The Times They Are A-Changin!

Mark 1:14-20

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him. 

I’d like to begin by saying, these past three weeks have been rather stressful for our country and for our church. So, what I want to do today is to help us reflect on and process what we have been experiencing and to think about what we have in common rather than what divides us. 

What we have been experiencing as a nation reminds me of another time in our country’s history. The late sixties and seventies were volatile times—not the same, but similar to what we are going through. There were racial protests that turned violent, a president who was impeached, and Lutheran church bodies were going through major theological changes as decisions were made to ordain women.

As I pondered over the lessons and reflected the events of the past year, what stood out to me was change  Let’s listen to a song that came to my mind and was popular in the 1960’s. It was written by Bob Dylan and called The Times They Are A-changin!

LYRICS:
Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’.

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin’.

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin’.

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin'.
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin’.

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin’.

Source: Musixmatch. Songwriters: Bob Dylan The Times They Are A Changing lyrics © Special Rider Music, Sony Atv Music Publishing France

Yes, the times they are a-changin’! Transitions are not fun. They are difficult, they are frustrating, they are painful, and they can involve anger and sadness. But what unites us? What do we have in common as a church body and as a congregation? It is Jesus. Jesus cares about a loves all people. And what we have in common is the love of Christ and love for each other.

We just witnessed some historical events over the past few weeks. The storming of the Capital, the changing of guard in relation to political parties, and the swearing in of a woman of color as Vice President. I am not saying these events are good or bad. They are just the facts and the evoke emotions on both sides of the aisle. They are all an indication that whether we like it or not. The times, they are a-changin!

Our congregation, just lost our Senior Pastor. For many of you this has caused strong feelings of frustration, pain, anger and sadness. Some may be overwhelmed by their feelings and see no possibilities for the future. But some are able to move on more easily, overcome these emotions and begin to look to the future. They see new ways to do ministry in this place and are excited about new opportunities. They see hope in the days ahead. Furthermore, they  trust that God will see us through this difficult time and God will provide for our future as the times they are a-changin’.

This theme of changing times is quite evident in our lessons today. I really get a kick out of Jonah because he is so recalcitrant it is humorous. Jonah, a prophet, is summoned by the Lord to go to the great city of Ninevah  to preach against their wickedness. He does not want to go because he despises the Ninevites. So, like a little kid who doesn’t want to obey his parents and leaves the house slamming the door behind him; Jonah flees in the opposite direction. He thinks he can avoid God and God’s call. He travels to Joppa and boards a ship to Tarshish. God sends a strong wind and a violent storm and everyone aboard is terrified because they believe the ship will break up and they will lose their lives. 

Jonah takes responsibility for the problem. He knows the Lord is not pleased with him and his disobedience has caused the storm.  So, Jonah tells the sailors, “It’s my fault, throw me overboard…into the sea. 

Now the crew has even more anxiety as the seas become rougher and rougher; and the storm rages. They don’t want to take Jonah’s life, so they try to row back to dry land to no avail. Something must done. The sea and storm is becoming more and more violent. So, they pray to the Lord, “If we take this man’s life, please don’t be angry with us. We don’t want you to take our lives!  Then they do as Jonah requests and throw him into the sea. But the Lord provides!  He sends a great fish to swallow Jonah and the seas are calmed. Trapped and sitting inside the belly of the fish, Jonah has time to think. Finally, after three days he has a change of heart. Maybe the times are a-changin’ and I better do what God has called me to do. Maybe God invoke change in the Ninevites and they will worship the Lord. After all, salvation comes from the Lord. With that the fish vomits him out and he lands on the shore. 

Again Jonah hears God’s call and he decides to travel to Ninevah. Reluctantly, he preaches a one sentence sermon: “Forty more days and Ninevah will be overturned.” And alas, the people believe in God, fast, and put on sackcloth. In other words, they repent. Even the king takes off his royal robes, dons sackcloth, sits in the dust and issues a proclamation that all must fast—man and beast and give up their ways of violence. Yes, the times in Ninevah were a changin’! How many times has God nudged and prodded us to do something that we didn’t want to do, but when we did it, our lives were changed for the better or we felt blessed?

St. Paul warns the Corinthians that time is short—it is better to not be anxious about worldly affairs but rather about being holy and creating community within the body of Christ. God gives us only a certain amount of time. As it grows shorter, begin to feel an urgency to do that to which we were called. And what are we called to do? We are to share the faith of Jesus Christ and devote our lives to Christ in love. God calls us to help usher in his kingdom on earth and help make this world a better place. Why? Because the present form of this world is passing away and we are God’s agents of change. The times they are a changin’! The times they are constantly a-changin until our life is done.

In  our  gospel  lesson,  John  the  Baptizer   has  been arrested and Jesus comes along proclaiming, “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” Sounds familiar doesn’t it? It sounds like John the Baptist’s cry to the people, Jonah’s message to the Ninevites, Paul’s warning to the Corinthians, and Jesus’ summons as he calls his disciples.

Jesus calls Simon and Andrew as they cast their nets into the sea. Unlike Nathaniel, they drop their nets and follow without question. Jesus calls James and John as they are mending their nets and immediately they stop and follow leaving their father in the boat. As commentator Shauna Hannan says, “The disciples do not choose; they are caught. Caught by the one who is dead set on breaking into their lives. Caught by the one who invites participation in his mission of bringing shalom to the world. Caught the by the one whose voice alone has the power to create day and night, to claim people in the waters of baptism, to compel people to follow.” 

As Jonah was caught in the belly of the fish so too were the disciples. They were caught by Jesus’ grace and compelled into God’s service for the sake of the world and so too are we at Good Shepherd. We are caught by God’s grace, love, and mercy. So, trust in the Lord!

As Bob Dylan points out The Times They are a-changin’. We have choices. We can learn to swim in the love of Christ or sink in an abyss of chaos.  We can can critique what we don’t understand or get involved, learn, and help out where we can. For the present now will later be past.

So what it comes down to is this…As we are caught by God’s grace may we trust in the Lord who loves us. May we pour our heart and our prayers before the one who loves us for God is our refuge and yes, the times they are a-changin!

In Jesus name,  Amen.