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01.18.09

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

GOD CALLING

1 SAMUEL 3:1-10; JOHN 1:43-51

• Hearing the Voice of God
• The Call to Ministry
• What is God calling you to do?
• When we think of what it means to be called by God, we most often think that the call of God automatically leads us to ordained ministry or missionary service
• We think that people who are called by God are special people, people who were hand-picked by God for some special work or service
• The truth is, each of us has a calling from God
• During the 28 ½ years of my ministry, any time I was involved in the search process to find a new place of service, the first question I was asked by every Pastor Nominating Committee and every Presbytery Committee on Ministry was, “Tell us about your sense of call.  How did you know God called you to ministry?”
• In our denomination, someone who is seeking to be ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament undergoes a clearly defined and structured process that’s intended to help that person answer that question about their sense of calling
• If someone in this congregation expressed the desire to seek ordination as a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), the first thing that person would do is to meet with the session
• The session would interview that person and discuss with him/her their sense of calling into ministry
• If the session is satisfied that this person has a true sense of calling, the session would then vote to endorse him or her and recommend to the presbytery that he/she be admitted as an Inquirer
• As an Inquirer, he/she comes under the care of the Committee on Preparation for Ministry
• It’s the responsibility of this committee to oversee the Inquirer’s theological education, making sure all of the requirements are being met
• It’s the responsibility of this committee to engage in regular dialogue with the Inquirer to help him/her identify and develop their gifts and skills for ministry
• It’s the responsibility of this committee to help the Inquirer understand and clarify the meaning of God’s call upon his/her life
• It’s the responsibility of this committee to support and encourage the Inquirer through their years of preparation and education
• When the committee is satisfied that the Inquirer has a clear sense of calling from God for ministry, the Committee on Preparation for Ministry recommends to the presbytery that this person become a candidate for ordination
• The Priesthood of All Believers
• Ordained ministers and missionaries aren’t the only people to receive a calling from God
• We are not the only ones to whom God speaks
• We are not the only ones who are set apart to do God’s work in the world
• Each and every one of us has a calling from God
• Each and every one of us is called to use our gifts and skills for ministry
• Each and every one of us who hears the gospel message and believes it is called to be a disciple of Jesus
• The call of the disciple is to continue the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ in the world
• A key theological belief in the Reformed faith is “the priesthood of all believers”
• In a nutshell, what this belief teaches is that the work of ministering to the needy, the work of proclaiming the gospel, the work of leading others to Christ, the work of touching and changing people’s lives, the work of inviting and welcoming others into the church, is not solely the responsibility of ordained, paid religious professionals
• This was a reaction of the practice of the Roman Catholic Church prior to the Reformation where only the priests could read the Scriptures because they were written in Latin, and only the priests could conduct the mass
• The priests were in a special place in relationship to God; they were elevated above the rest of the people
• Because of that special relationship, it was their responsibility as paid representatives of God to do the work of God in the world
• “The priesthood of all believers” teaches us that you and I are equal partners in the work of Jesus Christ
• It is not my responsibility as Pastor to do all of the work of ministry; it’s my responsibility as Pastor to help you discern your calling, discover your gifts, and train you to use them
• It’s the responsibility of the church to support and encourage you in your ministry and to provide you with opportunities to serve
• “The priesthood of all believers” teaches us that we are all ministers; each of us has a calling from God and a place in the church were we can use our gifts and skills to minister to the needs of others
• The only requirement for this ministry is faith in Jesus Christ and the willingness to serve him
• The People God Calls
• Jesus’ Requirements for Discipleship
• As Jesus walked the streets of Galilee in the early days of his ministry following his baptism in the Jordan by John, he looked for ones he could call to be his followers
• He wasn’t looking specifically for intellectuals or people with position, wealth and power
• He was looking for people with faith—people who were willing to trust their lives to him, to follow him in a new way of living
