of the devil’s
attacks. In the precious name of Jesus I
pray, amen.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret
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