New Life United Methodist Church, Grant, Alabama
Rev. Sherill Clontz, Pastor
May 3, 2009
March of the Unqualified
1 Corinthians 1:26-31
26Consider
your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by
human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.
27But God
chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what
is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28God chose what is low and despised in the
world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, 29so that no
one might boast in the presence of God. 30He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus,
who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and
sanctification and redemption, 31in order that, as it is written, “Let the one
who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:26-31
There is an old rabbinic tale about
a Rabbi named Zusya.When
Rabbi Zusya died, he found himself waiting before the judgment seat of
God.As he waited
for God to appear, he grew anxious.He began to review his life and all the things he had not done.He imagined God asking him,
“Why weren’t you a great leader like Moses?”Or “Why weren’t you as wise
as Solomon?Or “Why were
you not a great warrior and king like David?”However, when God appeared the
rabbi was surprised. God did not ask him why he wasn’t like Moses,
or Solomon, or David.Instead,
God looked him in the eye and simply said, “Why weren’t you Zusya?”
In other words, “Consider YOUR
call Zusya.”
Each of us is a unique and beloved
child of God.Human beings
are not interchangeable.We
each have our own unique DNA.Our
fingerprints are different. Our personalities are our own.We weren’t born to be the
same as everyone else.In
fact, we were created in the image of the one whose name is “I am
what I am.”You are
meant to be yourself and not any one else.You were created to make a
difference in the
Kingdom
of
God
drawing from a unique set of gifts, experiences, talents, and
passions that only you have!
Yet how often do we begin and end
our attempt to hear God’s call for our life by comparing ourselves
to others and finding ourselves lacking.“Why can’t I sing like Amy Grant?”“Why can’t I teach like Mr.
Jones?” “Why can’t I pray like Joe?”“Why can’t I be as creative
as Sally?”“Why
can’t I be as kind as Barbara?”“Why can’t I . . .?”
Are you lacking in some way? Are
you somehow unqualified for the job God is calling you to do? I
suspect you are.As Paul
points out in our scripture: “not
many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not
many were of noble birth. 27But God
chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what
is weak in the world to shame the strong.”And as our video pointed out the Bible is full of story after
story of unqualified folks that God was able to use.As the old saying goes, “God
does not call the qualified, God qualifies the called.”
Yet while you may be unqualified
for the job, you are also uniquely qualified!Just look to those unqualified
folks God called in the Bible. Despite
their lack of qualifications, everyone whom God called had something
unique that allowed them to fulfill their call in a way no one else
could
Take Moses for example.As the video pointed out, Moses
was not a good speaker and he did have a short fuse.The only reason Moses was
anywhere near a burning bush in the desert was because he had lost his
temper and killed man so he had to go into hiding.But Moses also had unique
experiences that made him the perfect person to lead the Israelites
out of
Egypt
.He had grown up in
Pharaoh’s court. He knew the ins and outs of the palace and he knew
how to speak to the Pharaoh in a way no other Israelite could.What he lacked in public
speaking skills, he made up for in knowledge of the Pharaoh himself.Furthermore, Moses knew the
Sinai desert well. He spent 40 years living and working there. God
couldn’t have picked a better choice for leading the Israelites
through that desert for 40 years.Furthermore, Moses had leadership abilities that he didn’t
realize he possessed.Prior
to being sent back to
Egypt
to lead the Israelites, he’d never had to lead.But when God called him
to return to
Egypt
and lead the people, Moses discovered that he had the gift of
leadership.
By the standards of the world,
Moses was an unlikely choice.But
God chose what appeared weak and shamed Pharoah and the entire
Egyptian
Kingdom
.
At best, the question “Why
can’t I be like . . .?”is
just noise that keeps you from hearing God’s call. At worst, that
question is an excuse to avoid doing what God is calling you to do. In
fact, comparing ourselves to others and wanting the gifts they have is
a distraction.Actually,
let’s be honest here, comparing ourselves to others and coveting
their gifts stands between us and God and between us and the world God
loves—in other words, it’s a sin!
So let’s set that question aside
and ask the more important question: “What is God calling you to
do?”
The word for this is vocation,
which comes from the Latin for “to call.”And Frederick Buechner defines
vocation as “the place where your deep gladness and the
world’s deep hunger meet.”
If you want to discover where God
is calling you, you need to begin by reflecting on two things: What
are those things that bring you greatest joy?What are the greatest needs you
see in the world?
