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Bob Ericson
Trinity Lutheran Church
Watertown, MN
"WHY am I called?" (3/3)
Acts 4:1-20
In his book, Just Like
Jesus, Max Lucado tells about a wealthy woman who lived 100 years ago. She
was extremely tight with her money, so neighbors were surprised when she had her
home wired for electricity. Because of what it cost, they couldn’t believe she
had it done. But she did. Weeks later, a meter reader came by and read her
meter. It showed very little usage. So the meter reader asked her, “Are you
using your power?” “Certainly,” she replied. “Each evening I turn on my lights
long enough to light my candles. Then I turn them off.”
“Are you using your power?”
As you and I attempt to connect Sunday to Monday, as we seek to connect our
faith with our daily lives, this question looms in the background. Are we
offering God “our own candlelight?” Are we depending on the exhaustible
resources of our own power? Or are we letting God empower us with his
inexhaustible resources? Our answer is important, for it leads us to an
important insight about “WHY am I called?”
“WHY am I called?” There are
really two parts to our answer.
The main reason “WHY” is that
you and I participate with God in God’s creative activity in our various
“callings.” With the different abilities and different roles we have in life –
parent, wage earner, son or daughter, volunteer, whatever it might happen to be
– we cooperate with God in caring for his creation and getting our neighbor
loved. We talked about this several weeks ago when we looked at the many
different places WHERE God “calls” us.
This morning, I would like us
to look at a second reason behind “WHY we are called.” It’s not the main
reason. Rather it is a by-product of living in Christ. As you and I cooperate
with God in our “callings,” caring for his creation and loving our neighbor, we
will bear witness to God’s redemptive activity. This witness happens because we
are connected to God’s inexhaustible power. Connected to Christ, certain things
will happen.
In our text for this
morning, Peter and John found themselves in conflict with the authorities simply
because they had healed a man in Jesus name. This is not an isolated incident
in the book of Acts. Later on Paul was used by God to convert many people in
Ephesus. As a result of people coming to faith, a silversmith named Demetrius
suffered a great loss in income. He made silver shrines of their local god,
Artemis. Now his business was greatly affected. So Demetrius stirred up the
people against Paul. The examples are numerous, not only then but today.
As we let Christ rule
in our lives, we may experience similar things. A whistle-blower comes up
against the powers of evil as he or she points out things in a business or an
organization that are not right, that are not just. An individual might lose
their job because they question unethical business practices of their employer.
A student might experience ridicule or be ostracized because he or she doesn’t
go along with the drinking or illegal drug use of his or her peers. Examples
such as these can be multiplied many times.
Whether there are
confrontations or not, as you and I are connected to Christ in our “callings,” a
strong witness is present. This happens even though we don’t speak directly
about Christ. In our text for today, the ruling authorities “took note that
these men had been with Jesus.” A strong witness was present. This witness
wasn’t the focus of their “calling,” nor is it to be of ours. Rather the
witness is a result of letting Christ empower us in our “callings”.
If you go to a barber,
his first responsibility is to be the best barber he could be. That is God’s
“calling.” And if he is good enough, people will come back again and again.
Then there might be some very appropriate times when the people he has gotten to
know well over the years will be able to see his true values, or hear of his
faith, or be helped by in other ways than having their hair cut. If the barber
is so concerned with witnessing that he gives poor haircuts, that doesn’t serve
God very well nor will his words be a credible witness.
I was visiting not too
long ago with one of our members who is involved in road construction. He told
me in the course of our conversation that he simply tries to live for Christ
where he works. “You’d be surprised,” he told me. “It’s quite a rough crowd
that I often work with.” Because of his faith, this person doesn’t swear. He
tries to be understanding, patient, and considerate of those who work for him.
Because this person’s life is under the rule of God in his “vocation” or
“calling”, there is a silent witness being given. It is God’s power at work in
him. Others may note that he “has been with Jesus.” There is a silent witness
that might pave the way for a verbal witness someday. Who knows?
This witness can spread
to a whole community. In the last month’s Lutheran magazine, there was an
article about Milda Hokkanen. After running a neighborhood café in a
deteriorating section of Minneapolis for 35 years, her lease wasn’t renewed.
Members of Redeemer Lutheran and community activists went to work. They
obtained grants by Minneapolis-based Lutheran Community Foundation. A new
three-level brick building was erected that now houses Milda’s Corner, along
with office rental space and low-income transitional and market-rate housing.
Milda, who is 87, drops in each day to visit with her customers. “Many
customers feel like this is their second home,” she says. “Maybe it’s because
we’ve become friends, and we always thought nobody was better than the next
person. We treated them all alike.” A silent but powerful witness to Christ is
being brought. Others may note that Milda and members of Redeemer Lutheran
“have been with Jesus.” And I’d be willing to bet there will be occasions for a
verbal witness being given also.
Luther taught that our
“vocations” or “callings” are the places where God and the devil contend.
Luther says, “Between these two man stands, like an animal to be ridden. If God
be the rider, the creature goes where God wills….If Satan be the rider, he goes
where Satan directs.” God moves us in the direction of serving others in our
“callings.” Satan moves us in the direction of using our “callings” to serve
ourselves.
Prayer is our greatest
resource as we try to serve God faithfully in our callings. We tap into God’s
power. Luther says, “Prayer is the door through which God enters into (our)
vocation(s) in transforming action against the devil.” Prayer offers avenues
for God to become part of our “callings” in ways that had not been available to
us before.
In addition, faith in
Christ motivates us to be persistent in love, dedicated to justice and generous
in our dealings with people. Faith in Christ affects our values, our
perspectives, our goals. Faith in Christ gives us a different understanding of
the world in which we live and the true needs of people. Faith in Christ gives
us courage in difficult situations and a selflessness that cannot be known
except by a radical trust that God will continue to supply our needs. Prayer
and faith moving us to love others can make all the difference in the world in
our “callings.” Prayer and faith are the means through which God’s power is
tapped.
I’d
like to share an e-mail that I got a few weeks ago. This e-mail shows the
difference being “connected to Christ,” our power source, can make when a
person, or in this case many people, are living out their vocation of being a
friend, neighbor and fellow employee.
The
e-mail is one of daily e-mails sent to us by Kelly, the wife of a 38-year-old
husband and father of two, Jon. Jon has been through unbelievable suffering due
to Still’s Disease and bone deterioration due to treatment regimens. He has a
tracheotomy, has almost choked to death, has been in excruciating pain, has had
back surgery, has been delirious at times due to stress and medication. His
wife has been at his side at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester. Jon has the best
doctors in the world baffled. Kelly’s e-mail is sent daily to over 120 people
who are praying for both of them and caring for them in a variety of ways.
In
her e-mail Kelly tells of all the ways others have been caring for them and
their family. “You’ve brought over countless meals, visited us in Rochester,
taken our kids shopping for school clothes and all they could possible need for
the new school year. You’ve sent hundreds of letters, cards, and e-mails that
have lifted our souls more than you will ever know. You’ve taken our kids to
Sam’s Club to buy snack and lunch supplies for the school year. You’ve taken
pictures and videotaped events for us when Jon or both of us could not make it.
You’ve taken our kids with you as one of your own to do fun things – swimming,
dance recitals, overnight adventures. Kelly goes on to list dozens of other
things including, “You have prayed endlessly, often standing in the gap for us
when we were unable to pray for ourselves.”
Kelly goes on to tell the effect this is having on their family. “I truly
believe this outpouring of love is having an impact on our children. Since the
day our kids were born, our prayer has always been that they will never have to
know a day outside of faith in Jesus Christ. Jon and I are both secure in
knowing that when our time here on this earth is done, we will be in heaven for
eternity because Christ died on the cross and rose again for each one of us. We
want our children to be secure in that knowledge and faith as well. We desire
for them to see the way we live and know that we choose to live our lives for
Christ. We pray they are seeing that truly lived out within the walls of our
home, and I also believe they are seeing it in each of your lives also as you
have reached out to us. For this we extend our grateful thanks for impacting
each of our lives.”
Does
anything speak so powerfully? Like the wealthy lady we mentioned at the
beginning of the sermon, are you and I lighting our own candles? Or, are we in
our various “callings” connecting to the power God gives us in Christ? As we do
so through prayer and faith we will not only participate with God in God’s
creative activity, caring for God’s world and getting our neighbor loved. There
will also be a powerful witness to God’s redemptive activity. May it be so in
each of our lives for Jesus’ sake.
Amen. |
