The Diocese of East Tennessee
Sermons

Jan. 23, 2000
Epiphany III
Delivered at St. Timothy's, Signal Mt.

Sermon: What's in a Call?
The Right Reverend Charles G. vonRosenberg
Third Bishop of East Tennessee

I want to begin by thanking the people of St. Timothy's for the warm hospitality extended to Annie and me. I have been here previously - on the significant occasion of breaking ground for your new church building. I recall, by the way, that was a very hot, sticky day … a bit different from this trip! I look forward to watching that structure as it develops. But this is my first official Sunday visit to St. Timothy's as bishop - and I anticipate many happy returns.

In addition, I want to say specifically how grateful I am to your clergy for the good work they do here and in their diocesan responsibilities. Being an Episcopal priest means more than serving as pastor in a particular local congregation. Both clergy here realize that, and I am grateful to you both for your efforts on behalf of St. Timothy's and the Diocese of East Tennessee as well.

In our Gospel lesson, we read that two sets of brothers were by the Sea of Galilee one day, tending their nets, "for they were fishermen." And in that setting, they had an encounter that changed their lives, for they met the Lord.

Now, I used to be something of a fisherman myself - freshwater, saltwater, spin fishing, bait fishing, fly-fishing. However, when the senior warden of one of my first churches asked me to go fishing with him one day, I had no idea what I was getting into. What I did was help tend his nets, and my whole perspective on fishing was changed forever.

We set out in his 100-year old, leaky boat early one Saturday morning. And we proceeded to "fish" his three nets - a fifty yarder and two seventy-five yarders. We pushed and pulled and tore from those nets the most amazing collection of fish that I ever remember seeing, with the possible exception of those found in the Tennessee Aquarium! After five or six hours, we had about one hundred pounds of mullet around our feet in the bottom of the boat, and we finally headed back to shore. But there I was presented a butcher knife, and we proceeded to clean the fish so that my senior warden could salt them down and put them on the steps of his old country store.

After I finally left that community and drove the twenty miles back home, I headed straight for bed. I remember asking Annie to wake me up - if I was still alive - and to make sure I didn't sleep through church the next morning.

Now, usually in encountering today's Gospel passage, I have preached on those fishermen - Simon, Andrew, James, and John - and I have noted in particular their leaving everything behind to follow Jesus. But as I remember my experience net fishing, I have to say in all honesty that maybe, leaving that behind may not have been such a great sacrifice! If I had to face the experience of doing what I did that day long ago every single day, then almost any alternative would have seemed terrific! I, for one, would certainly have been prepared to listen to the alternatives.

In this Gospel reading, though, a related theme presents itself to us - the biblical concept of call. Jesus called each of the four brothers…and, regardless of their motivations, they followed. Therefore, it is appropriate for us to raise questions like, "What is a call?" "What does it mean to be called in the biblical sense?" "How can someone tell if he or she is called?"

For an example of a call, we might point to our reading today - several individuals doing unpleasant work, being confronted by Jesus himself. And the exchange seems to have been pretty direct and straightforward. Jesus called and they followed. However, for most of us, perceiving calls from our Lord probably involves much more uncertainty. How do we discern when - as the hymn says - "Jesus calls us, o'er the tumult of our life's wild, restless sea"? How do we know when, "Day by day, his clear voice soundeth, saying 'Christian follow me'"? I have a couple of suggestions to consider about the matter of God's calling us and about our perceiving such calls.

First, it is important to realize that our Lord is interested in us constantly - all of us, all of the time. The call of God goes out to people other than those who happen to be called to ordained ministry. Surely God cares profoundly for us, if indeed God even counts the hairs of our heads - as we may read elsewhere in the Bible. And just as surely, therefore, God uses various means to call us in everyday kinds of ways - through relationships, in our vocations, and by means of hopes and dreams. We are all called in and through such everyday experiences.

Secondly, we are called by means of our baptismal covenant. The baptismal covenant identifies the perimeters of our relationship with God Almighty. That relationship was affirmed and celebrated at baptism. Then - as with some candidates today - we confirm those baptismal promises later in our lives. And, finally, we have the opportunity at various times to renew that baptismal covenant. That is, we affirm belief in God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Further, we indicate our intention to continue in the life of the Church, to resist evil and to engage in repentance when we fall short, to live our lives consistent with the Gospel of Christ, to "seek and serve Christ in all persons", and to "strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being." That is our baptismal covenant with God.

My friends, by means of that covenant, Jesus Christ calls us. Whatever we do in the Church and in the world, however we respond to our particular talents and interests, each of us basically - and most importantly - is a child of God. The baptismal covenant establishes that relationship. And it is within the relationship we have with God that, indeed, day by day, Jesus calls us all.

Copyright © 2000 The Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee