WEBVTT 00:00:01.729 --> 00:00:07.589 Howdy. You know, I need to check, you know, it's 00:00:07.589 --> 00:00:11.330 been a few weeks. How many of you are still following 00:00:11.330 --> 00:00:15.669 your New Year's resolutions? Oh, okay. Well, 00:00:15.669 --> 00:00:18.190 okay. Well, good for the two or three of you. 00:00:18.230 --> 00:00:20.530 Okay, good. Excellent. All right. How many of 00:00:20.530 --> 00:00:23.750 you had to modify your New Year's resolutions 00:00:23.750 --> 00:00:27.519 a little bit? Oh, oh man. Okay. None of you even 00:00:27.519 --> 00:00:29.320 made it that one. How many of you gave up on 00:00:29.320 --> 00:00:31.719 the New Year's resolutions? All right. There 00:00:31.719 --> 00:00:33.719 we go. Now we're seeing some more of them. And 00:00:33.719 --> 00:00:35.560 how many of you think that the New Year's resolutions 00:00:35.560 --> 00:00:38.000 are just kind of stupid? All right. Yeah. Okay. 00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:39.399 And that's the rest of you. All right. There 00:00:39.399 --> 00:00:44.020 you go. You are among friends. Okay. Good. I'm 00:00:44.020 --> 00:00:46.159 gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna say this. I am actually 00:00:46.159 --> 00:00:48.579 pretty happy about this. I did manage to lose 00:00:48.579 --> 00:00:51.179 the Germany five. Okay. The five pounds I found 00:00:51.179 --> 00:00:53.520 in Germany, they are finally gone. That part 00:00:53.520 --> 00:00:57.079 worked. But that does not mean that I magically 00:00:57.079 --> 00:01:01.259 got rid of everything else I wanted to. But not 00:01:01.259 --> 00:01:04.760 everything has fallen into place now with this 00:01:04.760 --> 00:01:07.620 new year. You know, the trip that I had, the 00:01:07.620 --> 00:01:10.359 vacation, the time away and everything, you know, 00:01:10.379 --> 00:01:14.480 it was a reset. Space to breathe, space to step 00:01:14.480 --> 00:01:17.719 back, to see things just a little more clearly. 00:01:18.859 --> 00:01:22.560 And yet, it did not turn me into a different 00:01:22.560 --> 00:01:26.209 person. It didn't erase all the old habits. It 00:01:26.209 --> 00:01:29.409 didn't fix everything. It just gave me some some 00:01:29.409 --> 00:01:31.950 fresh eyes. And I think that's where many of 00:01:31.950 --> 00:01:35.230 us are right now. I think that many of us still 00:01:35.230 --> 00:01:39.069 struggle with how we see ourselves. We're still 00:01:39.069 --> 00:01:41.230 trying to measure the progress that we've made 00:01:41.230 --> 00:01:44.469 in life and whether that's with our hobbies or 00:01:44.469 --> 00:01:47.209 our work or our personal habits or a family, 00:01:47.349 --> 00:01:50.810 whatever it may be, we're still trying to see 00:01:50.810 --> 00:01:53.980 beyond Are we moving forward or are we falling 00:01:53.980 --> 00:01:56.459 behind? We're still trying to figure out whether 00:01:56.459 --> 00:01:59.640 God's grace is something that we rest in or something 00:01:59.640 --> 00:02:03.019 that we feel we need to catch up with. Somewhere 00:02:03.019 --> 00:02:05.799 along the way the habits slip, the motivation 00:02:05.799 --> 00:02:08.680 fades, the follow -through does not last, and 00:02:08.680 --> 00:02:11.280 failure starts whispering a familiar message. 00:02:12.120 --> 00:02:16.419 Maybe this just isn't who you are. But you know 00:02:16.419 --> 00:02:19.259 scripture tells us a very different story about 00:02:19.259 --> 00:02:22.629 who we are. Isaiah says before I was born the 00:02:22.629 --> 00:02:26.389 Lord called me before effort before obedience 00:02:26.389 --> 00:02:30.889 before success and before failure God did not 00:02:30.889 --> 00:02:33.569 wait to see how you would turn out He did not 00:02:33.569 --> 00:02:36.990 discover your weaknesses later and then reconsider 00:02:36.990 --> 00:02:40.849 his plan He knew you fully even in the womb. 00:02:40.870 --> 00:02:43.110 He knew your limits. He knew your strengths. 