Year B - Epiphany 2 January 17, 2021
I Samuel 3:1-10, Psalm 139, John 1:43-51 Panzer Liturgical Service
In today’s lessons, we hear different versions of what it means to be called. The Hebrew Bible reading takes us to the world of Samuel. God must have a heart for babies born to old mothers because once again, a faithful older woman gives birth to a child with a little divine anointing. It is hard for me to imagine giving up a long-awaited and much-loved child for someone else to raise, just because God answered a prayer, but that was what Hannah did. She made a promise to God and she kept it because she knew that God had something special in mind.
The child was raised by Eli, and as Eli grew older,
Samuel begins to take care of him. One evening, Samuel hears a voice calling
him in the night. At first, he thinks that it is Eli, needing something from
him, but after three times, both men realize that the call is something totally
different. In community with Eli, Samuel recognizes the voice of God and
replies, “Here I am.”
Our call starts from the beginning. In Psalm 139, we hear how God knows us. From the beginning, God is calling. While we are speaking and listening and working, God is there. We may not be able to recognize God’s presence in our lives for a long time, but it doesn’t mean that God isn’t there. And it doesn’t mean that God isn’t calling. Sooner than later, God’s call compels us to follow, and whatever actions that require of us, answering the call is really about fully committing our lives to Christ. It is about having an Epiphany about who Jesus is – and who we are through him.
In our gospel lesson, we learn some important things about God, Jesus, and those who follow him. This is the first of several scenes where people meet Jesus and answer the call to follow him. Here Jesus tells Nathanael he saw him, long ago, sitting under the fig tree – Nathaniel was known before he was called. This is a reflection of the psalm reading, an embodiment of the 139th Psalm… “I have known you, even in your mother’s womb.” It is marvelous and a little scary that Jesus knows us before we ever know Him. He knows our joys, our faults, our gifts, our blessings and shortcomings, and weaknesses – he knows it all And still he calls out, “Follow me.”
I’ll be honest. I don’t know how to talk about God’s call without talking about what that looks like for me. Many preachers would not make this same choice. And I want to be clear that my call is not better or worse than anyone else’s call… it’s just different. It’s a very high bar, hearing God call your name. But then again, how do we even know what God’s voice sounds like? Is it a booming voice from heaven? Is it a whisper filtered through our thoughts or in the quietness of listening and prayer? Could the voice of God come through our interactions with other people? Does God call us through our service to others? The answer is yes – God will use all of these ways and more to get our attention, and help us focus on committing our lives to love and serve wherever we are needed.
I can’t remember hearing God speak directly to me. But I do remember planning to sleep in on Sunday mornings after college, but waking up at 5 am and thinking, “Well, since I’m up, I guess I’ll go to church.” Looking back, I heard the call of God through the encouragement of a college professor, Jack Stevenson, who asked, “Are you sure you’re supposed to be a scientist because I’m getting a different vibe about you?” And from John Culp, a mission-minded pastor, who spoke to me in a quiet voice at a Conference worship service honoring the 30th anniversary of the ordination of women in the United Methodist Church and whispered, “I think you belong up there, too.”
I’ll be honest, many people thought that my decision to change professions was at best ill-advised and even a little bit crazy. Some of the women I worked with thought I was leaving the hospital to become a nun. For a long time, maybe a couple of years, I didn’t tell anyone of this desire to preach in the church. And when I did share, many were skeptical, not of my gifts and graces, but worried about the difficult life that women in ministry experience. But God’s voice wouldn’t go away. I had a great job, a wonderful roommate, volunteered in a faithful congregation. But it didn’t feel like it was enough… or that I was in the right place.
So, I finally spoke those things out loud. And with the help of a pastor, a therapist, and the proper medication, I gathered my courage and started a new life, first committing to one year of seminary… the rest, of course, is history.
The word epiphany means “manifestation” or “revealing.” On these Sundays after Epiphany, it is not only Jesus who is made known; the people who surround Jesus also learn something about themselves. The wise men not only open their treasure chests and worship him, but they avoid Herod on the way out to keep the Holy Family safe. When John baptizes Jesus he says, “the one coming after me is before me.” – ‘Here he is folks – this is the guy I was talking about.’ And time after time, Jesus chooses his disciples. It’s not an all-call – he doesn’t say “line up if you want to follow me.” No, Jesus calls them individually and by name. “Nathanael, Andrew, Peter - come and follow me.”
