As we celebrate the liturgical season of Epiphany we are challenged to a type of discernment about what it means to be called and to turn in a new direction. John the Baptist and Jesus begin their ministry, and their call to others with with cries to repent—that word which can conjure up all sorts of images from the sackcloth and ashes familiar in the early church, or to new life on the other side of a changed life course. The word repent is often associated with suffering and deprivation; it can land like an accusation. But actually, repent means to turn. To turn away or to turn toward—but to turn. This theme of repenting and turning in a new direction is the thumbprint of the Gospel. God is calling us each and every week to be a light to the world, to bring a spirit of reconciliation to brokenness. Yet for each of us how we are called and what we are called to, or away from, can look very different. There are some things we are called to as a community of Christians and other things that we are called to by by our very name, to something specific that has to do with our gifts, talents, yearnings, or simply something mysterious that calls us. There are other calls that lead us to run the other way, or to try to close our eyes, ignore the call, or simply refuse. But as we can often see, God is quite persistent at times.
Epiphany begins with the wise men—those defectors from Herod’s Gentile ranks, who turn away from their mission to ferret out the Christ Child so Herod can kill him— turning instead to pilgrims bringing adoration and gifts to the baby in the manger. We don’t quite grasp how they were called, and it is nearly impossible to imagine how three people can seemingly all agree that they are called without a debate, an argument, a refusal, or something of that sort that tends to happen in groups. They see a star and they are called to follow it to Bethlehem. The story makes it seem both mysterious and simple all at once. One wise man brings a gift for a king—gold. Another a gift for a holy man—frankincense, and the third brings myrrh—a spice used in the burial of the dead, as an analgesic, and in purification rituals. Jesus has been called to be a King unlike any imagined—-a servant king. He is holy, and he will die like a common criminal on the cross. Most importantly, this Jewish man will be a light to the world—the Gentiles recognizing this Jewish messiah. It is not always a relief to be called into God’s service, often it involves a journey, leaving home, unpredictability, loss, unplanned for sacrifices, and takes us to desolate places in the world. It makes sense to me that often the first impulse to feeling called is to run the other way. The odd thing about being a Christian is that we are called and so we come, but no sooner to we arrive we are often told to GO—-Go forth, go into the world, go to the darkest places of the world and bring light and healing. We will be called to the table to share a meal and then immediately told to GO forth. This is life with God—coming together and going forth.
Simon and his brother Andrew, and James and his brother John hear the call of Jesus and turn away from family and fishing to follow Jesus, the wise men hear a call and at considerable peril they leave the chosen ranks of Herod’s court, turning away from their earthly mission, and venture into the wilderness of a new life and a forthcoming message which will transform their lives and the lives of so many for millennia to come. They hear the call and they can never go home again for they are now men on the run.
The ongoing work of Epiphany is to discern how Christ is manifest to us in our lives and in our time. One dictionary defines Epiphany as “a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.” I like this definition although I have not experienced the phenomena of “sudden” in my spiritual journey. I am not a wiseman at heart! I have experienced slow, stubborn, resistant, doubting, yearning, longing periods of silence and wonder. This makes Mark’s gospel a bit foreign to me and also makes me laugh at times. In Year B of our lectionary, as we read Mark’s gospel, you will notice that he is a fan of the word “immediately” as in today’s lesson when Simon and Andrew are called by Jesus and they “immediately” drop everything and follow him, only to have Jesus “immediately” call the sons of Zebedee, James and John who also drop everything to follow Jesus. They have no idea what they are getting into—they hardly know this man, but they have looked into his face, listened to his words, and felt drawn to be with him as companions. This immediately business makes a person like me a little nervous! Maybe even suspicious. And yet, I am also in awe of people who respond to the call of Jesus with this immediate response. Is there room for the slow of heart and the slow of foot—-I like to think so although the urgency in our scriptures suggests it is not advisable to be too slow. Here is where the image of turning is useful. There are hairpin turns and there are wide sweeping arcing turns—as a large ship must make. Once the turn is completed the course is set—but I like to think there are different sorts of turns for different sorts of vessels and creatures. And as usual, there are often twists and turns, and thankfully God also has patience with us and gives us plenty of opportunity to repent and to re-turn. Like Simon and Andrew and James and John, we often don’t have a clear understanding of what will unfold on our journey with God. As much as we try, we can’t work out all of the details too far in advance.
I love the story of the reluctant prophet Jonah being called by God to preach repentance in Nineveh. Jonah is my kind of guy. God calls Jonah to go East to Nineveh and he turns away and flees to the West. He rejects God’s call, and runs the other way only to find himself on a ship in stormy seas where he is thrown overboard and swallowed up by a big fish and then spit up on the shore. It is very hard to outrun God. Quite impossible if God is determined to send you on a holy errand. NOW, after being delivered from his peril, Jonah is a little more prepared to listen to God. Here is where we enter the story in the third chapter of Jonah when God calls Jonah a second time and Jonah finally turns and heeds God’s call and goes where he is sent—to Nineveh. God believes Jonah will be able to effectively preach repentance to the Ninevites because Jonah hates the Ninevites with a passion. God works with who Jonah is and what Jonah is struggling with, and Jonah grows in the process—though this is not without ongoing pain and suffering. By the final and fourth chapter of the book of Jonah we again find Jonah furious with God for forgiving the Ninevites when they earnestly repent. Jonah is so angry that he wishes to die, and retreats to the hot desert for another battle with God over the difference between God’s will and Jonah’s will. God’s mercy is incomprehensible to Jonah—that God could save the Ninevites was more than Jonah could abide, although God has also saved Jonah several times over. For Jonah, in his anger, he believes God has used him to run a fool’s errand. Yet because of Jonah’s prophecy, and the response of deep repentance by the entire town, God saves the people who turn away from sin and toward God’s loving embrace.
Repenting, turning, being called and being obedient are all mysterious because these actions change our lives by drawing us closer to God through irresistible grace. And yet that very response may lead us into peril, or dark places of doubt and anger with God. We know how the story turns out with Jesus and the disciples. We know that they too will have their lives transformed and also violently ended for the message they are proclaiming. Being called by God is not only life-changing, it is sometimes life-ending work. I think of the medical missionaries in west Africa in the midst of Ebola, risking their lives in the hopes of saving their brothers and sisters. Or having recently seen the movie Selma, I was reminded that many were called to work for freedom and justice, and some were murdered. The sad thing is that the murderers often seemed to think that they too were called by God. This is not the mission of mercy and compassion that Jesus brings to the world. In our Gospel accounts there is no mention of Jesus ever sending anyone to kill another person, or to harm another person. One must always be wary of confusing one’s own will with the will of God. This is where Jonah gets so angry—his will for revenge and destruction is not the same as God’s will of mercy and compassion, and learning about this difference is a hard pill for Jonah to swallow.
How are you and I being called today as children of God and as a church family? Where will you and your community hear the call of God next? How is your unfolding response to the call of God deepening your journey of faith so that you can endure moments when you feel separated from God or angry with God? Can we find it in our hearts to forgive those who ask for it—even if we have been moved to hatred? Can God’s love transform our hate? Can we really beat our swords into plows? God is calling us right now to choose love and mercy. That is what God offered Jonah, and the Ninevites and what God is offering us and wants us to offer the world. Amen.