Press On and Pass it On (Script as Sermon)

Sunday, Jan 15 2012

Speakers: Rev. Laura Loving

Scripture: I Samuel 3:1-10, John 1:43-51

The voices speak from the ancient past and from recent events:

ALL: God is calling us.

Leader:  from temple and pulpit to Birmingham Jail and Church meeting rooms;

ALL: God has called you

Leader:  from the mountain top at Sinai to the Rainbow choir rehearsal at Tosa Presbyterian Church;

ALL: God is calling us.

Leader:  from Bethlehem, which means House of Bread, to the church kitchen where communion bread is prepared;

ALL: God calls you.

Leader:  God calls through a variety of voices; through the sleepy nighttime destiny-making-dreams of young Samuel and the tutelage of not-so-good-old Eli; God is calling through the recognition of Nathanael and the revolution of Martin Luther King, Jr.; and God is still calling on this day when we recognize the passing of the torch from one set of leaders to another in this congregation and the pressing on to follow the dream, to emulate the discipleship and to listen to the voice of God.

The voices call to children, to the outcast, to the newcomer and the old-timer, to the prophet and the preacher, the deacon and the elder.

Eli, Samuel, Martin Luther King Jr (MLK JR), 1^st and 2^nd Civil Rights Enthusiasts (CRE): 

God calls us to witness to compassion and justice.

JESUS, Philip, Nathanael, Choir Kids and Deacons/Elders:

God calls us to ministries of grace and discernment.

#1 Sometimes that call is hard to recognize. Consider the case of Samuel.

Narrator: A young boy was working in the temple under the supervision of Eli, the priest. People weren’t having visions; Nobody was having Super-Visions!

The word of the Lord was rare in those days.

Eli: The word of the Lord in Hebrew is DABAR.

Dabar--That word we treasure. The word of the Lord called creation into being, called our ancestor Moses to lead the people out of Egypt. God speaks and worlds are delivered. God speaks and freedom is birthed.

Samuel: The word of the Lord is treasured in this Ark of the Covenant, which I am watching in the temple overnight.

Narrator: But the word of the Lord, the word of God was rare in that time, because Eli’s sons were messing up their jobs and not honoring the Lord.

Samuel: But let’s get on to my part!

Narrator: So in the darkness of night (Isn’t it interesting how God calls in the darkest of times: political corruption, Eli’s near-blindness, )

Eli: Hey!

Narrator: Well, that detail in the Scripture adds to the dramatic effect and makes it consistent with other Biblical call narratives! So this is intended to create an air of confusion.

Samuel: Well, I didn’t know if it was Eli or someone else calling my name!

Narrator: That’s why we have ancestors, adults, mentors, teachers and role models to help us recognize our calling and help us know what to say and do.

Sam: Well, that’s exactly what Eli did!

Eli: I said, Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”

Sam: I did just that, even though it seemed kind of weird to me.

Narrator: And then, Samuel, you had to deliver the bad news to Eli, who had just helped you! The job of delivering the word of the lord, DABAR, is a difficult one. But that’s why this group of people, this cloud of witnesses surrounds us. There are others who have stood up and answered the call, not knowing what lay ahead. Samuel is one of them, relying on Eli.

Look around. Who here can help you recognize God’s call?

#2  Sometimes the call requires being found and being recognized, as in the case of Philip and Nathanael.

Narrator: John’s gospel reports that Jesus “found” Philip and said to him:

Jesus: Follow me.

Narrator: Then Philip went and found Nathanael. That’s kind of what happens when you get a call. It’s supposed to be catching…contagious in a good way. It’s not quite enough for those of us sitting here to feel smug or satisfied that we’ve heard some kind of call. We need to tell others; to spread the good news and share our enthusiasm. It may not be easy to invite a friend to church, for example, but isn’t that what we’re called to do? We cannot shirk our call to tell others about Jesus.

In the Gospel lesson today, Philip told Nathanael about Jesus, the one whom the prophets foretold.

Philip: And when I told him that Jesus was from Nazareth, Nathanael burst out, saying:

Nathanael: Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?!?

Narrator: Once again God surprises people with the origins, the birthplace, the social status, or the unpredictability of the vessel for the word of God. Not only that, this unlikely Messiah recognized Nathanael right off the bat.

Nathanael: I asked how he knew me, and when he told that he saw me under the fig tree before Philip had called me, I knew he was exceptional.

Jesus: Nathanael called me Rabbi, the Son of God, the King of Israel, and I thought, “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!”

Philip:  How is it that God has a way of finding us and calling us and prompting us to call others? Nathanael and I never dreamed our day in Galilee would turn out that way. But I guess with God, we have to be prepared for anything.

Where will God find you? Under a fig tree? In Galilee? Or right here in this sanctuary? Or perhaps in the midst of some current event, conflict, or crisis?

#3 Sometimes God’s call is risky and life threatening.

