A Season of Inviting by Cheri Holdridge (with an assist by Patti Lusher)

I want you to think about a time when you were invited to something: perhaps a Super Bowl party, or a date.  Kristen just invited you to a Walleye game or to attend a play. Perhaps you were invited to be part of a club. How does it feel to be invited? We can have a variety of feelings. If I like the person inviting it feels good. Perhaps I’m even excited at the prospect of doing something with that person, or joining an organization that person is a part of. Of course there are those invitations we don’t want. The person who asks you out on a date and it’s really awkward because you don’t want to go. Ugh. Or then there are the times when someone invites you do to something that just does not interest you, but you don’t want to hurt the feelings of the person who is asking, so you get caught in a bind. Inviting is tricky business. But without an invitation, we would miss so many opportunities. Just think about it. Think of all the things you would have missed out on, if no one had invited you. Sure, some things you can do even without an invitation, but it helps to know that someone wants you to be there. And it just feels so good when someone singles you out and invites you to be at the party.

Today’s scripture is about invitation: the invitation that Jesus gave to Simon, later called Simon Peter. This is a great story. It starts out after a long night of fishing. Simon and his partners in the fishing business are on the shore of Lake Gennesaret.  They are cleaning their nets. Simon and his friends have been out all night and they have not caught one fish. They are likely feeling pretty discouraged.

Jesus walks up and asks Simon if he can push his boat out into the water a bit so Jesus can stand on it and use it as a platform from which to preach to the crowd. Simon obliges and Jesus begins to preach. After Jesus is finished preaching he says to Simon: “Push out into deep water and let your nets out for a catch.” Simon said, “Master, we’ve been fishing hard all night and haven’t caught even a minnow. But if you say so, I’ll let out the nets.” This was a huge act of faith, because they had not caught anything all night.

No sooner were the nets in the water, than they began to fill with fish. There was this massive haul of fish, larger than anyone could have imagined. It strained their nets to the point that they thought they would break. They called over their friends to bring a second boat to help and they filled both boats with fish. The crowd was amazed. No one had ever seen anything like it.

The scripture says that “Simon Peter, when he saw it, fell to his knees before Jesus and said: ‘Master, leave. I’m a sinner and can’t handle this holiness. Leave me to myself.’” Until this point in the story his name has been Simon, but here they call him Simon Peter. He will be given the name Peter later by Jesus as a sign of his changed life. But the author brings that name Simon Peter in here, to show that Simon is already becoming a changed person by this experience.

Simon is so humbled by the experience that he becomes aware of his own sin. He can’t handle being so close to Jesus and his holiness, knowing how imperfect he is. Isn’t that the way it is with us? There are times when we become so aware of how wonderful Jesus is, and we know by comparison, that we are failures. But Jesus does not see failure, Jesus sees beloved children of God.

Jesus turns to Simon and says: “You have nothing to fear.”

Then Jesus does the most interesting thing. He offers Simon an invitation. He says: “From now on you’ll be fishing for men and women.” And then something amazing happens. Simon, James and John pull their boats up on the beach and leave them, nets and all, and follow Jesus.

They accept the invitation to be fishers of men and women. Just like that. They leave everything behind: their families, their homes, and their jobs. There was something so compelling about Jesus and his invitation that Simon, James, and John immediately follow him.

They go on to become his closest disciples. Over the next three years they travel with him as he preaches forgiveness and love, and heals the sick. After he dies they carry on the mission of the church, inviting more people to be followers of Jesus. But it all started with a simple invitation on the shores of the Sea of Gennesaret.

Do you remember who invited you to follow Jesus? Perhaps it was your parents? A Sunday School teacher? A youth pastor? A friend?  Who was it?

Did they invite you to attend something? Was it a worship service? A Bible Study? A Youth group?