00:02:43.110 --> 00:02:46.449 He knew the ways that you would stumble and still 00:02:46.449 --> 00:02:52.740 He called you and to his kingdom. Who we are 00:02:52.740 --> 00:02:55.000 and where we are going have been known by God 00:02:55.000 --> 00:02:58.219 long before we could imagine it. And that does 00:02:58.219 --> 00:03:01.520 not mean that our lives are scripted, just told 00:03:01.520 --> 00:03:03.699 everything to do, or controlled like machines. 00:03:04.180 --> 00:03:07.060 Scripture doesn't speak that way. What it does 00:03:07.060 --> 00:03:10.400 tell us is that God sees more than just the moment 00:03:10.400 --> 00:03:14.819 we are standing in. Still chooses to work through 00:03:14.819 --> 00:03:19.210 us. He knows where we hesitate. He knows where 00:03:19.210 --> 00:03:23.030 we resist. He knows where we fail and even with 00:03:23.030 --> 00:03:25.750 that knowledge God prepares lives and futures 00:03:25.750 --> 00:03:31.129 That make room for exactly who we are See Isaiah 00:03:31.129 --> 00:03:33.650 is not written to people who have it together 00:03:33.650 --> 00:03:38.870 either It is spoken to exiled people the ones 00:03:38.870 --> 00:03:41.669 who were kicked out of their homeland You see 00:03:41.669 --> 00:03:44.689 Israel was called to follow the Lord to trust 00:03:44.689 --> 00:03:48.219 him to be shaped by his word And as a whole, 00:03:49.039 --> 00:03:52.759 they did not. They chased other gods. They relied 00:03:52.759 --> 00:03:56.159 on their own strength. They acted as a nation 00:03:56.159 --> 00:03:59.419 as if they didn't even know God or who he was. 00:03:59.599 --> 00:04:02.199 They ignored justice and doing what was right. 00:04:02.319 --> 00:04:05.259 They forgot mercy and showing grace to their 00:04:05.259 --> 00:04:09.439 fellow human beings. The exile was not just some 00:04:09.439 --> 00:04:14.300 accident. They had well earned it. And yet within 00:04:14.300 --> 00:04:18.629 that failure, There was a remnant. People who 00:04:18.629 --> 00:04:22.069 endured. People who still prayed. People who 00:04:22.069 --> 00:04:26.930 still remembered the promises of God. But frankly, 00:04:27.029 --> 00:04:30.790 even that remnant, that small group was not ready. 00:04:31.750 --> 00:04:34.769 They were wounded. They were bitter about their 00:04:34.769 --> 00:04:38.009 situation. They were tired of feeling rejected. 00:04:39.170 --> 00:04:41.089 They were unsure whether they even had a place 00:04:41.089 --> 00:04:44.430 in the world anymore. Their faithfulness was 00:04:44.430 --> 00:04:47.689 not enough to bring them home. Their endurance 00:04:47.689 --> 00:04:52.110 did not earn their return to Judah. But Isaiah 00:04:52.110 --> 00:04:55.509 makes this clear, that they are not restored 00:04:55.509 --> 00:04:59.529 because they are ready. They will be restored 00:04:59.529 --> 00:05:03.629 because God is gracious. God does not say, now 00:05:03.629 --> 00:05:07.629 you've learned your lesson, so okay, let's go 00:05:07.629 --> 00:05:11.050 try again. He says, I have not forgotten you. 00:05:11.879 --> 00:05:16.019 I have formed you. I will bring you back. The 00:05:16.019 --> 00:05:21.019 return is an act of mercy, not a reward. See, 00:05:21.019 --> 00:05:24.220 that's why Isaiah turns our attention to the 00:05:24.220 --> 00:05:29.240 servant. Isaiah failed, Israel failed to