Written and Delivered by The Rev. Philip Schaffner

In the name of living God, Amen.

"Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" (Luke 5:8b)

"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!" (Isaiah 6:5)

It can be a terrifying thing to encounter the living God. To witness the awesome power of a God that pays attention to you is frightening. We avoid the divine, because the light is so penetrating. It exposes and burns our shortcomings and faults. Both Peter and Isaiah shrunk from the presence of God. It was overwhelming for them.

It is terrifying to encounter the living God, because it changes us. We cannot encounter God and remain the same. We are transformed, transfigured by God. It is terrifying because we must let go of things; we must change course; we must take on new disciplines and work. We recoil at the prospect of being special -- of being called.

We say, "I'm nobody special; in fact, I'm really not that good of a person. Surely someone else would be better suited for this job. It must be someone else's responsibility."

My sisters and brothers, listen! Listen, God desires to dwell in your hearts. God desires to transform your life. God is calling you to something beyond your wildest dreams. Listen, God needs you.

There are some who will tell you that confessing Jesus as your Lord and Savior will bring you prosperity and wealth. That being saved will make your family happy and your health perfect. I wish it worked that way. Following Jesus does not guarantee that your life will become easy or that you will become rich and famous. On the contrary, it will likely bring in your contact with your own pain and suffering and that of others.

Following Jesus means becoming a disciple. It means adopting spiritual disciplines of listening, prayer, fasting, truth telling, hospitality and generosity. It means being disciplined in your life. It may not be easy, but it is life giving. In the process, you will indeed gain your life and your sense of purpose.

Isaiah was called to be a prophet of doom. He was sent to his own people to tell them of God's wrath and impending doom. He was hated by many and ostracized by most, but in the process he became one of the greatest prophets.

Peter was called to leave everything he knew behind and walk with Jesus all the way to the cross. He was called to witness the horror of Jesus betrayal and execution and to somehow pull the scared and fragmented community together. In the process, he became the rock on which the church was built. These were sinful men who were redeemed and given a new purpose. Like many others before and since, we can learn from their struggles.

In the fall of 2000, I was a student at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. I spent three months intensely studying Modern Hebrew and learning about the history of Israel. I traveled throughout the country and saw what tourism does to holy shrines. Most of my friends were Jewish students from around the world. On Fridays before the Sabbath began at sundown, I would walk two kilometers into East Jerusalem and volunteer with a Palestinian Christian Organization. Although it had been relatively calm in Israel for several years there was still great tension. I spoke with everyone about the conflicts. It was like cutting into an onion, I kept finding more and more layers and in the process I cried more and more.

Then suddenly things changed. As I diligently completed my final for Hebrew, Ariel Sharon took an entourage to visit the temple mount and sparked a riot. This was barely four miles away from my school. The next day another riot erupted, but this time the Israeli army responded with live fire and killed four Palestinians. About an hour after the riot dispersed, I left my dorm with two of my Christian friends and hailed one of the unmarked ford vans that constitute the Palestinian transportation system. Despite the tension, it was the beginning of Rosh Hashanah and we were determined to go the Western Wall in the old city and mark the holiday.

As we walked through the winding stone streets of the old city, we came upon a group of about ten young boys. As we approach I hear them yell, "yahuda, yahuda!" Although I knew that meant Jew in Arabic, it never occurred to me that they were talking about me. Before I could blink, one of them was trying to trip me and another had broken a glass bottle. If I had been alone, I'm not sure what would have happened. Thankfully, one of my friends was from Jordan and quickly dispelled the situation. We took another route home that evening.

The injustices of years and years of conflict that had festered below the surface erupted. Within a few days, a young Israeli man took a wrong turn in the West Bank and was ambushed. He was beaten to death and his body was thrown out of a window to a crowd waiting below that tore apart his body. The Israeli response was rapid and deadly. This was followed be a stream of deadly actions and reactions.

I watched these events unfold sometimes mere miles from my dorm room. What could I do? I felt useless. I was an outsider witnessing a downward spiral of violence and felt powerless to do anything about it. It was a terrifying experience. So I prayed and I prayed. God spoke me to in those prayers, but I didn't hear what I expected to hear. Instead of some great plan to bring about peace, I felt a powerful and scary call to return to my home and to my own community. However, this was hardly a call to retreat. Instead, I felt and continue to feel called to wrestle with injustice here in this community--to work on issues related to poverty, racism, domestic violence, the environment and disparity. I was called into action. It was in responding to that call that I became a deacon.

We are all called by God into discipleship. Listen, we are ALL called. You may have already experienced a calling. For some, you may be resisting a call. For others, your call is yet to come.

Answering a call from God can be scary. There is a reason John the Baptist said that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. Indeed, Isaiah had to be burned with coal before he was sent. When we open ourselves to the presence of God, we can experience the power of the Spirit. It may not mean that you will become famous, but it will mean that you will become significant. Indeed, you are significant because God loves you. God pays attention to you and is inviting you into a path of discipline. A path of discipleship. A path of spiritual life not spiritual death.

However, discipleship as Peter learned can mean giving up everything. It can mean examining your friendships, your eating habits, your financial investments, your job, your treatment of strangers, your free time, your volunteering, your energy usage, your home, your commitments and your security. In short, God desires all of you. However, It will look different for each of us. So, what is God calling you to do? What are those things that are asking to be done but you keep avoiding? What are the things that you should stop doing and give up? What is distracting you? Who's helping you listen?

At St. George's we are seeking to be a place where we can all explore these questions. I invite you to help make this a place that encourages discernment and spiritual discipline.

The good news is that God has freed us from the way of death and is inviting us into the way of life. Let's answer that call together. Here are we, send us!