A Calling God
1
Samuel 3:1-10 and John 1:43-51
by Jim Westmoreland
What is your purpose in life? The world may pursue pleasure, power and wealth. We have many names for what we pursue, but the name most commonly used is "happiness." Happiness may be a by-product of something, but I don't see it as a worthy goal. Our neighborhoods and workplaces are full of people who are depressed and cynical who think they are pursuing happiness.
Several years ago there was a song by Peggy Lee, called "Is That All There Is?" Written by Stoller and Lieber, it is actually taken from a story called ``Disillusionment'' by Thomas Mann (written when he was twenty). Colin Wilson describes the story in his book:
"The narrator is sitting in St Mark's Square in Venice when he falls into a conversation with a fellow countryman. The man asks, "Do you know what disillusionment is? Not a miscarriage in small unimportant matters, but the great and general disappointment which everything, all of life, has in store?" He tells how, as a small boy, the house caught fire; yet as they watched it burn down he was thinking, "So this is a house on fire? Is that all?" And ever since then, life has been a series of disappointments; all the great experiences have left him with the feeling: "Is that all?" Only when he saw the sea for the first time, he says, did he feel a sudden tremendous craving for freedom, for a sea without a horizon... And one day, death will come, and he expects it to be the last great disappointment. "Is this all?"(1)
The song version concludes with the haunting words, "Is that all there is? If that's all there is, my friend, Then let's keep dancing, If that's - all ... there ... is."
As Christians our lives should be a clear answer to the depressing question, "Is that all there is?" When people look at us, they should see purpose and substance in things that are not superficial and passing. Our gospel reading in John takes place just after Jesus' baptism. He has begun to call His disciples. John tells about Andrew coming to Jesus and going to get his brother Simon. He does not tells us about any other disciples, except for Phillip who found Nathanael and invited him to "come and see!" Surprisingly, no lists of disciples are included in the Gospel of John like we find in the Matthew, Mark and Luke, which are called the synoptic gospels, but curiously, the call of Andrew, Simon, Phillip and Nathanael are included.
Sometimes, even those of us in the church struggle to find purpose and direction in our lives because we fail to hear the call of God, despite all of our talk about how we are all called to be disciples, followers of Jesus, and that every member of this congregation is a minister for others.
Why is it that we do not believe that God is speaking to us personally? Why do we not believe that He is trying to guide us in a particular way? Why do we not believe that God is a Calling God, when it comes to us?
I think that some of the answer is that we fail to hear the call of God. We fail to notice how God is summoning us. It is not because the call is not issued. It may be that we are either ignorant about how God call us, or we allow ourselves to sidestep the call and grow used to ignoring the word when it comes.(2)
Let us think about the boy Samuel from our Old Testament reading. Samuel was a special gift from God to Hannah, his mother, who had not been able to bear children to Elkanah, her husband. He was dedicated to the Lord by Hannah at his birth and sent, when still very young, to live with the priest, Eli, at Shiloh.
The scripture says that Samuel grew up in the presence of God, with Eli, witnessing the many sacrifices at Shiloh, but he didn't recognize God's voice when he spoke to him. Three times, the Lord called to Samuel while he lay in bed, and three times he answered by saying, "Here I am" and running out to see Eli in the next room. Finally, Eli realized that it must be God speaking to Samuel, and he instructed him say, "Speak Lord, for your servant is listening." That is how Samuel finally heard what it was that God wanted to say him. That is Samuel received a prophecy of what would happen to Eli's rebellious family. That is how Samuel learned that he was to speak the word of God to others.
How much are we like Samuel? Do we think the voices we hear in the night come from another room and don't apply to us? Do we think that our dreams are simply the result of eating before bedtime? Do we think that the inner nudges we feel come only from our intuition, or from the fact that our unconscious mind is able to play tricks on us?
Our God is a calling God. He came calling for Adam and Even in the Garden. He seeks us, calls for us, reaches out to us. God speaks to us in many ways and forms. All most all of them are gentle, subtle and can be mistaken for something else.
Sometimes, we speak to God and pray to him without ever really considering how it is that God might answer us. It is like we pick up a telephone to speak into it, and instead of holding it like this (with the ear piece next to our ear and the mouthpiece in front of our mouth), they hold it like this (with the mouthpiece in front of our mouth, but with the ear piece away from our ear). It is like our job is to talk to Him, but not to listen. How will He ever lead us? How will He call to us to follow Him?(3)
In one of Bill Keane's "Family Circus" cartoons, the yard is filled with children playing as only children can. They are yelling and screaming, blowing horns, and crying. The dog is barking, a jet flies overhead, and two boys are beating on a drum. Inside the house, the mother of one of the children says to her husband, "Listen. That's PJ crying!"
Mother's ears were conditioned to hear the sound of her child's voice, even above the din. Love and devotion have a way of sharpening our senses. I think that is true for our spiritual lives as well. Our God is a calling God, and I don't think His voice has gone quiet.
I believe that God is still calling us. He is calling us not just to follow him, but he is calling us to do and say particular things at particular times. He is calling us to walk a particular path with him. He has a plan for us. He seeks to guide us. And His call is personal.
God calls in our dreams. He calls in the voice of those people who are trying to help us find our way. He calls through our spouses and our work associates. He calls when we pause to read his word, or to meditate. He calls when we are trying to decide what to do next. He calls when we gaze upon the heavens. He even calls out to us when we pray.(4)
I believe that He still calls people into full-time Christian vocations. When that awareness begins to come in our hearts, it is not something to deny or to ignore. We should test it, talk about it. Listening to the gentle leading of the spirit of god is something that always comes down to response. What will we do? Obedience usually happens in many small steps; we don't have to be afraid of small steps. That's where we get our confidence to take the big steps when it is time.
Jesus calls us to follow Him. He empowers us and equips us to go and do what He calls us to do. We serve a Calling God. Sometimes, we make our lives hard because we try to do everything on our own.
The story is told about a missionary in Kenya who was given a car a few years ago, to help him in his missionary rounds, going from village to village to preach, teach the Bible, etc. After he had the car a few months, it refused to start. He looked under the hood, but not knowing anything about engines, he presumed the battery was worn out.
He found, however, that he could get the car started by getting some boys from a local school to push it 50 feet or so, or he could park it headed down hill, and roll it off, engaging the clutch. He endured two years of this. Then he needed to take his family back to the United States.
Before he left Africa, his replacement arrived. The old missionary showed his replacement his old car, and described the ways to push it or roll it off to get it started. The new missionary looked under the hood for a moment, then said, "Dr., I think that the battery cable has come loose from the starter." The new missionary reconnected the loose cable, got in the driver's seat, turned the key, pressed the starter, and the engine roared to life!(5)
Our God is a Calling God! He calls us to be His people, to do His work in the world. He calls us to help feed the hungry, visit the sick and in prison. He calls us to assist, defend and improve the lives of those who are poor. He calls us to share our story with others. If we are not hearing His call, we need to check our "cable" connections. Our God is a calling God, and He is not calling our name to check roll, He is calling us to service! Amen.
Century Christian Church, January 15, 2006 - Sermon by Jim Westmoreland
www.centurychristian.org
1. Lee Lady's website, http://www2.hawaii.edu/~lady/snapshots/peggy-lee.html, as of 1-14-06.
2. Rev. Richard J. Fairchild, "God's Call."
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. King Duncan, www.Sermons.com