MEDITATION: Are You Called to Ministry? Second Sunday after Pentecost: June 22, 2014 By The Reverend Nathanael Saint-Pierre We invite you to worship with us during our Summer worship 9:00 AM Service of Holy Eucharist to hear the full sermon. ~~~~~ Are You Called to Ministry? It is in our human nature to compare ourselves to others. It is in our DNA to be jealous of others because we think people have what we dont. It is also natural for people to feel threatened and be extremely critical. Today Jesus is talking to all of us saying: What do you expect? A disciple is not greater than his teacher. If the world gives me a bad time, it will give you one too (Matthew 10:24-25). This message is essential to those who feel called to ministry (in fact to all of us as this is not only a call to ordained ministers but all the baptized). We have the hope and the belief that ministry is this wonderful work God is calling us to do. We are convinced that God has put in us all the tools we need to be successful in it. We define success by the level of appreciation and acknowledgement we receive from others for the sermons we preach, the hospital visits we do, the many people we have prayed for. We come to ministry for the wrong reasons if we set our expectations that high. We dont remember that Jesus was criticized. We dont remember that the good he tried to bring to the world was rejected. He was crucified because his message was misinterpreted. Instead of being received with warm welcome, his identity was in question from day one. How can the son of Mary, this little guy from Nazareth, the son of the carpenter, this street preacher who did not attend any theological school pretend to be the Messiah? “We know him”, said the people. “We are going to get him”, they thought, and they did. How many times do you feel discouraged because the ideas you share have been misconstrued? How many times, like Hagar, do rejections push you into a corner of despair and almost to the point of renunciation of your calling. God did not let Hagar down nor let her see her son die in front of her eyes. Yes, she was a foreigner (Egyptian), she was an immigrant, she was a maid who had an out-of-wedlock child with the husband of another woman. God did not condemn them; God protected them instead. Jesus is a redeemer, not a prosecutor. The gospel today offers hope for those who feel crushed by their ministry (Matthew 10:26-27): 1.Dont ever be afraid of your enemies and critics. Even though its not obvious now, the truth will come out finally. So, speak up; shout it out; stand and deliver. What? We are surprised thats the message of the Gospel? Dont be. The gospel is not a message prepared to be delivered to friends and fanatics. It is a message to be delivered to those of different cultures, of different visions of life, of different religions. How easy do you think it is for people who have practiced their religion one way for several decades, coming to a place of worship thinking thats the only place God is present, to accept that this can be the wrong place to start. We dont have a solid Christology that will define our mission and will build the healthy church we want to become. Instead we take a building, consecrate it as church; we write a couple of sentences as mission statement, then we try to find our Christology. Should someone ask us to change our rigid thinking by understanding God in a slightly different way, we react by defining their theology as shallow. In fact, no one can pretend to possess the true theology. If theology were science, it would change every time something different about God is understood. So... 2.Dont quit. The doors are wide open. People will come and go. Some will leave and not return. Some will return. Other people you dont expect will be attracted by your message. Dont let your call be lost. People will love and hate, love or hate. Do what God is calling you to do. Be at peace with yourself, be at peace with God and with your critics. Dont react to meanness with meanness, but with love: the divine love. Realize that it is not about you; it is about God. You are not at the center of your message; God is. As long as thats what you are doing, speak up; shout it out; stand and deliver. 3.Stop letting people define the way you worship God. To worship God is not to show off. It is not a beauty pageant; it is not American Idol. Give what you have with no need to brag about it, pray: have an intimate moment of conversation with God during which you are honest and sincere with God; be transparent to God; you are accountable to no one else. So do not PERFORM; “speak up; shout it out; stand and deliver.” + + + + + + + St Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church 286-290 Henry Street New York NY 10002
Posted on: Fri, 20 Jun 2014 23:27:33 +0000