"God's Call"
A Sermon of
The Rev. Dr. David A. Killian, Rector
All Saints Parish
Brookline, Massachusetts
presented at
the Church of Our Saviour
Brookline, Massachusetts
The Second Sunday after the Epiphany
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday
January 15, 2006
Text: John 1:43-51
I
Today's scripture readings speak about God's call to us to fulfill our divine destiny. Some do not hear God's call the first time, but God mercifully calls us again. Some get discouraged in following the call, but God compassionately gives us strength to respond even in our weakest moments.
Samuel, in today's first reading, was called to be a prophet while he was still a boy. "Samuel! Samuel!" a voice called out. Samuel thought that his mentor Eli was calling him from the next room -- so Samuel ran to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But Eli said, "No," it was not he who called him. This happened again and then a third time. Eli sent him back to the Temple and told him that if he heard the call again, he should say, "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening." And a fourth time Samuel heard the call and Samuel responded as Eli had said.
The good news of this story is that God calls us more than once, even more than four times. God keeps calling us to our destiny even if we previously did not hear or even if we took steps to thwart the call of God.
Let me tell you about one of my feeble attempts to thwart the call of God. I was a young man in college and I was very active in my church and I felt that God was calling me to become a priest. I looked at several seminaries and talked to several priests. I settled on one seminary and filled out the application papers taking careful note of the deadline of July 1st for the fall semester. However, I was reluctant to leave my friends and family. So I attempted what I thought was a cleaver maneuver. I filled out the application, but then let it sit on my desk for four or five weeks after the deadline. Finally in August I mailed it in, thinking to myself, "Yes, I'm answering God's call, but I won't have to enter seminary for another year." You can imagine how horrible I felt a week later when I received a letter of acceptance to the seminary! The letter of acceptance, of course, was like God calling my name a second time. I felt that I couldn't ignore it or refuse it, so I entered the seminary, and in time was ordained a priest in the Roman Catholic religious order known as the Paulist Fathers.
Seventeen years after my ordination, I left this religious order and began living as a lay person. I joined the Episcopal Church and was very active in my parish, Grace Church in Newton. I felt again that God was calling me to ordained ministry, or rather, that God had never stopped calling me to be a priest. I met with the Bishop and submitted by application to have my ordination accepted in the Episcopal Church. In due time, I was accepted as a priest in this church.
II
God calls each of us to serve in a variety of vocations, most of which will not be in the church. Most people serve God as teachers, doctors, nurses, carpenters, plumbers, husbands, wives, homemakers, computer technicians, scientists, researchers, electricians or garbage collectors. The work we do to build up the human community serves God's divine purpose and is a vocation. Whether the tasks are menial or exalted, they can be a service of love. Living in loving relationships with family and neighbors is a vocation. Our efforts to bring love and justice to our torn world fulfill God's purpose.
Samuel heard a voice calling his name. Philip, in today's Gospel passage, hears Jesus say, "Follow me." Most of us will not hear such a direct call. Rather, we will hear a gentle whisper; we will feel an inclination pushing us toward a particular career path. We will try out a certain occupation to see if there is a good fit. After I left the Paulist Fathers I worked for the City of Boston, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and a pastoral counseling center. I was trying out other careers, but they didn't seem the right fit. After much prayer, I concluded that God wanted me to return to ordained ministry. You also will explore options, test different occupations until you find the vocation and the career that is right for you. It's like the old Shaker song, "Turn, turn, turn, until by turning you come out where you ought to be."
Even though we will not hear our named called as Samuel and Philip did, each of us has a divine destiny, a divine purpose on this earth. We are each called to be partners with God in bringing compassion, justice, and hope to the world.
III
This weekend I am especially conscious of Dr. Martin Luther King's special vocation, which he described as being a "drum major for the cause of justice." There are many highlights in Dr. King's life, such as the march on Selma, the march on Washington, and the passage of the voting rights act. But in his later life he was facing more defeats than victories. Some thought that his opposition to the war in Vietnam would jeopardize government support for programs to end poverty. He struggled to mediate between more radical figures like Stokely Carmichael and more conservative ones like Roy Wilkins. His call for a march to end poverty was not getting much response. He was hounded by the F.B.I. In the weeks and months before his death he was depressed and discouraged. Yet, he still heard God's call urging him to be a drum major for justice. In his last speech on the eve of his assassination, he put aside his own doubts and fatigue, cast off the threats against his own life, and rallied the crowd for the cause he had taken up so many years before -- a cause that would see the end of segregation in the South, secure the vote for black citizens, and goad the country as a whole, both North and South, to overcome its prejudices and its past.
"Well, I don't know what will happen now," he said. "We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountain top and I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will, and He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over, and I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight, that we as a people will get to the Promised Land. So I'm happy tonight; I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."
Amen.