I imagine that the day will come when I will no longer be surprised by the way
the events of our lives coincide with the readings set by the lectionary. I
keep thinking that I won’t be surprised, and then it happens again, and
I think: “Wow – look at that!”
Yesterday I attended a conference called A Day of Discovery. At least half of the people in attendance are members of Commissions on Ministry from our diocese and from the Diocese of California. These commissions are charged with discerning whether persons who are seeking ordination are indeed called to ordained ministry. The other persons attending the conference are exploring their own call to ministry in the lay and ordained orders. The conference provided an overview of an approach which each of us can use to enter the ongoing process of discerning our call to ministry. This discernment is a lifelong process. We are all called to ministry in Christ’s name. We are all called to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ. That is the ministry we share. How we live into that ministry is different for each person. And, how we live into that ministry changes as we move through the stages of our lives and as we are formed into and by the ministry we share.
Yesterday was the five year anniversary of my ordination to priesthood. My own discernment of ministry didn’t stop when I entered seminary, or when I was ordained, or when I was called to St. Mark’s, or when I made covenant with you as your rector. Our discernment continues for the entire length of our lives. The conference yesterday presented an exciting, well-designed road map for experiencing the way hearing our call and being attentive to our formation guide us to ministry, and I’m eager to share it with you in the near future.
The coincidence is, of course, that today’s gospel portion is about call to ministry. You may remember that last week, in John’s version of the story, Andrew heard Jesus speak, then went to tell his brother Simon Peter “We have found the Messiah!” This week’s version of the story, as told by Matthew is very different. Last week, we heard John the Baptist point to Jesus as Messiah. We heard Jesus ask the people following him what they are looking for. They respond with a question to him: “Where are you staying?” and Jesus responds, “Come and see.” And Andrew runs to get his brother.
Today, there is no pointing to Jesus as the Messiah by John or by Andrew. There is no dialogue. Jesus sees two fishermen – Andrew and Simon Peter – fishing at the Sea of Galilee. He calls to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” They drop what they are doing and follow him. Then he sees James and John. He calls to them, and they leave their father in the boat with all the nets and follow him.
These stories according the John and Matthew are quite different, but they have one thing in common.
In both gospels, persons were called to follow Jesus. Last week, only Andrew and Simon Peter were named. This week, we hear their names and that of another set of brothers, John and James, the sons of Zebedee. Most of us have heard the stories of these men as they followed Jesus into his ministry, so we know how they were formed as evangelists – people who tell the Good News – by the events that happened during the time they followed Jesus and during the time after the crucifixion and resurrection. We know from those stories that these men were people just like us. They worked and they squabbled and they prayed and they listened and they taught and healed in Jesus’ name. And they were continually surprised by the way Jesus responded to the world around them. And, during those days, they continued to try to form themselves in the model he gave them. A lot of the gospel stories show them to us on the days when they didn’t come close to the model. In each of those stories, it’s easy to see reflections of our own lives. But, over time, the disciples became more and more attuned to the way Jesus led them. And over time, they became more able to see where he was leading them and less where their own dreams would have them go.
And I like to believe that is true for us also.
I came away from the conference yesterday with an image that I’d like to share with you. Sam McClain, one of the presenters, told about his first summer in ordained ministry. He was called to be curate in a parish, and a month after his arrival, the rector left on vacation. The following week was Vacation Bible School, and Sam was in charge. He had no idea what to do about that. So, he just kept putting one foot in front of the other and asking for help and they all got through it. He said he learned a very important lesson about formation in ministry during that Vacation Bible School. And it all happened because of Play-Doh.
Apparently Sam had not had a lot of experience with Play-Doh before the weeks of Vacation Bible School. But he’s a learner. And he learned what most of the children in our preschool could have told him. Working with Play-Doh requires a special technique. When you model Play-Do, when you push it into shape, some interesting things happen. It’s not like regular clay that has some firmness to it and tends to stay where you put it. Play-Doh has some fluffiness to it. If you have it in your hands, and you start pressing it into the form you want it to take, it tends to sploosh out the other side. The more pressure you put on it, the more it slips away from you, the more it splooshes out the other side. Sam dealt with that for a while, then he found out that if you put something inside the Play-Doh – like a rock – every bit of pressure brings the Play-Doh into a closer image of the thing in the center.
And it’s the same way with us. When we have no center, the pressure outside
us keeps us going in first one direction then another. When we have no center,
the pressure distorts who we are and limits our ability to have form and function.
When we have no center, it takes an amazing amount of effort just to stay in
one piece. But, when we keep the one who calls us in the center of our ministry,
pressure keeps us moving ever closer to the model we are striving to emulate.
When we keep the one who calls us in the center of our ministry,
pressure keeps us moving ever closer to the Good News he came to share with
us. When we keep the one who calls us in the center of our ministry, pressure
keeps us moving ever closer to showing by our words and our actions the love
he came to give us.
Thanks be to God.