Texts: Ephesians 4:1
When I was thinking about our Gospel reading for today (John 6:1-15) that relates how Jesus used a boy’s lunch of five small barley loaves and two fish to feed 5000 men, I was reminded of a daily ritual of my boyhood years. Whenever I would pack my school bag, it always included the lunch bag my mother had made for me. Perhaps you can relate to this. Whenever I went away from home she always made sure that I had something to eat along. In this way she truly lived up to her calling as my mother.
Our sermon is based upon Paul’s words in our Epistle text in Ephesians 4:1, “…I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” What is my calling? What is your calling? The calling Paul refers to here is the one we received in Christ. When we were baptized into Christ, we were called to be God’s people. Paul tells us: “You were called to one hope … one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all…” With this five-fold repetition of the word “one” Paul emphasizes that as those called by Christ, we are no longer independent or autonomous, but we belong to Christ, our Head. We no longer live our lives, each of us as we please, but we live for each other. Our call in Christ is a call to a fellowship of unity. Since we all share the same call, the same hope, same faith, same Lord, same Baptism, and the same God, why is it that some of us grumble or are reluctant to work together or can’t get along with certain others? It is this incongruity that Paul is laying before the Ephesian Christians. It is one we ought to consider in our own lives. Are we living up to the calling we have received?
The first aspect of our calling that Paul mentions is the one hope we received. Our hope is that one day we will see God with our own eyes! That we will see Him and not die, but live in a blessed fellowship of love, forever and ever. In our Old Testament lesson from the book of Exodus, we heard how the 70 elders of Israel went up Mt. Sinai and saw God. They saw God but “God did not raise his hand against these leaders of Israel.” (Exodus 24:11) This was a very significant and unique moment in the history of Israel: That God permitted them to see Him and eat with Him. God made this intimate fellowship possible by having them sprinkled with the blood of innocent bulls in order to cover their sin.
We have an even greater hope of seeing God. For we have been sprinkled by the blood of Jesus, God’s own Son. When His blood was applied to us in Baptism our sins were covered by His innocence and holiness. As a result God’s Holy Spirit now dwells in our bodies as if they were His temple. And if you want to see God today, look around you. God is in your neighbour. Until we arrive in heaven when we shall see God face to face, this is how God wants us to see Him and to meet Him: in the face and life of our neighbour, of our brother and our sister.
This call we received as God’s beloved children was not on the basis of anything we did to deserve it. We received it solely by His grace as a free gift. All we can do is receive it by faith and say “thank-you.” This calling is more important than any other calling. It is more important than, for example, that of the Prime Minister of Canada’s job, or that of the President of the U.S. For this calling is not one that will last for a few terms of office, but one that will last for eternity. This call not only makes us citizens of a country, but it makes us children of God Most High.
In Baptism God gave us His Name and we are privileged to bear that Name and to honour it with a godly life. We do that as we follow Jesus. In Jesus God shows Himself to us and we have the pattern to follow. Paul tells us what it means to follow Jesus: “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:2-4) In doing this “we will in all things, grow up in Him who is the Head, that is Christ.” For us, this is our calling—to grow up in Christ so that the “whole body”, the church, “grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” (Ephesians 4:15-16)
In order to live out this divine calling we need, first of all, to listen to God and His Word. There we hear God’s corrective Word of Law and His restorative Word of Grace. Through His Word we are guided in fulfilling our calling. This first aspect of our calling is in relationship with God. The second aspect of this calling is in relationship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. They are fellow members of Christ’s body in whom God’s Spirit dwells and who we must accept and honour as such. Just as Jesus did not exalt Himself but to serve sinners, we are called to be humble, patient and to build each other up. The third aspect of our calling involves our relationship to those outside the church. We live this out in our vocations. Even though our jobs do not appear to be “spiritual,” they are spiritually significant, because of who we are in Christ. Because you are God’s child, and God, your Father, the Master of the whole world, you are not just working for a human boss or a company, but really for God. Through the Holy Spirit you are enabled to carry out your vocation in this world—following Jesus in your workplace and in your home. Christ’s forgiveness makes every aspect of your life worthy of His calling.
As we live out our calling, we don’t always see spectacular things happening. It can be as simple as the daily lunch my mother made for me over 12 or more years. I can’t say that anything spectacular came out of that. At least not yet. One day, I’m sure, my mother will reap the spiritual fruit of faithfully fulfilling her vocation to me. And I don’t believe the fruit of her labour will be any less spectacular than what happened with the lunch of five barley loaves and two fish the mother had prepared for her boy who had decided to follow Jesus that day 2000 years ago. For all of us who follow Jesus, we will see our ordinary daily work transformed by His grace, even as Jesus used that boys lunch to feed 5000 hungry men. We carry out our calling in Christ as we first bring ourselves and then everything that is ours, our hopes and dreams, our talents and treasures, our families and friends, to Christ our Lord to have him take them and bless them and use them to bless countless others. What I hear God telling us here is that He wishes to bless us beyond anything we can imagine. If we will only offer our lives to Him and for His service, He promises us spiritual returns that are literally “out of this world.”
Unfortunately, the 5000 men who ate the boy’s lunch did not get the message. They wanted to keep Jesus and the things he gave them for themselves. They wanted Him to be their king so they would no longer have to work for anyone any more. They missed the whole point of what it means to be God’s child. They thought that from now on others would be serving them. However, to be God’s child means to give oneself to Christ and let Him use all we are and all we have in service to those around us. It means to forget who we are and look toward that which we shall become in Christ. It means to let go of what we have and give it to the service of the One who has given us all things and even Himself, and who has promised us so much more.
During the last week I witnessed the joy that results from living out this calling. It was evident among those who volunteered for our Vacation Bible School. They gave up their free time to spend hours preparing crafts for over 100 children each day. We also had to practice our songs, puppet shows, skits and Bible messages. There were times when I questioned whether we could pull it off or whether it would be worth it. But when the time arrived and we saw the faces of all the children, the enthusiasm with which they welcomed us and their eagerness to hear the message of God’s love for them, we all knew that God had surely blessed our efforts far beyond what we could have imagined.
So let me encourage you to remember the glorious calling you received in Christ and to allow it to transform your life from an ordinary, mundane one, into a life that is rewarding and overflowing with joy. May the God of all peace now fill you with joy in Christ our Saviour. Amen.