Chosen--May 9, 2024

Chosen--May 9, 2024

[Jesus said to his disciples:] "You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another." [John 15:16-17]

He's right, of course.  

Jesus did the choosing.  The disciples are the ones who, well, who find themselves found.

For all the red-faced bluster of TV preachers and other Respectable Religious Leaders urgently asking their viewers, "Have you chosen to make Jesus your Lord and Savior?" or "Have you decided to accept Christ into your heart?" the real issue is the one that's out of our hands: the question of Jesus having chosen us--indeed, a whole world full of us.  As hard as it may for our ears to hear it in this culture obsessed with made-to-order customized fast food and instant-click-and-ship ordering online, the truth is that the Christian life is less about choosing Jesus and more about discovering you have been chosen by Jesus already.

That was certainly the case for the original circle of Jesus' first twelve disciples--the stories all note that Jesus went out and found people who were looking the other way, working at the family business, or not even paying attention, until Jesus called to them and drew him into his beloved community.  They weren't applying or auditioning to be students of Rabbi Jesus, nor were they showing off their skills and scholarship.  Some of them didn't even seem very impressed with the idea of a Nobody from Nazareth ("Can anything good come from there...?" asked one would-be disciple) calling them to follow.  Jesus was the one who initiated the relationships.  Jesus was the one who took their fearful wallflower selves by the hand and out onto the dance floor.  Jesus was the one, in short, who chose them--and they, in return, discover what it means to have been chosen by Jesus.  They grow into what it means to find yourself found by him.

And of course, the ways that Jesus' followers grow up in their faith is much the same, too.  The disciples do eventually find their courage, risk their lives, lead a community, and venture out into the wide world with the news of the risen Jesus, and when it takes root in new places--or "bears fruit," to borrow Jesus' wording here--it's not an act of their sheer willpower.  It is because Jesus, who has first chosen them, still chooses to work through them to reach others.  In fact, through them, Jesus goes on choosing other people, people of all kinds, backgrounds, skin colors, languages, and lifestyles.  Jesus goes on choosing people, telling them--and us!--that we are beloved and that we belong, on his say so, and that as a result our lives will be different... for the better.

Sometimes you hear people talk about being a Christian like they are selling subscriptions to a magazine:  "If you act now and choose to sign up now, you'll get all these benefits, sent right to your mailbox, and then you'll just need to keep renewing your subscription and paying each month in order to keep your account in good standing."  It all hinges on my action first to place my order.  But Jesus turns the tables on us and reminds us that we are not customers selecting a purchase, but we are children adopted into a family.  We are claimed by Jesus, who has already loved us. We are called for his purposes, without us having to audition for a spot first.  We are chosen by Jesus, rather than needing to elect him as "Personal Lord and Savior" like he's running for office in our souls.  It's less about worrying if we've chosen Jesus accurately or decisively enough (like all the worry back in 2000 over properly punched ballots with "hanging chads" clinging to the paper), and more about receiving the relief of knowing that Jesus has decisively said "YES" to us first.  That's how his life flows through us and comes to fruition--his gift, his choosing, and his initiative.

All this Eastertide, as we've been exploring the risen life of Jesus, I hope it's been increasingly clear that we're not sent into the world as Jesus' sales force, trying to get new customers to sign up and choose Jesus rather than a Competing Brand.  Rather we've been sent, as people first chosen by Jesus, to tell others (especially folks who have been told before that they are unworthy and unlovable), "You are chosen already.  Jesus claims you as his own."

Who might you tell today?  And the next day?  Beyond that?

When we run out of people in our neighborhood to tell, or in our town or our state, well, then we just take the same news to the whole wide world.  

How can we not?  Jesus has chosen us for it.

Dear Jesus, tell us again that we are your chosen ones and beloved ones... and let it lead us to tell others that you have chosen then as well.