Sermon, Epiphany 5C, Isaiah-1 Corinthians-Luke

"The Lord will make good his purpose for me," so we heard in Psalm 138.

That's nice to know. It's nice to know that God has a plan, or a purpose, for our lives. It's nice to know that, as children of God, as disciples of Christ, as people led by the Holy Spirit, that God knows each of us by name and has a plan, a purpose, for each one of us. And it's nice to know that God has a plan, a purpose, for the collective us, for our congregation and for this particular member of the Body of Christ.

The problem, though, is that God doesn't always make it clear to us what that plan is. I don't know about any of you, but that sort of annoys me. Wouldn't it be nice if we were all given a booklet that detailed God's plan for us?

But it doesn't work that way. Instead we have to be willing to listen for God. We have to be willing to search and struggle and pray and discern in an effort to hear God's call for us. And sometimes, as I said last week, God just might whack us with a holy 2x4 to get our attention.

I talked some about that 2x4 last week, and we hear more of it this week. Isaiah's lips have been anointed with a live coal taken from God's holy temple. Paul was struck blind, healed and baptized. And Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John were amazed at the catch of fish they had made based on nothing more than Jesus' word.

But there is another element to this business of being called, and that is that God speaks to our innermost being. It may seem like God is calling us into something totally foreign, something way beyond our comfort zone, something so totally off the wall (which might be one reason we want to run away), something so totally different, but he really isn't. God's call brings to fulfillment that which we already are but may not yet know.

God will make good his purpose for us, he will call us to fulfill his plans, and his love endures forever. When he calls us, he will not abandon us and leave us alone to fulfill that call. He will give us the necessary resources to make good his purpose.

Isaiah must have had some skill in speaking and/or writing, because God used that skill to make him a prophet to his people. Paul was a classically trained Pharisee; who better to go to the Gentiles and tell how they could be part of a Jewish movement based on the life of Christ? And Peter, Andrew, James and John were all fishermen. Jesus saw in them the traits and skills that would allow them to catch people for God.

God's call is mysterious because we don't have the playbook for our lives. God's call is frightening, because we are being asked to change our old, secure ways of doing things and step out into the unknown. But God's call is also comforting in that he will not abandon us or ask us to do that which we are not capable of doing.

This is where we are. We are staring into an unknown future without a playbook, trying to discern where we are headed and how we can best reflect the love of God to the people of the Ruby Valley. It would be nice if we had the playbook, but we don't. Which might be better for us in the long-run because it forces us to spend time listening to God and each other as we work to discern our future.

This is where we are. We are facing fears of change and loss as we step out into the unknown. Questions of, "What will happen if we can't . . . What will people think if . . . How will I cope if . . ." fill the air right now. Those are all good questions. Most of them are emotional questions that can't be dealt with on a coldly, rational basis. All of them need to be addressed honestly, pastorally and carefully; because if we don't, we stand to do more harm than good.

This is where we are. We should take comfort in the fact that God will not abandon us through this process nor will he ask us to do that which we are not capable of doing. God will make good his purpose for us here in this valley. God's love surrounds us and endures forever. God will change us and mold us into something new and different and vital. God will make us prophets and apostles to the people around us. God will make us fishers of men, women and children. God will pull forth from our innermost being that which will accomplish his purpose.

"Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch."

The deep water, where we can't feel the bottom. The deep water, where we struggle to breathe. The deep water where the fear of the abundant unknown threatens to submit to the scarcity we know. The deep water, where we are baptized into discipleship with Christ. The deep water, where there are so many and such a variety to bring in.

God is calling us. Do we believe he has a purpose for us? God is calling us. Do we believe he has given us the necessary resources to make good his purpose? God is calling us. Do we believe we will not be abandoned?

God is calling us. Are we willing to put out into the deep water?