Creekside Church Sermon of November 18, 2001 "Come" Revelation 22:1-5, 16-17	Rev. David Bibbee
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What do I say on a day like this? The pivotal moments in the church challenge preachers. We want to bring a message that is not merely "appropriate", but just right for the occasion. Preachers want the message to be inspirational and motivational without sounding like a "Let's get fired up" speach at a high school pep rally. But what do you say on a day like this? While packing my office on Monday I came across notes from a seminary preaching class. "Maybe there's a launching pad for a sermon in the notebook." But my search was in vain. I must have skipped class the day the professor's lecture was, "All the right things to say on a congregations last Sunday in its home facility while preparing for an indefinite stay in an interim location."

What shall I say on a day like this? The answer comes from the text we have explored the past three Sundays. It is a simple, single word. "Come." The story which started with, "In the beginning…" has come to the closing verses of Revelation which are history's curtain call. This story of which we all are a part is coming to completion. The Lamb of God will consummate his kingship. "The spirit and the bride say, 'Come.' And let those who hear say, 'Come.' And let those who are thirsty, 'Come.' The Holy Spirit and the church sing a duet. "Come to us, Lord Jesus" is their song. Everyone who hears this message says, "Come to us, Lord Jesus." Before we can pray for world peace, and end to hunger, and social justice, we first must pray for the coming of Jesus without whom there is no peace, plenty, or justice.

If limited to one prayer which cuts to the core of our church's needs and its future, the best we could pray would be, "Come to us Lord Jesus for the facing of this hour." But there is no reason for us to pray for such great things if it were not for two other words which began our relationship with Jesus. Our continuance as a congregation and our hope for what is to come is wrapped up in Jesus' invitation, "Follow me."

Jesus uttered the words often. Peter, Andrew, James, and John were up to their gills in the fishing business, but Jesus had another design for their lives. "Follow me," he said…and they dropped their nets and they did. Jesus dropped in on Matthew at the tax office. "Follow me," Jesus said, and Matthew left a stack of IRS forms on the desk and never looked back. To a rich young man he said, "Sell your possessions, give the proceeds to the poor and come, follow me." To a reluctant, could-be disciple he said, "Let the dead bury the dead. Come, follow me."

There is no misunderstanding the words. No theological degree is required. The same words were addressed to the educated or illiterate, the rich or poor. "Follow me," has the depth and breadth sufficient to see us through the script written specifically for our church.

What "Follow me" lacks in length it makes up in implication. Someone who says, "Come," is going someplace. Where and how are unknown. All you know for certain is that staying put is not an option. The goal is to head someplace better. There's nothing uncomfortable about going your own way. It's altogether different, when you are asked to go with someone else.

The comedian Steven Wright said his dog had a nervous breakdown. The dog's name was Stay. It's name created a terrible conflict whenever he called her. "Come, Stay! Come here, Stay!" The poor dog couldn't do both at once. Jesus says, "Come," but a voice inside says, "Stay." "It's taken a long time to get where I am. I'm satisfied, and I'm staying put." But you can't have it Jesus' way and your way.

I know a pastor who got a call from a parishioner. "I need to see you right away." She was accustomed to having life "her" way, so he came promptly. "Something wonderful has happened. I've seen Jesus big as life. Real as you sitting right in front of me." "Really?" "You probably think I've lost it." "Not at all," he replied. "Last night Marvin and I went to that new Italian place, and I ate too much. I got a horrible case of indigestion that kept me up and down all night. At three a.m. I thought I heard someone calling my name. I thought it was probably the indigestion, but at the foot of my bed there stood Jesus, shining and dressed in white. He said, 'Gladys?' just like that, 'Gladys'. I said, 'Here I am, Lord.' 'I want you to give your life to my work. I have work for you to do.' That's why I called you, pastor. I want to give my life totally to His work." "Few of us have such visions, but I'll be glad to think with you about how you can serve Jesus." "That's what he said, 'Gladys, I've got work for you.'"

"Well, the Fellowship Class needs a teacher right now. Maybe you and cou…" "The Fellowship Class! Those people were so haughty to me and Marvin when we moved here. You wouldn't want me with that bunch." "Oh," he said. "What about the nursery? It's difficult finding people who…" "Have you lost your mind? I was in the hospital last year when my back went out, remember? How can I care for kids if I can't lift them?" "That's a good point," he said. "Before you retired you worked as a secretary. There's a job that needs doing. If you could do some word processing a couple of mornings a week, that could help us…" "Oh no, you don't. I made myself clear when you bought that new computer that I was against it. We had one like it where I worked and it was nothing but trouble. But you thought you knew more about computers than anyone else. Now you're stuck with it and nobody knows how to use it. That's your problem."

He mentioned other possibilities, but to no avail. Finally he had enough and said, "Maybe you should just think about it. Maybe visit that Italian place again. Maybe you'll have another vision. And next time do me a favor. Don't let Jesus out of your bedroom without telling you "exactly" what he wants you to do. Okay?"

