Isaiah 6:1-8, 1 Cor. 15:1-11, Luke 5:1-11
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
Believe it or not, there have been those in our church who have decided to call me a “nudge”, others a “pest”, all because I pointed out to them that they seemed to have a special calling from God. The truth is, I am not unsympathetic to their reaction and I now wear those names as a badge of honor. I too faced God’s calling; for me it was when I was young, and in response to it, I became a bit of a mouthy little delinquent. It wasn’t until I realized my need for Jesus, that I turned to consider the calling made to me eight or nine years prior. It is a hard thing to stand before the Lord and accept God’s call. It is even harder sometimes to figure out what exactly God is calling us to do.
Peter, James and John were told that they would be fishing for people, whatever that meant; I imagine they envisioned a big net with people all balled up inside of it. Isaiah was to go where God was going to send him, but to do what, to say what, he didn’t know; all he knew was that the live coal that the Seraph touched to his lips did not hurt nearly as much as he thought it would. Paul’s call, turned his life completely upside down; he had been on his way to advance his work of persecuting the heretic Christians; God blinded him; still, before God called him, he restored to Paul his sight; as Paul accepted his call, he had no idea what he would be doing and where he would go. He like Isaiah and the Disciples would soon find out what his call was all about. The point is, Peter, James, John, Isaiah and Paul, pretty much said yes to God’s call, not really knowing where they would go and not knowing what they would be doing. I, kind of, knew where I had to go at least initially, seminary and what I had to do, pass my classes and field work assignments, but I had no idea where the call would take me after that, and no idea what the call would require of me; at one point it looked like I was going to end up in the Western Pa/West Virginia Synod.
Cathy is not here today, she is having a girl’s weekend away; so I can get away with saying this; but what I am about to say she would argue against with her last breath; well, she was as much called by God as was I; as a kid she had felt called to be a nun; that didn’t work out; instead, as it turned out, she became a pastor’s wife; a much harder calling; as my wife she would have moved with me to West Virginia, though she had a job that would pay her more than the church, that I would be called to, would pay me; we didn’t have to move then, but it turned out that I couldn’t have done all that I’ve been called to do without her help, support and encouragement.
Callings! (So) What might be your calling? I know a youth that, I truly believe is being called to the ministry, and, that youth is fighting with all that the youth has, to get away from it. Reminds me of how I was. But it is important to point out that all callings are not to the ministry as a profession. I’ve had to learn that; I watch many of you live out your callings every day. We have one member who does a great job keeping in touch with many of our members and keeps me informed of their medical or other needs; this member probably does not even recognize that it is a calling. We have members who dedicate a bit of their time searching out ways that we can minister to the poor, the homeless and they hungry, who likely do not recognize their work, their ministry as a calling. We have other members who take care of our property, so that our ministry can go unhampered and be more effective, who likely do not see their work, their ministry as a calling. The nudge in me does not want any of you to sit back and see only what you are already doing as the fulfillment of your callings; there are those of you whose callings may also be directing you to seminary or other challenges.
Some of you might remember Sandy Yoder, she worked around the church and as this continued, she found a different calling which took her to PACS and eventually employment there, until her family moved to Wisconsin. The Lord often moves us out of our comfort zones (it did for Sandy) and then moves us into greater challenges.
Isaiah, Paul and the Disciples, would be greatly challenged and in time, they would learn what their call would mean for them. Isaiah, at the very beginning had to pretty much lead his very own people to open their minds and hearts to God; he later had to tell them when their actions were setting them in opposition to God’s will and then warn them of God’s impending punishment; a prophet’s life is not always a pleasant one. Paul found himself persecuted by the same people that he once called friends and associates, and Paul had to endure the questions and doubts of the church, whose ministry, he was called to serve. Paul proclaimed the good news of Jesus to Jews and Gentiles alike and for his work he was beaten, stoned, imprisoned, chased out of town, and eventually executed. The Disciples learned that they were called to preach and teach and heal; they traveled, some to far distances while others stayed relatively close in order to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. For their efforts, all but John suffered persecutions and executions; John died of old age, but watched suffering all around him.
Each call requires different talents, demands different responsibilities and provides different joys and satisfaction. I thank God that I’ve been called to the ministry of Jesus Christ, it has brought me great joy, even though it has had its difficult moments. What is it that you are called to; will you fight God’s call like I did or will you embrace it? It may not prove to be easy, but it is well worth any and all of the difficulties.