St. Peter's News

From SALT Blog

What does God’s Calling mean ?

Several possibilities:
1. Exploring what should I do with my life
2. Organizing Getting my bearings in the new year.
3. Be still and reflective. Listen for God’s calling.

“(1) God’s calling can be about “what I should do with my life,” but it also can be about getting our bearings, especially in times of trouble and disorientation. In fact, the word “orientation” comes from the Latin orientem (“east”), the direction of the rising sun and also (for Europeans and North Africans) the direction of the Holy Land. In times of turmoil, God reorients us, bringing us back to what’s truly most important.

“(2) How do we hear and follow God’s call? When we sense a prompting, an encouragement, or a tug on our sleeve, how do we recognize its source? From Samuel’s story, one mark of a divine summons is repetition, and so we might ask: Does the prompting persist, or is it fleeting? Another clue is in Eli’s advice to be still and deliberately, thoughtfully listen, making time and space for reflection (“Speak, for your servant is listening”). And a third potential sign is those “tingling ears” (v. 11): the Spirit’s work in our lives will challenge and stir us, and that inspiration can mean we are moving in the right direction.

“(3) Likewise, from John’s story we can glean that God’s calling typically meets us where we are. Andrew gets a trusted recommendation and a day with Jesus; Philip jumps aboard right away; and Nathanael engages in skeptical debate. In short, there’s no one right way to respond to God’s call. There’s plenty of room under the tent of discipleship, both for those ready to take the plunge and for those who’d rather put a toe in first…

“(4) One of the most celebrated definitions of vocation is Frederick Buechner’s: “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” It’s a lovely definition — but it sometimes doesn’t seem to fit. Moses, for example, doesn’t demonstrate much “deep gladness” when God calls him at the burning bush (Moses sums up the discussion with, “O my Lord, please send someone else!” (Ex 4:13)); nor does Samuel particularly glad when God calls him to deliver difficult news to Eli. In the Gospels, too, the disciples eventually experience their calling as leading them into struggle, not away from it. In the end, Buechner’s formula is still a valuable discernment tool, but so is its complementary opposite: “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep discomfort and the world’s deep blessings meet.” Especially in times of trouble and trial, this definition of vocation can be illuminating.

“(5) Finally, Jesus’ words (and Philip’s echo of them) — “Come and see” — stand out this week as a witness and a challenge. For both Andrew and Nathanael, and for many of us besides, second-hand reports just won’t do. We want to come and see for ourselves. For John, this is the primary mode of spreading the good news and growing the community of disciples — and churches today are wise to do the same. Try this line of questions with your community: If we were to invite a friend to experience the best of our congregation’s life and work with this simple, three-word invitation, “Come and see,” to what specifically would we invite them? A worship service, a service project, a small group meeting? Where and when do we most vividly, experientially embody the Gospel we proclaim?

by Rev. Mindi Welton-Mitchell

For many church leaders, in the past and present, we have been called to speak out for God’s ways of righteousness and justice, and sometimes we have to speak out against the very institutions that have nurtured us in our call. We have had to overcome the voices of fear inside us or the voices of doubt outside of us that tell us we haven’t heard God’s call and we should go lie back down. It’s not an easy call to follow. As we honor and remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. this month we remember King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, in which he writes to some of the very clergy who have supported him but have also tried to stop him, in an attempt to avoid conflict. Prophets are called to speak to conflict, to address it and not run from it, to speak and act out despite their fears and the fears of others. Dr. King certainly did this in his life and ministry. While one can argue for or against calling Dr. King a prophet, it is clear the Dr. King lived his life as many of our Biblical prophets did, speaking and acting out for God’s ways of justice and righteousness. I call him a prophet.

As we honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. this month, the Call of the Prophet Samuel is an appropriate reading for today. In reading Samuel’s story, we can find the story of all prophets who have been called to speak out for God’s ways of justice and righteousness. We find the story of many who have heard the call of God but have had that call questioned by others (in this story, Eli questions the call, but not God, and when Eli is certain it is God calling Samuel, he encourages Samuel to listen to God). God calls Samuel to do something that is not easy: to speak out against Eli’s own sons, that they can’t skate by doing whatever they want to by offering sacrifices afterwards, that they can’t get off because their father is a priest. Samuel has to stand up to the family of the very person who has taken him in and cared for him, the very person who has instructed him how to listen to God’s ways. It is not easy to follow the call of the prophet.