January 23, 2000
Did you cry at your baptism? Were you in a dress? Were the words of baptism spoken in Latin or English or some other language? Do you remember who was present? Did you invite them to be present? Did you choose the place of your baptism? Were you baptized in a church or somewhere else?
Like many of you I can answer these questions about my baptism because over the years I was told the details. You see, I was only 2 weeks old when presented for baptism, named in the church of Sts. Peter and Paul in Mankato, MN and washed with the waters of baptism. The words were spoken in Latin by the Roman Catholic priest, and yes, I wore a dress, a baptismal gown at my baptism. I've never really asked who else was present, although my mother's sister and her husband were there for they were my god parents—invited, of course, by my parents who selected the church, the place of the baptism.
Like many of you I was a young teenager, only 13 years old, when I was confirmed in the church. I was told that this was to be my decision, a sign of my maturity as a Christian. I was told that I was accepting Christ and the faith and tradition of the church as my own, claiming it, and being claimed anew by Christ. But the truth was I was pleasing my parents and keeping up with my peers. It was expected that a good catholic boy would be confirmed at this time. What I remember most about my confirmation was that the Bishop was very late for the ceremony (it seemed like hours) and (it seemed like) everyone was in a foul mood by the time we finished.
Apart from all this I would occasionally have a sense of a deeper connection with God. From time to time, starting in my earlier childhood (when I was nine or ten, let's say) I would have a sense of God's call to be a priest. It is difficult to describe those moments. How did I know that I was in conversation or deeply connected to God at that moment? How did I understand that it was God calling out to me? What was it exactly that was said or understood? The best I can tell you is I knew it was God, I knew there was a real invitation, indeed a push, to become a priest. Just as quickly, as a little boy, I could dismiss the thought and get on with playing or whatever was more important at the moment. But God's hold on me, God's call to me was already firm.
The intensity of that call to ordained ministry, to the priesthood, became compelling in my junior year in college. Like a number of my fellow clergy the call to ordained ministry, the call to the priesthood came clear in the midst trouble, in my case in the midst of a serious illness. Stripped of a lot distractions, stripped of a lot of defenses, God's call and the necessity of my response had center stage. It is my experience that more often than not my fellow clergy have sensed God's call to ordained ministry for a long time, and are able to defend themselves against that call for a long time, but when the defenses are down, when the distractions are minimal, when God has our full attention, finally, the clarity and beauty and power of that invitation to follow and serve as a deacon or priest is irresistible.
Make no mistake, my decision to follow God's call was not a promise made in exchange for my health, not a capitulation from a vanquished and beaten subject, not an empty promise given so God would leave me alone, it was a tearful, head-shaking-in-amazement, loving response to a God who could have chosen anyone and chose me.
I tell you the tale of my call to ordained ministry not because it is so special but because it is so ordinary and because I know this story the best. I tell you the tale not because I believe that everyone is called to ordained ministry but because I believe everyone who is baptized is called to some form of ministry.
I believe that everyone who is baptized, I believe that all of you—young, old, firm, infirm, happy, sad—all of you who are baptized are called by our God to some form of ministry. From the moment that you are claimed and marked as Christ's own in baptism you are called by the same Jesus Christ, by God our Father in heaven, to ministry. God chooses you, God calls you.
I tell you my belief—that all are called to ministry—because it is important to acknowledge that the story of the call of Simon and Andrew, of James and John, has been lived over and over again through the centuries. God has remained true to what is revealed here: he is a God who calls us to relationship and service. It is a story that is a part of each of our lives (whether we can articulate this or not): "God has chosen me, God has called to me, God sends me to do his work." It is a story that is a part of our children's and grandchildren's lives: God has chosen them, God calls to them, even as he called out long ago to Simon and Andrew, to James and John, and more recently to us: "Follow me."
Let's return to the story of Simon and Andrew, James and John to remind ourselves of some important truths.
First, God meets us, God calls us where we live and work, everyday places. Simon and Andrew were not at the Synagogue in prayer, not in retreat, not even on a holy pilgrimage; they were tossing the net into the sea and retrieving it when Jesus came upon them and called them to follow. James and John were in the boat with their father, repairing nets when Jesus came to them and called them to follow. Expect nothing less. Expect God to show up where you live and work, expect God to come to you and call you to follow, call you to minister.
Next, God takes us quite seriously, God demands us to take him quite seriously. These four men were "nobodies" to anybody that mattered in First Century Palestine. It is not likely that the local Roman Centurion knew their names without consulting some foot soldier. Pontius Pilate certainly would not have known the names or anything about these men. The great Caesar in Rome barely cared about the land of Palestine, let alone any of its inhabitants. To the world of power and authority, these men were invisible, they did not need to be taken seriously. To God these men were creatures of his own making, soon to be redeemed by the precious life of his Son, chosen to be disciples and apostles. God took them, their lives, and what they would do with their lives with the utmost seriousness and respect and demanded that they take him, his love, and his call with seriousness and respect. Expect nothing less. Expect God to take you equally seriously, you are infinitely precious in His eyes. Expect God to demand that you take him and his call to you seriously. It has ever been his way.
Next, God invites us into relationship. Simon and Andrew, James and John were invited to follow Jesus. They were invited to follow and watch and listen and experience the love of God shining through, flowing through, the beloved Son, Jesus Christ. They were invited in this moment to enter into a relationship that would powerfully change them (and the world). Expect nothing less. Expect the God who takes you seriously to invite you into a life changing relationship. Expect God to invite you, day by day, into deepening that relationship once you have decided to say yes.
Finally, not revealed in this story but in the rest of the story as it unfolds from Sea of Galilee, God will nurture the relationship until finally you are ready to be sent out in His name to minister in some way or some form. As Simon and Andrew, James and John followed and learned, as they witnessed in terror Jesus' death, as they experienced in unspeakable joy Jesus' resurrection, as they were filled with the Holy Spirit on Pentecost they were being prepared for ministry and they were sent to minister by God. Expect nothing less. Expect that God will nurture you, also. Expect that God will desire to send you to minister, too. It has ever been his way.
This Sunday is our monthly Youth Sunday. Let us always remember to take our children and youth as seriously as God does. Let us always remember to encourage our children and youth to explore their call to know, love, and serve God for this is a part of our calling to know, love, and serve God. Let us even encourage our children and youth to entertain God's call to ordained ministry as a possible and noble future.
Next Sunday our Bishop will join us and will confirm and receive some of our neighbors and friends. He will remind all of us that in our baptism we were chosen and called and blessed by God to enter into a life-giving relationship with Jesus and to become ministers of various kinds in Jesus name and to God's glory. Let us never tire of listening for Jesus' call to follow, and grow, and minister in new and challenging ways. Let us never tire of being taken seriously as we respond to God's love and God's call. And, let us never fail to go out and do the work God has given us to do, to love and serve Him as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Rev. Daniel Rondeau
drondeau@stmargarets.org
23 January 2000