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“God's Still, Small Voice of Grace”
Jeremiah 1:4-10;
Psalm 71:1-6; Luke 4:21-31; 1 Corinthians 13
Rev. Sandy Nuernberg
Oakland-Cambridge Presbyterian Church, Cambridge, WI
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time -
Annual Meeting and Potluck
January 28, 2007
When I was taking classes in
theological studies at Edgewood a few years back, I would often stop in at my
church in Madison on the way home and talk to my mentor, Bette Duff in her
office. She was always so receptive, asking me how school was, but once I
remember asking her; ‘Bette, I know I’m in ministry and going to seminary in
Chicago soon ,but people are already asking me, “How did you receive your
calling?” and I don’t know how to respond. What do I say?’ I knew that the
Presbytery committee on preparation for ministry (CPM) in our denomination would
be asking me this question, and sure enough, they did; often! So Bette and I
chatted; I knew in my heart I was not like others in the scriptures, or in life
who knew exactly the time place, and event to describe their vocational “call.”
It wasn’t like Moses hiding his
face, fearing God (Exodus 3), the trustworthy prophet Samuel hearing his name
being called by the Lord (I Sam.3), Jeremiah’s reluctance in hearing God say he
was not too young or inexperienced (Jeremiah 1), or the apostle Paul’s
conversion approaching Damascus and seeing a light from heaven (Acts 9:1-9). Nor
was it like Jesus’ call to active, earthly ministry in our text today, in his
own home synagogue where people hadn’t seen him in a while.
No, for me it was a gradual,
consistent, and constant happening where I felt more comfortable every day I was
on campus, and when I talked to my advisers, mentors, and family. Little did I
know that all along these same persons, like Jesus’ friends and family looking
him over, were wanting to know if I knew the depths, bounds, time commitment of
this kind of profession! Unlike Jesus, in age and work(!!) I am in my second
career; someone last week commented to me, ‘I think I’m your age Sandy, and I’m
thinking of winding down my career and you seem to be just getting in the swing
of things into a new career!’
But you know what? I felt then,
and I feel now, really, it was all along a communication to me of a kind of
love, a gradual and blossoming feeling in my heart of ‘it’s right’ for me to be
where I am in my faith journey. For me, God speaks to us in oh, so subtle and
still a small voice of grace and love urging us, purging our souls day by day in
our ordinary circumstances of life. Where and when were you called? For me,
today, there is some kind of an influence, a guidance, a help that sticks with
me and acts inside me peeking my awareness and making me willing and ‘Lord knows
how’ able to carry on in my being a church pastor.
As the eyes of all were fixed on
Jesus in the synagogue, he read and spoke to them. I thought of my first time in
the leadership role he was; a teacher, pray-er, worship-er with them publicly.
To tell you the truth, I wasn’t ever asked to be at my home church, and I was
perhaps naive, and from early on I have never felt rejected! But Jesus was
different; Jesus was personifying God, in the O.T. and in the N. T. Jesus was
living proof of all that was foretold and they were in Jesus’ words and
actions. “All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came
from his mouth.”
But just as they were in awe in
this scene with his words and healing, they became enraged by Jesus’ mentioning
any prophet of God who might minister to a ‘foreigner’, in these instances
(Elijah, I Kings 17:7-24), a widow, and then lepers (Elisha, II Kings 5:1-14)
–clearly outsiders then, a non-Jew and a Syrian. And soon, Jesus is in
Capernaum, teaching on the Sabbath. You might ask, “ Isn’t Jesus ticking these
people off; isn’t Jesus telling them that God’s love stretches, endlessly? God’s
love is so vast, no one, no one is ever excluded in God’s abundant and
unconditional love. ‘God so loved the world, that God gave his only Son.’
God loved the whole world so much that he made one grand judgment of grace and
love; God delivered a Son for our salvation.
You know what? Jesus’ words are so
inflammatory that, in today’s language, his listeners ‘show him the door!’ They
lead him to the ‘brow of the hill’ where the town was built, and they wanted to
‘hurl him over the cliff.’ Holy smokes, if I ever tick any of you off that
drastically, please tell me in time!! Oh, that’s right, Jesus did escape and
went on his way! Well, for just a little while, didn’t he? But the point is that
Jesus’ ministry, his being filled with the Spirit, bringing good news to the
poor, proclaiming the Lord’s favor, probably expecting hostility from the Jews,
and declaring mission for those Gentiles, was preparing them for his final
dismissal from their lives–his crucifixion. Christianity emerged as a non-Jewish
religion and it was angering any who listened and watched Jesus Christ.
Similarly, as familiar as our
text from Paul’s letter to Corinth is to us, there is meaning in the language of
love that Paul has for his church. There was in Corinth, as today in many parts
of our world, distress, corruption, immorality, excess, and divisiveness among
peoples; and Paul was rejected, as there is opposition to our leaders and their
words and actions. I believe I heard our president is at an all time low of 28%
in being ‘in like’ by the voters.
You and I both know that
leadership calling is not a fun-calling; it is not being on a pedestal or having
someone else do your work for you. Paul is pointing out to these early
Christians that there is a distinct discrepancy in what they claim to be and
what they really are. The key here in this eloquent and graceful text on love is
their practice; these Christian’s love for one another. Paul has a tall
challenge to his church of building up a community of life that has all the
signs of a disintegrating community. Paul’s more excellent way is that of love,
importantly, love in the church.
There is not one person in our
church community who has not been called by God. All of us are known by God, and
called for specific tasks, and God will fulfill everything we need in our
calling, for you and for me. Those called today at our annual meeting to be
elders, deacons, and committee members have received a call. Thank you to all of
you. In our grace and love we receive from God, we are expressing our faith in
action. Paul and others express this in the N.T. (Gal. 5:14, Eph. 5:2, Col.
3:14, and I John 4:7-21 to name a few). These are all in Paul was admonishing
why we strive in our own lives to be obedient to our Great Commandment, loving
God because God loves us, and because in God’s love for us, our love is for one
another.
Love is of the highest quality,
the crown jewel of the three, faith, hope, and love. Love is most like God, and
love is community in the church. Clifton Kirkpatrick, our stated clerk of the
General Assembly for the PC(USA) visited in Madison at the church I was a
student pastor a few years ago (Dale Heights, fall of 2003), and he said, “The
book of I Corinthians is the letter of Paul to the PC(USA)!! You don’t have to
change but perhaps twelve (12) words of it!” He meant that there is unity as
well as diversity in the church, and, “we are in unity in the church even with
our diversity.” It seems that Paul is also advocating a still small voice of
grace and love from a God who brings to us new life in Christ as we are
neighbors in loving one with another.
Quietly, confidently, in a still small
voice from God and through the grace, love, and communion of God the Holy
Spirit, the good news of the gospel for us is that we are all known and loved by
God. In our faith, hope, and love of God in our community we are committed to
Christian unity. In the greatest of these, in our love for one another, we live
in a most exciting time in our church and in the world.
Thanks be to God. AMEN.
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