First, what things bring you
greatest joy?Does sewing
bring you joy?Singing?Teaching?Helping behind the scenes?Bringing a smile to a sad and
lonely face?
Take a moment and reflect on what
brings you great joy.
Now, I’d like to invite you to
turn and share one or two of those things with one or two more people.
Second, where do you see the
greatest need in the world?The
needs of the world are vast and it can be overwhelming if you think
you have to address all the needs of the world. But since we have been
thinking and praying about the needs of the community of Grant, I want
to invite you to reflect on the needs of this community that tug at
your heart the most.
Now, turn and share one or two of
those needs with each other.
What are the ways you could find
great joy by meeting the great needs of this community?
I want to invite you to take this
question to God in prayer this week.Take time each day to reflect on the question. You may want to
journal-to write about your reflections.You may want to talk with others.If you can’t see where your joy and the world’s need
intersect, perhaps you should talk to those who know you to help you
discern your calling.You
may want to read a variety of call stories in the Bible and see whose
story resonates and parallels your own.
God is calling you!But if you are unwilling to
sit, to listen and to reflect, you may well miss the call.
As the poet, Elizabeth Barrett
Browning once said, “Earth's crammed with heaven, And
every common bush afire with God; But only he who sees, takes off his
shoes - The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.”
Jesus said the greatest commandment
was this:To love the Lord
our God with all our heart, our soul, and our strength and our
neighbor as ourselves.Finding
our vocation allows us to not only say those words but to live those
words as we love our neighbor by using the unique gifts God gives us.And, in doing so, we
discover our greatest joy!
Webster’s defines vocation as “a summons or strong
inclination to a particular state or course of action; especially: a divine call to
the religious life.”But
there is also a second definition: the work in which a person is
regularly employed: occupation.”
Have you ever considered your regular occupation
could be a way of living out your vocation?How can you serve the
kingdom
of
God
at your workplace, in your home, at school, at church and at
play—all those places where you are regularly employed?Aren’t they the most likely
places where the world’s great need and your great joy might
intersect?
I share this because we often think of God’s
calling in our lives as something somehow strangely disconnected from
the realities of every day life.Furthermore,
we often disconnect the way we spend our days, the way we play, and
the way we make our money from God’s calling on our lives.
Some of us chose our jobs by asking questions,
such as “What do I want to be when I grow up?” Or “What would be
a good secure job where I can make decent money?”Unfortunately, those are not
the questions we should be asking about our careers.Rather than asking “What do I
want to be?” we should ask, “What has God created me to be?”Rather than asking “What job
is secure and well paying?” we should ask, “What is God calling me
to do for the sake of the world he loves?”
Others of us weren’t blessed to choose a job.For many of us, we aren’t
looking for a career rather we are simply looking for a job to put
food on the table and a roof over our head.But that fact doesn’t mean
that God isn’t calling you to make a difference in the world!
Actually, I learned one of my greatest lessons
about vocation at a Taco Bell Drive Thru.I was in my mid-20s working for
the Department of the Army in
Research
Park
.On my way to work most
mornings, I would get breakfast at Taco Bell.As I stopped at the menu to
order, I would hear a cheerful voice wishing me a good morning and
asking what I wanted to order.Strangely,
I’m sure he really wanted me to have a good morning and if it was
not a pleasure to take my order, he never showed it!And when I drove to the window
to pick up my food, he would hand me the food, smile and say, “Thank
you and may you have a blessed day!”
As I recall the breakfast burritos were good, but
what I really remember was starting each day with a blessing and a
smile.
I suspect most of us wouldn’t think of working
the drive thru at Taco Bell as a vocation, but I suspect he did! And as a result, I was blessed!
Consider your own calling!What is God calling you
to do to proclaim his love and grace to a broken hurting world?Where do you find your greatest
joy?What needs break your
heart?Where is God
calling you—with your unique personality, gifts, and talents—to
serve God’s world?
What must you do so that when you stand before
God’s judgment seat; God won’t turn to you and say, “Why
weren’t you the person I created you to be?Why didn’t you live your life
to the fullest?Why
didn’t you find your great joy by meeting the needs of the world I
love?Why didn’t you
heed my call on your life?”
What is God calling you to do?What is your holy vocation in
this life?
Sure, you are unqualified.So am I and so is the person
standing beside you. But if we each bring our gifts and march together
this rag tag group of unqualified will confound the wise and overpower
the strong!
Thanks be to God we have been called to join the
march of the unqualified!
