“The Call’s for You” 27 January 2008

Pastor Shelley Cunningham Matthew 4:12-23

On Friday, my sister had a baby girl – little Reece Elizabeth. Of course, I’m super excited. I want to be a good role model for my little niece. But my sister lives in Atlanta. I’m not sure how much I can be involved in Reece’s life from 1000 miles away. And it makes me wonder: So what does being an aunt mean, anyway?

Kendra’s a senior. She’s ready to be done with high school, but has no idea what to do next. She’s not really sure she wants to go to college, but the thought of working full-time doesn’t thrill her either. And she really doesn’t know what kind of job she’d want anyway. All she knows is that she wants to move out of the house and be on her own. She wonders: Is there any way God could ever use someone like her?

Kevin and Melanie have three little boys. They agree that it’s better for the boys to be home than in daycare. But that means someone has to give up their job. Melanie’s has benefits like health insurance; Kevin’s doesn’t, so Kevin gets to be the one to stay home with the kids. Still, he misses his job. He wonders: Is he really doing what he’s supposed to do?

A couple of fishermen are sitting around one afternoon. They’re chatting about that day’s catch, cleaning up their gear. A stranger walks by and strikes up a conversation. Before it’s over, he’s invited them to ditch their things and come along with him to do a different kind of fishing. And though they might not even know why, they get up and go. And we wonder: Are they crazy?

Four different scenarios. But one common question: do any of these people feel like God is calling them in their lives?

That word, ‘calling’ is one that gets thrown around at church a lot. We talk about being ‘called’ to do this or that, or being ‘called’ in baptism. But what does that really mean? I bet if I asked you to point out to who’s called in this church, most of you would point at … the pastor.

Often when we talk about ‘callings,’ it implies a specific thing that God wants us to do. And, that specific thing usually has to do with churchy stuff, like preaching or leading Bible study or missionary work. It’s often assumed that a calling is something clear, maybe a voice from above, and that once we know what that calling is, everything in life will fall into place.

But I don’t think God works that way. For one thing, God’s voice isn’t always clear. We don’t always have dreams like Joseph or burning bushes like Moses. It can be hard to know what direction God wants us to take, or even if he’s got a plan for us at all. And I think it puts limits on God to presume there’s one, and only one, way God intends for our lives to go. That puts a lot of pressure on us to get everything right!

In his book Let Your Life Speak, Parker Palmer writes that so often we think that following the will of God is like choosing to go through a door. Our linear minds expect that getting through the door will lead to a clear path, that God will show us explicitly what God wants us to do. But does God work that way? No, Palmer says. God’s will isn’t like one door, it’s three or four – and any of them can lead us closer to God. It’s not so much our job to choose the right door as it is to figure out how God is at work in us along the way.

So, what does that have to do with calling? Everything, according to Martin Luther. Luther believed that we each have a calling – no, that we each had a number of callings. First and foremost, we’re called to be disciples of Jesus. But in the course of living as disciples, we may be called to be parents, or to cut hair; to drive a school bus, to coach Little League, to teach Sunday school, to run a small business. Our calling is to do whatever we can, however we can, to be faithful to God.

In God’s eyes, then, all of these roles are equally important. The calling to be a pastor is no more important than the calling to be a photographer. I don’t know if you believe it, but it’s true. All of these callings are ways to us to serve God by serving our neighbors. My job as pastor is an important job, a great job, a job that makes a difference in the lives of others. But is it more important than my role as a mom? Or as cookie coordinator for my daughter’s girl scout troop? As daughter, aunt, writer, friend? In each of those roles God gives me opportunities to live out my faith. Isn’t that what Jesus wants us to do?

So, do you have a calling?

Pastor and author Barbara Brown Taylor tells a story about hers. She’d been struggling to figure out what to do with her life. Part of her was thinking about some sort of church job. But she really didn’t know if it was really for her. One night, she prayed, “God, just let me know what I’m supposed to do.” The thought that came into her head was this: Do anything that pleases you – just stay close to me. That revelation was incredibly freeing, she writes. “I could pump gas in Idaho or dig latrines in Pago Pago, as far as God was concerned, as long as I remembered whose I was.”

You see, God created you just as you are – with certain gifts and quirks and skills – and God wants you to make the most of those things. So do what you want – what makes you happy, what you’re good at, what gives your life meaning and purpose. Lead a Cub Scout pack, knit mittens for the homeless, bake cookies for a neighbor, treat an old friend to lunch, sing in a barbershop quartet, enter graduate school. But when you do – and this is important – stay close to God. Do whatever it takes to keep your heart in God’s hands. God will care for you and guide you and use you wherever you are. Because staying close to God is what brings contentment, reassurance, peace. It keeps us from becoming turned in on ourselves, worrying only about making ourselves feel good. It’s what leads to the abundant life Jesus promises in John 10, life free from worry and anxiety and fear.

Please hear me: just because God calls you in all areas and stations of life doesn’t mean you’re necessarily in the right spot. If your job feels like a dead end or your life seems hollow and lacking purpose, then God just might have something bigger and better in mind. But I do believe that no matter what situation we’re in, God can find a way to use us.

Here’s the thing: when Jesus said, “Follow me,” he wasn’t talking about at a distance. He invited the disciples to walk with him, to go where he went and do what he did. Walking with Jesus, spending your days trusting that he’s leading you, is the best way to answer that call. Because God needs accountants and bakers and road construction workers. God needs stay-at-home moms and food shelf volunteers. God needs folks like you and me to share his love with the world. That’s a calling, my friends. It’s the most important thing you can do.

You have a calling. It’s to do whatever pleases you, and keeps you close to God. It’s a calling to do ministry. Follow me, Jesus said, and together we will fish for people. Follow me, and together we’ll reach out to folks whose lives are empty. Follow me, and together we’ll show children they’re important. Follow me, and together we’ll make a difference for a world in need. That’s ministry. And we’re all called to do that. Amen.

GUIDED BY THE GOSPEL: GATHERING • GROWING • GIVING