Port Elizabeth 14 January 2024

Transcribed using OCR so there may be transcriprion errors

Sermon

I came across this short passage that sums up the bible in fifty

words:

“God made, Adam bit, Noah arked, Abraham split, Joseph ruled,
Jacob Fooled, bush talk, Moses balked, Pharaoh plagued, people
walked, Sea divided, tablets guided, promised landed, Saul
freaked, David peeked, prophets warned, Jesus born, God
walked, love talked, anger crucified, hope died, love rose, Spirit
flamed, word spread, God remained.”

Someone once observed that disciples come in three varieties,
tugboat, sailboats and rafts.

Tugboats follow Jesus not only in sunny weather, but also in
stormy weather. They follow him not only when the wind and
waves serve them, but when they oppose them. They are people
who love always, day in and day out, not just when they feel
like it.

Sailboats disciples follow Jesus in sunny weather. They go in

his direction only when the wind and waves serve them. When

stormy weather comes they go in the direction that they are

blown. following the crowd more than Jesus.

Then we have the rafts disciples. They are not really followers
of Jesus at all. They won’t follow him even when the wind and
waves serve them. They follow only when they are pushed or
pulled, acting like Christians because they have to or because it
is to their personal advantage to do so.

Transition 1
Today we find The Old Testament and the Gospel really link
together and the impact and importance of them warrants a
closer look. Both of these passages talks to us today about
God’s call on the lives of people and as we consider the way in
which God has called people in the past we can begin to
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understand a little better the way in which God is calling us
today to do his work in the world.

Main point 1
Samuel had been born in response to his mother’s prayer to cure
her barrenness and to show her thankfulness for her miracle
child, his mother dedicated him to the Lord. After he had been
weaned his mother had brought him to the sanctuary of Shiloh

and there he has been brought up by the priest Eli.

One night Samuel hears a voice calling to him. Now hearing
voices can be very dangerous. People have done and still do
dreadful things while claiming that a voice told them to do them.
An American comedian used to utter phrase, “The devil made
me do it.”

The youthful Samuel didn’t know what to make of the voice so
he sought the guidance of the elderly priest Eli and perhaps this
is the first thing that we can learn today.

If we think that God is calling us to do something we must

check it out, get a second opinion, get it confirmed before we
commit ourselves to a course of action. Eventually, convinced
that it truly was the voice of God that was calling him, Samuel
responded, ‘Speak Lord, your servant is listening.’ That was
how he received the call to be a prophet.
As a result as his response to his call Samuel played a huge part

in the building up of Israel and he was the instrument through

whom Israel got its first kings.

Transition 2

In the Gospel passage we have St John’s version of Jesus
calling Philip and Nathanael to follow him. It’s quite an
interesting account because of the way in which Philip
responded to God’s call on his life.
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Main point 2

Jesus found Philip and said to him, “Come with me!”

Now at that period of time in Israel for a rabbi to approach
someone and call them to follow was a very great honour
because it meant that the rabbi had seen something very special
in you and was now prepared to continue your education.

To put this in the present day context it would be like getting a
matric university exemption and then having the university
contact you and them asking you to study with them.

But look at Philip’s reaction to this good news he does not keep

it to himself but goes out straight away, sharing it with

Nathanael and then most important of all brings him to meet

Jesus.

This is another thing that we can learn today, that when Jesus
touches our lives, we need to be ready to share this good news
with others so that Jesus can touch their lives as well.

Jesus confirms Nathanael’s call by showing him that it was a
very special personal call from Jesus to him and only him, by
giving him some personal information that could only apply to
Nathanael and nobody else. Jesus saw within Nathanael that he
was a true Israelite, in whom there was nothing false.
Further to that Jesus said that he had seen Nathanael while he sat
under the fig tree. A favourite place for study and prayer in hot
weather.

Transition 3

Who knows in what way a person’s call make itself heard?

We might conclude from the story of Samuel’s call that we must
hear God’s voice calling clearly if we are supposed to do a
particular thing.
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Main point 3

In the old and Gospel readings we are dealing with a unique and
specific call, what is more commonly called a vocation.
Samuel is being called to the role of prophet, and Philip and

Nathanael to discipleship. However the common thread that

flows through both these accounts is that the initiative is always

with God, the call’ is always his, and every call demands a

response.

Great events often begin very simply. This is how Jesus began
his mission. He looked for a little band of kindred souls, and
demanded total commitment from them and got it.

God calls us too, in many ways, and at different levels.

He called us into life itself and throughout our lives God
continues to call us to a life worthy of our dignity as his
children. And finally at death God will call us from this life into
eternal life.

God’s call can take many forms, and be fulfilled in different
ways. It may not be as dramatic as was the call of Samuel, or as
*real’ as that of the first apostles. Yet God speaks to us in the
depths of our heart, calling us into intimacy with himself, and t
be his co-workers in the world.
Rather than a voice, his call may be more of a tug at our hearts,

which we feel at quiet and reflective moments in our lives.

Sometimes this may make itself felt in a very forceful way. But

most times it is likely to be as gentle as a breeze, very casy to

miss if we are not listening for it.

Conclusion
The call of Samuel and the call of the first disciples are both
relevant for our lives. Just as Samuel was called by God to the
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task of being a prophet, so each of us is called to do some
specific work for God in the world.

And the call of the disciples applies to us too, because at our
baptism and again at our confirmation we were called to
discipleship.

Every vocation is worthy of honour. And every vocation is a call
to the fullness of love.

Just in case you still need a definition of what a vocation is St
Francis de Sales defined it as, “A good vocation is simply a firm
and constant will in which the called person has to serve God in
the way and in the places to which the Almighty God has called
him (or her).”