All the Baptized Are Called to Ministry

Sermon preached by the Reverend John E. Kitagawa at the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, on 22 January 2012 (The Third Sunday after the Epiphany and Annual Meeting I Sunday) at St Philip’s In The Hills Parish, Tucson, Arizona

ALL THE BAPTIZED ARE CALLED TO MINISTRY

Jonah 3: 1-5, 10; I Corinthians 7: 29-31; Mark 1: 14 -20

In today’s Gospel, Peter, Andrew, James and John immediately accept Jesus’ call, “Follow me” (Mark 1: 17a). They put down their fishing nets and leave everything and everybody to follow.

There are no assurances of where they will be going—or when, if ever, they will get to go back to their present lives. Yet they follow this man who offers no guarantees—but is himself full of Promise in his person, [which is] his credibility[1].

In other words, the four fishermen responded to Jesus’ call first, then asked questions later. Reading about Jesus’ call to other disciples leaves us with the strong impression that this pattern is the model for becoming Jesus’ disciples. Or, as in the case of Paul, the expectation is that God will do something dramatic to get our attention and compel us into discipleship. These stories are certainly inspirational, but they can be discouraging to anyone who has doubts, or who cannot, for whatever reason, immediately put everything aside to follow. In a tradition like ours, the picture is further clouded by a culture that overly emphasizes ordination as the model for responding to God’s call. Let us be clear, here and now, that all the baptized are called by God to ministry.

The story of Jonah is a favorite of mine. It offers a different view of human response to God’s call. Today, we only get a snippet of the story of Jonah. The text says, “the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time …” (my italics). I like the story of Jonah because I and we can identify with him. One commentary offers this:

The world beats us down and tells us that you can’t change the big picture, so just fall in line and make the best living that you can for yourself and your family. Our values may tell us we need to head east to Nineveh, but we turn around and walk west and get on the boat with Jonah, because it is just too hard. We spend some of our precious time in the belly of the whale, out of touch with our calling, our sense of meaning and purpose[2].

But, then, as we learn in today’s passage, Jonah gets in touch with God’s call, gathers his courage, responds affirmatively, and goes to Nineveh as God’s agent. The story of Jonah is about second chances, about trying to do God’s work in the face of internal resistance, difficult conditions, and low odds for success.

Both of today’s call and response stories share a common characteristic. God’s call is a call to action.

God calls us not just to believe and to have faith, but to act. “Faith,”[as] they say, “Is a Verb”[3].

In Jonah’s case, God’s call is to go to Nineveh to call the people to repentance (Jonah 1: 2). For Peter, Andrew, James and John, Jesus’s call is to become “fishers of people” (Mark 1: 17b). Later, Jesus expands the meaning of this call to include the Great Commandment “to love one another as Christ loved us” (John 15: 12); and, the Great Commission “to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28: 19).

We are here this morning because, in one way or another, we have heard God’s call, perhaps faintly, perhaps more clearly. We want to follow Jesus. Some of us are spiritual kin to the four fishermen, ready to set aside personal priorities in order to get into action for Jesus Christ. Others are spiritual kin to Jonah, our values pointing us in the direction of God’s call, but uncertainty or fear hold us back from being “all in”.

We gather in community because we intuitively or instinctively know that solo discipleship is too hard to navigate and too small to change the big picture. We sense that we need each other, and that we can draw inspiration and strength from one another and the community as a whole. The Church of Jesus Christ, and this parish in specific are a long way from being perfect. Not too long ago, the words “maintenance to mission” were heard with some frequency here. These words were an attempt to speak to “the concern that so many church people see the Church as an end in itself”[4].

As flawed as the Church and this parish may be,

The Church [and parish are] God’s instrument[s] in the world to show the world what the Kingdom of God is like. Our life is a parable of the Kingdom. The Church [and parish are] sign[s] of the Kingdom. A sign always points beyond itself. That’s the reason we have signs, they point to something. And a sign is not nearly as important as that to which it points. The Church [and parish] point beyond [themselves] to the Kingdom of God. The Church [and parish] announce to the world that the Kingdom of God has arrived.

God is at work now pulling the whole created world toward a Kingdom in which justice will prevail. As the Church we demonstrate and announce that Kingdom to the world. In the sacraments we anticipate that Kingdom and are empowered to share in realizing it[5].

At this morning’s Annual Meeting, Part I[6], we will hear reports from the Commissions on Outreach, Stewardship, Worship, Education, Evangelism, and Pastoral Care. Please listen attentively to the speakers and view carefully the PowerPoint presentations about the diverse, numerous and energetic ministries of this parish. Try to get beyond the sheer number and scope of these ministries. Ask yourselves these kinds of questions:

1. Who is being touched, marked and blessed by these ministries, by our efforts to make God’s love manifest in the world.

2. Do these ministries point beyond themselves the Kingdom of God, which is at hand? Are these ministries signs of God’s activity and engagement in the world?

3. Who makes these ministries happen, and what do they do? If you are a member in good standing, do you realize that you have something to do with making these ministries happen? It really takes the proverbial “village” to do what we do.

4. Do you perceive a calling in these ministries to more fully live out your core values and faith? Find out how you can become a stronger participant in that particular aspect of God’s work in the world.

The point of Annual Meeting Part I reports is not to show off and call attention to how wonderful we are. [We actually are quite wonderful.] These reports are part of an exercise of transparency and thanksgiving. These reports are stewardship exercises, trying to inform you how your investments of time, talent and treasure have born fruit; they are brief and partial testimonials to the diverse ways the lives of members and neighbors have been touched and transformed. Finally, the reports reflect how we have lived our Faith in Challenging Times—how we have embraced our spiritual center to help us serve the needs of the world[7].

There is a sense of having come full circle this past year. Our parish was envisioned and born in the Great Depression. Seventy five years later, again in difficult economic times, we have lifted up our history and celebrated a rich heritage of accomplishments. We have grown to appreciate deeply rooted and effective ministries. In the process, we have seen our responsibility to be stewards of this heritage. As we steward our heritage, we must also see ourselves as midwives of St. Philip’s future. We must hear anew Jesus’ call, “Follow me” in a city and culture vastly different than 75 years ago. We must renew our commitment to a vision of discipleship and service beyond the boundaries of the parish. We have much to celebrate and to be thankful for, but there is a growing awareness in parish leadership that we must set goals and strategize to grow this parish in order to fulfill our potential and our high calling. Our spiritual ancestors heard the call and responded with zeal and a deep sense of purpose to grow this vibrant parish from the dust of the desert. May we be contemporary expressions of that tradition, honoring our past and building anew to serve the people of Tucson for the rest of this century. Together with the power of the Holy Spirit, we can be living signs of the kingdom of God at hand.

At this time, I want to thank so many parishioners who step forward to lead and to do whatever necessary to keep ministries touching and transforming lives. Together, you have done more than cushion the negative impact of staff reductions; you have injected new creativity and life into our ministries. In the process, I hope you have found deep meaning in what you are doing, and discovered something new and exciting about your vocations in ministry. We are greatly blessed as we do our best to be a blessing to those we serve.

AMEN.

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