"[Sometime back] the San Francisco Examiner carried the photograph of a 67 year-old black man with a smile that went from ear to ear. The light coming from his eyes was extraordinary.
"The accompanying story told about this man who had been a longshoreman all his life & had retired at the age of 65. He was an alcoholic. He visited the same bar every day. One day he found that he was bored & decided to ask the universe for help. He didn't really expect an answer. However, he heard a little voice inside him saying that he should go out & buy a broom & a cart. There was no doubt in his mind that for the first time in his life he had heard God's voice. He was then instructed to spend each day sweeping the streets around Mission High School. He did just that, & he stopped drinking. He soon found that he had become a surrogate grandfather for many of the students, & the kids dearly loved him & his wonderful smile. After getting to know this man, no student would dare to throw trash in the street.
"This man wasn't after recognition; he wanted only to do God's work. He said that he has never felt as peaceful & happy as he does now. He knows that his mission in life is to be a messenger of God's love, & that the form of his giving is to sweep the streets & to become friends with the students at Mission High School."
Have you heard God's voice lately? I realize that we must be careful at this point. Mark David Chapman killed former Beatle John Lennon. He said a voice inside his head kept saying, "Do it! Do it! Do it!" So heeding the mysterious voice, he pulled a .38 caliber pistol from his pocket & pumped 5 bullets into John Lennon's back.
Be careful if you start hearing voices. They may not be from God.
Young Samuel heard a voice. He was in the service of the prophet Eli. He was still a boy--but a boy whose mother had consecrated him to God. Eli's sons had proven unfit to wear their father's mantle. That is not unusual. Ministry is not something that can be inherited. It is a calling, a vocation. The word comes from the Latin, VOCARE. A voice is involved--a distinct inner voice that must be obeyed.
Samuel heard that voice. He was lying down. It was early in the evening. He heard a voice, "Samuel! Samuel!" Being the obedient child he was, Samuel replied, "Here I am!" & ran to see why Eli needed him. Eli said, "Samuel, I didn't call for you. Now, go back to bed." Again the voice called, "Samuel!" Again he rushed back to Eli's room. "Here I am," he said, "for you called for me." "I didn't call for you," Eli retorted, "Go back to bed." A 3rd time the voice called, "Samuel!" & a 3rd time Samuel went to Eli to see what the old priest wanted. By this time, it has begun to dawn on old Eli that something unusual is happening here. So he tells young Samuel, "Go, lie down; & if he calls you, you shall say, `Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.'"
Samuel did as Eli instructed & soon the voice called again, "Samuel! Samuel!" Samuel answered, "Speak, Lord, for your servant hears." And the voice of God spoke to young Samuel & an important volume of Sacred History was begun.
Now, let's return to our original question. Have you ever heard the voice of the Lord? Has He ever called your name? Even more importantly, are you reasonably certain that right now at this time in your life you are where God would have you be--doing what God would have you do?
FOR YOU SEE, EVERY WORTHWHILE ENDEAVOR IN LIFE IS POTENTIALLY A VOCATION--A CALLING FROM GOD.
I am reminded of the story of French composer Charles Alkan. Alkan was one of the great pianists of his day. Yet he would perform only on rare occasions. He spent all his spare time reading the Jewish scriptures, especially the Torah. Alkan passed many years absorbed in the study of his beloved religious works until one day a massive volume of the Torah fell off a shelf, hit him on the head, fractured his skull, & killed him. You can draw from that whatever conclusions you like.
Luther proudly proclaimed that the man who shoveled the manure & the woman who milked the cow might be doing a work more pleasing to God than the monk in the monastery who spent his day praying & singing psalms.
After all, every honest job is based on meeting human need, just like the role of pastor or priest. All of us have our place in the universe--a reason for being--a role in partnership with God. As Luther liked to say, "God milks the cows through you." Every worthwhile endeavor in life is potentially a calling from God.
