Tag Archives: Called by God

Vocation

Ordinary Time

Ordinary Time

January 8, 2023

Scripture Reading: Matthew 3:13-17
Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness.’ Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’

I have seen movies trying to imagine what might have been going on in Jesus’s heart and mind during his childhood and the first few years of being an adult. In the Bible he leaves the scene when he leaves the temple at the age of 12. He resurfaces when his is baptized. Matthew’s version of that event seems to indicate that what might have been unknown to him was made clear through the act of baptism. suddenly the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. He received his calling.

We all have been there. As children, we wondered what we would be when we grow up. I read all seven of the Sue Barton books in my school library, from Sue Barton Student Nurse, written in 1936, to Sue Barton Staff Nurse, written in 1952. Being a nurse became my chosen profession. When I was in high school, I worked as a nurse’s aide in a nursing home, and I loved working with the patients, but I watched what the Registered Nurses did and knew immediately that was not the job for me. I enrolled in college with the intent of becoming a speech pathologist. During my first semester, I took a mandatory Sociology course that introduced me to my vocation, Social Work, which has been my life work ever since—not a clinical Social Worker but an administrator and an advocate.

I have no doubt that the world that surrounded Jesus impacted him greatly, from holding the end of a board for his carpenter father to experiencing the results of the Roman war that destroyed Sepphoris, what Josephus calls “the ornament of the Galilee.” after Herod’s death in 4 BCE. Sepphoris was located about 4 miles from Nazareth and tradition says that it was Mary’s birthplace. Think about the impact the war in Ukraine is having on that country’s preschoolers. Mary’s parents or other relatives might have been killed when that city was destroyed. If nothing else, Jesus was well-schooled in empathy when his official ministry began.

What is God calling us to do today? Our service never ends. We may transition from what we could do as young adults to what we can do as retirees, but God’s work toward building the Beloved Community never ends.

Prayer: Help us to fulfill our calling to serve you more nearly. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Send Me

Living in the Spirit

May 24, 2021

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 6:1-8
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said:
‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.’

The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said: ‘Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen King, the Lord of hosts!’

Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: ‘Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.’ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I; send me!’

Have we seen the King, the Lord of hosts? Where? Where do we see God at work in our lives or the lives of others? Or are we like Saul, a devout Pharisee of Pharisees? He never broke the law or missed a worship service or a class and paid his tithe on time in the proper amount.  He was diligently trying to rid the world of those pesky Christ-followers claiming Jesus was the Messiah, claiming he died to save all of God’s children. Saul even stood at the side, and approvingly watched Stephen, a Christ-follower, being stoned to death. Saul soon left Jerusalem to continue his work protecting his tradition among the people of Damascus when he had a direct encounter with Jesus Christ and was forever changed.

Few have such a direct encounter with the Lord, but we all have a call from God to serve. The above scripture describes Isaiah’s experience with the understanding that God was calling him to speak God’s truth to the people of Israel. Isaiah, at first, could not see in himself the skills it would take to answer that call as he was a man of unclean lips being sent to a people of unclean lips. God cleansed him of his fear and self-doubt, enabling Isaiah to answer Hear am I; send me!

We each were created with skills that are necessary to establish God’s Kingdom in this world. We need to pray for guidance in finding our niche and work with all our energy and courage to fulfill the task set before us. Yes, we do need to worship and study and support the church’s ministry, but that is just the foundation. Our calling is to tell and show the whole world about God’s love as we love our neighbors across the lands until God’s Kingdom is realized.

Prayer: Lord, open our minds and hearts to seek our calling and grant us the courage to fulfill it. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Abram Called by God

Lent

February 25, 2021

Scripture Reading: Romans 4:13-25

For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.

For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, as it is written, ‘I have made you the father of many nations’)—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.—Romans 4:13-17

Laws are shorthanded ways to avoid chaos, often defined by consensus in the informal world, more formally developed, and enforced by governments of some type. We need laws to function well as our world becomes more complex. Yesterday my across-the-street neighbor called out to me that she was sorry; she had to park her car across the street behind my driveway. She said she would move it as soon as the vehicle parked in front of her house moved. The street between our homes was built for Model T’s. I told her I was not planning to leave for the rest of the day. Stoplights control the traffic flow at the intersections on the major street behind my house. If we fail to obey the lights, we risk getting a ticket.