live 00:05:29.240 --> 00:05:33.079 its calling fully. Even the faithful remnant 00:05:33.079 --> 00:05:38.360 fell short. So God sends one who will embody 00:05:38.360 --> 00:05:42.569 Israel's calling perfectly. and be all that Israel 00:05:42.569 --> 00:05:46.009 was meant to be. The servant listens when others 00:05:46.009 --> 00:05:49.550 do not. The servant trusts when others turn away. 00:05:49.829 --> 00:05:52.930 The servant becomes a light not only for Israel, 00:05:53.829 --> 00:05:58.009 but for the nations. This is not about replacing 00:05:58.009 --> 00:06:02.790 Israel. It is about fulfilling what Israel could 00:06:02.790 --> 00:06:06.089 not replace on its own. And this is where the 00:06:06.089 --> 00:06:09.750 church needs to be honest with itself. We are 00:06:09.750 --> 00:06:15.350 called We are marked, we are sent, and we regularly 00:06:15.350 --> 00:06:20.250 fail to live that calling fully. And that matters 00:06:20.250 --> 00:06:22.709 when we look at the disciples Jesus calls as 00:06:22.709 --> 00:06:26.470 well. These are not the confident qualified candidates 00:06:26.470 --> 00:06:29.889 we sometimes imagine them to be. Many had already 00:06:29.889 --> 00:06:32.970 been passed over. See, they were not the chosen 00:06:32.970 --> 00:06:37.470 ones that A rabbi had chosen to follow him earlier 00:06:37.470 --> 00:06:40.230 in their lives when they would have been prepared 00:06:40.230 --> 00:06:43.509 and ready They were not the first cut the first 00:06:43.509 --> 00:06:46.949 string They were not the obvious choices and 00:06:46.949 --> 00:06:49.329 there were plenty of reasons for them to believe 00:06:49.329 --> 00:06:52.509 that they were disqualified their tempers their 00:06:52.509 --> 00:06:55.329 insecurities their lack of political skills and 00:06:55.329 --> 00:06:58.889 fancy words and the money to send them to their 00:06:58.889 --> 00:07:05.980 rabbi and yet Jesus calls them Anyway, not because 00:07:05.980 --> 00:07:09.339 they are impressive, not because they are ready, 00:07:10.040 --> 00:07:13.339 not because they have it figured out. Each one 00:07:13.339 --> 00:07:17.439 has a part to play, but not alone, together. 00:07:18.560 --> 00:07:21.139 None of them are interchangeable. You can't just, 00:07:21.420 --> 00:07:23.980 oh, here's a disciple, there's a disciple. Each 00:07:23.980 --> 00:07:28.420 one is necessary for how God has made them. And 00:07:28.420 --> 00:07:31.480 none of them are carried simply by being near 00:07:31.480 --> 00:07:35.439 the right group. Let me give you a picture. Imagine, 00:07:35.439 --> 00:07:39.459 if you will, two grown men standing on a platform 00:07:39.459 --> 00:07:41.860 in Germany trying to figure out whether they're 00:07:41.860 --> 00:07:44.879 getting on the right monorail. The sign looks 00:07:44.879 --> 00:07:49.019 right, the map mostly makes sense, but one of 00:07:49.019 --> 00:07:51.899 them is overly confident while the other is not 00:07:51.899 --> 00:07:55.879 confident enough to say yes with authority. And 00:07:55.879 --> 00:07:58.779 I have no idea who one of these two grown men 00:07:58.779 --> 00:08:02.550 might have been. But you see, they hesitate, 00:08:03.410 --> 00:08:06.009 they question, they second -guess, and by the 00:08:06.009 --> 00:08:09.490 time they almost agree, one of them is stepping 00:08:09.490 --> 00:08:13.310 onto the monorail while the other has the doors 00:08:13.310 --> 00:08:17.610 slammed in front and misses it altogether. It's 00:08:17.610 --> 00:08:22.750 ridiculous, really. Two capable adults, but neither 00:08:22.750 --> 00:08:26.870 fully trusts what they're seeing and neither 00:08:26.870 --> 00:08:30.540 fully trusts what the other is saying. Instead 00:08:30.540 --> 00:08:33.259 of always saying yes, should they sometimes say 00:08:33.259 --> 00:08:36.259 wait? Instead of always saying no, should they 00:08:36.259 --> 00:08:40.460 sometimes say let's try it? But you see, here's 00:08:40.460 --> 00:08:42.840 the thing. These were two different people with 00:08:42.840 --> 00:08:45.519 two sets of strengths. One of them noticing the 00:08:45.519 --> 00:08:47.679 details and one of them looking at the big picture. 