Preached by the Reverend Kati L. Houts at the Sunshine Cathedral on Sunday, November 19, 2006, at the 11:10 am service.
The Phoenix Affirmations: # 12
The Path of Jesus is found where all of Christ’s followers are understood to be called into ministry. God’s intention for us can be found and followed, however haltingly and imperfectly, in obedience to the guidance and insights, which come in prayer. We hold this conviction to be true of the church as well as of each of its members.
Ernest Holmes
When prayer removes distrust and doubt and enters the field of mental certainty, it becomes faith; and the universe is built on faith.
Luke 5:15-16 (CEV)
15News about Jesus kept spreading. Large crowds came to listen to him teach and to be healed of their diseases. 16But Jesus would often go to some place where he could be alone and pray.
Everyone of us has a call from God for our lives. You are called by God to do something specific. We all have a part in the Divine Plan. There is no useless person in life and you should not be drifting through life without a sense of destiny and purpose.
How do we know we are called? How do we know to what we are called? God calls everyone to a specific vocation or ministry if you will. We just need to be open to hearing what it is that God has in store for us. Farmer Brown discovered his calling when he was standing out in his field looking up to the heavens and saw some strange cloud formations. These clouds seemed to form the letters “G”, “P”, and “C”. He determined that God was calling him to “Go preach Christ. The farmer rushed to the deacons of his church and insisted that he had been called to preach. Respectful of his enthusiasm, they invited him to fill the pulpit.
That Sunday, the sermon was long, tedious, virtually incoherent. When it finally ended, the leaders sat in stunned silence. Finally, a wise elderly deacon muttered to the would-be preacher, “Seems to me the clouds were saying ‘Go plant corn.’”
Well, looks like Farmer Brown translated his calling a little differently than it was intended. What was important was that he immediately responded to God’s call without asking questions. Knowing to what we are called is an age old question. Frederick Buechner, in his book Wishful Thinking, seems to have a good answer for us. He says that a good rule of thumb for finding one’s vocation is this. “This special mission in our life is usually a) that which we need most to do, [preacher’s note: or love to do and it flows from us rather than being pulled from us like wisdom teeth]; and b) it is work that the world most needs to have done.”
In the New Testament letter to the Ephesians we hear these words; “For we are what God has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand to be our Way of life.” Ephesians 2:8-9. Eric Elnes says in his book The Phoenix Affirmations responds to this reading by saying, “whether it be the result of a sudden awakening or a gradual one, at some point we stop hitting the snooze button in life and wake up to discover that just as surely as the sun has been shining gently on our face before we awakened, so surely has a wild and untamable love surrounded us from the very beginning.”
This is the big “aha” moment in our lives and we need to be ready to do whatever is necessary to start living the life God has called us to live. We are truly alive in this moment and ready to commit ourselves to whatever God has in mind for us.
When speaking about our being “created in Christ Jesus for good works,” the author of Ephesians is talking about more than just serving on a committee at church but doing that which brings us fully alive; enriches our souls and as Buechner says, helps us to do that which we love and at the same time it is beneficial to the world. This is what God wants. We are to do and be our truest self; to be who God created us to be. That may even be working as a mechanic, janitor, nurse, computer technician, or whatever. The idea is that you are to be the best at whatever you are happiest in doing and at the same time it nurtures your soul.
As Elnes says, “One of the truly remarkable things about following an authentic sense of call is that it leads us straight to the heart of our bliss, whether what we are doing falls into traditionally religious categories or not. In this regard, God seems content to stir the deepest waters of our soul even if we have no idea it is God doing it or we don’t interpret what’s gong on in Christian terms.”
The best way for us to discern God’s calling for us and to have a plan to follow is to do what Jesus did. He went away to a private place to pray. Prayer was a natural, regular and frequent part of Jesus’ life. Again and again we read of his going away to pray, of his withdrawing from the crowds in order to pray. It is not simply that he prayed before all the major decisions of his ministry. For Jesus, prayer was not a religious routine or duty and it required no special occasion. He spent his life in the presence of and in communion with God.
How are we to know what our calling in life is if we do not pray to the one who has all the answers? Prayer builds a bridge that spans the distance from isolation to awareness of God’s presence and availability. Prayer is listening…on God’s part and ours. We quite often forget that we need to have quiet times in our prayer life where we do the listening. God gives us courage, support, love, and yes even answers to our questions but it is important that we take the time to listen.
When we pray, we are becoming connected to God in many important ways. Connected when we are afraid and when we are full of courage. Connected when we are weeping and when we are laughing. Connected when we are in need and when we have much to give. When it comes to prayer nothing else will quite do except that our hearts and minds be turned to God in the trust and confidence that we will be heard and helped; encouraged and loved.
As in human relationships, sorrows shared are sorrows divided and joys shared are joys multiplied, so it is in the divine-human relationship, but more so, for our God is greater than we are is fully able to help all who call upon God.
For there is no situation that is beyond God’s interest and desire that we cannot include in our prayers. There is nothing about us that is too ordinary, trivial, or troubling for God to help us redeem it from something useless to something useful. Speak often with God about all those things you keep in your heart. In prayer, God will speak with you and answer you.
Today’s affirmation strongly supports how we are to achieve the best in life offered by God. Let’s hear it again. “The path of Jesus is found where all of Christ’s followers are understood to be called into ministry. God’s intention for us can be found and followed, however haltingly and imperfectly, in obedience to the guidance and insights, which come in prayer. We hold this conviction to be true of the church as well as each of its members.”
Our particular calling and the calling of each church can be found through praying to the God of all of us. We are important, separately and together in God’s Divine Plan for this world. God loves each of us for who we are and what we are becoming in Christ Jesus. And that is a lifetime guarantee. Amen.
God of all Creation, you know us for who we are and all we can become. Having been made in your image, we know that we are goodness incarnate. You chose each of us to play an important part in your Divine Plan. Help us to discover who we are and to develop our potential so that you will be done. We thank you for your patience, your comforting embrace that takes away all fear and provides us with your love. May our prayers to you be a true two – way conversation and not just us telling or asking you for what we want or need. Help us to trust you for the answers that lead to our becoming the best we can be. As we ask for your special and healing and guidance for our lives, we also ask that you be with those who are not here with us today. Heal those who are ill, guide those who are incarcerated and protect those who serve in the military. Hear us O God in our praise for you as together we affirm our love for you…
I am a special person.
I was chosen by you for a special reason.
I can be all you know I can be.
I trust in you for all I need.
I am full of potential.
I share my gifts and talents with others.
I am a special person.
And so it is. Amen.
