This Sunday, churches that use the revised common lectionary will read and hear the story of God calling Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:4-10). As I read Jeremiah’s call story, I am reminded of a Wednesday evening in August 2004. (This passage reappears as a lectionary option in August of Year C.) That night, as I sat in midweek worship service, I heard this passage read and then the pastor spoke about God’s call for Jeremiah and for us. Be prepared, this Sunday, many of you will hear a sermon on this topic. But back to August 2004, I left that service with the distinct feeling that I had been set up.
At this point, I need to give you some background information. For many years prior to this time, I had been an active volunteer in children’s ministry. The woman who had been the Christian Educator at our church since 1994 was and still is a wonderful mentor and friend to me. Several times during those years, she had called me up and said, “I was thinking that you would be really good at my job.” You see, God was planting seeds. My standard response was, “I have a Ph.D. in pharmacology.” I was trying to ignore those seeds.
A couple of weeks before “that August evening” my friend had come to my house to tell me that she was quitting. She had recently become a licensed lay minister and was being called to serve in that capacity. My response was two-fold: “I am happy for you!” and “I don’t want your job.” She laughed and I laughed.
However, God and some other people had already decided that I was the one for this job. The church decided to hire an interim children’s ministry director for four months while taking time to discern what the Christian Education position would look like. At the time I was working part-time as an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Iowa, teaching only during the spring semester. In the minds of many, that indicated I had time during the fall to take this job. In fact, I had a woman call and thank me for agreeing to fill this position. When I explained that I hadn’t applied for the job and wasn’t planning to, she apologized and told me she had heard that I was going to do it.
Now we come to that Wednesday evening. I was helping set up for a potluck dinner that preceded worship. The pastor followed me into the kitchen and told me that he would like me to consider applying for the interim children’s ministry director position. (The lesson here is that if God calls and you don’t answer the phone, God (or God’s messenger), will track you down in the kitchen.) I gave him my standard response about not being interested and he asked me to pray about it. I agreed to do so.
After the potluck I went to worship. God called Jeremiah to do God’s work. Jeremiah tried to talk God out of calling him. Oh dear, this was beginning to sound familiar. When the talk turned from Jeremiah’s call to our call, the question was asked, “Are you paying attention to God’s call in your life?” At that point I knew that I would apply for the job, albeit reluctantly.
Since that time the Spirit has nudged me several times to eventually lead me to being the Creator of Joyful Content, a title that makes me smile. God’s call for us is not stagnant, after all. Even if you have experienced God’s call in your life, God may have something in mind for you now. I encourage you to spend some time with Jeremiah. Are you paying attention to God’s call in your life?
~Sally Hoelscher