Paul was raised under the laws of Moses. Those included The Commandments he received on Mt. Sinai and some 600+ laws that are the equivalent of our civil laws and even etiquette. Paul’s encounter with Jesus Christ made him see Abraham’s experience with God’s covenant differently. Abram had left his home by faith following the calling of the one God he had encountered. The relationship of faith preceded the development of laws.

Paul is saying that the God of Abraham wishes to be in a relationship with all the nations’ people. God’s Son, Jesus Christ, came to rekindle that faith relationship. He called us into discipleship with him to create God’s Kingdom here on Earth. Yes, laws can help establish order, but our relationships of faith, hope, and love with God and each other drive who we are and how we answer God’s call to create a world ruled by love.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for the gift of your love that gives sustains us through grace. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

God Expected Justice

Living in the Spirit

Living in the Spirit

September 29, 2020

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 5:1-7
Let me sing for my beloved
   my love-song concerning his vineyard:
My beloved had a vineyard
   on a very fertile hill.
He dug it and cleared it of stones,
   and planted it with choice vines;
he built a watch-tower in the midst of it,
   and hewed out a wine vat in it;
he expected it to yield grapes,
   but it yielded wild grapes.

 And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem
   and people of Judah,
judge between me
   and my vineyard.

 What more was there to do for my vineyard
   that I have not done in it?
When I expected it to yield grapes,
   why did it yield wild grapes?

 And now I will tell you
   what I will do to my vineyard.
I will remove its hedge,
   and it shall be devoured;
I will break down its wall,
   and it shall be trampled down.
 I will make it a waste;
   it shall not be pruned or hoed,
   and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns;
I will also command the clouds
   that they rain no rain upon it.

 For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts
   is the house of Israel,
and the people of Judah
   are his pleasant planting;
he expected justice,
   but saw bloodshed;
righteousness,
   but heard a cry!

Isaiah does not mince words, but he writes beautifully, and what he is sharing is very appropriate for us today. It was God who gave us life and all that is needed to sustain it. We live in the abundance of God’s love with one another. God provided for us with the expectation of justice, and we cannot seem to accept that one straightforward request. We choose to worship the idols that tempt us away from justice and, thus, away from God. Peoples who turn from God and create lesser gods of greed and power and self-righteousness find empty dispair.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for our failure to meet your expectation of justice. Make us doer of justice, opening our eyes and hearts to the oppression in our world today. Help us invest ourselves in overcoming injustice. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Hearing and Answering our Calls

Jesus’ Ministry
February 5, 2019

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 6:1-8

Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: ‘Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.’ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I; send me!’ –Isaiah 6:6-8

In grade school I remember the teacher announcing some fun task and asking for volunteers and most of the students immediately started raising and waving their hands high so they would be picked. I do not get that same sense as I read Isaiah’s description of his communion with God reported above. He is a community of one being asked to volunteer for what seems an impossible task. It reminds me more of the time I was called by the state office of the agency for which I worked and was asked if I would be willing to transfer to another city to take a very challenging job. I said I would need a little time to think about it and the caller said, “We need to know in an hour.” I called back within the hour saying I would take the job and was thanked and told my ID badge for the new job was at the state office. I could pick it up the next morning on my way to the new assignment. My choice in the matter was apparently a foregone conclusion. It was nice to be asked. I think Isaiah knew he had been preparing for his calling for most of his life. In theory he could have said no but in his heart of hearts, in his commitment to a loving God wanting the best for God’s wayward children, Isaiah’s only answer could be, ‘Here am I; send me!’.

As we all plunge deeply in the well of God’s love, we too are being asked to do small and large things that are needed to fulfill God’s vision of a kingdom where everyone has enough and that all can reach their full potential. Our call may be as simple as voting responsibly or recycling our trash or donating cans of food for the hungry. A few are called to be an Isaiah speaking justice for those who cannot speak for themselves. Others are called to support these justice seekers. How do we respond today?

