Third Sunday of Epiphany – evening
Sunday 20th January 2019
Epiphany 3 – evening
1 Samuel 3. 1-20
Ephesians 4. 1-16
Revd Preb Maureen Hobbs
Listening for God’s Call….
This week is the week of prayer for Christian Unity. Here we will focus on that particularly next weekend, when we join with our fellow Christians in the Covenanting Churches of Wolverhampton West. (4 pm at Christ Church, Tettenhall Wood)
And most Christians do believe that God calls us into unity with himself – even if we choose to maintain our distinctiveness in worship and theological understanding – something that I have always thought must both amuse and sadden God by turns! Jesus told us that he came “That they might all be one”. That doesn’t of itself mean that we have to be all the same; identical; carbon copies of one another… If creation teaches us anything, it is that God delights in Diversity, and we are only just beginning to understand that and to delight in it alongside him. But all Christians should be able to accept that we are all on our journey to find God. I for one, am eternally grateful to my brothers and sisters in Christ in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Pentecostal, Baptist, Methodist and all sorts of other denominations. There are times when I unashamedly borrow from their understanding, their words, their prayers, their music and singing.
So listening for the call of God is something we can all do in different ways…
Now, I don’t know if anyone here has ever experienced the feeling that God has spoken to them?….
If tonight’s story about the young Samuel teaches us anything, it is that – if God is truly calling us – he will be patient and persistent. So we don’t have to worry that we might miss the call. Samuel thinks that his Guardian, Eli, is calling him for help in the night. Not just once, but three times before they both realise that God has a particular message for young Samuel.
And not one he really wants to hear. It is a message that must have brought disappointment and anguish to Eli, even if he realised only too well how the actions and words of his two wayward sons – and his failure to correct them – meant that he was justly deserving of God’s justice.
But when you hear God speak to you, it may not be only words of comfort and reassurance. There may well be a cost to pay.
Clergy often speak of feeling that they have been forced to pursue ordination in the church of God – kicking and screaming. No-one in their right mind would want their life turned upside down. Face a future of managing on a stipend, rather than pursuing worldly wealth; perhaps have to uproot family and move across the country either to train or to find that place where God seems to be calling us.
I have just passed my 10th Anniversary as your Vicar. And while I cannot claim that I heard God speak clearly to me telling me to apply for this job, I know that when I first heard the name Pattingham and then heard the nature of the other half of my role, I just knew that there was a good fit with my background and abilities. So while I had not been looking for a move from my previous post, I felt compelled to at least apply… and God looked after the rest.
(So any complaints that you’ve had to put up with me for 10 years should be addressed to him, not me!)
Often I am asked by people – especially those outside the church, “What made you want to be a vicar then?” It is impossible to answer that question in one sentence, but the truth is that I was not at all sure I did want ordination and all that goes with it. All I did know was that while I had contemplated moving jobs or training for a new career, never before did I feel that I wanted to move house and home. I was very settled in Oxfordshire. But then, when my vicar spoke to me about the prospect of ordination, all those doubts and questions disappeared. And I knew that for my own peace of mind, I had to at least allow the church to test my vocation. And there have been times since when I have asked God for reassurance that I did make the right choice in life, (because I am human and we all go a bit wobbly at times!) and he never fails. Something or someone lets me know that I am in the right place at the right time.
But enough about me. What about you? Where is God calling you to be? What is he prompting you to do?
Not everyone will be called to be a priest or a prophet. God also calls people to be farmers, teachers, doctors and nurses, accountants and carers, shop assistants and hairdressers, mechanics and welders, designers and auditors.
Like I said, God loves diversity – but it is the same God who calls us, whether or not we care to listen for, acknowledge and respond to his voice.
So in the week ahead, may you be aware of God calling you, speaking to you, asking you to play your part in building up the body of Christ in love. Amen.