Now that I’ve had time to think about it, I can see that God was calling long before I left for Duke… in 7th grade my friend Lisa invited me to church and I found lifelong friends. When I was 8, I stood up at my sister’s baptism and promised to help raise her in the church. And last week, I told this snippet, about when I was 5 or 6, and I wanted to go up and take communion with everybody else, and when I was told, "You can’t come until you understand,” my displeasure was heard by pretty much everyone in the place. Somehow, I had internalized a different message – one that said, "There's plenty of room at my table. You are welcome any time”
Of course, hindsight is 20/20. Often, we don't hear God's voice. Maybe, like Samuel, we are expecting someone else, and we run around battling our own confusion. Or maybe we don't hear it because there are too many other voices around us, or because things we think are more important distract us – like power and prestige and plans long in the making. And still, even with all the missed opportunities – God calls us, as individuals and as the church. So, the question that I want us to ask is this -- How do we learn to listen for God's voice so that we can hear and act when God calls?
There are two things at play here: the method and the message.
Hauerwas and Will Willimon tell us that "Being precedes doing." This means that to do the kinds of things that God would have us to do, we must learn to be the kind of people that God created us to be. And to some extent, that means training. Sunday school, Vacation bible school, confirmation, bible studies, and discipleship training do more than teach us facts. They also teach us to listen… to be present with God and present for one another.
Christian formation happens in different ways every day. When we say the blessing at a family meal, when we listen to bedtime prayers or read the Bible to our children or for ourselves -- when we participate in a worship service, singing and praying and saying the Apostle's Creed or recite the liturgy together -- All of these things open our ears a little bit more to God calling our name. Through the ministry and witness of other people, and through our willingness to step out on faith, God is preparing us to be a different kind of people, ones who are shaped by God's word and by the life, death, and resurrection of his only son.
But understanding the method is not enough. We also must understand the message. If you read the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7, or the Sermon on the Plain in Luke 6, you hear a message that is counter to the one of power that the Jews of that day were looking for. Jesus told parables that turned conventional wisdom on its head so that we might understand God in a new way. One of the reasons that Jesus got into so much trouble was that he hung out with the wrong people. His ministry was about bringing people closer to God, not caring about what that mean for him. His was a message and a ministry of love, mercy, and justice, and fulfilled many Old Testament prophecies about who the coming Messiah would be. And he called the disciples and others to come and follow him.
I don’t know about you, but for me, the call of Jesus touches all my tender places. Sometimes I have hesitated – even said no. But many times, I have stepped out on faith, trusting in the one who promises me abundant life. I follow in the knowledge that the joy I have in serving is always greater than the comfort I have in staying in my safe place and keeping the status quo. Has called me to some scary places? Yes, he has. But that call eventually brought me to this place, with all of you, and that is a very good thing.
Our call to ministry is open-ended and open-minded. Recognizing that we are called to act is a good first step. But Jesus’ call to Nathanael reminds us that answering the call is just the beginning. We know from hearing the stories of the bible and throughout history that God and Jesus will take us places that are outside our comfort zones… places we never intended to go.
Sometimes God will call and we will refuse to answer… many times we will hear and go, even if we’re afraid. The good news is this: eventually, people of faith will take the road that Jesus calls us to follow – the road to love and mercy and justice – and that journey will bring joy and satisfaction, even if it is a hard road to follow. And we do not go alone!
What does that mean for our journeys? How do we respond, once we have heard the call and are willing to go Jesus’ way?
Let
us end hearing the words of St Theresa of Avila:
"Christ has no body now, but yours. No hands, no feet on earth, but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ looks compassion into the world. Yours are the feet with which Christ walks to do good. Yours are the hands with which Christ blesses the world."
Hear the call… Follow him. Amen
Holy God, you speak to us in many ways, through rushing wind or still small voice, in Scripture’s Word or through your Grace, and we in turn find many ways, to hear the world’s insistent voice, break through the silence and take your place. Forgive our sin. Help us hear your voice above the clamour of this world, recognize the difference, and follow only you. Amen
(Faith and Worship – Epiphany prayers faithandworship.com)
Connie Schultz – Christian Hate is No Faith at All, January 14, 2021 [https://www.creators.com/read/connie-schultz/01/21/christian-hate-is-no-faith-at-all]
STEPHANIE
RUSSELL-KRAFT, “RUSSELL MOORE TELLS SOUTHERN BAPTISTS TRUMP SHOULD BE REMOVED”
Sojourners Magazine January 11, 2021 https://sojo.net/articles/russell-moore-tells-southern-baptists-trump-should-be-removed
Please read this editorial from the Washington Post by Phillip Kennicott from January 12,, 2018…. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/what-did-the-men-with-donald-trump-do-when-he-spoke-of-shithole-countries/2018/01/12/358a7e26-f7b5-11e7-beb6-c8d48830c54d_story.html?nid&utm_term=.eef7c44e12d9
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