Prayer: Lord, speak clearly to our hearts today so that we can get about the business of loving like you. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Tenacity

Ordinary Time
February 5, 2018

Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 2:1-12

Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.’ But Elisha said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So they went down to Bethel. The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, ‘Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?’ And he said, ‘Yes, I know; keep silent.’ –2 Kings:1-3

One of the characteristics often found among the people of God is tenacity. In the scripture above, I only quoted one segment of Elisha’s persistent pursuit of his mentor Elijah. After Bethel Elisha follows Elijah to Jerico, and after Jerico to the Jordan. Tenacious love is the bedrock of God’s people. Having the faith that love is the ultimate factor in living the abundant life God has planned for all his children. Our greatest challenge is living that love no matter what. We are called to love our way through greed, lust for power, and bigotry among many other forces of evil that threaten us. We are called to advocate for all to survive and thrive while those same forces are storming down on them. Loving and wanting the best for perpetrators of evil are perhaps the hardest parts of our work.

Jesus loved his enemies. I envision him looking down on Jerusalem saying:

‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! (Matthew 23:37)

While driving, I listened on the radio recently to interviews with retail workers saying they might work ten hours a week or 30. They never knew from week to week. They never worked a 40 hour week and in the down weeks paid part of their rent using a credit card on which they routinely were only able to make the minimum payment. I then heard someone interviewed saying that our economy was great because the stock market was higher than it had ever been. What a disconnect, our world is out of synch. God’s love is the only thread that can weave us together to become one in a world that affords all God’s abundant life. We are the conduits of God’s love in the world today.

Prayer: Lord, strengthen us to be tenacious in sharing your love throughout all aspects of our lives. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Doubt

Living in the Spirit
June 9, 2017

Scripture Reading: Matthew 28:16-20
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’

Doubt is a healthy response. Overplayed doubt can immobilize and is not healthy. Being without doubt is dangerous. Think about it. Doubt makes us question what seems unlikely or improbable particularly if the situation is outside our normal concepts of reality. Doubt makes us consider all the possibilities before we allow a new concept to enter our comfort zones. The Greek word, distazo*, translated  in our scripture as doubt means going two ways, shifting between positions turning something over and over again in our minds until we gain a sense of peace with our understanding of whatever made us question in the first place.

Coming to peace with any reality is the first step to courage. Courage is what enabled common people from the first century to transcend self-expectations becoming more than they ever expected to be. In so doing they took the teaching of Jesus from a tiny country in the middle east and changed the whole world. We are called to continue that mission. Failure is not an option if we want to live in a world ruled by love, not eaten up with greed and lust for power.

Prayer: Lord, as you wrestled with Jacob thousands of years ago helping him realize who you were, wrestle with us today until we come to peace with who you are and what you need us to do. Empower us to continue living your love and passing it to others you place in our paths. Amen.

*http://biblehub.com/greek/1365.htm

All scriptures are quoted from the new Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Sent

Pentecost
June 4, 2017

Scripture Reading: John 20:19-23

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’

As the Father has sent me, so I send you. For what reason was Jesus sent? Marshaling all humans to work toward and achieve a world ruled by love seems to be the primary thrust of Jesus ministry. It started at creation when God the parent imprinted the ability to love in each of us. God’s abiding love shone forth in the gift of Jesus as a role model, a teacher, and ultimately as a Savior. Without question, we each have a major role to play. Love is impotent when it lies dormant; it multiplies exponentially with the smallest expression. What greater example of the phenomenon of love is there than an itinerate preacher, the questionable son of a carpenter who lived perhaps 33 years left the seeds 2,000 years ago that are still producing love today.

Is it human nature to expect a return on any investment we make? Can we love without ever seeing any return? God practices love without any promise of return. If God through Jesus Christ loves without strings, does he expect the same behavior from us? God’s love is based on the sure and certain knowledge that love always grows more love even when God saw his only son cruelly crucified on a cross.

O Love, that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in Thee;
I give Thee back the life I owe,
That in Thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be. 

O Light, that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to Thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in Thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be*.

Prayer: Let your love flow through me to others. Amen.

*Verses one and two from hymn O, Love that Wilt Not let Me go by George Matheson  see at https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/432

All scriptures are quoted from the new Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.