Sam. 3:1-20; John 1:43-51  “When God Calls, Answer!”

INTRODUCTION

            When I started in ministry, I’d often receive questions, such as, “Was your dad a pastor?”  and something to this effect, “What’s a nice girl like you doing in a business like that?”

            This morning I want to talk about call—not necessarily my call, but the call each of us receives.

GOD CALLS SAMUEL

The passage from I Samuel tells about the call of young Samuel.  You may recall that Sam’s mother, Hannah, had a difficult time conceiving. After being barren for many years, she promised to give over her first-born child to God.  She bore Samuel, and when he was weaned she gave him to the priest to be raised in God’s house.  Eli, the priest, had sons of his own, who were inheriting his priestly duties.  But the writer of I Samuel informs us that they are far from priestly in their behavior.  The sons of Eli are scoundrels.  Hannah’s son, Samuel, on the other hand, is a model of virtue. 

            We are told in the beginning of the story that the voice of God has not been heard in Israel at that time.  Eli may never have heard God calling to him.  Yet, he is faithfully serving God. Samuel awakens in the night, hearing a voice calling his name.  He thinks that Eli needs him.  Eli imagines that the boy is dreaming.  But when Samuel awakens the old priest repeatedly, Eli finally catches on.  Eli thinks perhaps God might be calling Sam.  So he instructs Samuel to respond to the voice with “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”  So began Samuel’s prophetic work.

The call of Samuel was a very personal experience.  He heard God calling to him.  Now I know that there are folks in this congregation this morning who are dubious about this whole idea of God speaking directly to people.  Many, especially those of you who work with psychologically troubled people, know that there are all sorts of people who claim that God is talking to them.  Unlike in the time of Samuel, it might appear that today the voice of the Lord is heard rather frequently.  The psychologically troubled aside, I do believe that God calls each of us into relationship. God desires relationship with individuals and with communities of people.  God calls different people in different ways.

JESUS CALLS DISCIPLES

             We see that in today’s Gospel lesson, another story about call.  Jesus is walking around Galilee looking for disciples who will drop everything and follow him.  Jesus doesn’t look for people who have particular occupations.  He’s not looking for members of Mensa or the Triple Niner club.  (You know what the Triple Niner Club is, right?  People who score in the 99.9^th percentile on IQ tests.)  But Jesus is looking for people with two rare gifts: faith and the willingness to put faith into practice.

           Nathanael at first seems to be an unlikely prospect.  At the declaration from his brother Phillip that he had found Jesus of Nazareth, son of Joseph and that he is the Messiah, Nathanael responds, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?.”  Nathanael’s snub sounds like the attitude of people who live in the counties toward folks from Baltimore City.  It sounds like pejorative statements I’ve heard people from north of the Mason-Dixon Line make about people in the south and vice versa.  It sounds like the way I’ve heard one group of teenagers talk about another group of teenagers who dress differently and enjoy other forms of music.  In other words, Nathanael’s response is familiar.
             There was a rivalry between Nazareth and Nathanael’s hometown of Cana.  Nazareth was a town without power or prestige with a population of about 2000.   It’s not even mentioned in the Old Testament, or in the writings of the Jewish historian Josephus, who wrote during the first century. And it was in Galilee, the boundary area, on the other side of Samaria, far from the cultural center, Jerusalem.  Despite his doubts, Nathanael agrees to his brother’s request to “come and see” for himself.
       Jesus sees something special in Nathanael, despite his reticence.  He perceives that Nathanael is a man of integrity.  Jesus recognizes that despite his doubt, Nathanael takes the first step in faith. Nathanael is affirmed by Jesus for his willingness to at least open the door a crack and take a peak at Jesus.
Nathanael is disarmed by Jesus’ compliment.  “How did you know that about me?” Nathanael asks.  “I saw you under the fig tree,” responds Jesus.  Nathanael is blown away by Jesus and responds, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
          Jesus answers, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.”  Jesus promises that Nathanael will see the opening of heaven, and the ascending and descending of the angels of God.  In response Nathanael, along with Phillip, leaves his normal, everyday life to follow Jesus.  Nathanael is at the beginning of his journey of faith, but as he follows Jesus, he sees things that make him even more faithful.