00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:50.659 One of them wants certainty and the other one 00:08:50.659 --> 00:08:53.820 is willing to move and to adjust. And then when 00:08:53.820 --> 00:08:57.259 the next day starts, the roles will reverse with 00:08:57.259 --> 00:09:01.019 the same issues. And instead of recognizing that 00:09:01.019 --> 00:09:03.519 those differences are meant to work together, 00:09:04.059 --> 00:09:07.659 they treat them like obstacles. They are not 00:09:07.659 --> 00:09:10.360 on that trip so that one of them could have figured 00:09:10.360 --> 00:09:13.480 everything out while the other always had to 00:09:13.480 --> 00:09:16.759 follow. They were meant to see more clearly together. 00:09:17.480 --> 00:09:21.320 And hopefully, maybe the next vacation will have 00:09:21.320 --> 00:09:24.679 it better figured out. But you see, that's often 00:09:24.679 --> 00:09:29.259 how God works with us. Jesus does not say, explain 00:09:29.259 --> 00:09:31.759 things to me correctly once you have it all figured 00:09:31.759 --> 00:09:37.940 out. He says, come follow me and see. To a community 00:09:37.940 --> 00:09:42.620 that needs one another to truly believe. Andrew 00:09:42.620 --> 00:09:46.419 and likely the other disciple was John, they're 00:09:46.419 --> 00:09:49.559 already listening to John the Baptist. They are 00:09:49.559 --> 00:09:54.500 prepared to notice and when they do, they tell 00:09:54.500 --> 00:09:59.190 others what they have seen. the Messiah, the 00:09:59.190 --> 00:10:02.590 one sent to bring salvation to the world. Andrew 00:10:02.590 --> 00:10:05.429 then goes to his brother Simon. John would have 00:10:05.429 --> 00:10:09.789 gone to James, which raises the question, would 00:10:09.789 --> 00:10:13.769 Peter and James have followed without Andrew 00:10:13.769 --> 00:10:17.529 and John first saying something? They had businesses, 00:10:17.809 --> 00:10:21.049 they had families and responsibilities. Leaving 00:10:21.049 --> 00:10:24.720 to follow the Messiah was not some impulse. It 00:10:24.720 --> 00:10:28.399 was repeated encounters where they needed someone 00:10:28.399 --> 00:10:33.480 to say, here is the Messiah. After listening, 00:10:34.379 --> 00:10:38.360 after seeing the nets overflowing, after realizing 00:10:38.360 --> 00:10:43.779 this is from God. Faith grows in relationship. 00:10:44.480 --> 00:10:49.080 Calling is awakened in community. There are no 00:10:49.080 --> 00:10:52.340 elite followers who can be the perfect servant 00:10:52.519 --> 00:10:56.220 of the Lord alone. As the kids show you, I'm 00:10:56.220 --> 00:11:01.299 not even the best at all of it. So often people 00:11:01.299 --> 00:11:04.000 resist, they turn away, they reject what God 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:08.179 has in mind, even after giving their hearts over 00:11:08.179 --> 00:11:12.879 to God. But God, knowing how much we will butcher 00:11:12.879 --> 00:11:17.039 the whole thing, does not turn to rejection. 