Isaiah 6:1-8, [9-13]                  Psalm 138                   1 Corinthians 15:1-11              Luke 5:1-11

            When I first began to share with others that I felt called to the priesthood, people asked what it was like to be called by God.  In seminary we shared our “call stories” and not one of my fellow students describe their call from God as Isaiah did.  Not a single seminarian or priest I’ve spoken to has seen seraphs with six wings singing, “Holy, Holy, Holy in the Lord of Hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory.”  And thankfully, not one of us had our lips touched by a hot coal from the altar. 

            All call stories do share one thing in common – at one point or another we all answered as Isaiah did, “Here am I; send me.”  For most of us, though, this was not our first answer.  And, for some of us, it was an answer that we questioned over and over again. 

Being called to ordained ministry is not that different from God’s call to each of you.  At one point or another, you felt a need to come here, to get involved, or God may be calling you now.  Our call to mission often begins with an awareness of a need, a feeling that we should/could do something.  God calls us as individuals, but then God also calls us collectively to make a difference.   

            In today’s Gospel reading, we hear the story of Simon, Peter, James, and John all responding to Jesus’ call to come follow him and be fishers of men.  Like Isaiah, Peter’s first response was that he was not worthy, but Jesus simply responded – do not be afraid, I will make you fishers of men and Peter, James and John left all they had and followed Christ.   Isaiah’s first response to God was not, “Here am I, send me.”  No, his first response to seeing God was, "Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!" 

            Like Simon, Peter and Isaiah, we too, often response to God’s call with the fear that we are not worthy, that we are not capable of doing what God wants us to do.  Our call may start with a thought, a thought that we immediately dismiss with using various excuses.  I responded by saying Hospice was my ministry. Though Hospice is a ministry, I’m here before you because God’s call is not so easily dismissed. Our excuses are not satisfying and God’s call to service is persistent.

             Even Paul says of his call, “For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.”  All three call stories in today’s reading do share one thing in common; Isaiah, Peter, and Paul are all being called to go out into the world and share God’s word.   Sometimes the message is not one the people want to hear –as it was with Isaiah.  Sometimes the message is to bring other to God – as it was with Peter and with Paul. 

            Lest any of us consider ourselves special because we are called, we need to remember what Paul says, “But by the grace of God I am what I am.”  God’s gifts to us, our talents, are given to us for a reason.  Throughout Paul’s letter to the people in Corinth, he talks of the gifts of the Spirit to each member of the church and that they are to be used for the good of the whole.  The good of the whole is not just our family, our church; it is the good of the whole of God’s creation.  Some of us have more than others, and that means only one thing – more is expected of us.  We are not here to judge who is worthy of our love and support, for God’s grace is freely given to us – given to us to share.

            This weekend the Vestry went on a retreat and we talked about the needs of St. Andrews and we set some goals.  As we discussed our weaknesses and threats to our long term health, it occurred to me that as long as our finances are “just enough to do the minimum,” we cannot help but to focus on doing the minimum. 

            Yet, the vestry chose to set goals for mission and growth.  Rightfully, the vestry concluded that if we do the work of God, the rest will come.  It is easy to focus on money when money is needed, but we need to remember that Peter fished all night without a catch.  It was only when he trusted Jesus and did what Christ said, that he was able to catch fish – and then he caught more than he could have imagined.  In January I asked for contribution to support the Episcopal Relief and Development Fund for work in Haiti and you responded.  A week later, we asked for help to support a young man in need of clothes to apply for a job – and you responded.  In two weeks we collected about $1,800.  This demonstrates that mission is a response, not a function – and a healthy church is one that responds to Holy Spirit through service.  Growth also occurs in response to the Holy Spirit.  Growth, not solely in numbers, but growth in faith and our understanding of what Christ is calling us to be. 

Let us pray.

            Almighty God and Father, thank you for the gifts you have given us, help us to use them as you intended.  Open our ears that we might hear your call and incline our hearts that we might answer.   Fill us with your spirit that together we might respond to others in love.  All this we ask in the name of your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.