GOD CALLS US

          God calls us through Jesus.  The witness of our faith is that God desired relationship with us so much that Jesus was born among us in order to connect us with God.  Some of us like Philip are bowled over by Jesus the first time we meet him.  Others of us are like Nathanael, skeptical and reluctant to believe and trust.  But Jesus meets the differing needs of people.  To one of us he is a healer.  To another a teacher.  To yet another a Savior.  Because our needs change throughout our lives, our relationship with Jesus changes.  The relationship is dynamic, not static, Jesus meets our needs as we change and grow if we let him.

Regardless of our doubts and skepticism, each of us is invited to make the move that Nathanael made.  Jesus calls us, like Nathanael to take a step toward him.  We are invited to walk in faith on a journey into an uncertain future.  One of my favorite commercials on TV right now is the one where the man is driving one of those high tech cars that gives him directions.  Everything is going along smoothly with this gentle female computerized voice telling him what turns to make.  “Turn right,” she says.  And he does… into the plate glass window of a store.  Belatedly we hear the computerized voice, “in thirty seconds.”

Sometimes as we are following Jesus, we are like the man driving the car.  We feel good, as though God is directing our lives and suddenly we find ourselves driving through a plate-glass window.  A loved one dies. You suffer a debilitating illness.  I have an accident.  With these changes, our faith is challenged.  Where is Jesus?  Where is my guide, my friend, my Savior.  At these times of challenge, our view of Jesus may change.  Instead of being Savior, perhaps we view him as healer.  Instead of seeing Jesus as companion, we see him as ruler of all.

There are ways we can follow more closely.  We can emulate the example of Jesus.  For instance, Jesus observed the Sabbath, albeit in a way that differed from those of his contemporaries who adhered to the letter of the law.  Jesus sought to engage in praying and playing, sometimes alone, but more often with his disciples.

 Philosopher Norman Wirzba says that Sabbath-keeping is all about trust in God, rest and gratitude for what we have been given. The Sabbath is a day for “celebrating the many gifts — sunshine, water, soil, earthworms, wheat, chickens, family, neighbors — that make our living possible and a joy.”[1]

 DISCIPLESHIP

           Once we say yes to following Jesus, we commit ourselves to a life of service. We are called not only as individuals. We are called into community with other Christians.  Sometimes we look around and think there are so few of us here at Hunting Ridge Church.  How can we demonstrate our faithfulness to Christ in any significant way?  We’re always so worried about money.  We never feel we have enough.  Yet there are churches smaller than ours answering God’s call to discipleship. “St. John Presbyterian Church, located in a largely Hispanic community in Tampa, Florida, operates one of the largest medical clinics in the Southeast, and provides a special “Sunshine Class” for women with mental retardation.”[2]  Guess how many members the church has.  130 and none of them are wealthy.   They have heard God’s call to follow Jesus in a life of service. Communities put their energy into doing what Jesus instructed his followers to do.

            The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. took the commitment to Christ’s mission another step in faith.  He became an advocate for the poor, the marginalized because of race and social class.  He followed Jesus into the fray of politics and the messy business of creating social change. 

            It all started with those first disciples of Jesus, some of them skeptical, some of them instant believers, most of them willing to drop everything and follow.

CONCLUSION

God doesn’t wake most of us up in the middle of the night.  We don’t hear a booming or even a still small voice calling our names. Many of us are doubtful believers.  Yet we take those tentative steps in discipleship at the invitation of others who invite us to “come and see.”  Come and see what God is doing.  Let us like Samuel and Nathanael answer the call and move toward Jesus. We can do this as individuals, as a church, and as a community, setting a positive example and inviting others to become a part of this exciting journey of faith.  God calls us to relationship.  Relationship with God entails discipleship.  Our relationship with God prompts us to live holy, justice-seeking, peacemaking lives.

Amen.