Church of the Holy City

Jesus Doesn’t Call Us on a Coffee Break

Jesus Doesn’t Call Us on a Coffee Break
Rev. Dr. David J. Fekete
January 26, 2014

Isaiah 9:1-9 Matthew 4:12-23 Psalm 27

Jesus calls us ever upward into heaven’s light and warmth. And this call can come at any time. It can come when we are working; it can come when we are socializing; it can come when we are in difficult times; it can come when we are in the depths of despair. Jesus doesn’t wait until a convenient time to call us upward into heaven.
In our reading from Isaiah, the light of God’s presence comes when Israel is in darkness. This makes me think of the Christmas story, when Jesus is born in the darkest time of the year, in the darkest point of human history. But this imagery can also depict one aspect of our spiritual journey, and the circumstances when we hear Jesus call. In our spiritual journey, there can be times of dire distress. There can be times of darkness and despair. These are times when our complacency is shaken. These are times when our world is broken. These are times when the world isn’t acting the way we thought it should. These are times when we hit bottom.
It is often during these difficult times that we make the most spiritual progress. These soul-shattering times break up our ego and our worldly cravings. In Swedenborg, these experiences are called temptations.
When the truths of faith which a man believes in his heart, and according to which he loves to live, are assaulted, it is called spiritual temptation . . . Those assaults take place in various ways–by an influx into the thoughts and the will of scandals against good and truth . . . and at the same time by an apparent closing of the interiors of the mind, and consequently of communication with heaven, by which he is cut off from thinking from his own faith, and willing from his own love. . . . These temptations are very grievous when they are joined with pains induced upon the body; and still more so when those pains are of long continuance and of increasing severity, and when the Divine mercy is implored, and there is still no deliverance; hence results despair, which is the end (NJHD 196).
St. John of the Cross called this the “dark night of the soul.” And it finds voice in T.S. Eliot’s poem FOUR QUARTETS:
I said to my soul, be still, and let the dark come upon you
Which shall be the darkness of God. As, in a theatre,
The lights are extinguished, for the scene to be changed
With a hollow rumble of wings, with a movement of darkness on darkness,
And we know that the hills and the trees, the distant panorama
And the bold imposing facade are all being rolled away- . . .
I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope
For hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love,
For love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith
But the faith and the love and the hope are all in the waiting.
Wait without thought, for you are not ready for thought:
So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing. (East Coker, III)
Eliot’s image of the scene change in a theatre is appropriate for this idea. For there is a good that comes out of these times of darkness. Our self-will is broken, and we are more firmly grounded in our truths and love of good. So the panorama of our world does indeed change. Old, self and world oriented values are replaced with more internal, spiritual values.
They[temptations] conduce to the opening of the internal person . . . and also to the breaking up of the loves of self and the world, and to subduing the lusts which are from them. When these things have been accomplished there come to the person enlightenment and perception of what are truth and good, and what are falsity and evil. From this there come to him or her intelligence and wisdom, which afterward increase from day to day (NJHD 194).
Temptations rock our world. This reminds me of some song lyrics. One is by Lester Quitzau which goes like this:
There comes a time
When the clouds roll in
Let that pourin’ rain
Just wash my soul within (Let It Shine).
Then there is Heather Brooks,
Sometimes the tears are going to fall;
Sometimes the devil’s going to call . . .
Without those desperate hours
Would I ever turn to you
And realize my weakness
Fall into the well . . . (Sometimes).
Temptations change us and make us see things differently. And temptations actually change who we are. They make us more meek and mild, along with making us more wise and intelligent in spiritual matters.
Temptations remove what is of self-love and of contempt for others in comparison with self, consequently what is of self-glory, and also of hatred and revenge arising therefrom. When therefore the person is somewhat tempered and subdued by temptations, then [he or she] begins to become yielding to, and compliant with the life of the Lord’s love . . . He [or she] is afterward gifted with another personality, being made mild, humble, simple, and contrite in heart (AC 3318).
So Jesus calls us at times when we are in the depths of despair, in the dark night of the soul, when we have hit bottom.
But there are other times when Jesus calls us–not only when we are in the depths of despair. Consider the story from our New Testament reading. Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John were all busy at their trade when Jesus called to them. Jesus can call to us when we are immersed in the things of this world. For instance, when we are at work, when we are in company with others, when we are at leisure–any time.
We have opportunities to do good at all times in our lives. That is what the call of Jesus means. It means being honest when we are with others. It means being caring when others are in need. It means being helpful in any capacity open to us. I, myself, had an opportunity to hear Jesus’ voice when I was working just a few days ago. I was in the office, working on this very sermon. As I was working, I noticed that outside there were car wheels spinning for quite some time. I knew that someone was stuck in the thawing ice on the roads. He had been spinning his wheels for a long time, so I realized that he wasn’t getting anywhere. I stopped what I was doing and went out to push him. As I was pushing, two other men came to help. And between the three of us, we still couldn’t get the man unstuck. So one of the men went to get his truck and he pulled the man out. I didn’t save the man single-handedly, but I did what I could and became a catalyst for the truck driver who actually saved the day.
We are called to good deeds in every aspect of our lives. Jesus doesn’t wait until we are on break. Jesus will call us into good deeds at any time. We don’t need to give up on life in the world to be holy. We don’t need to become monks. We don’t need to become evangelists. For every time we do good out of love for our neighbor, we are spreading the gospel message. They will know we are Christians by our love.

PRAYER

Lord, we know that you call to us in the midst of our busy lives. You call us upward into heaven’s glory at all times of our lives. May we be open to your call. May we be listening for your still, small voice. May we be open to your words for us. And may we do the things you call us to do. For we seek only for knowledge of your will for us and the power to carry that out. We know that you call to us in every aspect of our lives. Your voice is there in the midst of hard times and even despair. Your voice is there in our happy times and times of joy. You are with us always. Let us listen for your voice, and remain open to your presence.

And Lord, we pray for peace in this troubled world. May conflict be absorbed in your loving kindness. May warring factions see that they are like in their desires for love and the good things of this world.

And Lord, we pray that you heal those who are suffering with illness. Lord, send your healing love to all who are in need.