Sermon 4 th Sunday of Easter (Vocations Sunday)

Transcription

1 Sermon 4 th Sunday of Easter (Vocations Sunday) Today is Vocations Sunday, a day on which the church invites us to think about God s calling to us. This morning we would be exploring what this means to us. The word vocation is derived from the word vocation which means summons or calling. However, it is often seen even within the church as a profession reserved for some people especially the ordained. And outside of the church, as those in professions such as nurses, doctors, teachers, police officers and many other public services are often said to be in a vocation. Because the pay is low, the service is selfless and the work expectation is unrealistic! While both understanding are acceptable nevertheless, it limits the definition and understanding of the word itself. For us Christians, vocation is the more than just a profession. It is a call from God. And often, the Bible uses the analogy of the Shepherd and his sheep to explain this calling. There are at least 11 instances in the New Testament, where Jesus refers to himself or is referred to as The Good Shepherd. When this number is added to other instances in the Old Testament like Psalm 23, where God is described as the Shepherd, we might be surprised to see how popular this analogy is. The relationship between God and his people is compared to that of sheep and shepherd. The sheep depends solely on the shepherd for its wellbeing and safety but for this to happen, it must listen to the shepherd s calling. Likewise, we are implored to listen to God s voice 1

2 calling out to us. In our Gospel passage, Jesus said to the Pharisees: I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father s name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. The word translated to Church is the Ekklesia in Greek, which means the community that is called together. So young and old, men and women, individually and corporately we are called. And as Christians, our calling is three-fold, we are called to follow; we are called to be and we are called to belong. The first and most important of these three calls in the call to discipleship. A call to follow Jesus as our Master, Savior and Shepherd. We are called to follow Jesus, to follow him in his care for people, to follow him in his willingness to sit and eat with the wrong sort of people, to follow him in his self-giving love. We are called to care for the rejected, the homeless, the lonely and the refugees. We are called to love our neighbors as ourselves. Like Dorcas, in our reading from Acts of the Apostles, we are called to acts of charity and good works. We are called to act like Pope Francis did yesterday, taking refugees with him from Lesbos to the Vatican. The second of our calls is the call to be ourselves. Be yourself is a refrain that we hear a great deal in our society. It often mean do not to worry about other people s expectations. This is not what I 2

3 mean when I say we are called to be ourselves. What I am trying to say is that God has called us to be ourselves because He has created us to be who we are. If God had wanted us to be anything else, then that is how he would have made us. And when we come to him, though he washes us clean of our sins, nevertheless, he does not want us to throw away every experience or everything about ourselves. You see God is not a wasteful God. Every experience we ve gone through, every knowledge and skills we ve acquired are for a particular purpose. They are to make us who we are and should be part and parcel of our calling and what we bring with us when we answer God s call. God called David the Shepherd boy and made him shepherd of his people, He called Peter the fisherman and made him fisher of men. He called Paul the argumentative lawyer and made him his advocate to the Gentile. Likewise we are called, each of us whatever our profession. Are you are banker? Could you bank God s people? Are you a teacher, a doctor, a secretary, a trader, retired person? Could God be calling you to use such skills and experiences for His Kingdom? Last week, there are Newspaper reports concerning the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby and his paternity. It was widely reported that he was indeed not the son of Mr. Welby but rather the son of Mr. Anthony Browne. We can only imagine the shock for him and his family. But as Justin Welby said: 3

4 "I know that I find who I am in Jesus Christ, not in genetics, and my identity in him never changes. - Justin Welby This bold claim is based on his trust on Christ as The Good Shepherd, who has called him. Same way, our identity should be based on our calling. I am sure Justin s experience will enable him to feel what its like to discover such news about ones paternity and this will enable him to help others in reconciling themselves with such. Whatever our experiences in life, good or bad, I pray that we would allow them to enrich who we are so that we could help others in such situations. The third part of our calling is the calling to belong. Jesus tells us that there will be one flock of which he will be the Shepherd. We are called to belong to each other. We are called together, never on our own. We cannot be ourselves on our own we are made to live in the midst of people. We cannot follow Jesus on our own we are called into the one flock with Jesus as our Shepherd. We are called to love one another, and we cannot do that on our own. God has made us to need each other, to need other people. We need one another in order that we can fulfill our vocation together. Together we will learn to be ourselves. Together we will seek to follow Jesus. Together we will use our gifts to uplift and serve the Body of Christ. Hence, vocation is not just for some people we all have a vocation. We are all called. The key is to find your vocation and to follow it. 4

5 No one could answer a call they ve not heard. We can only answer God s call if we ve heard it and we can only hear it if we ve listened to it. This listening is both individual and collective. So let me end with a challenge. Are we listening for the voice of God calling us to be ourselves, to follow Jesus and to belong to one another? And how is that calling to be manifested in the realities of our lives as individuals and as a community? God is a Spirit, He is not static and he constantly wants to do something through us. Might God be calling you to a new thing, and might that new thing be ministry in the church as a lay preacher, a visitor, a pastoral assistant, a member of the choir, a small group leader, a teacher or helper for Kid s Church or Youth Group, or even as an ordained person? None of us is without a calling, what is yours? Or might God to be calling you to do something differently with your vocation? Or do you know somebody who you think God might be calling to a particular ministry. You might want to say a word of encouragement to them. If you would like to explore what you calling might be, you could have a chat with those who are already involved in what you feel you are been called to. Otherwise, why not have a see a member of the clergy who would be able to help you in exploring what your individual calling might be. 5