Sermon for the Third Sunday after Epiphany

January 26, 2003

St. Luke's, Jamestown

by The Rev. Eric M. Williams

[Phone rings] "Yes, who is it?  I’m sorry I can’t talk right now—I’m in the middle of something.  Oh, Lord, it’s You!  I’ll call you right back."

Now, God has never actually called me on my cell phone, in church or anywhere else.

But our lessons today are a reminder that God does call.  He called Jonah, and before that Noah, Abraham, and many others.  And Jesus kept up the family tradition.  The first thing he did after his time in the wilderness was to call Peter, Andrew, James and John:

the first of his disciples.  Presumably there were no cell phones in those days, yet even so these men were able to answer the call.  

Jonah took a little persuading—God had to send a giant fish to get him on the right track.

But Mark tells us that when the fishermen heard Jesus, they responded immediately.  Something about Jesus led them to drop everything and follow him.  Few of us receive calls that are as immediate and as clear as Jesus showing up in person and saying, "Follow me."  

We proclaim and believe that he still calls people, but does he call us, and if he does, can we recognize his voice?  I want to answer both those questions in turn.

First, does God call us?

When I was a kid, having a calling meant something very specific.  A calling meant a calling to be a priest.  Only certain special people had a calling.  But I believe that was a mistaken view.  The Bible tells us that all sorts of people received calls from God.  And many of them were far from special.  Jonah was the reluctant prophet, the biggest whiner in the whole Bible.  He did everything he could to avoid his calling.  And what about the disciples?  These were men of little formal education, who did little to distinguish themselves during Jesus’ earthly ministry.  They never seemed to understand what Jesus was saying and doing, and at the moment of trial, they abandoned Jesus and ran away.

Right through the Old and New Testaments God chose, God called, the unlikeliest people to carry out his plans and build his kingdom.  It is clear that in God’s kingdom

all are valued, all are needed and all are called.  It doesn’t matter who you are, God has work for you to do.  And that work is not necessarily or even likely ordained ministry.

God needs faithful stay at home parents, spouses, friends; God needs faithful godly teachers, administrators, nurses.  God needs good entrepreneurs, manufacturers.  And God certainly needs volunteers to carry on the ministry of his church.

So on to the second question:  How are we supposed to know what our calling is?  

I want to suggest that God’s calling is recognizable, if we know how to read the signs.  Here are a few of those signs:

    God’s call is persistent.  It doesn’t go away after a week or even a year.  Escape didn’t work for Jonah, and it doesn’t work for us either.  A Catholic deacon told me once that he resisted his calling for twenty years.  Until finally he had to accept that this truly was God’s will for him.

    God’s call always involves serving others.  The only way to serve God in the world is to serve God’s people.  Every act of compassion, every sacrifice of time and skill and money builds up the kingdom of God.

    Responding to God’s call stretches us and brings out our best.  It connects us to our gifts and reveals gifts we didn’t know we had.  I have a friend who volunteered for a ministry to the homeless.  After a while she got so involved that she was asked to speak to groups.  She had never spoken in front of a group before and was terrified.  But she discovered much to her surprise that she was an absolutely tremendous public speaker.

    When we respond to God’s call we are energized.  I had a social worker in a parish once who was a dynamo.  In addition to his parish involvement he took over the local soup kitchen.  He told me that he had become burned out in his work life, but that getting back to church and reconnecting with God, made all the difference.

Those are some of the indicators of God’s call—persistence, serving others, brings out our best, energizes us.  But the only way to hear it is to listen.  We need to form the habit of prayerful listening—taking time in our daily prayers to be still and allow God to speak.

We need to listen to God and we need to listen to each other.  We need to test what we think we are hearing by asking those who know us best.  When they too are hearing the same thing for us, then we need to move forward.  We will still make mistakes; we will still go in the wrong direction.  But more and more we will gain confidence in hearing and responding to God.

God’s call is for everyone.  That is the message of the Gospel, and that is the message we hope to explore this year at St. Luke’s.  Beginning this March St. Luke’s will be undertaking a major project.  We plan to visit every individual and family twice this year.

The vestry will be inviting some of you to be visitors—you will be asked to visit a few other families in their homes--once in March and once in the Fall.  We want to build a greater sense of community among all of our people.  

The first visit will be about your relationship with God and the parish.  What brought you to St. Luke’s?  What do you value here?  Where do you wish we were stronger?  The second visit in the Fall will be our traditional every member canvass.  In addition to talking about your connection to the parish, you’ll be asked to consider your contributions of time, talent and treasure.  

But make no mistake. This is not about money.  It is about faith and responding to God’s call.  I want you to consider this as an opportunity to reflect on God’s presence and will in your life.  How is God working in your life?  What is Jesus calling you to be and to do right now?  Where are the obstacles to that call?  

Because whatever your answers to those questions, one thing is sure.  God needs you right now, and God is calling you to serve Him in your family, workplace, community

and this parish.  Will you answer the call?  Will you recognize his voice?  Will you follow him?

410 North Main Street, Jamestown, New York 14701

Phone (716)483-6405 * Fax (716)483-6406 * stluke@madbbs.com