Acts
Psalm 23
1 Peter 2:19-25
John 10:1-10
4th Sunday of
Easter
Answer the Call
I enjoy hearing
"call" stories. I enjoy
reflecting on "call" stories.
Everyone who goes through the ordination process, or even lay-speakers'
training in the
I enjoy hearing other people's calls
as well. I love it when I get together
with another pastor and we share our call stories. There always seems to be some similarities
and common ground that helps foster our relationship.
Calls are important and so is
remembering and reflecting on our call.
Remembering that I am called and remembering the stories of my call help
me during times of frustration and doubt.
Remembering stories of call during times of trial and even suffering is
one of the more common ways in which many of the saints of the Church stayed
focused on Christ and persevered on their journey to glory through Christ.
One of the things about calls that
surprise me the most is that there are many Christians who don't realize that
they have a call. Oh, I'm not simply
talking about times like when I was in eighth grade and I thought that I was
going to be an astronaut and not a pastor.
I'm talking about when Christians don't realize that by the simple fact
they are Christians means that they have a call. Did you know that? Did you know that all Christians are
called? Did you know that you have a calling; did
you know that you have a vocation?
So often we think that only clergy
have a religious call. So often we think
that the only calls there are are to things like serving as a pastor,
preaching, or missions work. Sometimes
we think that the only calls there are are to full-time paid ministries, or
intense volunteer ministries that essentially are full-time jobs. The truth is, all Christians are called to be
Christians first and foremost.
Great! Now, what does that
entail? Being called to be a pastor
entails certain roles and ministries.
Being called to be a missionary entails certain roles and
ministries. But what does the basic call
to be a Christian entail?
Our reading from 1 Peter is from a
very important section of the epistle.
It's from a section that is typically characterized as "a 'table'
of rules for the household" (New Interpreters’
Bible: Volume XII, pg. 280).
Basically, it's from a section of 1 Peter that gives us a quick
reference outline of what it means to be a Christian. And how does this section, this table of
rules begin? It begins with
suffering. That doesn't sound like much
fun. On top of that, it’s not just
suffering, but unjust suffering - suffering for no real apparent reason;
suffering for things that aren't our fault!
But this is part of the reality of our call.
The author of 1 Peter states,
"For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you,
leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps" [1 Peter
2:21]. One of our most basic calls as
Christians is to follow in Christ's steps.
Yet, what exactly are those steps?
Jesus Christ died on the cross to atone for sin; to pay our
sin-debt. In this atonement, Jesus
suffered. He suffered not because of
anything he did wrong; he suffered for us, taking responsibility for us. He suffered unjustly. His suffering included other various forms;
he didn't just suffer death on the cross, he also suffered temptation to sin as
well as the hardships of simply being human living here in a fallen
creation. He suffered all this so that
we could have a new life, an everlasting life, a new heaven and a new earth.
The author of 1 Peter states, "He
himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we
might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed" (1 Peter
What exactly did Christ do when
"he himself bore our sins?"
Christ took responsibility for us.
Christ went to bat for us; Christ interceded for us. Now, if we are to follow in his steps; if we
as the Church are to be Christ's body here on earth, what are we to do? We're to take responsibility; we're to go to
bat for others, we're to intercede for others.
No, we can't pay the price of sin and death as Christ did. There would be no reason to do so even if we
could as Christ has already paid it. But
there are other ways we can take responsibility, go to bat, and intercede for
others.
You see, by bearing our sins, Christ
reconciled us to God and allowed us to reconcile with each other. The sin that divided us from God also divides
us from each other. The power of that
sin has been broken through Christ and we are free to be reconciled with God
and each other. We've been empowered to
bridge those divides because of the power of Christ. To follow in Jesus' steps is to continue to
bridge the divides caused by sin. We can
take responsibility for the actions of our society that cause harm to the
environment and other people. We can go
to bat for those who have fewer resources than us - those who may be homeless,
those who may have no money. We can
intercede for those who have no voice, who have no power in the political
arena, who have no power in this world.
We are all called to make a difference in this world, and that
difference is to proclaim the
Yes, our specific calls will be
different. We each have gifts and graces
that may differ from our neighbor. But
the fact remains that we each have gifts and graces and we are expected to
follow in Christ's steps by using those gifts and graces in ministry to all the
world. In our reading from
Martin Luther, one of the reformers of
the Church and the founder of the Lutheran tradition would often struggle with
his calling and feelings of self-worth.
During those times, in order to help him keep perspective, he would
remind himself not of his ordination to the priesthood or his monastic vows; he
would remind himself that he was a baptized Christian who was loved and called by
God along with all other Christians to minister to a world in need of
reconciliation. Yes, baptism is the
ordination of the laity. And so as
baptized Christians, how are we all going to answer the call?
SDG