I grew up in the church so it’s hard for me to remember one particular person who invited me to follow Jesus. But I do remember being invited to be a part of my youth group when I was a teen-ager. Being in that youth group changed my life. We went on retreats together; I went to church camp. I encountered Jesus in those moments and it never would have happened if someone had not invited me to be part of the youth group.

Friends, there are people out there who are waiting for us to invite them to come to this church. There are people who are hurting. They have lost direction in their lives. They are struggling with addictions to a multitude of things: drugs, alcohol, a materialistic culture, food, gambling, video games, or bad relationships. We all have an addiction to something if we are honest. There are people who don’t feel loved. They need to hear the good news that God loves them no matter what. There are people who are dealing with marriages that are in trouble and people who are struggling to be better parents. There are people who are making life decisions and who need support in those decisions. There are people who are aging and who are frightened by that prospect. There are people caring for aging parents and people caring for young children and some who are doing both at the same time. There are people who are looking for work and who are discouraged. There are people who are dealing with chronic illness and who need hope. There are people who are grieving and who need a community to surround them with love as they grieve.

This church has so much to offer. We are a healing place. We are a community that accepts people as they are and where they are. We don’t judge. We welcome. Do you know what a gift that is? A new person can come here and be surrounded by people who know we are not perfect but who know that God loves us anyway. What a blessing! We offer the unconditional love of Jesus.

So here is the thing. All those people out there who need a church like The Village, can’t find us unless we invite them. Jesus went out into the streets and into the villages and looked for the people. He did not sit in the synagogue and wait for them to come to him. So we can’t sit here in our church and wait for people to come to us. We need to go out and find them. Everyday each one of us encounters people who need The Village Church. We just need to seize the opportunity to talk with them about The Village.

One of the ways the Lead Team is going to try to make this easier for you, is by planning what we call “Come and See” events. These are events, mostly other than worship, that give you a chance to invite your friends and acquaintances to “come and see” what The Village community is all about. Some are just fun outings like going to the Walleye Game and going to see the play “You Can’t Take it With You.” You could invite a friend who does not come to the Village to go with you to one of these events, and meet some of your other friends from The Village. Later in the year we are going to have some movie nights and we are going to have another “Open Mic” night where you can come and share your talents, or just enjoy listening to other people. We’ll also be doing some service projects. Easter Sunday is also a great “Come and See” Event. People who don’t regularly go to church will go on Easter Sunday. The idea is that you can invite a friend who does not have a church home. Most of these events are less threatening than a worship service. But after your friend meets some of us at a fun event or a service project and sees that we are fun and caring people, they might come with you to a worship service. If you invite a friend to a worship service it’s always a good idea to invite them to ride with you and to go out to lunch afterward. People love food. Right?

We want this to be a year of inviting at The Village. Jesus invited Simon, James and John and they followed him. Someone invited you and now you are a follower of Jesus. Now it’s our turn. We can invite too. We have a wonderful church here with many gift to share. Let’s consider who is out there who needs the love of God in their lives. Who needs a church like this? And let’s ask God to use us. Let this be a year of inviting.

RESPONSE TO THE MESSAGE

Imagine a sports bar is giving you a free Super Bowl party with free food for 30 or 40 people. You can invite 30 or 40 friends and acquaintances. Who would you invite? I want you to make a list of people you know who you could invite to a party. You’ve been given this gift of a party and you want to share it with people you know. Make a list of 30 or 40 people you know – anyone you see in a month’s time in your day to day living, but don’t include anyone who already attends The Village. You can include family, friends, people you work with, people you do business with like your favorite waitress or the person who cuts your hair. You can include parents of your kids’ friends, neighbors, old friends from high school that you run into now and then, anyone you can think that you would invite to a party. Make your list now.

** Make lists

Now look at your list and see who you might invite to a “Come and See” event at The Village. Who could you invite to go with us to the Walleye Game or to see the play at TSA? Who could you invite to Easter Sunday or to a movie night? Circle those names. Keep this list and pray over it over the coming weeks and months as we live into our year of inviting.