Here I am Lord. Yesterday we heard bout Abraham and his son, Samuel, the boy Eli, Isaiah the prophet and his vision, Joseph, Mary, and so many others we could have talked about who heard God when he spoke to them. Paul was also one of those. Now it is our turn. Who does speak for God to you? I have never heard the heavens open. I have never seen a sign in the sky. I hear God in different ways. Each of you might have a plethora of ways God speaks to you. Sometimes reading the Bible is a way God speaks to us. Once, when I was doing Morning Prayer, I read a lesson and then lightening struck; the window shook; the floor shook; I read a few more words, and it was poignant, and the building creaked. It was in St. Paul's Cathedral, right here in Oklahoma City. Sometimes reading the Bible causes us to have a revelation. Sometimes it comes in a sermon-the voice of God who says, "Listen up". Sometimes it comes from friends. In 1988 at the Diocesan Convention, Bishop Moody gave an award to Dr. Bob Bibens, and Dr. Bob was dumbstruck. He said, "You know--God has never spoken directly at me. He speaks to my wife, Evelyn." There is a lot of truth to that. When we began to be involved with West Ankole, Evelyn encouraged involvement, and Bob answered. Sometimes even those with whom we disagree most are the ones who speak to us with God's voice. If you ever meet a man you don't learn something from, either he is dead or you are. We need to be able to learn how to listen because God is speaking to us more regularly than we are aware. God uses that voice that runs constantly in our head. If we are quiet enough, we hear ourselves talk to ourselves. Sometimes God uses that voice. Obviously, we have to learn how to discern which is God's voice and which is ourselves-which is God and what is evil. From reading scripture, God does not tell us to do evil. We have to listen, then discern. That was one of the lessons from Isaiah when he had his wonderful vision in the temple. God sent him out after he said, "Here I am." Jeremiah really didn't want to be a prophet. God said, "Yes, and---?" Jeremiah went, but reluctantly. Sometimes we go the same way. As with Joseph, though, we learn as we go along the way. Joseph was a symbol of faithfulness. What is it that God is calling you to do? You have said, "Here I am." What is it He is calling you to? Some say, "I am moving to the last years or the last decade of life. I am moving toward retirement. "Does that mean that I don't have to look for what to do? No. In every stage of our lives, God has work for us to do and is calling for us to be ministers where we are. Today I was speaking with someone who said she had lived in a place where she could not speak freely. In our country, we do need to be professing our faith by word and example. It can come with all sorts of ways. The workshop that dealt with discernment of gifts-I think periodically we need to think about what our gifts are. We have work to do that when we were younger we could not do. Maybe now, though, when we are quieter and more contemplative, perhaps we are being groomed for something else. A friend came to Norman after he had to retire from the Air Force because of a brain tumor. His wife was a teacher. I got to know him really well. One day as he became more physically disabled and could not drive anymore, he said, "I am getting to the point where I am feeling useless." We talked for a long time that afternoon about what gifts he might have. About two weeks later, he and his wife had been to Cursillo. He discovered what God was calling him to do. He said, "I have a gift for intercessory prayer." Later, he couldn't talk, but his eyes flickered when someone talked with him and hit upon what he wanted to say. He discovered when his body left him unable to do what he was accustomed to doing, his spirit enabled him to do something even greater.
Sometimes God throws gifts in our paths that we hadn't thought of. Are we willing to say, "Here I am--use me--send me?" Once we say that, then we have to assess what it will take to go out and do it. We are the body of Christ. Too often we say "I am not important enough to be the body of Christ." That isn't true. Every one of us is vital and needed for God's work. One of the things I like to say to folks, especially to confirmands, you are part of the body of Christ, and I want you to understand that the body of Christ has no feet but yours, no lips but yours, no hands but yours to do God's work-to carry the love of Christ, the healing of Christ, to those in need. We often say we really don't want to do what God calls us to do. I am convinced that on the first day of resurrection there was a sound from Heaven that said "Surprise". I think Jesus said-whoa!!! When Jesus appeared to the disciples
I think he said, "Surprise". Virtually at every one of these tables there is a story where God has spoken in a surprising way. God calls us and tells us he has work for each of us to do. One of my favorite couplets comes from Ogden Nash: "How odd of God to choose the Jews." God always chooses the unexpected ones, the least likely, to do his work. He did that with Samuel, with Mary, the mother of Jesus, he did that with Mary's child, Jesus. He took that human child to be brutally murdered, hanged on a cross, and made him our savior. What is it finally to say, "Here I am?" Abraham teaches us that we have to be willing to give up something. We have to go to the extreme to be prepared to sacrifice something-a piece of ego perhaps. Doing prison ministry is not easy. I haven't been called to prison yet. What are we willing to let go of to obey the call? We can't receive with clenched fists. Are we going to be ready to receive what God has to give us? With Samuel, he taught us we must be willing to learn. People who retire "from" often very quickly deteriorate. People who retire "to" learn new things; their lives stay good; they continue to grow. When we quit growing, we become moribund and death often comes quickly. Maybe we should join a Bible study. Isaiah teaches us to listen. Joseph teaches us to grow and be faithful, and Mary teaches us to accept and risk everything to do God's will. Mary was willing to take the risk; Joseph risked it; Abraham and Moses accepted the risk. Adam didn't accept the risk--the only one who didn't risk in all the stories. God is calling you today perhaps to rededicate yourself to his work. Maybe the work isn't new but just become stale. Elton Trueblood says that to be a Christian is to be a minister. We have been called, baptized, confirmed, and some ordained, but all those are simply a way to renew ourselves to God's work. "Here I am" is for today, and how am I going to live this out? How am I going to use my gifts to do God's work? Pay attention and listen carefully-God is going to speak to you. Could it be in a lesson tomorrow or a sermon or through a spouse, a friend, or a child, that God speaks? It could be on the radio or television or in the still, small voice in our head. It might be in the newspaper that we read of something we can help with. How is God calling, and are we willing to give up something-to learn, to listen, to grow, to be faithful? As Isaiah said, "send me", trust that God will give what we need, and never fear, you will be surprised! If you missed an opportunity, does God open the window again? God is always there, and continuously offers us ways to do his work. Sometimes it takes us a long time to accept the calling God gives us. Maybe, though, there is something different God will call us to do. Sometimes the second chance will be someplace else with even better opportunities. Do we sometimes inadvertently miss God's saying, "Here I am?" Do we miss God in the people around us-in the face of street people, in every person we meet? Are we willing to seek and actively look for serve Christ in ALL persons of this world? "Here I am, Lord, send me."