I received several nice comments and emails regarding my post about being called to something that one might not have done on their own. One friend wrote to say that he occasionally "hears" a fishing lake calling him and that his community servant status was born more out of a sense or duty of responsibility for giving back rather than having come about as a result of a call. Finally, having been called in his life to the ministry, he believes perhaps he hasn't really been called to anything else, other than that. All of those points make sense but still................
I agree that being called and/or being led very close in meaning; rather when I speak of a call I do infer that it is a someone making the call, that someone being God, calling me out of myself, my self-centeredness, out of the me only world.
I believe that ALL are called (or led) by the Father, and/or the Son, and/or the Holy Spirit, that there is a spark in every living person that waits to be ignited through personal discernment; discernment for where God would like us to be in relation to having been created. For me that discernment comes from the discovery of Jesus Christ and of clumsily attempting to follow his outline for living. And since the law that Jesus espoused came from the Jewish prophets, his earthly ancestry, I expect he has no difficulty with human beings coming to him through their understanding of the law. For me (perhaps a universalist?) I believe that discernment may lead searchers to listen through their Jewish ears or their Muslim ears, even through their Southern Baptist ears to find what, who, where, and how they are to live their lives and raise their families - oh yeah, again I say - for me discernment begins with trying to be quiet long enough to hear the still, small voice calling, or leading to a better way of life here on earth.
I don't want to diminish the value of a call to those who see it as singly a call to ministry. I only seek to encourage myself and those I know and meet that there is more in our lives than doing good things on earth in order to receive the ultimate prize in death. I believe that God (while not micro-managing us) calls us repeatedly to realize the fullness of salvation while we are still kickin' and breathin' and knowin' that this life we live IS a call and that we should do our best to recognize and live into that call to the best of our ability.
The mystery of God's presence in my life is more evident than just receiving "yes answers" to all my prayers for growth, guidance and right living. Believing that God continues to call me throughout my life on earth, I hope to make discernment an integral part of my life. And choosing a quote from a commenter on this subject - "Does any of this make sense?" I welcome your responses!!! It's so much more fun sharing a topic rather than plowing through it one one's own.
I agree that being called and/or being led very close in meaning; rather when I speak of a call I do infer that it is a someone making the call, that someone being God, calling me out of myself, my self-centeredness, out of the me only world.
I believe that ALL are called (or led) by the Father, and/or the Son, and/or the Holy Spirit, that there is a spark in every living person that waits to be ignited through personal discernment; discernment for where God would like us to be in relation to having been created. For me that discernment comes from the discovery of Jesus Christ and of clumsily attempting to follow his outline for living. And since the law that Jesus espoused came from the Jewish prophets, his earthly ancestry, I expect he has no difficulty with human beings coming to him through their understanding of the law. For me (perhaps a universalist?) I believe that discernment may lead searchers to listen through their Jewish ears or their Muslim ears, even through their Southern Baptist ears to find what, who, where, and how they are to live their lives and raise their families - oh yeah, again I say - for me discernment begins with trying to be quiet long enough to hear the still, small voice calling, or leading to a better way of life here on earth.
I don't want to diminish the value of a call to those who see it as singly a call to ministry. I only seek to encourage myself and those I know and meet that there is more in our lives than doing good things on earth in order to receive the ultimate prize in death. I believe that God (while not micro-managing us) calls us repeatedly to realize the fullness of salvation while we are still kickin' and breathin' and knowin' that this life we live IS a call and that we should do our best to recognize and live into that call to the best of our ability.
The mystery of God's presence in my life is more evident than just receiving "yes answers" to all my prayers for growth, guidance and right living. Believing that God continues to call me throughout my life on earth, I hope to make discernment an integral part of my life. And choosing a quote from a commenter on this subject - "Does any of this make sense?" I welcome your responses!!! It's so much more fun sharing a topic rather than plowing through it one one's own.
For me, and for most in my tradition, all Christians are called to ministry. That's a big part of what being a Christian is all about. Some are called to be pastors as one kind of minister. I'm convinced that most ministry occurs outside the church and has nothing to do with worship, Sunday school, or serving on a parish council. By the way - terrific post.
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Aha, what a coincidence. The writer of Ponderings on a Faith Journey has something to say along these lines as well:http://www.bloglines.com/myblogs
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excellent post and i agree with CP in that we ALL (not only Christians - i believe) are called to ministry...it just comes in an endless variety of shape and form. your writing reminds me of one of my favorite quotes:
ReplyDelete"The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." --Frederick Buechner (on vocation or calling)
it sounds to me like you have found calling in your new volunteer work among other things - art, music, writing... xoxooxo
CP and Lucy - I'm blessed to have you two voices responding to this post and for being in my life!
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Enjoyed reading your and others comments about a 'call'. Words, spoken or written, are just symbols to which we attach meaning. The sum of our life experience places looking glasses on our perceptions of the meaning of words and therefore we see them uniquely through the lenses of those life experiences. It does cause confusion when we communicate because our perceived 'meaning' of a word at times does not match up to what another's perception might be. My doctoral project was on Listening Theory. Listening is one thing, and hearing is another. To many times we hear and fail to listen.(We're all guilty at that point) Whatever meaning the concept of a 'call' has to whoever is fine on my part. But it seems to me that the broader and more inclusive the meaning of a word, its meaning and clarity become more diluted and so communication becomes more dificult. Oh Well, perhaps these discussions are just so much 'mind masterbation'. I hope you have a great day! Later.
ReplyDeletePhil, thanks for the comment - "Listening Theory" - that must have been a great project. Listening is, of course, bound up in our own life experiences. Considering the differences in all of us, it's a wonder we can communicate on any level! I hadn't and probably wouldn't have used the words "mind masturbation" for these discussions we have had regarding the word "call" and or "led" but indeed I do think that exchanges on blog posts (or daily conversation) are forms of stimulation for the thought process and mind development - so, thanks for chiming in.
ReplyDeleteyou bring up a very interesting subject here...i have contemplated this many many times...i have concluded that the vast majority of men "in the ministry" ARE NOT "called"...at least not by God....most have succumbed to a sublime emotional pressure which is nothing more than the subconscience psychological malady of "people-pleasing" borne out of a deep seated need for approval and validation from others..what more 'NOBLE" cause than to enter into service of God and man?..however,the true motives are more of a selfish/selfcentered nature centerd on a "needy" psyche...what is happening now though is that "pastors" must strive MUCH HARDER to "win" this approval from an increasingly "ME" centered people..the validation and perverbal "pat on the head" dont come easy anymore and this is forceing a self-examination for many who took-up the cloth..some will leave the "ministry" only to seek out other 'REWARDING" careers never fully understanding what is driving them....others will gradually come to the truth and discard the baggage and then continue on in their conversion...
ReplyDeleteI regret that Mr. Anonymous above may be more right than he should be. One of the cardinal teaching points in our seminary training is that seminary and ordained ministry are not places to work out your problems. That is one reason why, in our tradition, the process of discernment of call is so thorough and involves so many others at the parish and diocesan levels. It's a good process, but not a foolproof one.
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Anonymous - thank you so much for your comments. The word, alas (such an old-fashioned word) comes to mind - I believe, along with you that many men and women are NOT called to the ministry. It is so evident in their half hearted ministry with parishioners - EVERYTHING is just too difficult to overcome. "The way we've always done it" seems good enough and as you point out, with the mindset of church goers and non-church goers these days, that attitude just does not do justice to the richness of Gods' teachings and the neediness of Gods' workers to be in the fields living lives as examples and not as doomsday prophets. Thanks again, come back soon.
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