Called Out
Called
Out
Isaiah 42:1-9; Matthew
3:13-17
January 12, 2014
The church is the
community of those called by God to be the body of Christ for the world.
I reckon that’s a
fairly classic definition of church. It’s both descriptive and, at the same
time, provocative.
On a Sunday when we
ordain elders to serve as spiritual leaders of the community of the church at
Clarendon, it’s good to pause for a moment and ask what it means to be called out.
On a Sunday when we
mark the baptism of Jesus and, in doing so, remember our own baptismal welcome
into the community of the church, it’s good to pause for a moment and ask what
it means to be the body of Christ.
On a Sunday still at
the beginning of a new year, as we consider both changes and opportunities
before us, it is good to pause for a moment and ask what “for the world” means for us.
So let’s begin with
these questions and our reflections from our own experience.
What does it mean, to
you, to be called out?
What does it mean to be
the body of Christ?
What does “for the
world” mean for you?
*****
In the New Testament,
the Greek word that we translate as church is ekklesia. You can hear in that the root of our word ecclesiastic. In general usage, ekklesia referred to a gathering of
citizens or an assembly. It was originally a political term not a religious
one, but it brought together two root words that sparked the religious
imagination as well: ek, which means out; and kaleo, which means call.
Thus, the church is the
gathering of those called out, as our ordination liturgy reminds us, by the One
who calls us to follow.
Who is this One? Well,
upon that the whole thing turns, doesn’t it. If Jesus is not the center of the
life of the church, then it has no real life worth living. Oh, sure, we can be
a nice organization of good people doing fine things in the community – another
voluntary association of like-minded individuals. But that is not the church of
Jesus Christ, that is not the body of Christ, taken, blessed and broken for the
world.
We are the ones called
to follow the One of whom God said, “you are the Beloved, in you I am well
pleased.”
In the waters of our
baptism, God whispers the same blessing, “you are my beloved, in you I am well
pleased.” In these waters the church hears also the words of Isaiah, “you are
my servant, in whom my soul delights; you will bring forth justice to the
nations … I have given you as a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are
blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon.”
This is our common
calling, because our life is centered on Jesus, the one called to bring sight
to the blind, to bring release to the captives, to bring good news to the poor.
For that calling to
resonate in our world we must be the body of the Risen Christ of our faith, for
there is no other body. We are the ones called to be the body of Christ for the
world. As Shane Claiborne observed, “we can admire and worship Jesus without
doing what he did. We can applaud what he preached and stood for without caring
about the same things. We can adore his cross without taking up ours.”[1]
We can do that, sure,
but we can’t do that and call ourselves the body of Christ for the world. We
can’t do that and still call ourselves the church. For to be the body of Christ
for the world we have to be standing with those who suffer – the passion of the
Christ demands of his followers compassion, the willingness to suffer with
those who suffer.
We do this with what we
have, where we are, here and now in mostly simple, human gestures on a human
scale. We’re not called to save the world – salvation is God’s work, not ours.
We’re called, instead, to be faithful.
I cannot solve the
“problem” of hunger in the world, but I can share a meal with a hungry
neighbor. I cannot solve the “problem” of bullying but I can extend compassion
to a child. I cannot solve the “problem” of systemic exclusion but I can
welcome people to my home. Now, lest I be misunderstood, the fact that I cannot,
on my own, solve such problems does not get me off the hook from working with
others, in community, for systemic change. After all, Jesus fed the hungry,
broke bread with outcasts, touched the lepers – but he also tossed the money
changers out of the temple, preached the forgiveness of debt, and wound up
executed for sedition.
All of that, as the
life of the church, is what it means to be blessed and broken for the world.
We center our small
part of that work on hospitality and feeding our neighbors in body, mind and
spirit. As we consider transitions, new initiatives, and changes to our sacred
space, we hold that fundamental commitment as the measure of our decisions and
our actions.
It’s a pretty good
yardstick for our individual lives, as well. How does your life, lived
day-to-day, one choice to the next, reflect God’s call and claim on your life
to be part of the body of Christ for the world?
Let us pray:
God
who calls us out, who claims us in the waters of baptism, who nurtures us in
the community of followers of Jesus, bless our every step as we sojourn
faithfully as Christ’s body for your broken world. May we sow seeds of healing,
of wholeness, of justice and of peace as we journey together. Amen.
posted by David Ensign at
6:42 AM
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