The whole morning was wonderful for a proud parent And Amy got to place the doctoral hood on him after he walked across the stage;

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Octavia Wade
5 years ago
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1 Sermon Ascension 2017: The Higher Calling of God Higher Callings Memorial Day weekend has become the unofficial start of summer for many in the United States As some huge number of Americans travel or take a quick trip to the shore or mountains; But it was established and still is a moment in our national calendar; When we remember the women and men who answered a higher calling; For the good of our nation and for the cause of freedom; And made the ultimate sacrifice of their lives. We still remember those who answered this higher calling and gave their all; In church on Sunday and at parades and remembrances across the nation; From those who fought and died in the War for Independence; To those who fought to keep our nation united; To those who served in world wars to our own day In this insidious war on terrorism and violent anarchy around the world; Working to bring a greater peace and the potential for a more just world order. We think about that higher calling and their sacrifice this weekend; And when I recall or sing the second verse of America; O beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife; Who more than self their country loved and mercy more than life; I get choked up and misty eyed as I consider their higher calling. This past Tuesday, our middle son graduated from Jefferson Medical School; And though I walked with my wife, Amy, through medical school and residency; I didn t quite catch the enormity of the challenge and dedication this required; And the higher calling that I sensed and sense in him and his classmates. The whole morning was wonderful for a proud parent And Amy got to place the doctoral hood on him after he walked across the stage; 1

2 But the at the end of the ceremony the newly invested doctors took the Hippocratic Oath; That speaks to that higher calling and the higher ethics Physicians and researchers are called to practice. The physician-professor who strode across the stage to lead the recitation of the oath; Invited all the physicians in Verizon Hall to stand and renew their higher calling; And as my 92 year old mother in law, still practicing medicine one day a week; Worked to get out of her chair to stand up to renew her oath; My heart beat a little faster as I realized the commitment And higher calling of good doctors, surgeons and medical researchers. There are people in this room today and all around us who are living into a higher calling: Parents raising their children; Spouses caring for one another; Children caring for their elderly parents; Anyone who has sat through the night with a sick child, spouse or parent; Is living into a higher calling. Anyone who sacrifices their time and life for a family member or a friend or someone in need; Is answering a higher calling. And we see people living into their higher calling when they help the least among us; When they choose a profession of service to others; When they practice the highest of ethics in business and choose the right path; Even when it may cost them or is a more difficult path. There s something in all of us that lives life more fully when we respond to a higher calling; There s an energy, a sense of purpose, a delight; And ultimately the deepest sense of satisfaction and accomplishment; That fills our lives and the lives of those around us when we live, 2

3 Not for ourselves alone, but for someone or something far greater; It makes our hearts beat faster, brightens our eyes, and feeds us heart and soul. Life with God And on this Ascension Sunday when we recall Christ s ascension into heaven; And the higher calling that marked His earthly ministry And His higher calling in heaven; We take note of the higher calling God offers and intends for every one of us; It may not cost us our life, but God calls us to take up a higher calling; To live into God s purposes. It is the life of the deepest satisfaction; It is the life that is given clear direction by God; The life that is empowered by God; The life that is lived with God s presence in our hearts and minds Every moment of every day. When we answer God s higher calling on our lives, God gives our lives direction; Proverbs 3:5 and 6 invites us to Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And do not rely only on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge God and He will direct your path in life. The life lived into God s higher calling, in trusting in God and not in ourselves; Comes with God s guidance And though the path is not always the easiest path all the time; As we will walk through all of life s joys and sorrows; We walk with God and into and through God s higher calling for our lives. When we answer God s higher calling on our lives, God gives us a power beyond ourselves; Isaiah 40:29 and following says that God gives power to faint and strengthens the powerless; Even youths will faint and grow weary and the young will exhausted; 3

4 But those who wait on the Lord, those who put their trust in the Lord And answer God s higher calling on our lives will have their strength renewed; Will rise up on wings like eagles, will run and not be weary; Will walk and not faint. Those of us who answer God s higher calling and put our trust in God; Will be empowered to soar, to run, or to have just enough strength to walk Through the life that God has given us. And when we answer God s higher calling as God witnesses through life; When we share our faith in Christ and the power of Christ by our lives and by our words; When we reveal the love of God that we are coming to know; When we live as Jesus lived and offer the gift of forgiveness and love; When we offer the hope in this life and in the life to come; Then the presence of the Holy Spirit will come to our lives; And be with us always. This moment of Ascension, when Jesus comes to the end of His earthly ministry; And is lifted up to heaven to sit at the strong hand of the Father; Opens the way for the Holy Spirit to come in all its fullness to our lives; And to all who come to know the love of Christ and His promise of true life; So that we and others may answer God s higher calling and know God s presence always. When you and I answer God s higher calling and commit our lives to live like Jesus; God promises to direct our lives, even though we may know nothing about it; God promises to give power to our lives that is greater than the gifts And powers we have been given on our own; God promises to send the Holy Spirit into our lives; So that we can know God and make God known to others; As God s witnesses. 4

5 Your Higher Calling Living into a higher calling brings with it a promise of life; A promise of life that is greater, more satisfying, more gracious and giving Than any life we can live on our own, God is calling you and me to give our lives over to a higher calling; It may be a higher calling in our family; It may be a higher calling among our friends and associates; It may be a higher calling to improve the lives of others And make the world a better place. But for all of us who have been called by God through love of Jesus Christ; Through the power of His death and resurrection; And through the power of the Holy Spirit coming into our lives; Our highest calling is and will always be as witnesses of Jesus Christ; As people who live our lives a particular way, trusting in God; Seeking God, serving as God s hands and feet and brains in the world; As persons and as a community committed to live like Jesus To the best of our abilities and by God s power and love at work in us. And so on this Memorial Day weekend when we honor those who gave their very lives Living into their higher calling; I invite you to begin or to begin again to live into your higher calling. Look at your life; Listen and look for God s higher calling in your life; And then allow the Spirit to change you and lead you and empower you To live no longer for yourself alone, But for God and for the good of all people and the world. 5

6 Your life may become a little different; But it will become a far greater life, through God s presence and leading; Than any life you or I could ever live on our own; And when our time on earth is done and we enter into glory; May we and those who knew us recognize the gift of our higher calling; And follow through their higher calling to the life that is really life. Amen. 6

MY BIBLE READING MY PRAYER LIST BE A FRIEND AND BRING A FRIEND

MY BIBLE READING MY PRAYER LIST BE A FRIEND AND BRING A FRIEND Philippians 2:5-7English Standard Version (ESV) Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,