A sermon for children & young people
by Rebecca M. Taylor,
Director of Children's, Youth & Family Ministries
All Saints Parish, Brookline, MA
January 27, 2008
Lectionary: Isaiah 9.1-4; 1 Corinthians 1.10-18; Matthew 4.12-23; Psalm 27.1, 5-13
And Jesus said to them, "Follow me ..." (Matthew 4.19)
Growing up, I was a good girl. I don't say this to brag about myself. I'm just telling you how it was. You can ask my mom and dad, if you don't believe me. They'll tell you the same thing.
I'm the oldest child in my family, and early on I learned that I had to set a good example for my two brothers and three sisters. And I did. Like my siblings, I was expected to do what my parents told me to do and not to question their authority. Talking back got you in trouble in my house. So I did my chores and behaved myself. Sure, I messed up from time to time, but overall at home I was a good kid.
The same was true in school. I had to work hard to get good grades, but I was willing to do that. My teachers liked me, and over the course of my school career, I liked most of them, too. I became a teacher myself, so I guess that says a lot right there.
I told you: I was a good kid.
That's why this time that I'm going to tell you about when I really messed up stands out so vividly in my memory.
It was my senior year in high school. It was a Saturday night and I was babysitting for a family that I'd been sitting for since I was in 7th grade. It was about 10:00 in the evening. The kids I was taking care of were asleep upstairs. And my boyfriend pulled up to the house on his motorcycle.
His name was John, and he was a really good kid, too - even if he did have a motorcycle. He knocked on the front door. I opened it.
"Hey, let me come in," he said.
"I can't," I told him. "I'll get in trouble."
"Aw, come on," he answered. "No one'll know. I'll be gone before they get back."
So I let him in.
And the couple I was sitting for came home 15 minutes earlier than they'd told me.
They saw the bike out front first, and then they found us together in their living room.
And as bad as that was, the ride home that night was even worse.
The husband of the couple always drove me home and usually told me about the date he'd had with his wife. That night, he didn't say a word.
We pulled into my driveway. He handed me the money he owed me, and then he looked me straight in the face and he said, "I'm really disappointed with you."
His words made me realize how disappointed I was with me, too. All I could say was that I was sorry, and I promised to never do it again. And I told him that I hoped he believed me.
And he did, because a few weeks later I was sitting for their kids again. We never talked again about what had happened that night. When I graduated and went off the college, this couple stayed in touch with me through my parents, and when I got married soon after I graduated from college, they came to my wedding.
And I ended up having a really nice summer with John, too. What I remember is that we just hung out together and had fun – mostly riding around on his motorcycle and talking together about college and what it would be like. We treated each other with more respect and care, too. That's the other thing I remember.
"Follow me."
Did you hear those two words in the gospel reading this morning? They're right in the middle of the story. Jesus moved to Capernaum, a fishing village on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. He picked up preaching where his cousin, John the Baptist, left off: "Repent!" he told people. "Turn your life around! Get right with God!" But Jesus added something new: "The kingdom of heaven has come near."
And then we're told that one day Jesus just walked up to Simon Peter and his brother Andrew and said, "Follow me." And they did! And shortly thereafter, two other men – James and John – did the same thing. And those four ordinary fishermen became Jesus' first disciples.
"Follow me."
It's an invitation to form a relationship of trust with someone. And the interesting thing is that we get this invitation offered to us all the time, in many different variations. In my own story, the "follow me" was my friend John saying, "Let me in. No one will ever know." Trust me.
Here are a few other examples of what I'm talking about. These are variations on "follow me" that maybe you've heard already:
How do we sort through all of the "follow-me's" in our daily lives? How do we know when to say "yes" – and when to turn and walk away? And how does our life with God figure into the decisions and choices we have to make all the time?
It's not easy, as I'm sure you all know already. Lots of different people and groups and causes want a piece of us. They ask for our bodies, our time, our energy, our skills, our money, our loyalty, our love.
So how do you know when to say "yes"?
You have to listen to two sources: the voices of the people in your lives who really care about you and have your best interest in mind. And you also have to listen to the voice that comes from deep inside you – the place where, if you're really honest with yourself, you do know what is right and what is wrong.
You see, God is present in both places – around us and within us.
God works through the relationships we have with other people. We know how much God cares for us because of the love and compassion and kindness we receive from others.
And God is inside each of us, too. Our psalm this morning takes note of that: "You speak in my heart and say, ‘Seek my face.' Your face, LORD, will I seek." (Ps 27.11)
In the story I just told you, I was reminded about the difference between a good decision and a not so good decision when an adult I knew and trusted told me how my actions had affected him. That helped me clarify and remember what I already knew. And it also awakened a voice inside me that said, "Remember this. Don't be an idiot again."
It's hard figuring out who and what we want to devote ourselves to. We aren't born with an automatic reflex that shows us the difference between right and wrong. We have to learn that – by listening to people we trust, by following their example, and by learning from our own successes and failures. Over time, that place deep within us where we know what is right begins to grow. Some people call this "conscience." Others call it "that little voice" inside them.
Christians name it in other ways. They describe it as the hand of God that gently pushes them to do what is right and just. Or they know it as the voice of Jesus, calling them to act with compassion and mercy. Or they experience it as the stirring of the Holy Spirit within them, bringing a sense of peacefulness after a decision has been made, or inspiring them or giving them the courage to do the right thing.
So here's my advice for how to sort through all the "follow me's" in your life. Pay attention to the source. Listen carefully to the advice you get from the people who care deeply about you – your parents and family, your teachers and other adult mentors, the friends you trust the most, the people you work with, the people you go to church with.
And pay attention to that place deep inside you where you know what is right and just and fair. Slow down. Get quiet. Spend time asking yourself what you should do. God will be listening, don't worry. Ask God what you should do. And then follow what your gut or your heart tells you. Doing that can be hard, I'm not going to lie to you about that. Sometimes doing the right thing, as you know, can be lonely – even dangerous. But God's in that place with you, too, don't worry.
So that's my sermon about "follow me."
Now I've got just a few words for Aaron and Ellie.
Ellie, Aaron: My prayer for you this morning is that you realize that Jesus has been inviting you to follow him for a long time already. I pray that you will stay open to his on-going call to be his disciples. It may be easier to sense his call to follow him here in this place – at the altar during Communion; or at the font when someone is baptized; or in the prayers we offer or the songs we sing here each week.
But Jesus is calling you out there in the world, too. Whenever you have to decide what's the right thing to do, that's Jesus calling you to follow him. And when you decide to do something that is right and true and just, you've helped Jesus shed some light on God's Kingdom here, on earth, now.
I know that the rest of this congregation today joins me in extending our blessings to you as you begin your journeys towards adulthood. May you know how deeply we care about you both, and may you know how very much God loves you, today and always.
Amen.