Good Shepherd United Church of Christ

"Holy Presence"                                                                          Isaiah 6:1-8
February 7, 2010                                                                         Luke 5:1-11
Metairie

Today we hear two call stories, one from Isaiah, Jesus' favorite prophet, and one from the Gospel of Luke, where Jesus calls some fishermen to take up a ministry with him.  Both these calls are to take up a new job, to become an ambassador, God's appointed representative.  Each call is a reminder to consider our own call, individual and collective.

We are all called to be ministers of one sort or another:  you are claimed as a minister at your baptism, at your confirmation, when you join a church.  And your call is empowered when you eat the bread and drink the cup.  Besides- it says so right in our bulletin every week where the staff of Good Shepherd is printed.  It says- Ministers: members of the church.

The operating assumptions is that we are each, individually, and all, collectively, disciples of Jesus, imitators of the Master.  Look at our cross- the horizontal arm symbolizes our ministry together, held in the arms of Christ.  The vertical arm symbolizes our individual relationship, called to a particular ministry, each one of us.

Last week our 'tweens and teens class studied the Loaves and Fishes story in the Gospel of John and our students noticed that the miracle started with one youngster sharing his lunch of fish and bread.  Our students noticed that NO ONE is too young to have a ministry. Here, in a communion story of sharing and multiplication, the boy begins it all, inspired by the words of Jesus to kick off a miracle.

A call to ministry frequently follows a pattern:
-  a mysterious awesome spectacle announces that "surely the presence of God is in this place."
-  the response of the one called is to feel inadequate and confess unworthiness.
-  the voice of God declares that the person is made fit for ministry by the action of God.

Biblical stories follow this pattern faithfully.  Peter feels unworthy, as did Isaiah, who calls himself “a man of unclean lips".  Moses says he is not worthy because he has a speech impediment, maybe a stutter or a pronounced lisp.  In the New Testament, when Zechariah is told that he and his wife in their old age will make a baby, who will be John the Baptist, Zechariah says they are too old for that monkey business.

But God will do as God says.  The constant pattern of a call reveals that God's will will be done, despite the hesitations or inadequacies of those who are called.  And God most often calls those who are humble, who offer God a contrite heart.

There are also unique variations to the general form of a call.  In Isaiah's case, he is called as an individual; in Simon Peter's case, he is called as part of a group.  In Karen Nauck ’s case this week, it began with an individual call.  God spoke to her heart about babies in Haiti .  Karen is one busy woman, as we know, and has her hands full, but God kept nagging her, poking her heart.

Karen felt inadequate- how could one person respond to the enormity of the catastrophe in Haiti ?  But then the follow up question-  Why shouldn't one person be a minister to the situation in Haiti ?  With God, all things are possible.

As Karen shared her strong sense of call with me, I validated her urgings and we decided to explore opportunities beyond donating money because Karen was hearing a voice calling her.  The very next day I received an e-mail invitation from Church World Service to produce Baby Kits.  This program and this agency have been doing vital international ministry for decades, as reliably as the Red Cross.

Was it co-incidence only?  Perhaps, who knows?  I get so many appeals, but this one, in its timing, seemed God-sent, a call confirmed.

I have been praying for an outreach ministry for our Youth Sunday School Class- they were all so excited about our Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets, a hands on outreach that they can relate to...something they could initiate and manage...something that touches their hearts and invites their participation in the ministries of Good Shepherd.  Maybe Baby Kits for Church World Service answered that prayer too- we shall see.

Today we join in communion- a common meal, bread and cup.  We always begin our approach to the table with confession and the words of assurance.  We come not as perfect people, but as called people, ready for God to refine us, to make us fit for ministry.  We remember Jesus' words that where 2 or 3 are gathered in his name, he will attend and equip us.  We remember that God appears in diverse places- at the seashore, on the mountain top, out in the desert....and at diverse times-  when you are working, when you are pre-occupied with the minutiae of the day, when you are day dreaming.  We remember that God calls everyone to this meal, without discrimination...the young/the elderly, the saint/the sinner, the fisherman/the priest.

We do not predict God's presence, rather we respond in confession when God appears.  Whether we are at worship, at school, or relaxing together at play, God just might make an appearance.  While we cannot calculate the timing of God's arrival, or the timing of a call to discipleship, we can affirm that God really is among us, moving through us, as individuals and a collection of folk, in powerful and life sustaining waves.  And when that happens, just as with Peter and those first disciples, we will be sent to deeper waters where fish are abundant and souls are caught up in the divine net.  Thanks be to God!

Amen.