Answering the Call

Two Calls

I don’t know about you but when someone calls your name it grabs your attention. When we are in crowd of people and someone calls our name, it gets our attention. For me when I’m someplace no one should know me and I hear my name, the thought immediately enters my brain who here knows my name. No matter how noisy, or how many distractions there may be when someone calls your name it gets your attention, causes us to stop in our tracks, and listen for what’s to follow. God called Samuel by name.

The call to come, for me at least, is a call the piques my curiosity. My two boys will frequently come find me and say, “come daddy, I show you”. Even when the call to come was come, I show you big owy. I dropped what I was doing and went to see the big owy. Jesus’ call to his disciples was a call to come.

Today we wrestle with the call of God to Samuel and the call of God of Jesus disciples. What can we learn from these two calls? God knows us so intimately that he knows us by name and calls us to come follow him. May we be like Samuel and utter the prayer today, “Speak LORD for your servant is listening”. May we come to the table today with our curiosity piqued by Jesus call to come. Almighty God speak to us today for your servants are listening. May we have ears to hear.

The Calls

Samuel

-Calls Samuel by name

-Calls Lazarus by name-John 11:43-44

-Calls Saul by name

Acts 8

-Samuel doesn’t recognize God’s voice until Eli finally catches on to what is going on.

Samuel’s response upon recognizing the divine call “Speak LORD, for your servant is listening.”

The Disciples

John’s gospel captures the call of Jesus first disciples. In this passage we see that despite the lack of proper introduction Jesus knows his disciples by name. He piques their curiousity with the call to come.

He invites John’s 2 disciples to “Come and see”. Jesus calls Philip to “Come, follow me”.

We see that Jesus intimately knows his disciples, 1 he knows Simon’s (who will be known as Peter) name. 2 from seeing Nathanael sitting under a tree he gathered that Nathanael was a true genuine son of Israel. A man of complete integrity.

Jesus group of followers were a motley crew. A crew of people that no other rabbi would pick. Yet despite knowing them intimately and knowing this, God through Christ issued the call to come.

Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary: Year B, Volume 1 Theological Perspective

To be called by God is an act of spiritual intimacy and divine urgency. To be called by God means that God knows one’s name and, in knowing one’s name, exercises a powerful influence on the person. To be called by God also indicates a need for immediate response because the Almighty has indeed summoned one to a specific vocation or course of action.

Calls need to be Answered

May these two calls remind us today that God knows us completely. He knows our short falls, he knows all our sins and failures. He knows us before we even know him. Yet no matter where we are or who we are God calls us by name to come follow him.

God calls us by name to come and follow him. May we have ears to hear the voice of God through the noise and distractions of life. May the curiosity piqued by the call to come grow in us that we may know God who knit us together in our mother’s womb, more intimately.

Calls need to be answered. Let us answer as Samuel “Speak LORD for your servant is listening.