Sermon for January 17, 2021 Epiphany 2 B House of Prayer Lutheran Church

1 Samuel 3:1-10; John 1:43-51 Rev. Karl-John N. Stone

What does it mean to be called by God? As Christians, we believe that God has called each of us when we were baptized: a call is not just something for pastors -- a call is for everyone. So how do you live your calling? How do you even figure out what God is calling you to do? It basically comes down to listening.

In today’s Old Testament reading, we heard about the call of Samuel. Samuel was a boy who helped out a old priest named Eli. As the story goes, the Lord called out in the middle of the night saying “Samuel! Samuel!” Now, most of us who receive a call from God don’t hear God with our actual ears, it’s more of a “metaphorical hearing” in the heart and soul. Though I do know at least one person who--in a totally surprising and unexpected moment of grace--did hear God speak with her own ears. She can’t quite believe it happened, but has no other explanation for it. So, while it’s not common, it could happen.

But even a wise old priest like Eli had trouble believing this was happening, as well. Three times Samuel listened to the Lord call his name in the middle of the night. Three times he ran to Eli saying “Here I am, for you called me.” Twice Eli responded, “no I didn’t; go back to sleep.” But the third time it happened Eli realized that this must be the Lord at work. So he tells Samuel, “if God calls you again, say ‘speak for your servant is listening’”.

That’s what happened; the Lord called one more time and Samuel said, “speak for your servant is listening,” and Samuel went on to become a great prophet. He was known, in the words of the Bible, as a “trustworthy prophet of the Lord”. Why? Because he told the truth, honestly and plainly, even when it was difficult for others to hear. But his calling from God all started with listening: Samuel listening to the Lord, and Eli listening to Samuel. They all had to listen to one another and work together in order to figure out what God was calling them to do.

I was talking to a friend last week, and he told me a story that shows the power of listening and working together in order to understand God’s call. My friend’s name is Daniel Hille, and he’s a pastor and home-brewer of beer in Whitehall, Ohio--this is the Columbus metro area. When he moved there about a year and a half ago, he started going to a local microbrewery. He got to know the owner, and asked him if he had ever thought about brewing a specialty beer that he could sell to help fund a local charity. Yes, the owner said, he’d thought about it but the right opportunity had not come along.

Meanwhile, Dan’s church had a “taco” ministry--once a month they would have a free taco bar in their church kitchen for anybody who wanted to come. They typically served between 20-40 people, mostly kids from the neighborhood. As they got to know one another, and the brewery owner listened to Dan tell him about it, he offered to support the taco ministry. They worked on a beer recipe together, brewed it, and started selling it in the microbrewery, with $1.50 from the sale of each beer going to support the taco ministry by selling a specialty beer. In the first month they raised $600! Now, can you guess when they started this? It was last February--right before the pandemic! So even though they got off to a great start, almost right away they had to change their plans. Due to the need for social distancing precautions, which we are all familiar with, the church could no longer serve tacos from their kitchen.

So my friend Dan is wondering what they’re going to do. The church has $600 burning a hole in its pocket that’s supposed to be used to feed people. The neighborhood has dozens of people who like to eat tacos. But they're all in the middle of a pandemic, and all the normal ways of doing things need to be adapted. Well, it seems the Lord was listening to their plight.

A while goes by, and one day Dan notices a food truck driving around the neighborhood. It drives by the church 3 or 4 times--almost looks lost--so Dan goes out to see if the guy needs help. It turns out he lives across the street but can’t find a good spot to park his truck. Dan says, “park it here in the church lot. We have plenty of space, you’ll have a spot, and we’ll have someone keeping an eye on things when no one is here as you keep an eye on your truck. It’s a win/win.”

As they talk some more, Dan mentions the church’s dilemma with the taco ministry. As the food truck guy listens to Dan describing the situation he says, “wait a minute, this is what I do. I have a food truck and I love feeding people. I’ll help you out.” So now, once a month the food truck guy spends two hours giving out free tacos to people from the neighborhood in the church parking lot, funded by the local microbrewery!

All of this happened because everyone involved listened to one another, and worked together--and the Holy Spirit was at work in all of that, guiding them all towards adapting a new way of serving the community through the taco ministry. To borrow an image from Jesus in today’s gospel, this was a time when “the heavens were opened and the angels of God were going up and down.” Have you ever had something like that? Where everything falls into place, in a way that feels almost miraculous? That’s a moment of grace.

Notice, as well, that everyone was doing the things they normally did, whether it be serving as a pastor; brewing beer; cooking from a food truck; or eating tacos. They found new ways to serve God, using the gifts God had already given them. So, what does it mean to be called by God? Being called by God doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to do impossible things, or travel to the farthest corners of the earth, or radically change the direction of your life. A call from God might involve those kinds of things, but most of the time God calls us to simply love and serve people right in the middle of everyday life. And it’s easier to love and serve people when we listen to one another, and work together.

And then we can take the next step, which is to invite people to “Come and see!” Come and see what God is up to. Come and see how you can also be part of God’s work in the world. Come and see the power of a loving and merciful God, who came to live among us in Jesus--our Messiah who was willing to even let an angry mob in Jerusalem send him to death on a cross, so that God could prove through raising him from the dead that forgiveness, love, and compassion toward the struggling people of the world is the true calling of God for all of humanity.

God called Samuel. God called disciples at the time of Jesus. God called a microbrewery owner and food truck guy last year. And God is calling you today, to love and serve people right in the middle of your everyday life. As we listen to one another, as we work together, God will keep on providing those surprising moments of grace when we too will see “the heavens opened and the angels of God going up and down.” Amen.