Sermon Title: "A Holy Calling"
Date: October 3, 2010
Minister:  The Rev. Susan Bjork

Lesson:  2 Timothy 1:1-14

Will you join me in prayer?

Merciful God, your faithfulness is unending and your steadfast love endures forever.  Help us to live into your holy calling to us as individuals and as the collective Body of Christ.  I pray that the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in your sight.  Amen.

Today’s sermon isn’t really a sermon.  Instead, this is a pastoral letter on the occasion of World Communion Sunday 2010, inspired by Paul’s second pastoral letter to Timothy:

Susie, a follower of the Way of Jesus Christ, just trying to do my best at this thing called life, compelled by a deep sense of holy calling to ministry in Christ’s church and the world,

To you, the worshipping community of Bay Shore Church:

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Creator and Christ Jesus our Lord.

I am grateful to God whom we worship this day along with our neighbors around the world; the God who called our many ancestors into faithful, covenantal relationship; the God of Abraham and Sarah, Moses and Miriam, David, Elijah, Esther, Isaiah, the God Incarnate in Jesus Christ, the God of Peter, James, and Mary of Paul and his friend Timothy, the God of Timothy’s mother Eunice and grandmother Lois.

I am reminded of their sincere faith, human and imperfect though it may have been at times.  I recall the spark and passion with which they lived.  I am reminded of the joy they proclaimed even in the midst of tough times.

These are but a few of our many ancestors and theirs is the faith that is our inheritance.  This is the faith that lives in you.

For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the power of the Holy Spirit, the true gift that keeps on giving.  Remember the promise of Christ at that table; the promise of grace and forgiveness, of strength and guidance, of encouragement and endurance, of compassion and peace.

For God did not give us a spirit of fearfulness and anxiety, but rather empowered us with the Holy Spirit and gave to us a spirit of love so that we might love God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love our neighbors as ourselves. 

For God did not give us a spirit of complacency and self-satisfaction, but rather a spirit of self-discipline in prayer, reflection and study; and the desire to live out our faith in the world, sharing the liberating hope we have experienced.

Do not be ashamed, then, to be honest about who you are, what you believe in, and what you are most passionate about in this life.  For your stories, your testimonies, speak to the power of the work of the Spirit in our world.  You have something to share.  You have something to teach.

Let us join together in being vulnerable for the gospel; sometimes living the good news requires some sweat on our brow, some give and take, some confession and forgiveness, honesty in our joy, truth-telling in our tears.  When this happens in community with one another, relying on God’s grace, suffering in isolation is transfigured into compassion in community.

For it is God, who in grace has called us with a holy calling, not because of anything we have done but because God has great hope for all that can happen when individuals and communities live the good news in our little corner of our little neighborhood as well as out in the broader world.

God, in grace, has called us with a holy calling, not because of anything we have done but because God’s very nature is grace and God invites us into loving relationship.

In Christ Jesus we have witnessed the grace given to all creation before the ages began.

In Christ Jesus, Love’s power has been revealed, death has been abolished, new life has taken hold of us, and hope has been born anew.

This is the good news to which we witness and it is for this gospel that we have been called with a holy calling as preachers, teachers, cooks and servers for those in need, sewers of blankets for those with no bed, ambassadors to guests, ministers of hospitality, stewards of finances, prophetic voices for justice, caretakers of our meeting place, movers of furniture, mentors and friends with youth, ministers of music, suppliers of helpful technology, healers, parents, enthusiastic bearers of youthful spirit, funny people, prayerful people, organized people, visionary people, good listeners, facilitators of conversation, bearers of hope;…all in all, bringers of good news and love into a world in need.

Living into this holy calling may not be easy at times.

But even in the harder moments, do not fear and do not give up.  Instead, put your trust in our Still Speaking God; hold on to the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus; cherish the treasure of your holy calling that has been entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in all of us as individuals and the church world-wide.

Do not be ashamed of your calling.  Do not be afraid to stand out or to go against the grain.  Do not be afraid to value communion with God and your neighbors in a culture that values individualism.  Do not be afraid to fall in love with God again.  Do not be afraid to express your faith in the ways you express it best.  And do not forget to experiment with new practices of devotion.

It is in living into our holy calling that we make church happen, bearing witness to the faith of our forebears, praising God and serving God’s Beloved Creation. 

Do not forget the promise of grace and guidance that Christ offered in broken bread, wine poured, body and blood.  Let that life-giving feast nourish you and fill you as you live out your holy calling.

May Christ be with you and God’s grace fill you with new hope and new love now and forevermore. 

Sincerely,

Susie

Amen.