Hearing God's Call and Saying "Yes!"
Hearing God's Call and Saying "Yes!" Sharon Rodgers Is there anyone who has not at one time or another asked a young person what they want to be when they grow up? Zack’s responses beginning at about age three included among other things: truck driver, heavy equipment operator, professional skate boarder, crabber on the Bering Sea, professional basketball player, and by age 12, a teacher and coach. Happily that’s the one that stuck. I honestly don’t know what my responses might have been early on, though I have vague memories from when I was a little girl of imagining myself as a doctor. However, I vividly remember the moment in eighth grade when someone asked me what I wanted to be and I instantly responded, I’m going to be a chemistry teacher. How did I know that? I hadn't even taken chemistry. I can only attribute that answer to the fact that I had spent years watching Mr. Wizard on television. Indeed, as a chemistry teacher at Sheldon I had the opportunity, along with everyone else in the science department, to attend the National Science Teachers” Convention when it was held in Seattle. One of the featured speakers was Don Herbert - Mr. Wizard. There were hundreds of us in the huge hall where he spoke, and at one point he asked how many of us had watched Mr. Wizard. Easily 80% of the hands went up. I have no idea if he set out to do so, but Don Herbert, Mr. Wizard, clearly shaped an entire generation of science teachers. So was I called by Mr. Wizard to be a chemistry teacher? Was Zack called by one or more of his teachers to become one himself? What exactly does it mean to be called? Our Old Testament reading this morning recounts one of the most well known stories of call in the Bible. A young boy hears a voice calling his name in the night. Thinking it’s Eli, the person under whom he was serving God, Samuel went to Eli and said here I am for you called me, to which Eli said no I didn’t. Go back to bed. This happened three times, at which point Eli realized what was happening, that God was calling Samuel, so he instructed Samuel to respond, Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. Now not very many of us have had the experience of hearing an unknown voice calling our name in the night. Or maybe we have. You’ve heard me preach and write multiple times about the fact that I know God speaks to me in my dreams. That’s only one possibility. My dad felt called to the priesthood at an early age, but then had a change of heart and decided to go into business. However, during his time in the navy during World War II he had lots of time while at sea, especially I suspect when he was alone on watch during the night, to listen to that still small voice that over time some of us come to recognize as the voice of God. He came home from the war having decided to resign from the Sun Oil Company in order to go to seminary. While sometimes it can seem as though God has called us directly, as often as not God speaks through those around us, as in the Gospel reading this morning in the conversation between Philip and Nathaniel. And as often as not, we’re initially rather skeptical of what someone suggests we ought to do. Nathaniel certainly was. Jesus of Nazareth?!? Are you kidding me? Has anything good every come out of Nazareth? For his part, Philip didn’t try to browbeat Nathaniel into doing anything. He simply responded, Come and see. Nathaniel did, and his life was never the same again. Nowadays it seems as though we most often speak of someone being called when it refers to ordained ministry. However, God calls people to all sorts of ministries that don’t involve ordination. Moreover call doesn’t only refer to being called to one’s life’s work. There are plenty of people who become exactly what they believe they were meant to be, have very successful and fulfilling careers performing their chosen line of work, but at the same time feel called to do something more, something besides their “day job” so to speak, be