Called to Discipleship, Brought to Vocation - June 2011
When asked if I would talk and then write about vocation in the church, I could have explained how I found myself unexpectedly called into my own Ministry, and although this would have been a personal account of vocation, I felt it appropriate to consider a wider picture, looking at how our individual contributions and work leads into a broader vocation, one we then call 'Church', working in the community and world in which we live.
For 'church' is not just about coming to a building steeped in history each week, wonderful as that can be, but it is how we work together in the service of God, and how we are bound together by the Holy Spirit into a combined vocation to those around us. For if we don't understand that we too, like the first disciples, have been called by Jesus into discipleship, we are left with one question, why are we going into that building to sing and pray?
The dictionary describes vocation as having 'a strong feeling that you ought to pursue a particular career or occupation, a sense of being called'. Being a teacher, a doctor or nurse, or in church ministry would all be described as vocational pursuits, each caring and nurturing people, but not all people who pursue a vocation will share a faith in God. They may be humanist, agnostic, or even atheist, but to have faith in God surely only equips us more fully when we are caring or nurturing people.
Jesus' own ministry was centred on the individual, as he called his first disciples to join him on a journey that would take them from fishing to places of extraordinary highs and lows, of pain and suffering, and of joy and love, as they responded to his call. We too, through Christ will have received a similar call to join him, and some will remember with great clarity when this happened, whilst others will not. In responding, we start the beginning of our own journey, and like the first disciples, we also need to learn and be taught new ways and new values, where we will be encouraged to leave behind the burdens and baggage we collect within our lives that impede the progress to our calling. Often there is a reluctance to set aside the matters we judge to be important, but which Christ does not, and our journey may not always be an easy one.
Paul speaking to his early church explains, As a prisoner for the Lord I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle, patient and bearing with one another through love and make every effort to keep the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace
Simply coming to church every week is not an answer to the call we have received, for it is what we become in response to Christ's call that Paul is urging us to appreciate.
As Jesus prepared to leave his disciples and return to the Father, he told them he would send another advocate, The Holy Spirit, to be with them in the work that would lie ahead. We too receive that same enabling power to equip us in the work that Jesus asks us to do, and we should try to be ready for that discipleship.
But where does discipleship end, and vocation start? For some Christ's call will take us into unexpected places, places we may initially want to run away from. Yet vocation is a strong feeling about pursuing a particular path, and within our church there are many doors that open to the individual, though we are all to be equal in the sight of God. We are one body because we are all bound together by the Spirit of God, but at the same time we are all unique in the gifts we have been given. Some of us may become musicians, whilst others will be preachers and pastors. Others will arrange flowers, whilst some will clean, and some will be prayerful & supportive through their thoughts and words. Together these skills all combine to make up the family of God that is working in our parishes, communities and throughout the world, each equally important and loved by God.
Yet all families need a structure if they are to be responsive to one another, and there needs to be a management system that works at parish and diocesan level ensuring we are not only supportive to the communities outside the church, but that we are supportive of one another within our organisation. Management systems can be both vertical and horizontal in the ways they operate, and the church as an institution needs to do both efficiently. If we place those vertical and the horizontal elements together we form a cross on which we find Christ at the centre, centre to ourselves, our church, and to our mission in the world.
Families should strive to nurture one another, and recognise the gifts in others that they may not see in themselves. Vocation is borne of the heart and comes from within, but often needs the understanding of those around us to gently bring us to recognise in ourselves what God is asking us to do.
Jesus said 'come follow me' and as we respond, we embark on a journey that goes on through life with Christ always at our side. It will be a journey that challenges, shapes and teaches us new ways, and new values, but it will be a journey towards discipleship. For some it will also bring vocational learning, acquiring new skills and knowledge that is then shared amongst us all. So may we continue to support one another as we move, in due course, into our time of interregnum, and may we continue to recognise and encourage in each other, the gifts we are all given as we walk with Christ into the presence of God.
Taken from the benefice service sermon by Michael Ellard.