1 Corinthians 1:10-18
Psalm 27:1, 4-9
Matthew 4:12-23
“Called into Community”
There’s a beautiful line in this morning’s psalm that religious people often like. It says, “One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.”
It sounds like a wonderful escape from all the troubles and trials of living in the world every day. We come to the place of worship and we enjoy the experience of singing and praying and drawing close to God, and receiving God’s love and protection. The Psalmist explains that God “will hide [him] in a shelter in the day of trouble; [God] will conceal [him] under the cover of his tent.” The house of the Lord is a place of safety where the Psalmist is “lifted up above [his] enemies all around.”
I wonder if that’s what it felt like for the earliest disciples when they responded to Jesus’ call to follow him. After all, God had come to be with them in the world in the person of Jesus Christ. And these fishermen not only had the opportunity to … Read more »