• He was looking for people who were willing to risk everything they had and give everything they’ve got to find genuine meaning and purpose in life by living life God’s way
• It was faith that Jesus saw in the men he called to follow him as his disciples—Peter and Andrew, James and John, Philip and Nathaniel, Matthew, and all the rest—even Judas Iscariot
• None of them were great by society’s standards
• They weren’t part of the rich and famous, or powerful or well educated of his day
• They were simple people—fishermen, tax collectors, rabble-rousers
• But they had one thing in common—they were willing to give their lives to Jesus and live their lives for him
• Jesus and Nathaniel
• At first, it appears that perhaps Jesus made a mistake when he called Nathaniel to his side
• Nathaniel’s first response to Philip when he came to him with the news that he found the one spoken about by Moses and the prophets was, “Nazareth!  Can anything good come from there?”
• Nathaniel was skeptical at first, to say the least
• But still, Nathaniel responded to his friend’s invitation to “come and see”
• Instantly his skepticism melted away when he encountered Jesus for the first time
• “’Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.’  ‘How do you know me?’ Nathaniel asked.  Jesus answered, ‘I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.’  Then Nathaniel declared, ‘Rabbi, you are the son of God’ you are the King of Israel’” (vs. 47b-49)
• Jesus saw something special in this very candid person from Cana, and Jesus gives him credit for stepping forward in faith, even though Nathaniel expressed doubt and skepticism
• Jesus pays him this compliment because Nathaniel is at least open; he’s willing, at least, to check it out—to see what this Jesus is all about
• Jesus loves it, and he loves him because he saw in Nathaniel an intangible quality that recommended him to Jesus—he had faith
• There are two obvious points in this encounter with Nathaniel that speak to us as well
• The first point is that, as Jesus knew Nathaniel before they ever met, Jesus knows us just as well; he knows us better than we know ourselves
• He knows what makes us happy and sad, he knows our doubts and our fears, he knows our deepest desires, he knows our weaknesses and our sins
• But Jesus sees more than just the flaws in our character, he also sees our strengths
• He knows the potential that exists with each of us and will help us to manifest that potential if we are willing to trust our lives to his care
• The second point is that it’s OK to have doubts, it’s OK to ask questions, it’s OK to be afraid
• Jesus doesn’t require perfect faith before we follow him
• All he asks is that we have faith enough to “Come and see”
• Faith is learned by experience
• Faith grows as we learn that Jesus can be trusted
• A tiny amount of faith is better than no faith at all
• A tiny amount of faith is enough to begin the journey with Jesus because Jesus will give us more the farther we travel with him
• The Call of Samuel
• We see this same thing at work in the story of Samuel
• Samuel was a boy who was dedicated to the Lord by his parents and who brought  him to the temple at Shiloh to be raised by the priest
• But “the word of the Lord was rare in those days”—not that the Lord wasn’t speaking, but people weren’t listening, not even Eli the priest
• It was faith that was rare, not the word of the Lord
• While lying in his place in the temple one night, Samuel hears someone call his name
• Thinking that it was Eli, Samuel runs to him: “Here I am.  You called me.”
• To emphasize the fact that Eli was not used to listening to the word of the Lord, this scene is repeated three times before Eli finally catches on
• So Eli sends Samuel back to his place with these instructions: “Go lie down, and if the Lord calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’”
• Prior to this event, Samuel did not know the Lord, but when he understood who it was who was calling him he responds with a simple act of faith: “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
• Having no idea of what God would say or where God would lead, he trusts his young life to God
• Our Response to Christ’s Invitation
• Each of us is invited to make the move that Nathaniel made and that Samuel made, in spite of our reservations, our doubts, our skepticism
• Nothing else is required but a small amount of faith
• We’re a lot like Nathaniel in our questions and concerns, and a lot like Samuel in our limited understanding
• Nathaniel and Samuel can be a stand-in for each of us
• But Jesus calls us, too, to join him, to walk in Nathaniel’s footsteps
• To do that, we need to take a step toward Jesus, we need to be willing to listen to the voice of God however God speaks to us
• This kind of faith-walk is a journey into an uncertain future, but it’s one that trusts Jesus to be leading us in the right direction
• The only thing that is required is a single step of faith, however shaky and uncertain it might be
• Once that first step is taken, the other steps become easier
• And we can take that first step because we know Jesus loves us and can use us wherever we happen to be