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:23.039 He still turns to invitation. You are baptized 00:11:23.039 --> 00:11:26.220 into God's kingdom not because you understand 00:11:26.220 --> 00:11:29.299 everything about it But because you are loved 00:11:29.299 --> 00:11:32.820 not because you will never fail But because failure 00:11:32.820 --> 00:11:35.720 does not have the final word and if you're not 00:11:35.720 --> 00:11:38.879 baptized into Christ Jesus Let's do it because 00:11:38.879 --> 00:11:42.480 there's nothing to stop you from having the Word 00:11:42.480 --> 00:11:49.419 of God Reach you Most of us don't struggle with 00:11:49.419 --> 00:11:52.559 Isaiah's idea that God could call us before birth, 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:55.539 though we spend more time politicizing it than 00:11:55.539 --> 00:11:58.960 hearing it as our calling. But many struggle 00:11:58.960 --> 00:12:01.860 with the idea that God could call us through 00:12:01.860 --> 00:12:05.980 water, bread and wine, or spoken forgiveness. 00:12:07.779 --> 00:12:11.580 People struggle to see God calling us in the 00:12:11.580 --> 00:12:14.360 everyday practices we have, because that would 00:12:14.360 --> 00:12:17.620 be too passive. Too normal, too difficult to 00:12:17.620 --> 00:12:20.740 define and outline, too difficult to understand 00:12:20.740 --> 00:12:24.799 and control. But scripture never separates the 00:12:24.799 --> 00:12:27.639 grace of God from whatever means He chooses to 00:12:27.639 --> 00:12:31.559 bless us. And what brings people out of darkness 00:12:31.559 --> 00:12:37.779 is God speaking in the community and individually. 00:12:38.879 --> 00:12:41.580 You see, nothing about this life of faith works 00:12:41.580 --> 00:12:46.340 well alone. That's true of New Year's resolutions. 00:12:46.639 --> 00:12:49.220 You do not do as well when you are doing them 00:12:49.220 --> 00:12:53.179 by yourself, and it's also true of faith. The 00:12:53.179 --> 00:12:57.159 church exists not to erase your individuality, 00:12:57.799 --> 00:13:03.100 but to sustain it. Your individual life and calling 00:13:03.100 --> 00:13:07.340 in Christ. Not to replace your response to the 00:13:07.340 --> 00:13:11.649 gospel, but to support you in it. To remind you 00:13:11.649 --> 00:13:15.029 who you are when you forget, because how often 00:13:15.029 --> 00:13:19.789 do you forget? To speak hope when the discouragement 00:13:19.789 --> 00:13:22.809 takes over. You see, this is what Isaiah speaks 00:13:22.809 --> 00:13:26.330 into the exile. God says, you are still known. 00:13:26.710 --> 00:13:29.470 You are still called. You're still part of my 00:13:29.470 --> 00:13:33.350 plan. In Isaiah, the people cannot make themselves 00:13:33.350 --> 00:13:35.669 righteous. They cannot rescue themselves from 00:13:35.669 --> 00:13:41.750 exile. So God speaks. I have called you. I have 00:13:41.750 --> 00:13:45.090 formed you. I have not forgotten you. And he 00:13:45.090 --> 00:13:49.570 grounds that promise not in Israel, not even 00:13:49.570 --> 00:13:54.210 in the select few, but in his servant. The one 00:13:54.210 --> 00:13:56.850 who will be faithful when Israel failed. The 00:13:56.850 --> 00:13:59.590 one who will be the light for the nations. Even 00:13:59.590 --> 00:14:02.210 when God's people fail to be servants, the true 00:14:02.210 --> 00:14:05.750 servant does not fail. When I was a teacher, 00:14:06.029 --> 00:14:09.070 I quickly became aware of how many things I did 00:14:09.070 --> 00:14:14.429 not know. Whenever the kids would say, did you 00:14:14.429 --> 00:14:17.990 just learn that? And I would say, oh, absolutely 00:14:17.990 --> 00:14:21.190 not. As my eyes are darting from side to side, 00:14:21.669 --> 00:14:24.409 knowing that they easily understood my sarcasm. 