Wednesday, March 25, 2026 – Lent Six

“You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. This is my command: Love each other.” (John 15: 16 -17, New Living Translation)

                 Last night was our annual, fantasy baseball draft. If you are not familiar with what that is, let me try to explain as briefly as possible. A group of family and friends sit at our computers for an hour and a half and we take turns choosing MLB baseball players to be on our respective teams, a total of 18 players per team. Then, as the baseball season rolls along, each week, two teams go head-to-head. Scoring is based on several statistics that each player accrues during that week. If my players, The Whiskeyjacks, have better results than the other team’s players, I win the week. Nerdy stuff for us baseball fanatics.

                The draft has many, many rounds. At the beginning, players are flying off the board. If you snooze, you lose. Everyone is trying to choose the best players who are available. The all-star calibre players are always the first to be chosen. We are a large league and it doesn’t take all that long for the cream of the crop to be chosen. Sometimes, I had a player whom I really hoped to choose but he was gone by my turn.  After the mid-stages, we’re scrounging around for the next best who are still available. Even so, everyone ends up with a really good team. We can make trades or add and delete players as the season goes on.  For a baseball nut like me, it is a lot of fun.

                In the Gospels, we can read about how Jesus chose his twelve disciples. They came from different backgrounds, occupations and upbringings.  There were fishermen (Peter and John), a tax collector (Matthew), among them. As we follow their development, they ae very different in their personalities and character traits. Peter was brash. Thomas was cautious and careful. Judas became a political opportunist. They argued amongst themselves about who was the greatest. They could be curious, loyal, confused, disobedient, and yet protective of Jesus. They didn’t have theological degrees from a seminary. They were very ordinary. Certainly not all-stars.  But Jesus chose them to be his disciples, to teach them, to guide then, to empower them – it was a labour of love. “For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:14)

                Perhaps, that is the point – Jesus chooses regular people to follow him. We don’t all have to be super-stars. We all don’t have to be gifted and spectacular Christians although as Paul pointed out we’re all gifted in some way. “Are we all apostles? Are we all prophets? Are we all teachers? Do we all have the power to do miracles? Do we all have the gift of healing? Do we all have the ability to speak in unknown languages? Do we all have the ability to interpret unknown languages? Of course not! 31 So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts.”  1 Corinthians 12: 29 -31) Paul then gives us his beautiful description of Love as “the better way” (1 Corinthians 13) which is in line with our words from John’s Jesus. “This is my command: Love each other.”

                It can be both awesome and a little challenging that Jesus has chosen you and me to be one of his followers. We may not feel adequate, prepared, equipped, mature enough, wise enough, good enough. Or too old, too busy, too wordily, too sinful, too broken, too lost. Some may claim that they don’t know how to pray; they don’t read their Bible much; they don’t go to church much. Others may say that thy have no time for God or that God feels distant. Some feel unloved, alienated, angry, confused, hopeless and helpless.

                Good New, people. Jesus has called you and named you as one of his Own. Jesus’ invitation breaks through our inadequacies, doubts, fears and reluctance and affirms that he believes that you are just the one he wants to be his friend, his companion and his disciple to further his work and presence in the world. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise that you are not worthy of Jesus’ Love and Invitation. He has chosen you and me. Crazy as that may sound, it is true. We are part of his undertaking to bring God’s Love into the whole world.

                “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9)

Prayer;

Our Creator God, we thank you that, no matter who we are, or what we are going through or what we have done or failed to do, you still reach out to us and choose us to be a part of your Great Vision. We confess that there are times when we would rather hide from that calling. But we are thankful that Jesus’ Love is so encompassing that it embraces us all. May we take op our cr9os and follow him. In Jesus’ name, Amen.