ᴮᵉⁿ ᴿᵒʸᶜᵉVOTE IN THE PRIMARIES
Nonilex
sophiaThe Chosen One [Sermon]
I was thinking about warning labels.
There are a lot of jokes about them:
“Caution: The contents of this bottle should not be fed to fish.” — On a bottle of shampoo for dogs.
“Do not use while sleeping.” — On a hair dryer.
“Do not drive with sunshield in place.” — On a cardboard sunshield that keeps the sun off the dashboard.
“Not dishwasher safe.” — On a remote control for a TV.
It’s said that most of these warnings exist because someone did the thing the label warns against.
English novelist Catherine Aird said
“If you can’t be a good example, then you’ll just have to be a horrible warning.”
Let’s go to God in prayer.
God of wisdom, may the words that I speak, and the ways they are received by each of our hearts and minds, to help us to continue to grow into the people, and the church, that you have dreamed us to be.
Amen.
This morning we have stories about two people who were called by God: Isaiah and Jesus.
There are call narratives in the Bible. Most of them are in the format:
God says “I am calling you.”
The person called says “um, you have the wrong person” or – in the case of Job – just runs away.
And, in the end, the person answers the calling.
These stories are not call narratives.
The first is from Isaiah. If you follow the Deutero-Isaiah theory, where there are two authors, this is the second of those Isaiahs, in verses 40-66. If you follow the Trito-Isaiah theory, where there are three authors, this is the second of those Isaiahs, in verses 40-55, with the third Isaiah being verses 56-66.
But Isaiah isn’t being called here. He has already been called here.
And he’s not feeling triumphant..
He says
“I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;”
Isaiah 49:4, NRSVue
God doesn’t say
“You have failed me.”
God doesn’t tell him
“At least you tried.”
God says
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
Isaiah 49:6, NRSVue
and
“Kings shall see and stand up; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves, because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
Isaiah 49:7, NRSVue
Isaiah feels like a failure.
God elevates him even higher.
In our Gospel reading, John the Baptist is testifying about Jesus.
“I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Chosen One.”
John 1:34, NRSVue
And the next day two of John the Baptist’s disciples hear John say
“Look, here is the Lamb of God!”
John 1:36, NRSVue
and they follow Jesus.
One of them, Andrew, finds his brother Simon, brings him to Jesus, and Jesus says
“You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas”
John 1:42, NRSVue
So this isn’t Jesus’ call narrative. He’s already called and baptized.
It is the calling of Andrew and Simon called Peter, although it is a different call narrative than that in the synoptic – or similar-looking – gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
But we’re looking at Isaiah, and how he felt he failed to save Israel, and God lifted him to be a light to all of the nations. And we’re looking at Jesus, whom John the Baptist called “The Chosen One,” who was expected to drive Rome out of Judea, but became a light for the world.
Now I’m not saying anyone in this room is Jesus, or even Isaiah.
But I want us to know that even if we think we’re not succeeding at what God calls us to, we can be succeeding in being a light that will accomplish more than we set out to do.
I’m not saying we will have to be a horrible warning.
I am saying that those of us who strive for a better world can be a light for others who will do the same.
Cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead wrote
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
Complacency doesn’t serve us well.
Nor does a sense of futility.
We are called to be the light of the world, the salt of the earth.
As Christians, we are not called to just say “we are Christians.”
We are called to follow Jesus – his teachings and his example.
To let Christ’s love be shown, to care for cruel and kind.
To risk hostile stares.
To love the parts of ourselves we hide.
To reshape the world around us.
So my challenge to us all is to hear how we are summoned, and to live out our callings,
not because we will cause immediate change,
but because the small influences we have, the small lights we shine,
can influence others to join in the work.
None of us is the chosen one.
We are all the chosen ones.
Let us turn and follow Jesus and never be the same.
Amen.
Let’s sing The Summons (insert)
* Scripture quotations marked NRSVue are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. https://www.friendshippress.org/pages/about-the-nrsvue
* Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James version of the Bible.
#calling #chosenOne #futility #helplessness #hopelessness #inspiration #light #summons
The New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The NRSV Updated Edition (NRSVue) is informed by the results of discovery and study of hundreds of ancient manuscripts, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, in the more than thirty years since the first publication of the NRSV. The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC) partnered with the Society of Bibli
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