In fact, I’m not sure we’re very good at acknowledging the inherent risk in following as disciples of Christ. Did Philip and Nathanael follow with the full knowledge that their lives would be in danger, that they would become outcasts, that their exemplar, Jesus, was headed for the cross?

 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in his book, The Cost of Discipleship, writes:

We must face up to the truth that the call of Christ DOES

set up a barrier between [us] and [our] natural life. But

this barrier is no surly contempt for life, no legalistic piety,

it is the life which is life indeed, the gospel, the person of Jesus Christ…there can be no turning back, for Christ bars the way…

The call of Jesus teaches us that our relation to the world has been built on an illusion.

 

Consider the call of Martin Luther King, Jr. and other civil rights activists. King was under no illusions that the world was operating the way it should be. Nor was Henry Kennedy, an unforgiving critic of the United States during the 1960’s. He saw the humiliation of Blacks and the hostility of Whites as a kind of cancer that affected the nation. The story goes that “during the 1960’s, Mr. Kennedy drove his family from their home in Washington to his wife’s old home in Columbia, South Carolina. Several times they were stopped by a policeman who told Mr. Kennedy that this was the South and he should take care to behave himself. ‘Yassuh,’ Mr. Kennedy replied, ‘in a way calculated to provide the maximum safety to himself and his family’”(Anthony Lewis, “The Shame of America” , New York Review of Books, Jan 12, 2012

Narrator: Safety is not for prophets.

MLK JR: I have a dream..

2^nd CRE: The theologian, Paul Tillich, wrote that “Justice is always violated if [people] are dealt with as if they were things. This has been called reification (Verdinglichung) or objectivation (Vergegenstandlichung). In any case it contradicts the justice of being, the intrinsic claim of every person to be considered a person…”(Tillich, Love, Power and Justice, 60, 61).

3^rd CRE: Why wouldn’t every body be considered a person?

MLK JR: Well, we had to fight to be considered persons. We had to speak up to be considered equal. And being equal in law is not the same as being equal. “I want to be the white man's brother, not his brother-in-law.”(MLK)

2^nd CRE: We had to be willing to risk a lot to affiliate with the civil rights movement.

MLK: “I submit to you that if a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live”(MLK).

3^rd CRE: Well, since Martin Luther King Jr. said that we have more freedom now, right?
2^nd CRE: We’re working on it, but racial divisions still exist.

3^rd CRE:: But we have a Black President!
2^nd CRE: And we hand on to you the hope that you will take the risk to work toward real racial breakthroughs in this century, because the police officers are still stopping Black drivers and the idea of full citizenship and civil rights for all people is still a dream. But dream on, press on and pass it on.

What are you willing to risk to follow God’s call? How will you raise your voice?

(This part at 8:30 am service only)

#4 Sometimes God’s call is the passing of the torch from older choir members to younger ones, as the Rainbow Choir gets a new sound with fresh young voices.

Clare:   We used to sing in the Rainbow Choir, learning our songs from Mrs. Weinberg.

Bayden:  Yeah, we wore the rainbow stoles and lined up on the chancel steps to sing. It was kind of cool to be up in front of the congregation.

Clare: But this year you may have heard us singing as shepherds in the Christmas pageant.

Bayden: I guess you could say we graduated from Rainbow Choir. But we want to pass on what we’ve learned to the younger kids.

Clare:  So, Brigid and Ben, we’re giving the stoles to you now.

Bayden: In the Bible, the passing of a stole, or a mantle, was a sign of giving the leadership to the next one to come along.

Clare: That happened with the prophet Elijah giving the mantle to the next prophet, Elisha.

Bayden: So we hope you see the role of Rainbow Choir as one of leadership. You get to lead the people in worship, even though you’re younger than a lot of them.

Clare: Leaders can be any age, from any town, of any race.

Bayden: Class doesn’t matter. Money doesn’t matter. Both girls and boys can be leaders, because God calls all of us.

Clare:  When Jesus calls us to follow him, he is asking us to use our gifts. Bayden and Clare together: Ben and Brigid, use your voices as gifts that you offer to God.

Ben and Brigid: We will!

What gift is God calling you to use?

ALL: Press on and Pass it on!

(This part at 10:30 am service only) Sometimes the call is the passing of the torch from current Deacons and Elders to new ones.

Kris: As Co-chair of the Deacons, I am passing on to you the privilege and the burden---and the risk—of offering care for the congregation.

Barb: I know this work; it’s a sacred calling. But what do I need to know to lead the Deacons?

Kris: To lift up your voice for those who cannot speak; to recognize those in need; to care for the least, the last and the lost.

Barb: Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.

Anne: I have a lot to learn, but I’m willing to listen.

Nora: I have a lot to share, and I’m willing to offer my voice and opinion.

Anne: There are so many ways to be involved in the ministries to which God calls us!

Nora: Peace be with you as you follow your call

ALL: Press on and Pass it on! Amen.