2019 Sermon Series: God Calls
How many of you feel the call to the wilderness? For many of you I would guess that is why you are here, a continual call into the Wilderness. What does that call to the wild feel like? Is it something you can feel in your gut, a warming in your heart, or a peacefulness in your mind. Maybe the feeling is hard to articulate but the visceral longing and need to be in the wild is undeniable for many of you. Over the last several days as I’ve been listening to reflections of groups coming off the trail and I can’t help but think about when these groups first arrived to camp. What is going through the thoughts and feelings of these groups when they set foot on the cove and look across the lake not knowing what is ahead of them. At that moment through all of the fear, excitement, and car sickness – Are they being called into the wilderness or are they sent? The same question may be asked of all of you today – whether you are staff, campers, guests, were you called to be here or sent?
I have the privilege of representing Wilderness Canoe Base as well as Wapo and Ox Lake – all three sites of the Lake Wapogasset Lutheran Bible Camp organization. Most of my summer has been spent at the Wapo site welcoming campers and church staff but as we approached the mid-point of the summer there was something that wasn’t complete – I could feel a piece missing. I knew that my colleagues and a piece of our summer ministry was transpiring up here at Wilderness Canoe base and I felt called to be a part of it. There was a tug and a pull to be up here, to see, hear, taste, smell, and touch God’ presence in this community. And what a gift it has been to hear some of the stories of the trail, and of the adventures and see God’s people living in community. It is my prayer that you take that real presence with you and as you leave, you feel called to return.
And then again, in the midst of the tugging, pulling – sometimes we are sent. Sent out of the wilderness and out of our familiar daily pattern. Sent from a community that has gathered together in one common mission and goal to chaos and uncertainty. Sent from what is comfortable to what in unknown and maybe scary. As people of God we are both called and sent from one place into another.
The well-known and well-told story of Jonah, resisting his order to preach at Ninevah is often called a call story, or a call narrative. The story is told that God called Jonah to preach repentance in a place called Ninevah but Jonah refused, ran away and found himself in the belly of a fish. But is this a call story or a sent story? Is God sending Jonah to Ninevah or calling him? I think the answer is yes – this is a calling and a sending story. Jonah is called, he says no but despite protesting Jonah finally says yes and is sent to Ninevah.
We are called by God, and sent in to God’s world.
Our scripture today is a familiar one for those that have been here most of the summer – it is our theme verse Isaiah 43: 1-2 – But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
These are verses of call – this is a proclamation of creation and promise and call. God creates us, names us. God calls you God’s own.
Let us breath and live in this good news.
Similarly when we are on trail, in community at base camp, or on the lake we bask in the glory of the present and of the call of the wild in God’s creation. We take these moments as a pause in our life to reset, listen to the movement of the Holy Spirit and know we are loved, redeemed, and renewed. But we cannot be called without being sent. Eventually the trail ends, the day breaks, time moves forward and the promise of call because as action into God’s. God is sending us. Because God has claimed us, named us, loved us, and redeemed us we are now sent into the world to love the neighbor and tell others that they are indeed loved and named and called. Camp is a wonderful place to remember this important part of God’s action. These mountain top experiences of camp, the community, the love, the understanding, the peacefulness, the quiet of camp of Wilderness Canoe Base, we want to embrace it, hold it and never let it end. And yet as God calls, we are being sent. Sent into a world that needs God, a world that needs us and our mountain top experience.
As I sat with Nate on a few reflections of groups coming off the trail, I was so in awe of the holy moments and stories on trails. The campers and guides were able to articulate those holy moment as God’s action not only on the trail but off the trail as well. And after all the campers have shared their stories of God’s presence throughout their trip, Nate invites the group to leave this place and share those holy moments with others, remembering that God is active not only in this sacred place, but the places they call home as well. God calls, so that we can be sent out.
This summer we are remembering the promise the we are Claimed: Wildly loved by God. I love that we have had opportunities to wrestle with a theme throughout the summer as it takes on new life through different days and weeks of the season. Though the Bible verses and the stories might be redundant for some of you living with this theme all summer long. Yet with each new listener and in each new context the Holy Spirit speaks new life into the words and message. It is in this context, today, as we hear the words of God’s call, let us hear these words as a proclamation. Because of the claim that God has on our lives; because of God’s action through the death and resurrection of Jesus, and through the claim and identity as God’s children the Holy Spirit breaths through us, we are compelled to follow God’s call – a call that urges us into the world and to be sent as the community and body of Christ.
a daily call to discipleship;
a daily call to love, and be loved;
a daily call to radical inclusion of all, especially of those different from ourselves;
a daily call to reject what hinders us from living a life our creator wants from us;
a daily call to die to what holds us back from love of the neighbor and to embrace our siblings in Christ as children of God;
a daily call to quiet the voices of unworthiness that tell us we are not smart enough, strong enough, beautiful enough, brave enough, Christian enough,
a daily call to squelch fear and apprehension for hope and faith;
a daily call to quiet the voices of anger and hate and to embrace the language of love and peace.
You are each claimed and wildly loved by God who calls us by name, who knows us, create us, loves us, and sends us from this place into another wild. The wild of God’s people yearning to hear that they too are claimed and wildly loved by God.
-Elizabeth Schoenknecht