00:14:25.190 --> 00:14:28.870 I did not go to school to be a teacher. I did 00:14:28.870 --> 00:14:31.870 not have the same training. I did not always 00:14:31.870 --> 00:14:35.210 know how to prepare or how to plan. And there 00:14:35.210 --> 00:14:38.820 were plenty of moments where I felt behind before 00:14:38.820 --> 00:14:42.419 the day even started. And plenty of times when 00:14:42.419 --> 00:14:45.620 the tears that needed those tissues were from 00:14:45.620 --> 00:14:48.759 me instead of my students. And yet there was 00:14:48.759 --> 00:14:51.240 still this deep sense, this quiet conviction, 00:14:52.179 --> 00:14:54.480 that for whatever reason I was meant to be there, 00:14:55.419 --> 00:14:58.019 to mentor the young men, to transform the math 00:14:58.019 --> 00:15:00.419 department and the outdoor program, to share 00:15:00.419 --> 00:15:04.200 the gospel when it was possible. That I was supposed 00:15:04.200 --> 00:15:06.679 to be part of that community and that I was meant 00:15:06.679 --> 00:15:09.600 to be a blessing in that place Even if I could 00:15:09.600 --> 00:15:13.320 not always see how and there were frustrations 00:15:13.320 --> 00:15:17.100 The ups the downs the days when I genuinely wondered 00:15:17.100 --> 00:15:19.899 whether I was doing any good at all You can hear 00:15:19.899 --> 00:15:22.299 the teachers talk about their favorite teachers 00:15:22.299 --> 00:15:24.960 and you find yourself quietly wondering does 00:15:24.960 --> 00:15:29.059 that include me at all Or am I just getting in 00:15:29.059 --> 00:15:32.809 the way? And in many ways that experience mirrors 00:15:32.809 --> 00:15:36.090 what we see and live out in this faith community. 00:15:36.549 --> 00:15:40.370 We do not always believe, we do not believe that 00:15:40.370 --> 00:15:43.970 you always have everything figured out. We do 00:15:43.970 --> 00:15:46.090 not expect that all your plans are perfectly 00:15:46.090 --> 00:15:49.009 formed or that everything is cleaned up and settled. 00:15:49.029 --> 00:15:51.929 We do not expect that you handle everything exactly 00:15:51.929 --> 00:15:55.730 as you should. Not every slide is perfect. Not 00:15:55.730 --> 00:15:59.529 every note sounds in key. Not every single ministry 00:15:59.529 --> 00:16:01.990 has been announced the way it should be, but 00:16:01.990 --> 00:16:05.990 that has never been the requirement. But there 00:16:05.990 --> 00:16:08.029 are times when that means that we need to slow 00:16:08.029 --> 00:16:11.009 down. Times when we have to say this is not the 00:16:11.009 --> 00:16:14.220 moment for this. This is not the way. This is 00:16:14.220 --> 00:16:16.679 not the place. Not because there is no calling. 00:16:16.759 --> 00:16:19.100 Not because there is no purpose. But because 00:16:19.100 --> 00:16:23.919 that calling may need time to be revealed. Or 00:16:23.919 --> 00:16:26.179 it may need to take shape a little differently 00:16:26.179 --> 00:16:30.820 than what we first imagined. I can see myself 00:16:30.820 --> 00:16:32.860 in that too. I can look back at the times when 00:16:32.860 --> 00:16:37.100 I needed support whenever the help that I depended 00:16:37.100 --> 00:16:41.399 on was what I clung to. And how within the context 00:16:41.970 --> 00:16:44.830 of the community I was in, even during the moments 00:16:44.830 --> 00:16:47.889 when I resisted or did not want to hear it frankly, 00:16:48.830 --> 00:16:51.370 there were still people encouraging me, walking 00:16:51.370 --> 00:16:54.009 alongside me, helping me to stay grounded when 00:16:54.009 --> 00:16:56.789 I felt unsure, and that's what community does. 00:16:57.889 --> 00:16:59.950 Not because any one of us has it all together, 00:16:59.970 --> 00:17:02.610 but because none of us is meant to figure it 00:17:02.610 --> 00:17:07.109 out alone. The path was prepared before you were 00:17:07.109 --> 00:17:11.420 born. You do not yet see all of it. You do not 00:17:11.420 --> 00:17:16.259 yet know all of the path. But you do not walk 00:17:16.259 --> 00:17:22.339 it unloved, unnamed, or alone. Because grace 00:17:22.339 --> 00:17:24.859 is not a race that you run on your own. It's 00:17:24.859 --> 00:17:28.180 a relay with others. It is lived out in the everyday 00:17:28.180 --> 00:17:31.420 life that we are in the midst of. And that tension 00:17:31.420 --> 00:17:33.980 between who we are, who we wish we were, and 00:17:33.980 --> 00:17:38.109 who God says we already are, is exactly where 00:17:38.109 --> 00:17:42.410 today's readings have met us. But even as we 00:17:42.410 --> 00:17:45.009 may know that we are called to support the community, 00:17:45.950 --> 00:17:48.329 maybe we also know that there is something bigger 00:17:48.329 --> 00:17:52.009 and deeper that we're meant to move into. And 00:17:52.009 --> 00:17:56.470 that is how Christ senses people. Not because 00:17:56.470 --> 00:17:58.630 they are complete, not because they are confident, 00:17:58.910 --> 00:18:01.609 not because every joke always lands, and not 00:18:01.609 --> 00:18:05.230 because every moment feels strong. not because 00:18:05.230 --> 00:18:09.309 they have mastered the path, but because they 00:18:09.309 --> 00:18:13.430 are loved. We are not sent away from Christ to 00:18:13.430 --> 00:18:20.730 represent Him on our own. We are sent in Christ, 00:18:21.529 --> 00:18:24.410 still carried by Him, still shaped by His Spirit. 00:18:24.690 --> 00:18:28.250 That is the pattern for all of us. God calls 00:18:28.250 --> 00:18:31.690 us personally with our particular strengths. 00:18:32.240 --> 00:18:35.599 and with our particular limitations. And then 00:18:35.599 --> 00:18:37.920 he places us in community where those differences, 00:18:38.099 --> 00:18:41.680 they actually matter and they're needed. Because 00:18:41.680 --> 00:18:44.400 none of us is meant to do this alone. The church 00:18:44.400 --> 00:18:47.819 often struggles here though. Instead of saying, 00:18:47.880 --> 00:18:50.720 I can see what you're seeing, we rush to saying, 00:18:50.839 --> 00:18:53.200 well I've heard you, and now let me explain why 00:18:53.200 --> 00:18:56.640 you're wrong. We are called to be light for the 00:18:56.640 --> 00:18:58.700 world, but more often than we like to admit, 00:18:59.000 --> 00:19:04.349 we fall short. and burn dimly. Even those who 00:19:04.349 --> 00:19:07.230 take faith seriously, those who read the scriptures, 00:19:07.549 --> 00:19:10.430 those who pray, those who know the call to care 00:19:10.430 --> 00:19:13.230 for the widows, the orphans, the poor, the foreigner, 00:19:13.349 --> 00:19:17.509 the rejected, even they still stumble. We hesitate. 00:19:17.990 --> 00:19:21.890 We fail. We fear admitting our need for one another 00:19:21.890 --> 00:19:26.049 to point things out to us. How dare you point 00:19:26.049 --> 00:19:29.829 that out? And yet, even when God's people fail 00:19:29.829 --> 00:19:32.670 to serve as they should, the true servant of 00:19:32.670 --> 00:19:37.289 the Lord does not fail. Christ has already given 00:19:37.289 --> 00:19:40.769 himself fully, and he remains faithful to us. 00:19:41.130 --> 00:19:44.730 And his plans do not fail. Maybe that is why 00:19:44.730 --> 00:19:47.390 God's mission for us feels so intimidating. To 00:19:47.390 --> 00:19:49.549 go into the world and