In this sermon preached on Sunday 17 January, Canon Mark considers how God delights to call the under-qualified, the young and insignificant to carry forward his plans.

Listen the recording by clicking here or read the script below.

I still remember it as clearly today as when it happened in 1989. I’d just finished speaking to Bishop Derek Eaton on the phone and he’d invited me to a series of interviews for ordination. And my mother-in-law, Margaret Sheaf, without a word, made two simple gestures to me – a gesture of a clerical collar and the thumbs up. As far as she was concerned, I should accept that God was calling me to ordination.

All I can remember feeling, was a deep sense of foreboding and apprehension.

Today’s Old Testament reading is the famous story of the calling of the boy Samuel to serve God as a prophet. And it’s paired with the calling of Philip and Nathanael in John chapter 1. So today - still within a few weeks of the beginning of a New Year - we’re being invited to reflect upon our own calling before God.

But let’s begin with the calling of Samuel. Many will be familiar with this favourite Sunday School story. Samuel had become a kind of adopted son of Eli the priest of Shiloh where the ark of God was kept. This was in the early days of Israel before the monarchy and well before the building of Solomon’s temple.

Now Samuel had grown up in the sanctuary of the Lord. And as he grew up he helped Eli in the administration and services of worship. And no doubt Eli had taught him to read and write, and about the history of Israel. And so he received an education in the style of the day. So this was a kind of live in, on the job training situation for Samuel who may have been about 10 years of age.

Now at night, young Samuel would sleep in front of the ark of God, with Eli sleeping in an adjoining room. And on one particular night, Samuel was woken by the voice of the Lord saying “Samuel! Samuel!” And thinking that it was Eli who was calling, went to him and said “Here I am! Eli replied, “I did not call; lie down again.”

And as we know this was happened three times, until Eli worked out that the one calling Samuel, must have been none other than the Lord – the God of Israel.

And so on the forth time, under instructions from Eli, Samuel replied to God’s call by saying the famous words “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.” And so God spoke to Samuel about a message he was to deliver to Eli about the conduct and subsequent judgement over the behaviour of his sons.

So what can we learn about our own call from this account? Well the first thing that I notice is that the call of God was individual and personal. God called a particular boy whose name was Samuel.

The other thing to say is that God’s call comes to young and old, rich and poor, wise and simple, accomplished and novice. God’s call came to Samuel – who was neither wise nor experienced nor powerful.

Throughout scripture God seems to delight in calling the under-qualified, the young and the insignificant.

Now I know that many individuals in our church family have felt God’s call to serve in a particular field of endeavour. And it’s wonderful that both Don Mackenzie and Jan Murphy were honoured in the New Year’s list as people who have felt called to serve the community in particular ways. But you know others find it hard to discern God’s call.

And it’s partly, because the call of God is so contested in today’s world. There’s a chorus of voices calling us all the time. There’s the call to own the next shiny, digital or labour-saving gadget. There’s the call to live the ‘good life’ as our society defines it. There’s the call of family ties. There’s the call of our work. And although these alternative calls may be legitimate, they can have the effect of smothering God’s call. For example how often do we say “Speak Lord for you servant is listening?” and then really listen?

So God’s call is individual and personal. Think now about the relational nature of God’s call. God’s call is not just about God wanting us to do some stuff for him. It’s not just about accomplishing things. There is a definite relational side to God’s call on our lives. Here’s what I mean.

It says in verse 7 that “Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.” Now this is very interesting. Because there’s no doubt, that Samuel, as Eli’s apprentice - working and ministering and learning within the sanctuary - that Samuel knew a lot about God. He knew about God’s dealings with Israel in the past. He knew how to pray. He knew about the rituals. But there was one important thing he did not know. He did not know God.

In other words, he was not yet in relationship with God. So here, in the heart of the Old Testament, the truth is affirmed, that it’s possible to know about God, without knowing God personally. And we must never get confused about these two things.

And so Samuel’s call was not, in the first instance, a call to do something for God. It was not about accomplishing anything. It was not even about speaking as a prophet of God – which he was to do the very next day as he addressed Eli with the message God had given him. No the call, was first and foremost, about listening to God’s word and coming to know God personally and relationally.

And we see this in the gospel reading as well. Jesus’ encounter with Philip and Nathanael probably happened in Cana because that was where Nathanael was from. And in the very next chapter Jesus and his disciples are found to be in Cana of Galilee. And there’s an interesting exchange between Nathanael and Jesus during which Nathanael exclaims “Where did you get to know me?” One of the notable things about Jesus and his twelve disciples is that they were a community – with very rich relational connections – whereby they knew each other. Before they really did anything for Jesus, those who followed Jesus were in relationship with him.

So God’s call comes to us as well. It’s an individual and personal call. And it’s a call first of all to be in a spiritual relationship with God through Jesus Christ. And it’s because God loves you unconditionally. God loves you, even before you do anything for him at all. Because it’s not primarily about doing stuff. It’s primarily about being in relationship with God.

Now I know it’s easy for me to say that. Because people wonder how do we actually relate to an invisible, spiritual being – let alone the supreme creator of all things? How do we do that?

Well I’ve struggled with this myself. I have sometimes felt that God was silent – that I had not felt his presence or heard his word. I’ve sometimes said “Speak Lord for you servant is listening” and nothing much has come back.

But these days, I’m much more comfortable accepting that being in relationship with God, is not necessarily about feeling close to God, or that I have a relationship with God which is just like the other relationships I have in my life.

I accept that my relationship with God is different. But it’s based on trust – that our loving and faithful God is with me, and that through him, everything is going to be OK. So when I pray “Speak Lord for your servant is listening” – I accept that God could speak to me in variety of ways and circumstances. But God is primarily calling me to be in relationship with him.

I mentioned earlier about my own calling by God. And it was a calling that I ultimately embraced. And like Samuel, my calling was both personal and relational. But I have had my struggles. There have been times when I’ve felt that the call was too hard for me, and that I simply wasn’t up to the challenge at all. I’ve felt an imposter at times – that God should’ve called someone smarter or wiser or more experienced.

Can you relate to that? That God has called you to something and you’ve felt it was too complex or challenging and you just couldn’t cope?

Some of you may have heard of the poem by George Herbert called ‘The Collar.’ It’s a poem written in 1633 about Herbert wrestling against his call as a clergy person. And I can really relate to it because it expresses the real struggle that he had against his own ordination. Here's a few lines of it.

I struck the board, and cried, “No more;
I will abroad!
What? shall I ever sigh and pine?
My lines and life are free, free as the road,
Loose as the wind, as large as store.
Shall I be still in suit?
Have I no harvest but a thorn
To let me blood, and not restore
What I have lost with cordial fruit?

So there’s an image of a person wanting to turn their back on their calling because the only things to show for it are thorns and loss – there doesn’t seem to be any harvest. So Herbert wants to be free as “free as the road and loose as the wind.” I wonder if you feel that you’re a prisoner of your calling at times? The poem finishes in a surprising way. Here are the last few lines;

But as I raved and grew more fierce and wild
At every word,
Methought I heard one calling, Child!
And I replied My Lord.

So after all the anger and railing against God, and pushing away from his calling, Herbert heard God’s call again – “Child.” It could just as well have been “Samuel” or “Mark” or your name. God’s call is personal and individual. God’s call is relational. He calls each one of us by name. And as God calls us by name, our calling to know, love and serve him, is renewed. “And I replied My Lord.”

God calls every one of us to himself. God is calling you now. You may hear his voice for the very first time this morning. Or you may hear God calling you again after an absence. Either way respond with “Speak Lord for your servant is listening.”