The Call

Exodus 3:1-6

1 Samuel 3:1-10

Isaiah 6:1-8

Jeremiah 1:4-10

I read you four call stories from the Bible: Moses, Samuel, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. They are amazing stories. Moses already had an awesome start to life, being saved from death by his mother putting him in a basket in the reeds in the Nile, and he was saved by the Pharaoh’s daughter, of all people. But here he is, years later, toiling away in Midian, tending sheep, when God speaks to him through a burning bush.

Then there is Samuel, whose mother prayed fervently for a child, and when her child was born, she brought him into the sanctuary of the Lord to be raised there. Though the word of the Lord was rare in those times and people just weren’t having visions, God spoke to the boy Samuel in an audible voice.

Isaiah had an awesome vision in which God spoke to him, asking, “Whom shall I send?” and Isaiah answered, “Here I am, send me.”

And as for Jeremiah, we simply read that “the word of the Lord came to [him].” I’m not exactly sure what this means – if God spoke in an audible voice or if it was in a dream or an oracle or a vision or what, but what I do know is that God’s word came to him. I love this part: God knew Jeremiah before he was born and had already appointed him to be a prophet. Jeremiah started to protest, like Moses did before him, but of course God already knew that and had a response.

And so God touched Jeremiah’s mouth and put his words in Jeremiah. Such amazing call stories of unlikely people. Moses was born a Hebrew slave and additionally he had a stuttering problem. Samuel wasn’t even supposed to be born, as his mother was barren. Isaiah, well, he might have been who got picked. And Jeremiah was just a boy. But God called them each, along with countless others, to speak his word. In missionary training, every day before lunch, we shared what we called “God moments.” We were limited to five minutes and we were supposed to tell of a time when we encountered God in a real way. It evolved into sharing call stories, how God called us into ministry and mission (and the five minute limit went out the window). But the cool thing about it was that each of us had a unique story of how God had called us to ministry and mission, whether it was a single anecdote or the whole story.

But one issue I have is that often we get caught in a trap. We get caught in a trap that says that only clergy or missionaries should tell their call stories. Actually, we go even deeper in the trap, to suggest that lay people might not even have call stories. But the Gospels are full of Jesus saying outrageous things like, “Come, follow me.”

Who does Jesus call to follow him? In Mark 10:14, he says, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”  Jesus is calling children. Now, we think of children as treasures from God, valuable and beloved and important, but in Roman times, children had no status whatsoever. In fact, a child was not considered a human until his father decided he wanted to adopt him into the family – if not, the child was left out and if someone else came and took that child and raised him or her, that was fine, but otherwise the baby would die of exposure. Incidentally, it was the Church who stood up against this behavior and it was Christians who adopted many of these babies, saving them from death. Because we recognize that Jesus is calling children, blessing them. There are many reasons why United Methodists baptize babies, and one reason is because Jesus personally calls children to himself, saying, “it’s not because of who you are or what you have done; it’s because of who I am and what I have done.”

We have a lot to learn from children. In fact, Jesus goes on to say, “I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them. (Mark 10:15-16)

(story of Chris at Church of the Village)

Right after the story in Mark where Jesus called the children to him, Jesus called a rich man to follow him – we often refer to him as the “rich young ruler.” The man asked Jesus what he had to do to inherit eternal life, and after he told Jesus that he had kept the commandments since he was a child, Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (Mark 10:21)

I believe Jesus calls all kinds of people to follow him. Helpless children, rich adults, and every kind of person in between.

It’s not about clergy or laity, and I would go so far as to say that I believe we have constructed a false dichotomy between the two. We sometimes go so far as to suggest (consciously or unconsciously) that only clergy can do certain things –our United Methodist rules say that only clergy can perform baptisms and bless the Communion elements, and since I’ve sworn to uphold United Methodist doctrine, I adhere to this, but there are other things that were never just the clergy’s job in the first place. Evangelism, for one. It makes me sad when someone tells me that they wish I would go talk to their friend who I have never met, because they think that I have some kind of magic power that can change their heart and mind on a first conversation. Usually what happens is this: “Oh, you’re a pastor? I used to go to church, but I don’t anymore because…” or “Oh, you’re a pastor? Here are the problems with the modern church.” All they see me as is a professional Christian.

Meanwhile, you’re the one who has an authentic relationship with them, who has been with them for years. One of the saddest things I ever heard was someone suggesting that I should be in the crowd at their grandchild’s sports games so I could reach their friends, the other grandparents and parents for Christ. Meanwhile, the person who made the suggestion is at all the games but never speaks up about any type of relationship with Jesus.

Oh, and the truth is, I like to go to sports games, and I always find myself chatting with the other fans and building relationships and friendships. Even with the other team’s fans.

In 2 Peter 2:9-10, the Bible has some strong words for the laity. Listen to how Peter describes the “normal person in the pew.”

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

A chosen people. Chosen on purpose. Remember back to the school yard, when kids were being picked for teams? You are Christ’s first pick. Not an afterthought. Not a package deal, like, “I get Tommy, and you can have the last two.” No, you are the first pick, God’s special possession.

And you are a royal priesthood. What does this mean? A priest is the one that mediates between God and human. The biggest problem I have with the Roman Catholic Church is the practical role of priests. 2 Peter tells us that every believer is a priest, and because we are priests, we all have the role to mediating between God and humanity. Our role, our job, our calling is to bring God to people. But how we go about it is going to look different for each of us. The one thing that is non-negotiable, however, is that we do it.

We are each called. Whether your call came early or late, whether through God’s audible voice or a dream or a friend or a prayer time. We are called. So what do we do with our call? I don’t believe most calls are into full time vocational ministry. Most are calls to full time lifestyle ministry. Being a Christian at school. At work. In the home. Boldly telling others about Jesus. Sharing your faith wherever you are. Strengthening the believers.