Who Are You Becoming?

Me: Orientation

One of the most important communities in my life has been Rotary.

Before entering ministry, Rotary became a place where I found friendship, purpose, and belonging.

It taught me the value of service above self.

It was a place where I could bring Dennis to events…

…to develop leadership skills,

…and work alongside people who genuinely wanted to make our community a better place.

But several years ago, I found myself lying awake one night with a strange feeling.

My life was good...

I had meaningful friendships...

I was serving my community...

I felt accepted and valued...

Yet something felt incomplete...

Have you ever had that experience?

Not because anything is wrong… or because you’re unhappy...

But because you begin to sense that God may be calling you toward something more.

Years earlier, when I was in college, I had sensed a call toward ministry.

But the church’s rules at the time made it clear that someone like me could not pursue ordination.

Eventually, I came to believe that chapter of my life was closed.

So I built a different life.

A good life...

A meaningful life...

...and yet…

Lying awake that night, I began to wonder whether the call I thought had died had actually been growing beneath the surface all along.

Not away from service, but deeper into it...

Not away from belonging, but toward a deeper sense of belonging.

Not away from who I had been, but deeper into who God was calling me to become.

...and I wonder if that’s a little bit how Abram felt.

We: Identification

In honor of my fellow Texas Tech alum...

I wreckin’ many of us know what that feels like...

Maybe not a call to ordained ministry...

But a moment when life begins to change.

Graduates know what this feels like.

One chapter closes, and another begins.

Retirees know what this feels like...

Parents know what this feels like...

People beginning a new relationship know what this feels like...

People grieving a loss know what this feels like...

People discerning a move, a new job, a new ministry, or a new season of life know what this feels like.

We spend a lot of time asking…

“What am I going to do next?”

Beneath that question is often a deeper one...

“Who am I becoming?”

Because transitions have a way of reshaping us.

They change how we see ourselves.

They change how we understand our purpose.

They change our sense of identity and belonging.

...and in those moments, we often wonder...

“Who is God calling us to become?”

God: Illumination

Let’s look at the scripture...

In Genesis, God says to Abram:

“Leave your land, your family, and your father’s household for the land that I will show you.”

That is a tremendous request.

Everything Abram has ever known is tied to those places and those people.

Hid identity… His security… His future...

Yet the center of this passage is not what Abram is leaving behind.

The center of this passage is God’s promise.

“I will bless you.”

“I will make your name respected.”

“You will be a blessing.”

God sees a future for Abram that Abram cannot yet see.

God is the one calling.

God is the one leading.

God is the one blessing.

God is the one creating a future greater than Abram could imagine.

Abram’s task is not to create that future.

Abram’s task is to trust the God who is already at work in it.

...and Abram does...

He leaves...

Not because he knows everything.

But because he trusts the One who called him.

The same thing happens in the Gospel.

Jesus sees Matthew sitting at a tax booth and says...

“Follow me.”

Now, when we hear “tax collector,” we might imagine someone working for the IRS.

But tax collectors in first-century Palestine were often viewed differently.

They worked on behalf of the Roman Empire, an occupying power.

Many became wealthy by collecting more than was required and keeping the difference for themselves.

To many faithful Jews, tax collectors weren’t simply unpopular...

They were viewed as collaborators with their occupier…

…a betrayal of their people.

Before Jesus ever speaks to Matthew, everyone already thinks they know who Matthew is...

They have already decided what kind of person he is...

But Jesus sees something more...

When others see a tax collector, Jesus sees a disciple...

When others see a sinner, Jesus sees a follower.

When others see a closed chapter, Jesus sees a new beginning...

When others see a closed chapter, Jesus sees a new beginning...

...and Matthew responds...

He gets up and follows...

Just as Abram trusted God’s promise, Matthew trusts Christ’s invitation.

The same pattern appears in the stories that follow.

A synagogue leader comes to Jesus after his daughter has died.

A woman who has suffered for twelve years reaches out to touch Jesus’ robe.

One is a respected religious leader.

The other lives on the margins.

Yet both come for the same thing...

...need...

...faith...

...hope...

...and Jesus meets them both.

Again and again in these stories, God refuses to define people by their past...

...their status...

...their reputation...

...or their circumstances...

Instead, God sees who they are becoming.

Abram becomes a blessing.

Matthew becomes a disciple...

The woman becomes a daughter restored...

...and in each case, God’s promise creates a future greater than they could have imagined for themselves...

You: Application

Friends, one of the gifts of the Wesleyan tradition is that it reminds us that God is not finished with us yet.

Salvation is not simply about where we go when we die.

It is about what God is doing in us right now.

John Wesley believed that God’s grace is already at work in people’s lives long before they have everything figured out.

The table is not a reward for having arrived.

It is nourishment for the journey.

A place where God continues to shape us, heal us, and restore us into the people we are becoming.

Today, we celebrate our graduates.

...and one of the questions graduates hear most often is...

“What are you going to do next?”

That is an important question...

But perhaps an even deeper question is…

“Who are you becoming?”

Beth, who are you becoming?

Richard, who are you becoming?

...and that question is not only for graduates...

It is a question for all of us...

It is a question for those beginning new chapters and those nearing the end of old ones.

It is a question for those navigating retirement….

It is a question for those seeking healing…

It is a question for those seeking wholeness...

It is a question for those learning to live more authentically as the people God created them to be.

It is a question for this congregation as we continue to discern our future.

Who is God calling us to become?

The good news is that God is not merely interested in what we accomplish.

God is interested in who we are becoming.

...and the Gospel promises that God’s grace is still at work...

Still shaping...

Still healing...

Still calling...

Still creating a future greater than we can yet imagine...

We: Inspiration

Because this is what happens when God calls people.

Abram becomes a blessing.

Matthew becomes a disciple.

The woman becomes restored.

Again and again, God’s grace takes ordinary people and creates futures greater than they could imagine.

This is why we dare to sing:

“Faith, while trees are still in blossom, plans the picking of the fruit.”

Faith sees what God is growing before anyone else can.

Faith sees possibility where others see limitation.

Faith sees disciples where others see tax collectors.

Faith sees blessings where others see wandering nomads.

Faith sees beloved children of God where others see labels, failures, or unfinished stories.

...and perhaps that is the good news for us today.

God is not finished with us yet...

Not with our graduates...

Not with our congregation...

Not with any of us...

The God who called Abram still calls people into new futures.

The Christ who called Matthew still sees gifts and possibilities in us that we cannot yet see.

The Spirit is still at work, shaping us, healing us, restoring us more fully into the image of God.

...and as we gather around Christ’s table, we discover that this journey of becoming is not one we make alone.

We are one body.

One loaf.

One people.

Shaped by the same grace.

Sustained by the same promise.

Becoming, together, the people God is calling us to be.

In the name of our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.