Epiphany 3B 2006 Mark 1:14-20

The Gospel for last Sunday and the Gospel for this Sunday present us with two contrasting views of call and response. As you may recall, in last week’s reading from the Gospel according to Saint John, Phillip is called but there is not a sense or immediacy, of immediately springing up and leaving all behind and following Jesus. Rather, Phillip goes to Nathanael and they begin to argue about who Jesus really is. Nathanael asks Phillip, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” And when Jesus calls Nathanael, Nathanael at first challenges Jesus: “Where did you get to know me?” There is even less immediacy in Nathanael’s response, at least at first.

But in the reading for today from the Gospel according to Saint Mark, we get that sense of pell mell urgency that is the tone and tenor of Mark’s Gospel.

Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee when he saw Simon Peter and his brother Andrew fishing. And he called to them, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people." And immediately they left their nets and followed him.

As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

It feels. Looks, sounds, tastes as though they dropped everything even before Jesus finished speaking. They instantly leaped up, leaving work, family, and friends without hesitation, without a good bye or backward look. And immediately they followed him.

I think we can and often do respond to God’s call with that sense of immediacy. But not always. And the Church is appropriately cautious about certain claims of being called to God’s work and service.

Once upon a time in a parish of my experience a couple showed up from a neighboring parish and asked to join because, they said, they couldn’t abide their parish priest. They had indeed been involved in troubles in that other parish. One person said that whenever there was trouble, you would always find this pair at the bottom of it.

And it was a very short time, as these things go, just before vestry elections when the husband announced to their new rector, that his wife wanted to be on the vestry. The rector responded that it was the custom in their new parish to spend a significant amount of time paying your dues – that is, demonstrating your good will and intent – before being elected to the vestry. It wasn’t too long after the vestry election, for which neither one of the pair had been nominated – that they announced their desire to be transferred out. Their tendency to be at the bottom of troubles continued in their next parishes.

And the church tends to be very careful in its assessment of those who wish to be ordained. To those who are not involved in the process toward ordination, it can seem mysterious. It is a rigorous process. I am a member of the Commission on Ministry of our diocese and very intimately involved with the process.

Traditionally and now by canon law, there are five formal stages that someone passes through before being ordained priest. In theory and usually in practice, it works this way:

Whenever people feel they have a call they confer with the parish priest and if, after an interview with a member of the Commission on Ministry, the judgement is that they are responding to a call from God, they becomes aspirants and submit a lengthy formal written application to the bishop.

A parish discernment committee is formed to examine the aspirant more thoroughly and to reach a conclusion about whether that call is for ordained ministry, lay ministry, or that there is no call at all. The discernment committee submits its report to the parish vestry at the conclusion of their work for approval and recommendation to the bishop.

Aspirants then present themselves to the full Commission on Ministry for three hours of intensive formal interviews for postulancy. While the Commission considers about nine stated criteria for postulancy, all of us are most interested in whether or not we can discern and affirm their call from God for the ordained ministry. Many parish discernment committees and vestries are hesitant to say no to one of their members during that early part of the process.

There are several outcomes of these interviews, all as recommendations to the bishop. Most recommendations are for postulancy. Some are recommendations for not now – do some more work, praying, thinking, and listening to God, and then come back to us. About one recommendation in ten is NO. These are extremely difficult decisions for all concerned.

Once aspirants are accepted as postulants and enter seminary, they belong to the Commission on Ministry. We monitor their spiritual, intellectual, and academic progress; prescribes special programs if necessary; and stay in frequent contact.

Almost all postulants are approved for candidacy, then for the diaconate. Priesthood is almost automatic after a year.

But the return to the call question: we are interested in hearing aspirants articulate their call. We want to know how it sounds, feels, and tastes to them. Is it like the description in Mark, a call absolutely so compelling that they don’t even have to think about it but just jump up immediately and begin the process. Or is it more like Nathanael in John’s gospel, a challenging conversation with God, perhaps along the lines of “Who, me? Nobody in their right mind would want to do this -- why do you want me?” Moses responded to God’s call to lead Israel by trying to get out of it. Young Samuel in last week’s lections did not know who was calling him and had to be told. And most of the called prophets of ancient Israel entered into a more or less lengthy debate with God until they gave up and obeyed. Some were compelled by a still small voice.

The God who loves us all has an infinite number of ways of calling us into his service, whether as leaders, priests, prophets, or disciples and followers. If you were to be asked how God’s call to you sounded, felt, and tasted to you, how would you answer?

AMEN

Wicomico Parish Church
PO Box 70
Wicomico Church, Virginia 22579