©2005-2006 The United Church of Christ at The Villages, FL |
|
Exodus 19:1-6
In the third month after the Israelites left Egypt – on the very day – they came to the Desert of Sinai. After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain. Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, "This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.'
I Corinthians 7:24
Brothers, each man, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation God called him to.
All members of the United Church of Christ are called to minister to others and to participate as equals in the common worship of God, each with direct access to the mercies of God through personal prayer and devotion.
Recognition is given to those among us who have received special training in pastoral, priestly, educational and administrative functions, but these persons are regarded as servants—rather than as persons in authority. Their task is to guide, to instruct, to enable the ministry of all Christians rather than to do the work of ministry for us.
The Priesthood of believers implies a response to the call of God to a specific vocation. It is helpful to remember that the Latin meaning of the word "calling" is the same as the meaning of the word "vocation."
Vocation is not necessarily the same as occupation or job, but it might be. It sometimes happens that God calls someone to a mission or ministry which happens alongside of, or outside of, that person’s occupation. It sometimes happens that God calls someone to a mission or ministry which is the person’s job or occupation. I suspect that we all know some ministers who, based on outward evidence, seem not to be called by God to their ministry. There was an old joke floating around our seminary when I was a student. I have heard it several times since then. The joke talks about a seminary student who was in a preaching class doing very poorly. After one particularly stumbling and awkward sermon, the professor called the student aside and asked him what caused him to decide to be a minister. The student told the professor that God had called him into the ministry. The professor asked the student how he knew that God had called him into the ministry. The student told the professor that one day, while plowing fields on his fathers farm, he looked up at the sky and saw two clouds which looked very much like the letters "P" and "C". The student said that he was sure that the clouds were God’s way of telling him to "preach Christ." The professor looked at the student and then said, maybe God was telling you to "plant corn."
On the other hand, I suspect that we all know some people who, based on their attitude and behavior, seem to be engaged in a ministry to which God has called them which has nothing to do with their occupation. We know people who extend care and support for people beyond that which the normal dictates of civility would require. Many of us know people who practice gentleness and love for those who need help. There are some such people in this congregation.
I have heard Monica say, on several occasions, that she feels called by God to be active in a ministry of help to people in this community who are in need. She talks about sensing a call to be involved in some form of mission outreach on behalf of this congregation.
Our calling/vocation is doing what God wants us to do, in the manner in which God wants us to do it.
Henri Nouwen, about whom you have heard me speak before, experienced a moment of responding to God’s call while he was a professor in a seminary. One day, at the end of one of his lectures, a former student appeared at the door of his classroom. The student had graduated several years earlier and was serving as the pastor of a church. He greeted Professor Nouwen by saying "I am not here as your student, but as a friend who wants to say hello." Professor Nouwen invited the former student to join him on the lawn of the seminary to sit and visit. They sat beneath a large tree enjoying the beauty of the campus and the warmth of the day. They shared recent events in their lives until they had exhausted all the "news." They fell silent.
After some several moments of silence, the former student said to Professor Nouwen, "I am feeling very comfortable being with you in this time of silence. Professor Nouwen replied that he, too, felt comfortable. Additional time went by in silence. They heard birds singing, garbage collectors banging garbage cans, traffic moving, but did not speak during this time. After a significant moment of silent time had gone by, the former student said, "When I am with you like this I feel like I am in the presence of Christ." Professor Nouwen replied thoughtfully, "It is the Christ in you that recognizes the Christ in me."
That kind of presence, of being there for others, was a significant part of God’s call to Henri Nouwen, and to many of us. That calling had nothing to do with being a seminary professor, and yet it had everything to do it. That call from God was not part of his occupation, it was his vocation.
Generally the notion of call is understood as a calling to ministry, with a seminary or divinity school education and a path that leads to ordination. But God grants people varied talents and abilities and calls us all to serve in many ways. The process of discernment is a method of reflecting on life's journeys that can open us up to hearing God's voice urging us in a certain direction, whether in an educational or vocational path, love, a spiritual journey or some other aspect of life.
Stephanie Templin, a young adult seminarian at Lancaster Theology Seminary, writes: "At an interview with my local Church and Ministry committee, the chair asked me if I resonated with the opening words of the prophet of Jeremiah. I timidly nodded my head yes and smiled. Immediately after the interview I went home and looked up the text. As I read through the verses I found the beautiful words: Now the word of the LORD came to me saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations."
While I was honored that the minister felt that this passage applied to my life, I wondered how God's consecration of my journey toward ordained ministry was any different from the blessings bestowed upon all of my sisters and brothers. I have come to understand that answering a call from God, be it for ministry or for accounting, is more of a self-recognition of what God has placed in each one of us before we were even aware of ourselves."
We, in the United Church of Christ, believe that God calls each and every one of us. The call of God may be to a specific occupation, but most often it is to a task, a work, a mission, a ministry to others, which may have little to do with our job. Discerning God’s call is often a life-long journey. There are moments when that call seems very clear and understandable, and there are times when it seems almost impossible to understand what God is asking of us.
Times of prayer, the reading of scripture, and of silent "withness" with God and others of faith, help. Looking back on one’s life to identify when and where the presence of God has seemed most pronounced, and to search inwardly to discover the sense of having been in the "presence" of God, are sometimes helpful in discovering what God is calling us to be and to do.
This journey we are taking together, through this sermon and discussion series, leading to the creating of our Mission Statement, is an attempt to discern what God may be calling us, as a new congregation, to be and to do. May God be with us on this journey.
Amen.
©2005-2006 The United Church of Christ at The Villages, FL |
|