“WORTHY OF THE CALLING”
Tenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 13)
August 2, 2015
Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church
Glenshaw, Pennsylvania
TEXT:
I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner
worthy of the calling to which you have been called.
Ephesians 4:1 (ESV)
In my personal reading a number of years ago, I did a pretty intense
study of the Old Testament book of Amos. It’s one of those short
Biblical books that we unfortunately don’t usually pay too a whole lot
of attention to, but it can be quite interesting once you get into it.
The prophet begins preaching in the market-place, cataloging all of
the sins and atrocities of Israel’s enemies and emphasizing the fact
that God’s judgment will, without a doubt, come upon all of those
nations. Then, when he has his audience’s full attention, interest,
and support, Amos turns the tables on them by listing the sins of
God’s own people. He then tells them that the coming judgment will be
even worse for them than for their heathen neighbors because, as God’s
chosen people, they are held to a higher standard. After all, they
should know better.
The message of Amos is essentially the same thing as Paul’s message
in this morning’s Epistle, although the apostle puts it in more
positive and less threatening terms. The message is a simple one:
There are responsibilities that go hand in hand with privilege. God
expects the people who are His own to live up to their name and
favored position, not in order to earn their status, but rather to
show the unbelieving world that the grace of God in Jesus Christ has
not been wasted on His people. God chose us in Christ to be His
redeemed people. It is now up to us, with the assistance of the Holy
Spirit, to show the world that God’s choice of us was not a foolish
one. As we consider this tremendous calling that we have in Christ,
let’s look in particular at what we are by virtue of our calling and
what we are called to be.
What are we as the called people of God in Jesus Christ? First of
all, we are chosen. People have always had a hard time with that
concept, and they still do. Many modern-day Christians make the same
mistake that God’s Old Testament people made at the time of Amos.
They think that God’s choosing them has something to do with their
moral quality. In other words, they think that God chose them because
they somehow deserved to be chosen. But God doesn’t choose the way
that we do. Look at the band of disciples that our Savior gathered
around Himself. Several of them were men of the sea--simple (and, we
may assume) foul-mouthed fishermen. One of the chosen ones was a tax
collector who gained his living as an operative of an oppressive
government. Another was a Zealot--a political radical who was
involved in what we today would call a terrorist organization. Two
were brothers who seemed to epitomize “sibling rivalry.” The one who
served as treasurer for the group had a bad habit of helping himself
to the funds. And the one who would later emerge as the leader was a
man who loudly made all kinds of bold commitments that he never seemed
to be able to keep. Believe me, Jesus didn’t choose these men because
of their strong moral fiber. He didn’t choose us for that reason
either. God doesn’t choose “the cream of the crop,” so to speak; He
chooses people who need Him--and He chooses them for no other reason
than that He loves them. The fact that God chose you and me is in no
way a justification for any self-pride on our part.
Even though we have had nothing to do with our being chosen by God,
there are many privileges that are ours because of it. We are able to
approach God without fear, knowing that through the sacrifice of His
Son He has atoned for our sin and has reconciled us to Himself. We
can live our lives with purpose, knowing that we are bound for heaven,
not because of what we do or refrain from doing, but solely because of
what Christ has done for us. We can bring all of our cares and
concerns to God in prayer, confident that He hears us and answers us
when we come to Him in the all-powerful name of Jesus. We have the
privilege of fellowship with one another as we gather around Word and
Sacrament to receive the strength that He offers us in the Gospel of
His Son. All of this is ours as God’s free gift to us in Jesus
Christ. These are not privileges that we have bought or earned; they
were bought and earned for us by Christ, who kept the Law of God
perfectly for us and shed His blood on the cross in our place to atone
for our sin. These privileges of the Gospel are given to us freely,
simply because God has chosen us to receive them.
That is what we are. Now here comes the tricky part. While the fact
that we are chosen by God grants us innumerable privileges, it also
lays upon us tremendous responsibilities. Now that we have been
accepted as God’s children in spite of our sin, it is our
responsibility to live as God’s children--to preserve that status that
we have been freely given, as Paul instructs Timothy: “Guard what has
been entrusted to you” (1 Timothy 6:20 RSV). If we live in the world
as though we were part of the world--by our silence giving assent to
all of its vices, arrogantly demanding “our rights” instead of
submitting to our Father’s will, defensively making excuses for our
sins instead of confessing them--then we deny everything that is
special about us. If the fact that we have been forgiven of our sins
and armed with the power of the Gospel to live according to God’s will
has no effect on us whatsoever, how can we with any degree of
integrity claim to be the chosen people of God? If this is the case,
then we are in fact choosing not be the chosen people of God.
Our status as chosen people also lays upon us the responsibility to
be witnesses of the power of God in Jesus Christ. The whole world is
watching us. That’s not just some exaggerated idea of our importance;
it’s true. The world is watching us. Why do you suppose that, a
generation ago, the antics of Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart got so
much publicity when their offenses were really nothing more than the
normal way of life for most people of the world? It’s because they
claimed to be chosen people of God and they behaved as though they
were not. The damage that kind of thing does to the Christian witness
in the world cannot be overstated. How can I have the audacity to
proclaim to others that the Gospel of Christ is powerful enough to
change lives for the better if all the while I am living my life as if
the Gospel hasn’t changed me at all? If we claim to be the children
of God and continue to live as children of the world, the message that
we send to the watching world is not only a mixed message; it’s a
hypocritical one.
Nothing is more amusing to people outside the Church than the
inconsistency of people inside the Church. I hate to admit it, but
it’s true: At least ninety-five percent of the people who have told
me that they’re not interested in being a part of the Church cite as
their reason the behavior of people who are already a part of the
Church. “So-and-so claims to be a Christian,” they will say, “and
look at the way he lives! What has this wonderful Gospel of yours
done for him?” But the Good News is that God’s grace in Christ can
overcome even that kind of image for the chosen people of God. The
strength that He alone provides us in the Gospel of His Son can and
will forgive us when we fail and empower us to “walk in a manner
worthy of the calling to which [we] have been called”—to His glory and
for the benefit of sinners like us.
Amen.
May the Lord bless your hearing of His Word, using it to accomplish in
you those things for which He gave it. May you be enriched and
strengthened in faith that you may leave here today to go out into our
world armed with the whole armor of God, prepared to be able
ambassadors of your Savior Jesus Christ. He who calls you is
faithful, and He will do it. Amen.