The Second Sunday after Epiphany

Called By God

Readings: 1 Samuel 3:1-10; Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18; 1 Corinthians 6:12-20; John 1:43-51 

An epiphany is a manifestation, a showing, a revelation.  During the season of Epiphany we consider how God is revealed to the world.   Last Sunday, the readings centred on the manifestation of Jesus to the Gentiles.  We reflected on what it means that Christ is the light of the world.  What does it mean in a truly practical sense?  What difference does it make in our lives? 

This week the readings centre on how God calls and how people respond.  We are used to calls, especially we Canadians.  We are never far away from a phone.  I have four phones in the rectory.  As if that is not enough I have a cell phone.  I am literally on call twenty-four hours a day.  But to be called by God is another matter.  What does it mean?  How does it happen? 

For Samuel it happened when he was still a young child.  He was three years old when his mother took him to live in the temple at Shiloh where he was to serve.  Eli, the priest in the temple, was an old man.  His two sons were servers in the temple.  But their greed had given it a bad name amongst the people.  Eli had not spoken out about their bad behaviour.  This had cut him off from God’s good graces. 

There in the darkness of the night, God called Samuel.  Samuel heard the call, but he did not recognize the voice.  He thought it was Eli calling out to him.  He needed Eli, the very one who was out of favour with God, to help him respond.  He needed someone’s guidance.  He needed help to know that it was God calling him. 

Nathanael’s first response to Jesus’ call was scorn.  “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”  Philip does not argue with him.  He does not preach at him.  He knows the good that is in Jesus.  He also knows that no amount of arguing will change Nathanael’s mind.  Instead he issues an invitation.  “Come and see!”  See for yourself. 

It is an invitation to do more than just come for a visit.  It is an opportunity to gain insight into the mind and purpose of God.  It is a true miracle, an epiphany, as Nathanael opens up his heart to the grace of God, as he comes into relationship with God.  It is an epiphany that changes his life, for he is one of the disciples who witnesses the resurrection. 

Where do you see yourself in these readings?  Are you like Eli, wearied by life, lacking vision?  Have you done it all?  Are you burned out, ready to hand over the reigns to those who are younger and have the energy to carry on?  Sometimes in our enthusiasm we forget that volunteers who respond to God’s call need to be supported in ministry.  They need training.  They need encouragement.  They may need to be free to discover new ways of serving God.  They may need affirmation of God’s call. 

Perhaps you see yourself as Samuel, uncertain about whether God is calling you.  Are you waiting for affirmation about how you are meant to serve God?  Do you wonder whether you know the Lord you are serving?  Perhaps you come to church seeking for answers about where God is calling you.  You want to serve.  You want to live the life of faith.  Yet you feel as if you are not good enough, or clever enough.  Or your faith is not strong enough.  Or you do not know enough! If that is where you are in your faith journey, then keep listening to where God is calling you.  God will keep opening up the pathway before you.  Again and again God will come to you, perhaps through a friend or a sermon or a study group, giving you an opportunity to respond. 

Perhaps you are like Nathanael, hanging around the fringes, rather angry and suspicious.  Perhaps you have an inkling that there is something to this ‘religion’ thing, but it often seems hypocritical or a waste of time.  Just the same, there is some sense of longing that you cannot seem to fulfill.  You may come to church out of a sense of need in your life.  You may come out of a sense of duty.  ‘I come to church for my children, for my family.  I want my children to have an opportunity to make a choice for themselves.’  Or perhaps the driving force for you is a sense of guilt!  'It’s the right thing to do.’  Perhaps you are waiting for that invitation to come and see.   

The question is how do we, the Church, help the Eli’s, the Samuel’s, and the Nathanael’s in our midst?  How do we help ourselves respond to the call of God?  The answer begins with understanding that God knows our needs.  God keeps calling until we listen. 

There is story in Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul about an evangelist named Ken Daub, who got drained and discouraged by the lack of response to his ministry.  Clergy burnout is a reality.  He was wondering if he should leave the ministry.  He asked God for a sign.  He and his family were travelling, far from home.  They went into a restaurant to eat.  Not feeling hungry, he stayed outside.  A pay phone started ringing.  He ignored it.  It kept ringing.  He finally picked up the receiver.  It was the operator.  “I have a long distance call for Ken Daub,” came the voice.  He could not believe what he was hearing.  “I am Ken Daub,” he said, “but no one could possibly know that I am here.”  A rather shaky voice came on the other end.  The woman explained that she was at the end of her rope.  She knew of his ministry and wanted to reach him.  She did not know how.  Some numbers came to her.  She dialed them.  He counseled her.  And in that encounter he received what he needed.  As he got back into the car, renewed in spirit, he said to his wife, “You won’t believe this! God knows where I am!” 

So often affirmation comes through other people.  For Samuel, it was Eli.  He had insight even though his sight was dim.  He recognized God’s call to Samuel.  He was able to affirm it.  Our young people need the mentoring of those who are further along in their faith journey.  We need people of faith teaching in our Sunday School.  Our children and young people need to experience God’s love.  They need to learn and to grow in faith.  In this diverse community, we need to raise up leaders who will help them deal with all that they face in life, to deal with discrimination and racism, to deal with inequity, to make this a better and safer place in which to live, to bring about God’s reign. 

Above all we need to be an inviting church.  Philip invited Nathanael.  It made a difference in his life.  It transformed him. 

We take a chance when we invite.  People may not accept the invitation.  It may be for any number of reasons.  The Christian message always begins with an invitation to come and see.  It is not about preaching at them.  Like St. Francis we are called to preach with our lives.  We are called to live authentically so that the invitation that we offer has meaning.  The invitation cannot be manipulative.  We cannot coerce people into believing.  We cannot convert people.  Only the Holy Spirit can do that.  What we can do is to invite people.  We can open our lives up to them so that they see something of God’s love and saving power in us.  They will see our faith in action, in the things we say and do, in who we are, in how we live our lives. 

We worry about evangelism.  We think it is unanglican.  We think that it is difficult to do.  It is actually a simple process.  It involves telling others the good news.  It does not take a great deal of training.  It does take a willingness to share.  It is something that we at St. Francis of Assisi need to do; at least if we really believe that we have something to offer. 

This is not the easiest church to find, hidden away as it is behind the mall.  We are getting more and more hidden as the mall expands.  As well it is not easily identifiable as a church.  It is called the Church Centre.  People ask all the time, what is a Church Centre.  Every church needs a ministry of welcoming.  For this parish it is essential.  It needs to be constantly on our minds.  How welcoming are we?  How easy do we make it for people coming here for the first time to make it their spiritual home?  Are we aware of what it has taken them to come here for the first time? 

It is very easy to see ourselves as friendly and outgoing.  There is no church that sees itself as totally unfriendly.  However, rumour has it that we were once told that we were the most unfriendly church in existence.  Let us make certain that is not the case.  It is certainly not my experience of this congregation.  One of the things I have noticed is that groups of like-minded people tend to gravitate towards one another.  Watch for newcomers, or at least people you do not personally know.  Introduce yourself.  I know that is more difficult for some of us than others.  Even introverts can be evangelists.  Sit in a different seat some Sunday.  At the passing of the peace, head in a different direction than you usually do.  Invite someone to coffee hour.  You may become an Eli to a young Samuel, or a Philip to a Nathanael who is seeking.  Amen.