Isaiah 6:1-8
Luke 5:1-11
The Sermon title is Unworthy yet Chosen
Early Thoughts: There is a theme in Scripture. (OK there are MANY themes in Scripture but just bear with me for a moment) When someone hears a call from God they do not usually jump up and say "Great! What do you want me to do?". Most often there is a reluctance to listen. Jeremiah claimed he was too young. Jonah thought the task was senseless and took off in the opposite direction. Samuel needed to hear the voice of God three times before his mentor could even help him figure out what was happening.
In our stories this week we have a response that may be a little more common in many people's minds. Isaiah in the temple and Simon on the seashore are both convinced that they are unworthy to be chosen. God is revealed in their presence and they both are overcome with feelings of unworthiness/sinfulness. I suspect that many people know just how they feel. It is awe-ful to know that you are being chosen.
But note that neither God in the temple nor Jesus at the seashore puts any stock in these objections. They don't dismiss or ignore them (that would be rude and insulting). Instead they say, in essence, "that's okay" you are just right for the job. Isaiah is cleansed, Simon is told not to be afraid and then they are moved into the task to which they have been called.
God is calling us. We may feel unworthy. We may feel under-equipped. We may doubt that the task is worth trying. We may be convinced we are not competent. We may be deaf to the sound. And all of those things could be partly or wholly true. But still God continues to call us. God has a task, a vocation (or more likely a series of tasks or vocations over the span of our life) for us.
How will you respond to the call???
--Gord
We are who we are: called.
ReplyDeleteBeing "called" is a part of the human condition.
Describing the "call" in words is tricky if we are thinking mechanistically. It's seldom clear-cut, simple, specific. It's not about diary entries. It's nothing lke a job description or a shopping list. It's not even a liitle bit like trying to satisfy the needs expressed in a JNAC report. It's about be-ing, not do-ing. It's not even a comprehension test.
It's about engagement — engagement with the whole of life. We do ourselves most damage when we withdraw from that. But it's a withdrawal that also makes us indifferent and harmful to others. It's a bit like recklessly inattentive driving.
I agree Mike. But in the be-ing there is a lot of do-ing, the difference being that it grows out of a sense of who we are and our engagwement with life rather than a to-do list or a task organizer
ReplyDeleteAt least in theory.
Wow, that is an AWESOME picture you have for Feb 10th! :P
ReplyDeleteYeah I found it somewhere or other..... ;)
ReplyDelete