(Meditation for Gayton Road Christian Church's Worship on July 14, 2019, Proper 10)
Whoever Responds to God’s Call
For some, church is about
proclaiming God “king” and then resuming business as usual, pursuing one’s own
kingdom. Or as Jesus puts it, it’s
like a person who identifies God and then ignores God, who calls out, “Lord,
Lord,” and then follows his own course.
Perhaps this is nowhere more
apparent than church business meetings, which usually take place after the
worship service. In worship, the
congregation is seemingly united.
“Lord, Lord,” they say together, paying lip service to their God. But moments later in the board room,
that God is nowhere to be seen: it is a battle of personal interests, a contest
of individual wills. It is not the
Spirit guiding the people, but the people curbing the Spirit. It is not the patient Spirit of God
that leads the way but simply the majority of stubborn, self-seeking wills.
For Jesus, answering the Call is
infinitely more important than identifying the Caller. For as Jesus knows, it’s all too easy
to proudly identify the Caller and then promptly ignore the Call.
Did you know that the Greek word
for church, ekklesia, means “called
out”? That corresponds well with
what Jesus says. The church is not
about calling God by the right name.
The church is about what God calls for. The church is whoever responds to God’s call.
The good news then is that we who
listen to the call and respond faithfully, we will never be swept away, for our
foundation is not of our own building—it’s not stone, brick, or concrete. Our foundation is the call of God,
which ground us and gives us life.
This is especially good news for the church today. We don’t know the future; it may look
inconceivably different from the present.
But if we are doing more than simply saying, “Lord, Lord,” if we are
listening for the call of God and then answering it, giving it flesh—then we
will weather any storm.
Prayer
Christ who is the cornerstone,
Who lays our foundation,
Not by ritual
Or the right names,
But by deeds of love:
Help us to hear the Call
In our own world.
And make us into
A faithful response.
Amen.
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