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Showing posts with label Easter 5A. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Easter 5A. Show all posts

07 May 2023

Coronations and Vocations

 




Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?”

“My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told that I am going there to prepare a place for you?”

This Eastertide, I have been thinking a lot about how Jesus deals with people as individuals. You can see it during his ministry, of course – far too many instances to go into here. But what I have been thinking of specially was how he came to people after his resurrection. I mean, you have Mary Magdalene crying in the garden, and how lovely he is with her; then there was the walk and chat with Cleopas and his wife on their way to Emmmaus, when he went through the Scriptures with them to show them how the Resurrection was foretold – and agreed to stay the night, but then vanished after he’d broken bread at the supper-table. Then he comes specially to Thomas when he had missed the original appearance to all the disciples, and had trouble believing it had really happened. And, perhaps finally, he speaks to Peter on the shore of Lake Galilee, forgiving him for denying he knew him, and reinstating him.

All these people needed a different touch from Jesus, and they all got it. And that holds true for us, too. Jesus comes to us through the Holy Spirit, but our experiences of this will all be different. “In my Father’s house are many rooms.” Many rooms. They will all be of different shapes and sizes, according to our individual needs.

I wish, in a way, that the Epistle set for today was that lovely passage from 1 Corinthians about how we are all part of one body, but all different parts.

Today, you see, is Vocations Sunday, when I think I’m supposed to urge you all to offer for ordination, or something like that. Don’t worry, I’m not going to! Although I will just say that if you do think you are experiencing a call to offer for ordination, or indeed to become a local preacher, worship leader, or another role in the church, do go and talk to Rev R about it! She will be able to tell you what your first steps should be. And, by the way, if you think you might be feeling such a call, you haven’t gone mad! It’s always worth exploring, even if the call turns out to be for something quite else. I mean, look at me – I’ve been a local preacher for over 30 years now, if you count time spent on note and on trial. They still haven’t discovered they made a terrible mistake….

Seriously, though, our vocation need not necessarily be for a role within the church. Some people are called to be teachers, or medical professionals – and, goodness knows, given the way the Government sees fit to pay public sector workers, it would have need to be a vocation, as you certainly wouldn’t be in it for the money! And in other roles, that aren’t necessarily anything to do with the church, or a profession, for that matter. God needs Christians in any and every role, from doctor to decorator, judge to janitor, lawyer to labourer, professor to plumber, rat-catcher to retired, and so on. We need people to stand as local councillors, or maybe even get more involved in politics, if that is something that interests you. And our schoolchildren and students need to be focussing on their studies and their play, and on finding out who they are as beloved children of God.

From youngest to oldest, we all have our role to play in God’s plan for this world. We all fit in the community in our various roles. We all have different needs, different gifts, different preferences, different dreams.

It can be instructive, sometimes, to read how God dealt with his prophets and leaders who really didn’t want to answer God’s call. Moses said he was crap at public speaking, so God gave him Aaron to be his mouthpiece. Jeremiah also said he was hopeless at it, and anyway, he was far too young for anybody to take him seriously. He needed God’s reassurance that “I am with you, and I will protect you,” plus a special touch from God, a special gift of the Holy Spirit, if you like, for him to be able to speak.

Isaiah, too, was horrified when he saw God’s glory in the Temple and realised that God was calling him to be a prophet. “Oh, no! I will be destroyed. I am not pure enough to speak to God, and I live among people who are not pure enough to speak to him. But I have seen the King, the Lord All-Powerful.” And he needed a cleansing touch from an angel before he could say “Here I am, send me!” to God.

Three different men, with very similar concerns – they simply weren’t good enough for God to use them. And God basically said “Rubbish!” and gave them the reassurance they needed that they could, indeed, do the work to which they were being called.

And it’s the same for us. No matter what we are being called to do – and don’t forget that most of us, probably, indeed, all of us, are doing exactly what we are meant to be doing – no matter what it is, God will enable us.

Whether we are called to actively preach the Good News, or whether we are being asked to pray quietly at home, we will be given the gifts we need to do so. All our gifts are given to us as individuals, and, of course, God isn’t stingy! In fact, given half a chance, God would give us far more than we are able to cope with.

We are, after all, God’s children, not his servants! Jesus reminds us, also in our Gospel passage, that nobody can come to the Father except through him. There may be – there are – other paths to God, but only Christians can know God as Father. And Jesus reminds us that earthly fathers don’t – or most don’t, we see exceptions in our newspapers all the time – give bad things to their children; they don’t give a stone instead of bread, or scorpions instead of fish.  “If you, then,” Jesus concludes, “though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”

How much more! More than we can ask, or even imagine.

God deals with us, then, as individuals – but, of course, we are part of a community, of a family, and our gifts and calling will reflect that. We are all one body, with many parts. We are, as our first reading reminded us, a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

Yesterday, of course, was a very special day in the life of our nation, as our King was anointed and crowned to his office. I know our late Queen felt that God had anointed her as Queen, and this meant being Queen was who she was, not what she did. I rather suspect our new King feels the same way. Certainly he, like his mother before him, believes that he has been appointed to serve the various countries of which he is King, and has sworn an oath to that effect. The crowning and anointing, so we were told in the service yesterday, set him apart and consecrated him for the service of his people.

There is, of course, only one King. But we are all consecrated by God for his service, as our reading from Peter’s letter reminded us: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” God does not call without enabling. Of course, that doesn’t mean our service – whatever it may be – will always be easy and trouble-free; you know as well as I do that it won’t be! There are always rocks along the way – as Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

And, finally, many years ago now I knew someone who had served as a medical missionary in Burundi. She told me once that, when she had been getting ready to leave, she got worried, as she was so looking forward to going she started to wonder whether it was really God calling her to go there, or whether it was just what she herself wanted. And when she took this worry to her advisor, she was told, “Why on earth would God call you to do something you would hate? You wouldn’t do a great job if you were unhappy all the time, quite apart from anything else. And the God who loves you gives good gifts to all His children!”

It won’t always be easy. Often we will wonder whether we’re on the right track or not. Often we will wonder why so-and-so is called to be a worship leader and we aren’t, or vice versa. But “In my Father’s house are many rooms,” and each and every one of those rooms has been specially designed. There is one for you, and there is one for me! Amen.