YOU Are CALLED by GOD
And invited to CALL on GOD
Back in the day when cell phones were a relatively new thing, someone’s phone would inevitably ring during our Synod conference, and as the embarrassed pastor would quickly try to silence it, then Bishop Mark Hanson would always say: “That had better be God!”
I haven’t heard any stories yet of God calling on a cell phone, but in our lessons today, we see three different ways that God calls people into God’s mission for the world.
Isaiah receives a vision of God sitting on a throne with seraphs – these are not sweet little cherubic angels gathered on soft fluffy clouds but rather fiery flying serpents. They are singing a song of praise to God, “Holy, Holy, Holy”, but Isaiah is not comforted. He is terrified. He says, “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 the King, the Lord of hosts!” He thought he was going to die. No one had ever seen God before and lived. He certainly did not feel worthy – he was a man of unclean lips.
Peter, in our Gospel lesson, was at work, cleaning his nets after a disappointing night of fishing. They caught nothing. This was his livelihood. But he had no fish to sell; no fish even for his family to eat. But as he was working, a rabbi came and sat in his boat and started to teach the crowd. I imagine that Peter stopped cleaning his nets and paid attention to the rabbi who was using his boat as a pulpit, or maybe he listened while he worked. In either case, when Jesus was done speaking, he instructed Peter to push out into the deep water and throw down your nets for a catch.
Peter was the professional fisherman. He knew how to fish. And he knew that he and his father and his father’s father had always fished at night when the fish came up to feed. During the hot summer day, the fish swam in the cool waters down deep. And yet… even though he was probably exhausted and ready for a little shut-eye… Peter said, “If you say so, I will let down the nets.”
This act of faith – or maybe just this openness to Jesus’ word – led to a surprising miracle. Peter went to the deep waters and put out the nets – and immediately, their nets were so full, they were beginning to break. Peter and his partner – probably Andrew - signaled the other boat to come and help. Both boats had so many fish the boats began to sink. But, like Isaiah, Peter’s first response was not awe and excitement at this amazing catch. It was fear. “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”
Paul also felt unworthy to be called a disciple of Christ. When writing to the church at Corinth, Paul recounts all of the others to whom Jesus had appeared and then he writes, “Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.” Paul writes of that he is unfit to be an apostle because of his prior persecution of the church
And yet, God called Paul, the persecutor of his people, four failed fishermen, and Isaiah, a reluctant prophet, all of whom felt unworthy, as God’s messengers to the world. If you haven’t noticed, God has a habit of choosing surprising people, often the most ordinary people, to proclaim God’s message and do God’s work.
But God doesn’t force any of them to do God’s work. The voice of the Lord asks Isaiah, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” Isaiah says yes to God’s call: “Here am I; send me!”
Likewise, when Jesus invites them to follow, Peter and his brother Andrew and James and John drop their nets – which were full of the best catch ever! That night, they had caught no fish. Suddenly, they had more fish than they had ever seen before. And they left it all on the shore – the fish, their father, their families – and they followed Jesus. For they had heard the voice of God.
Jesus is still calling. Probably not on your cell phone – although I wouldn’t put it past him. Like Paul, we have not walked with Jesus on the shore of Galilee, as Peter and the other disciples did, trying to figure out what Jesus meant when he proclaimed that the Kingdom of God was at hand. Like Paul, we have received the Good News from other people. We are a part of a long line of people of faith – Sunday School teachers, parents, grandparents, pastors and camp counselors and friends and neighbors and family who have passed on the message of Jesus, the stories of his life, death, resurrection and ascension and of God’s continuing work in the world. God continues to call people, ordinary and extraordinary people – like you – to share the message of Jesus and to do God’s work in bringing, hope, faith and love to everyone in God’s world.
God is calling you and me into the world, into our community, to love the neighbor, feed the hungry, care for the poor and the vulnerable. For, as Jesus says, when we do this, we are caring for Jesus.
We are called to be engaged in the world. But I also know that it has been difficult to keep up with all of the changes and proposed changes and the consequences of those changes in our country and in the world over the last few weeks. It causes me, anyway, a great deal of anxiety when our partner Lutheran organizations are being attacked by an official without cause. We need to respond to set the record straight.
However, when the news of the world is overwhelming, confusing and, or challenging, which it often is, I invite you to stop listening to the news for a bit. Take a break and listen to the words of Jesus’ prayerbook, the Psalms.
For not only does God call you and me into the world to share God’s message of love, faith, hope and care for the vulnerable, but God also welcomes you and me to call on God and God’s Holy Spirit.
As we read in our Psalm for today, Psalm 138, “When I called, you answered me.” We do not always get our answers as quickly as we would like. God is on my speed dial these days, but God’s response doesn’t usually come in a tweet. Instead, God invites us to slow down, remember who we are and whose we are. You are a child of God and God has called you by name.
Martin Luther found that in the midst of the chaos in his time – when his life was endangered and he was hidden in a cold drafty castle –he turned to prayer and to the Psalms. Luther once said that at times of trial, he needed twice the amount of time with God. It’s not a bad habit.
For when we read scripture and hear the promises of God, and the love that God has for us, we can join the Psalmist in proclaiming and praying to God, “You will make good your purpose for me; O Lord, your steadfast love endures forever; do not abandon the works of your hands.”
Brothers and sisters, friends in Christ, have confidence in the word of God for you and listen for God’s call. In Jesus’ name, Amen.