We will not always know exactly where Jesus would have us go or have us do. Jesus never stayed put in one place for long. He was always on the move, going where he was needed. Jesus has big designs for our future that won't be accomplished without us. He is enlisting help. "Come, follow me." There is an old gospel hymn titled, "Just a closer walk with thee." It doesn't say, "Just a longer stay," but "Just a closer walk," following the one who knows the way though you know nothing about it, the one who leads us, if we follow, to where we most need to be.

There is something else. Jesus has more interest in what lays ahead than what is left behind. Jesus' concern is not where you have been, but where you are headed; not what you have done, but the good you have yet to do; not upon those you have hurt, but upon those you will help; not upon how you have failed, but what you can accomplish.

Maybe the woman caught in adultery tried to tell Jesus, "Lord, you don't know how tough it was for me growing up. I had an abusive, alcoholic father and a promiscuous mother who tried to make me…" "Shhh. Enough of that. You are forgiven. Go, and sin no more." He didn't ask the crippled how they got that way. He told them to pick up their beds and walk. The prodigal son came home penniless from his tryst that fizzled out. He had prepared a canned speech for his father, but father would not let him give it. He hugged him, threw a party for him. "I nearly gave you up for dead. Thank God you're alive. Let's get you back into the family." Jesus never asked if people had pre-existing conditions before he healed them. Jesus was more concerned with how they lived the rest of their lives.

"Follow me." That's what he said. It means he is going somewhere. He knows the way. He always is looking for travel companions. This is the reason this church exists. We don't gather for lovely worship and music, or stimulating discussions, or doing some good for the community, or have fellowship with nice people…like us. This is a "part" of the church, but it's secondary to need number one…following Jesus.

What we will do from today will be guided by a new vision statement. The details are not in focus, but the prerequisite for following Jesus is present. I spoke with a man who was curious about our move. "I'll bet you are facing a lot of challenges. I wish our church was more like yours. I could write all of the changes we have made in the last fifty years on one side of a piece of confetti." At one time that church followed, but stopped in it's tracks, not noticing that Jesus had grown weary from waiting. "Are you coming or not?" They decided to be inmates in the prison of their past. They chose a longer stay over a closer walk.

We will not always agree on what following Jesus means. We will lag behind and lose track of him sometimes. We will argue over where he went, some saying, "He went this way." Others, "No…he went that way!" We won't always catch up, but that is not as important as creating and cultivating the desire to follow. I've quoted this prayer by Thomas Merton before, but it speaks specifically to the need before us. He prays:

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope to have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.

And I know that if I do this, you will lead me
by the right road though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost…
I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

I may have told you of a dream I had. Though it was over a decade ago, it remains as vivid as if it came last night. I was driving alone. Lots of maps were strewn on the passengers seat. Then from the back seat came a voice giving me directions. I recall no physical features of this person. There was no face, but there was a close presence, as if we had met each other before. He led me to a city, then to a side street. It was twilight. The street was lined with beautifully lit storefronts. My backseat guide was now beside me. "Is this beautiful?" he asked. "I'll say." "What I am going to show you next is so wonderful you won't have words for it," he replied.

He led me to an intersection. Behind us a brightly lit street, ahead, a traffic light on red and behind that, pitch darkness. The light turned green and my guide crossed the street. He turned and said, "David, come with me." He stood waiting. I stood frozen. "There's no telling who might be hiding in the dark," I said. "I told you it would be wonderful," he said. He turned and disappeared. I talked myself out of following.

In Mark's gospel Jesus is in a hurry. "Follow me," Jesus said to Peter and Andrew. Mark says they "immediately" dropped their nets and followed Jesus. We read this and think, "Wait a minute. It couldn't have been that fast." We project what we would do upon them. Would we follow someone without knowing anything about him? We would order a background check. We would weigh all the pros and cons, and do a cost/benefits analysis. We would get a second and third opinion. We shouldn't make big decisions on impulse and by the time we make our decision, Jesus will have already gone to the next town to find someone impulsive.

Follow me. There's nothing neutral about these words. They are not a demand, but they require a response…either, "I'll go," or "I'll stay." It's the choice before us now. All that we do from today on should be judged by a single standard. Does this decision, this action, this program, this ministry move us in Jesus' direction?

Earl Bruce took the reigns of Ohio State's football program after the Woody Hayes era came to an end. Coach Bruce wrote a book about the wisdom he gleaned over the years. One gem captured my attention. I'll leave it with you now. He said, "Everywhere I look, I see advertisements for leadership seminars. I think we've reached the leadership saturation point. Our need isn't better leadership. We need better "followship."

Today we are taking a big step. Leaving familiar surroundings is always hard. But today I challenge myself and all of you to renewed loyalty to Jesus.

Our vision statement declares our commitment to "growing in Jesus." Remember that growing in Jesus requires "going with" Jesus. It means facing the future and practicing our followship skills.

I'll close now with lyrics from a poem by John Denver. It's a plea from a man to a woman he loves. Reflecting on them we can also hear them as a plea from Jesus:

"Follow me, where I go, what I do, and who I know.
Make it part of you to be a part of me.
Follow me, up and down, all the way, and all around.
Take my hand and say you'll follow me."

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