By the Rev. Robert Blezard
RCL reflection for the 5th Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C
February 9, 2025
When it comes to hiring decisions, our Triune God would make a very peculiar HR director. Time and again, God seems to bypass the brightest, the best-qualified and those with the appropriate work experience and select unlikely figures to carry out important responsibilities!.
Of course, that may be good news for us 21st century followers of Jesus, because it means all of us ordinary folks have a part to play in God’s mission. And in our church, our community and in our world, a multitude of tasks need willing and able volunteers. Some of us may not know the full extent of our capabilities. But God does.
In this week’s Gospel lesson from Luke, Jesus is looking for followers to begin his world-changing ministry. Where is he finding them? In the temple, among the learned rabbis and experts in the law of Moses? In the corridors of power and money, among the educated leadership class? No and no. He’s on the lakeshore recruiting fishermen.
No doubt Jesus had discerned that Simon Peter, James and John possessed the ideal qualities for their roles as disciples. In a similar fashion, in choosing a king for Israel ages earlier, our God overlooked the seven elder sons of Jesse to pick the youngest son, David, who was just a boy. God explained why to Samuel the prophet: “People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7 NIV).
God affirms that intelligence, creativity, leadership and character are found in all sorts of people, not just those lucky enough to have training, education and opportunity. By extension, we can surmise that our congregation contains a vast reservoir of potential waiting to be tapped.
This week’s lessons provide inspiration for preaching on how to steward our talents and lives for God’s purposes.
Paul calls himself “the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God” (1 Corinthians 15:9). Indeed, one would think his vehement opposition to the Jesus movement would have disqualified him from church leadership. Yet God turned Paul around and he accomplished enormous good. How many church-disdaining “Pauls” exist in your congregation’s circles? How might God use them?
The story of Isaiah’s calling exemplifies the way that many of us, in the presence of the divine, feel small, inadequate and unworthy. He cries, “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips!” (Isaiah 6:5). Many feel unqualified when asked to take on a church responsibility, whether it’s teaching Sunday school, leading an initiative, serving on a committee or team.
I bet those humble fisherman experienced some self-doubt and anxiety when Jesus asks them to drop their nets and follow him. After all, what had they done that warranted such a call? And yet, they follow Jesus, trusting that Jesus knows what he is doing, even if they don’t.
In Isaiah’s case, we know God’s response to his moment of awareness. A seraph touches his lips with a live coal (ouch!) that blots out his sin and takes away his guilt (v. 7). This empowers the future prophet with confidence to respond, “Here am I; send me” (v. 7) when God calls for a volunteer to carry God’s Word.
The experiences of Paul, the fishermen and Isaiah prove the old adage that God doesn’t call the equipped, but rather God equips the called. Our experiences of congregational life affirms this truth as well. Many people who are initially hesitant and unconvinced that they are suited for tasks often turn out to be fine leaders. So too, people whose histories give no hint of their capacity for success. In all cases, we trust that God guides, strengthens and equips these people for success. But they would never have learned that about themselves if they had not dropped their nets and followed, or answered, at last, “Here am I; send me.”
In worship
This Sunday is all about calling and how God often calls us out of our comfort zone to take on important tasks. Make a list of the jobs and positions for which the congregation needs volunteers (or more volunteers). Print it in the bulletin and post it as a sign-up sheet in the narthex. In the sermon, during announcements or at an offering moment, invite people to look at the list and identify which tasks they would be willing to try. Remind them that God does not always call the equipped, but always equips the called.
With youth
Invite youth to think of an achievement that filled them with pride. Maybe a good school grade, an athletic victory, proficiency with an instrument or winning at a video game. Ask how they felt before the achievement. Were they nervous? Hesitant? Unsure whether they could succeed? Affirm those feelings as normal and talk about how we sometimes feel that way when God calls us to do important things. But when we take on those tasks, God gives us what we need to achieve and succeed.
With children
Explain that God often calls ordinary people to do amazing things. Briefly describe the events of 1 Samuel 16, how God passed up seven older, wiser and more experienced brothers to anointed David, the youngest, as king of Israel. He was just a boy, but God saw that David had the heart of a king. Invite them to think of their own hearts and the wonderful things God might call them to do.
Previous reflection for Epiphany 5C
2019 – Calling All Disciples!
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