to share the gospel. Maybe 00:19:49.549 --> 00:19:52.769 we're afraid of being exposed. We're afraid to 00:19:52.769 --> 00:19:55.130 admit that we need the same forgiveness as everyone 00:19:55.130 --> 00:19:58.329 else, afraid of being labeled hypocrites, when 00:19:58.329 --> 00:20:00.509 the truth is simply that we're all sinners who 00:20:00.509 --> 00:20:03.930 are living by grace. Maybe we're afraid because 00:20:03.930 --> 00:20:06.430 we imagine being sent into the world apart from 00:20:06.430 --> 00:20:09.349 Christ as if we're expected to do this by our 00:20:09.349 --> 00:20:12.809 own strength. But that's not how sending works. 00:20:13.750 --> 00:20:17.250 None of those apostles, as much as they may have 00:20:17.250 --> 00:20:21.970 done for the gospel, ever did it. on their own. 00:20:23.009 --> 00:20:26.349 We are sent in Christ, still carried by Him, 00:20:26.490 --> 00:20:29.210 still forgiven by Him, still shaped by His Spirit. 00:20:30.170 --> 00:20:32.950 So over this last year, whether it's been new 00:20:32.950 --> 00:20:35.829 challenges or new efforts or simply just facing 00:20:35.829 --> 00:20:38.970 our own limits, many of us have felt uncertain 00:20:38.970 --> 00:20:41.950 about the next step. But even if we were doing 00:20:41.950 --> 00:20:45.190 something as mundane as going to the gym, we 00:20:45.190 --> 00:20:47.490 do not stop at the door and ask if we belong. 00:20:47.569 --> 00:20:52.170 And if you did, just go inside. Because we show 00:20:52.170 --> 00:20:56.950 up and we see what happens next, even as we do 00:20:56.950 --> 00:21:00.750 here in this very faith community. We do not 00:21:00.750 --> 00:21:03.009 assume we're disqualified before we even begin. 00:21:03.230 --> 00:21:05.210 We take what is in front of us and we learn as 00:21:05.210 --> 00:21:08.950 we go, but the same is true here, is that even 00:21:08.950 --> 00:21:11.349 when others see our flaws, and frankly we are 00:21:11.349 --> 00:21:15.390 going to see each other's flaws, even when those 00:21:15.390 --> 00:21:17.750 who know us best know exactly how imperfect we 00:21:17.750 --> 00:21:20.559 are, we still step into the calling that God 00:21:20.559 --> 00:21:23.599 has placed before us. Because our place in the 00:21:23.599 --> 00:21:25.660 body of Christ was never earned by having it 00:21:25.660 --> 00:21:28.599 all together. We belong because Christ is faithful. 00:21:29.259 --> 00:21:31.720 We are included because He is perfect and He 00:21:31.720 --> 00:21:35.759 has loved us enough to claim us as His own. So 00:21:35.759 --> 00:21:38.660 maybe the resolution before us is not to figure 00:21:38.660 --> 00:21:41.880 everything out, but to admit that we haven't 00:21:41.880 --> 00:21:45.599 done so. To trust that grace is already at work 00:21:45.599 --> 00:21:49.420 and to allow our lives our community and our 00:21:49.420 --> 00:21:53.519 calling to be shaped not by our confidence, but 00:21:53.519 --> 00:21:57.579 by Christ who calls, sustains, and sends us in 00:21:57.579 --> 00:22:00.279 his name. So instead of resolving to have it 00:22:00.279 --> 00:22:03.619 all figured out, maybe we resolve to admit we 00:22:03.619 --> 00:22:06.559 don't. Because grace is not a race that you run 00:22:06.559 --> 00:22:10.900 on your own. It's what we do together. The path 00:22:10.900 --> 00:22:13.680 prepared before you were born, the one you do 00:22:13.680 --> 00:22:17.799 not see all of, but you do not walk alone. or 00:22:17.799 --> 00:22:22.059 unloved and the God who called you has not stopped 00:22:22.059 --> 00:22:27.960 calling you this year or beyond. With that, thanks 00:22:27.960 --> 00:22:28.500 be to God.