THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF CANTON
Dr. John Tamilio III, Pastor
Sunday, January 14, 2018 ~ Epiphany II
Sermon: “Persistent Calling”
Scripture Lessons: 1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20) and John 1:43-51
© 2018, Dr. Tamilio
Today’s Hebrew Bible reading and Gospel lesson are both about God’s call. In the first story, we hear about the call of Samuel. In the second we see Jesus calling his first disciples to follow him. Part of the theme here is persistence. God does not give up. God keeps calling, waiting for us to respond.
I have the perfect illustration for this. It’s a bit off color, but no different from some of the ads you’ve seen on television. I am not on a Do Not Call list, so I get all kinds of telemarketers calling me. They are relentless. Some keep calling even though I have told them that I am not interested in what they are selling. One telemarketer keeps insisting that I need to buy an extended warranty on a car that I no longer own.
“Your manufacturer’s warranty has expired, sir,” says the man with the Indian accent who claims his name is Steven.
“I understand, Steven, but you see: I don’t own this vehicle anymore.”
“Yes, but what will you do if it breaks down?” Steven continues.
“Um, nothing. I don’t care. I don’t own it anymore.” Does he want me to buy a warranty for whoever owns the car now? He hasn’t gotten the hint, because he keeps calling me.
That’s not the off-color one, though. I keep getting calls from people trying to sell me Viagra and Cialis. They are also from India and seem to think that I need these pills. I keep telling them that I am all set, but they keep calling. I’m starting to get a complex. I wonder who’s been talking to them.
Some of the persistent calls that we get are irritating. We have no desire to receive them and we want them to stop. But there are other types of calls for which there is no “Do Not Call” list. They’ll keep coming in. It behooves us to answer those queries. I am talking, of course, about the call from God.
People often speak of “their calling” in life, usually when they have missed it. “You should have been an actor,” the girlfriend says to her expressive boyfriend. “You’ve missed your calling.” People are called into all sorts of profession: teaching, law, medicine, business, science, you name it. The ministry is one such profession, but we would be amiss if we thought of ministry as something reserved for a select few: for ordained clergy. The truth is, we are all called into the Christian ministry.
In the first volume of his series The Christian Story, Gabriel Fackre illustrates that both ordained clergy and lay people are called into the ministry. Ordained clergy are part of what Fackre calls the Ministry of Identity. They are primarily responsible for reminding the Church of who they are and whose they are. By faithfully proclaiming the Word through preaching, and responsibly administering the sacraments of baptism and Communion, clergy ensure that the identity of the Church remains in the fore. This does not make clergy any better than anyone else. As Fackre writes, “Ministry is stewardship, not overlordship, of a gift of the Spirit.”[1]
Fackre uses the term Ministry of Vitality to refer to the work to which the laity are called. Although Fackre talks about two specific tasks — fellowship and serving God in the service of others — the Ministry of Vitality is far more extensive than that. Think internal and external. Your internal ministry constitutes anything in regards to this congregation: serving on a committee, teaching a Church School class, helping with the Senior Suppers — anything you do between these four walls or in direct relationship to this church is an internal ministry. All of us are called into internal ministries. But all of us are called into external ministries as well. This ministry has to do with everything you do the rest of the week.
Think of what you do for a living or the people you come in contact with through all of your daily activities. That is a ministry! We usually do not think of our occupations as ministries, and few of us think of going to the gym or a sewing group as a ministry, but all of this is. God has blessed you with specific skills, specific talents. Those skills and talents led you into a certain profession or leisure activity, but they were also given to you so that you may glorify God through them.
Think of all the people you come into contact with throughout the course of your week. You would probably be shocked if you stopped and made a list of them. All of these people have one thing in common: they come into contact with you. This is why all of us are called into the ministry; we all move in distinct circles; we all have unique opportunities to be Christ’s ambassadors.
Now we can try to run from this calling, but it will be to no avail. Jesus is persistent. The poet Francis Thompson called him “The Hound of Heaven.” Jesus calls the least likely, like Nathaniel, who thinks that nothing good (let alone a Messiah) can come from Nazareth. Through the voice of God, the Living Word calls upon the boy Samuel, who has trouble believing his ears. But notice: once his call is confirmed by someone else (by Eli), the boy responds: “Speak,” he says, “for your servant is listening.”
Look at the pattern. It is the same in Scripture as it is today. First comes the call. Then, the recipient is often reluctant. However, God persists. We can continue to block our ears or we can embrace the divine beckoning.
Let me leave you with this thought. Serendipity abounds. I recently purchased a small prayer book: a book of one-minute prayers. It is tool for my New Year’s resolution: to be more diligent in my prayer life. One of the prayers in that text cuts to the heart of what I am saying this morning. It reads:
Lord, don’t let me hold onto my abilities as though they are mine to govern. When I can serve You by using the gifts You have given me, do not let me fight the opportunity because it involves too much time, energy, or commitment. Most of all, I pray to go beyond earthly expectations. I pray to move past the limitations set by human standards. Let me push forth in my work, my life, my faith, and serve You better.
It is a privilege to serve You and the body of Christ with my natural strengths. Let me keep this in mind as I face decisions and possibilities. May I always seek more ways to serve You, Lord.[2]
May this be your prayer as well. Amen.
[1] Gabriel Fackre. The Christian Story: A Narrative Interpretation of Basic Christian Doctrine, vol. 1, 3d ed. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1996, 174.
[2] One-Minute Prayers for Men. Eugene: Harvest House Publishers, 2010, 10.