"There is an intellectual desire, an eros of the mind. Without it there would arise no questioning, no inquiry, no wonder." Bernard Lonergan

"It seems clear that humans cannot significantly reduce or mitigate the dangers inherent in their use of life by ccumulating more information or better theories or by achieving greater predictability or more caution in their scientific and industrial work. To treat life as less than a miracle is to give up on it." Wendell Berry

"Do not be afraid, my little flock, for it is the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." Luke 12:32

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Calling All Y'all - All are Called



Having had enough of snow, I delved into my library to uncover a very “personal” classic. Though not a book I read all the time, a book I revisit every few years is Barbara Brown Taylor’s The Preaching Life. It is equal parts wisdom for clerical life and instruction on how (and how not) to preach. Written by one of the most gifted preachers of this or any age, it is Taylor’s humble prose and stunning insight which move and guide me.

As she writes about a young man who longs to be ordained, to be a pastor, but not necessarily serve in a church, she shares this story (page 25): “Then why do you want to be ordained?” I asked him. He thought a while and finally said, “For the identity, I guess. So I could sit down next to someone on a bus who looked troubled and ask them how they were without them thinking I’m trying to hustle them. So I could walk up to someone on the street and do the same thing. So I could be up front about what I believe, in public as well as in private. So I would have the credentials to be the kind of Christian I want to be.” His honesty was both disarming and disheartening. God help the church if clergy are the only Christians with “credentials,” and God help all those troubled people on the bus if they have to wait for an ordained person to come along before anyone speaks to them. 

Each of us is called. That may seem like more work as you read it. But with God, nothing is ever passive. With God, call is ever active. It is not just pastors who are to reach the troubled, the lost, or the sad. Every person who seeks to follow God as a disciple of Jesus is called to help, to share, and to offer gifts of worship and service where they are needed.

This understanding has layers and layers and layers of implication for church life. But what I think it implies most especially is the idea that we be participants. When you are listening to a sermon, praying a prayer, singing a hymn, you are as much a part of that activity of faith as the preacher, the prayer leader or the organist. Listening and worship are active! We are all called to contribute through purposeful thought and song.

In other words, all y’all are called. We are called to be ambassadors of grace in the world. We are called to actively worship and praise. We are called to serve as we seek to impact the community around us. As we respond to Christ’s call, our eyes and souls are refocused upon the world which God has made and the faith we are entrusted to proclaim.

“There is even a chance,” Barbara Brown Taylor writes, “that the Christian vocation is above all a vocation to imagine – to see what God sees when God looks at the world, and to believe that God’s dreams can come true” (page 37).

Who wouldn’t want to see or imagine as much?

1 comment:

  1. After reading over your passage from the “The Preaching Life”, I then read it a couple of more times. On one hand, I found that I initially liked the young man for wanting to put himself out in the open for the sake of others, to “wear his heart on his sleeve” (and other trite expressions, as well) so that he was open and available to help others on the street. A bold move, some would say.

    Then, on the other side, I can see how this would lead to the author being disarmed and disheartened. Why should one go through the tasks of being ordained just for the purpose of getting yourself out there to help others on the street. It’s like what Kierkegaard (one of my favorites) once said, “Christ did not appoint professors, but followers.” A robe or a collar shouldn’t be necessary to engender trust to others as a follower of Christ.

    For me, this kink of dovetails into Wayne Meisel’s sermon from last week where he talked about Gabe Lyon’s book, “unChristian” (https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/unchristian/id528003145?mt=11). The author interviewed non-Christians to get their impression of Christians and they responded with labels like, “judgmental”, “hypocritical”, “old fashioned”, “exclusive” and “anti-gay” (I would also throw in “anti-science”, a label that I run into repeatedly as if the religion and science are mutually exclusive…always a facepalm moment for me).

    Well, how do you compete with that? It seems like an insurmountable obstacle to overcome from the get go. Mr. Lyons has discovered new stereotypical labels that are being applied to us. Is this becoming more common? Like Wayne’s question in his sermon, “How did this happen?” I guess you just have to arm yourself with that knowledge to only be a better Christian to erase those labels. I can only speak for myself that it can be so daunting mentally sometimes. My hope is to keep plugging away and praying for a place where you can make a difference in one, some or many lives.

    Anyway, I expect you to have all the answers in next week’s sermon, Christopher. That would be awesome.

    I appreciate for your postings here on this blog and hope it opens up for further discussions through our struggles and our joys. Keep up the great work and God bless.

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