Sometimes it may be hard to see how our job could be a calling from God. A certain man was eager to hear the famous chimes of St. Nicholas in Amsterdam. He had heard that they were some of the most beautiful chimes in the world. Arriving at the church he went up into the tower to watch the man who plays the chimes. To his horror he discovered that as the man struck the immense keys with his hands encased in wooden gloves the noise was deafening. The air was filled with a discordant cacophony of sound. The man who had been so eager to hear the beautiful chimes was disillusioned. Surely he had heard wrong about their beauty.
The next day about the same time he was wandering on a hill side near that same church. Suddenly he heard one of the most beautiful sounds he had ever heard. It was the chimes of St. Nicolas. He wondered if the man who played those chimes ever realized what a beautiful sound he was making for the people nearby. It sounded like only loud noise inside the tower, but to those in the countryside, it was the most beautiful music this side of heaven.
Some of us may have equal difficulty seeing the beauty in our work. All of us may experience burn-out at some time or another. In a magazine of humor, an elder monk is admonishing a younger monk: "It has come to our attention, Brother Hooper, that you may not be happy with your vow of silence." The younger monk is seated on a bunk with a ventriloquist's dummy on his lap. We all get that way at times. How could God possibly be in our job? Suppose, however, there was no one willing to drive our buses, work our fields, type our memos, design our buildings, prescribe our medicine, teach our children, etc? Think how much poorer our world would be. Every worthwhile occupation is potentially a calling from God.
SOMETIMES OUR ATTITUDE TOWARD OUR WORK IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE WORK ITSELF.
Tim Bowden, in his book ONE CROWDED HOUR, tells an amusing story about an incident that happened in Borneo during the confrontation between Malaysia and Indonesia in 1964. A group of Gurkhas from Nepal were asked if they would be willing to jump from transport planes into combat against the Indonesians if the need arose. The Gurkhas had the right to turn down the request because they had never been trained as paratroopers.
The Gurkhas usually agreed to anything, but on this occasion they said no. The next day one of their NCO's sought out the British officer who made the request. He said they had discussed the matter further and would be prepared to jump under certain conditions.
"What are they?" asked the British officer. The Gurkhas told him they would jump if the land was marshy or reasonably soft with no rocky outcrops.
Also they wanted the plane to fly as slowly as possible and no more than one hundred feet high. The British officer pointed out the planes always did fly as slowly as possible when dropping troops. However, he noted, to jump from 100 feet was impossible, because the parachutes would not open in time from that height.
"Oh," said the Gurkhas, "that's all right, then. We'll jump with parachutes anywhere. You didn't mention parachutes before!" Now, that's commitment. Think how much better off our churches would be, our jobs would be, our marriages would be, with that level of commitment. Every worthwhile endeavor is potentially a vocation. Our attitude about our work & our lives is all important. This brings us to the last thing to be said.
OUR ULTIMATE COMMITMENT IS TO GOD'S KINGDOM.
Douglas Hyde in his book DEDICATION AND LEADERSHIP paints an interesting contrast between Communism and Christianity. From his days as a Communist, Hyde testifies that the Party appealed to newcomers because of the sacrifice & commitment that they saw in those already in the Communist Party. The Party knew that it was bad psychology to ask for minimal commitment or small sacrifices. New members were expected to devote every area of their lives to the Communist struggle, & that is the only example that they saw from fellow members. By contrast, Hyde says that the Church often asks little. Even though we have the real truth & a message worth devoting one's life to, we often seem afraid to ask people to make serious commitments or live sacrificial lives. Hyde notes that such a lukewarm Christianity cannot be expected to grip men's minds & hearts.
Hyde's right. If our jobs are only a means of securing wealth, or passing time, or achieving status, they will eventually be as a millstone around our necks. If, however, we can see them as an extension of God's plan for humanity--each of us doing our part to clothe God's children, feed God's children, teach God's children, & in a 1,000 & 1 other significant ways making God's world a better place for His children to dwell--then we can get up each morning with enthusiasm believing that we are heeding God's call.
Samuel's role was to be a priest of God. There may be someone here this morning who is hearing God's call to full-time Christian service. If so, then heed it. You'll never be satisfied until you do. But the rest of us have a calling, too. Our workplace, too, can be a cathedral where we live out the good news of God's love for His people & where we seek to be part of His eternal plan.
