What? Who? Where? When?
Third Sunday of Epiphany - January 27, 2008
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Please note: The following sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him. |
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You want me to do what? You want me to do that? Where is it to be done? and when?
Who is it that is speaking those questions? To whom are they addressed? You know the answers.
One speaker was the prophet Isaiah. We might imagine that young Isaiah didn't really want to go to the temple on a particular day in 742 BC, but his mother made him. He didn't get anything out of the sermon, couldn't stand the music, got annoyed with the old people around him, and perhaps dozed off while sitting in the corner in the shade of one of the porticos, when he heard a voice “Whom shall I send? Young Isaiah says, “Not me. I've got baggage; I've said stupid things and done worse.” The voice replies, “Perfect. Just the sort of truth-teller that my people deserve. Guess where you are going? And Isaiah managed a weak “OK.”
And then follow all of the years of truth-telling by Isaiah, the many times of speaking words of judgment because of the sins of the people, and bits of good news as well, news of God's salvation in the midst of a messy life, as we heard in today's first lesson. “Guess where you're going, with great light?”
We thought we were here because of force of habit, or our mothers or our spouses made us, or we decided that it would look good to others that we were here, or curiosity, or .....but that's not it at all. We're here because God has called us here, in the middle of this faith and life, walking this way, and engaged in our specific bits of ministry. We're here because God said to each of us, in some way or another, “Guess where you're going?”, and we simply said “OK.”
Think about all of the Gospel stories of Jesus. They always show Jesus in motion. Yes, he draws aside for prayer and reflection, but then it is right back into action, moving on, moving on. He has a goal, working with his people, for his people.
Jesus walked along a road there at the northwest edge of the Sea of Galilee. He saw some me fixing up their nets from the night's work. “Follow me,” he says. “Guess where you're going?” They followed. With their feet in motion, they are acting out an unsure but curious “OK.” And he took them to places they never would have gone by themselves.
I have discovered much to my surprise that the pastor is regarded by kids (and adults too) as a very mysterious person. “How did you get here?” they might ask me if they weren't so timid about it. The short answer is....You called me in the name of Jesus almost exactly 12 years ago, and I said OK. And then there is lots that went on before that. The Bishop telephoned me one day and asked if I would consider coming to St. Mark's. And Gene Jacobs did background checks. And before that, I was called to 14 years of service in Catawissa and 7 years of service in Harrisburg. And before that, God first called me through my parents in Holy Baptism in October of 1949, and gave me the example of faithful grandparents too for my growing up years. God called me through the gift of music to play and sing in my home congregation, in school, in college and grad schools. God called me through the right group of friends from college: one now is a synod secretary and acting bishop, one has served as a bishop's assistant, one serves on the ELCA church council, one serves on the seminary board, one has suffered for years with a mental breakdown because of the stress of ministry. God called me to struggle through the seminary process with all of its emotional and academic ups and downs. God called me through the synod's examining committee which just happened to have two of my home pastors among its 8 members. They said, “We know this guy: we baptized him and nurtured him in the faith. We've watched him grow in size, learning, and heart.”
I wonder what those parents of mine thinking in October of 1949 when they got me to the congregation gathered at Mt. Zion Church and heard God say in effect: “I call you, Kenneth; you are mine. You can't even guess all of the places and situations where I am sending you.” My “OK” that day was probably only a wet diaper.
Some Christians choose to emphasize the part of this scene where we give assent to the call of God. Lutherans want to emphasize that it is the action of God that is crucial in the call, and our assent tags along as the proper response to it. The big deal is that God calls; it is right and proper that we say “OK” in a variety of ways according to our ages and circumstances.
That's the way it was with all the Bible persons we can name. God calls Moses, Samuel, Isaiah, Mary, Peter and Andrew, Paul and Silas. That's the way it is with folks we know. God calls Bob and Anne and Phil and Helen and Charlotte, and Devin and Dawson and Madelyn.........all the rest of us. God calls us; may we always with amazement, say haltingly and joyfully... “Well, ...OK..., yes...., indeed...., thank you.”
Only a tiny number become pastors. We have a critical need for truth tellers like Isaiah. Do you realize that except for Suzie who actually began her Christian life up at St. Paul Church, it has been a whole generation since this congregation sent forth a person to become a pastor? Is there someone you know whom you should be encouraging to be listening for the call from God to ordained ministry? And it doesn't have to be just a young person. Half of those in seminary these days are second-career persons!
Pastor Davidson down in Hughesville was a successful company representative; Senior Seminarian Lisa Schuster whom we hosted last year was a dynamic educator and her husband Matt was in industry. For them saying “OK” to God's call to ordained ministry has meant painful sacrifice and changes in life and expectations. And still they are saying OK with joy.
Ordained ministry is a small number, but everyone who is baptized is asked to say “Yes” to God's call day after day. There may be times of delight, and there may well be times of great difficulty. The call of God may make things harder for us rather than easier.
The church people of Le Chambon in eastern France during WWII said Yes to God by saying No to civil and church authorities. In spite of great pressure, and at the risk of their lives, they sheltered and hid thousands of Jews in their own homes and moved them to safety, rather than to give them up to the Nazi holocaust. They watchfully resisted the propaganda that would have smothered God's call. They refused to cooperate with the direction of society around them. They were true to the mind of Christ in their willingness to go against the “go along and get along” mentality of so many others, whatever it cost.
This past week was the 35th anniversary of an infamous decision by 7 men down in Washington DC that it is acceptable to kill unborn children for any reason. Did you know that the woman whose name is attached to that case has become a Christian, and part of her call from God has been to speak against all of the legalized killings that have taken place since then? Did you know that we have people here in Williamsport who are willing to provide shelter for mothers and their unborn children from this present day holocaust? May they be able to stand against all of the cultural pressure around them, like the people of Le Chambon in France 65 years ago.
Maybe God's call will lead us to thought and action in other areas as well.
Now here is a question that fits us all: Where and in what circumstances will it be easier to hear God's call? Following Isaiah's example and simply being here in the church at worship is the obvious first step. This is a plain-Jane Sunday, and we may be like young Isaiah, just hanging out in the shadows, but this also may be the day when God's call gets through, and you as an individual realize that “This is the Good News ...for me!”
It might also happen when more of us accept the invitation to engage our hearts and minds in Bible study. Both of our adult groups at 9:15 should be so full that we need to start a third, and a fourth one. Wednesday noon and evenings in Lent where we have 20 whole minutes of study should be so crowded that we have to go to the nave instead of the chapel for prayers. For the early-birds, we meet at 6:31 on Thursday mornings and investigate a Psalm each week. We devotionally hear a portion of scripture each weekday morning at 9:00 in Morning Prayer.
Why should we make it harder for Jesus to get through to us? Let's put ourselves in the places where he can be heard more easily, that is, is worship and in study.
Missionaries began working in South Korea in 1884. Several years later a conference was held to decide what was the best way for the effort to continue. One church body chose a different path, and today it has 1 ½ million members. The other church body emphasized adult Bible study as their core activity, and they now have 7 ½ million members. It is that simple; get ourselves in the place where God can call us, and things will happen, and we'll uncover what those things are, bit by bit.
You want me to do what? You want me to do that? Where is it to be done? and when? OK. Yes, Lord. Amen
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