LOCAL CALLS

Dr. Richard J. Henderson January 7, 2007

click for printable version

Isaiah 43:1-7
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Introduction

This is a congregation that has been given extraordinary gifts. We see it all the time: the soloist who stands up to sing, the musician who plays in the church orchestra; the paintings hanging on these walls, these beautiful tapestries; our stained glass windows - designed and created by members of this church; the Advent wreath stand we used in preparation for Christmas.

There are other gifts, which might not be as obvious: the leader who sees a goal and organizes to achieve it, the people who plant flowers and keep them alive, the Stephen ministers who quietly help people through difficult times, the teachers who prepare and educate our children, and the fun people who make fellowship activities so enjoyable. We have been given tremendous gifts and have used them for the benefit of others.

I

Jesus goes out to the shore of the Jordan River and meets John the Baptist. He is baptized there along with crowds of other people. When Jesus comes up out of the water, his clothes soaked and his hair dripping wet, the skies open and a voice from heaven says, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am pleased."

From this humble beginning Jesus starts his ministry. God has called him to do something specific and has given him the gifts to do it. It is not until he is baptized that Jesus starts to teach, preach and heal people. His baptism begins his call.

II

Each one of us is given gifts. Some people seem to receive them at birth - a musician almost seems able to sit down at the piano and play as soon as she can reach the keys. A young person in elementary school realizes that he can draw pictures that are very realistic. It seems like it is given at birth.

My older sister and younger brother are both very good artists. My older brother and I have trouble drawing stick figures! They seem to have been given something that we missed out on.

Other people don't receive gifts at birth but are able to develop them as they mature. A young man studies mechanics and soon seems able to fix almost any car. A woman learns management skills so she is able to supervise several projects and the people working on them at the same time. Carpenters and electricians train to be skilled at what they do.

Even the gifts we receive at birth have to be developed. The artist needs training; the musician practices for hours in order to excel.

We saw the movie, The Pursuit of Happiness over Christmas break. In it a young man has exceptional math skills, but he doesn't have the experience of applying those to a job. When he gets a chance, he works long hours to learn how to apply the gifts he's been given to his work. We have to develop the gifts we've been given.

III

We all have gifts - no one was ever born without any gift. For many of us the problem is that we don't see what our gift is. We see the abilities of other people and think we don't have much in comparison. In a class sometimes I ask, "What would other people say you are good at?" I phrase it that way because if you ask a lot of people, "What gifts have you been given," they tend to say, "nothing really: I can't sing; I don't have artistic talent, ..." But they overlook the more subtle gifts they've been given. But if you ask what other people see in them, it seems easier to claim their gifts.

Lou Heckler is a good friend of mine. He began his career in television and rose to become a news anchor. Then he moved and changed careers to become a motivational speaker. Now he speaks to groups all over the world. When he was in school, he always dreaded parent/teacher conferences. The same thing happened every time. His parents would come home from their conference and sit him down, and his mother would say, "Louis, Louis, Louis. What are we going to do about your talking? Every teacher tells us you are doing well, but you are always talking." Every parent/teacher conference brought the same talk.

After Lou had become quite successful, he sat down with his parents one time and he said to his mother, "Ann, Ann, Ann, look what I do for a living now, and how well it has paid off!" Not everyone would think of talking as a gift, but he gets paid a lot of money to do it.

IV

Just as Jesus' baptism and his ministry are tied together, so are yours and mine. At his baptism Jesus was called to use what he had been given for the glory of God and for the benefit of other people. In our baptism we are called to use the gifts we have been given for the glory of God and the benefit of other people. Our baptism and the use of our gifts are tied together.

This is a wonderful time for you to look at your gifts and ask yourself how they can be used to help people who need what you have. How can you use what you have been given - whatever it is - to bring glory to God?

We are ordaining and installing officers in our congregation today. These are people with particular gifts who are using them to serve God and serve this congregation. Their service is tied to their baptisms.

A young reporter covered the announcement that Mother Teresa had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. She came out to talk to reporters and suddenly they didn't know what to ask. The young reporter stood looking at his shoes. What do you ask someone like this? Finally he blurted out, "Are you concerned that you are only able to help people here in Calcutta, and not all the hurting people in the world?" She looked at him and smiled. She said, "I do what I can, with what I have, where I am." That's all any of us can do. That's all anybody expects. It's worth writing that one down and posting it on the refrigerator door.

Conclusion

I knew a man in Northville who had gotten into trouble as a kid. He was an alcoholic and he had been arrested. With the help of Alcoholics Anonymous, he got his life straightened out. He had a good job in sales.

On the weekends and in the evenings he counseled young kids who had gotten in trouble with the law. He spent hours every week as a "Big Brother."

It occurred to me that at his funeral no one would talk about what a great career he had in sales; no one would talk about how many deals he closed in his life. But young men and middle aged men will stand up to say how he changed the direction of their lives, how he talked with them when they thought they were failures and had no hope, and how he helped them find a better way. He used the gifts he had been given - and the experiences he'd been through - to help other people. He used what he had to bring glory to God.

Amen

© Richard J. Henderson 2007