Our journey in life: listening to God's Call
By William Lyon Tupman. Preached at the Sunday Eucharist at St. Paul´s Estoril and St. George´s Lisbon, Portugal.
15th July, 2018. Bible readings: Amos
7:7-15, Psalm 85:8-13, Ephesians 1:3-14, Mark 6:14-29.
May
the words of my mouth, and the meditations of all our hearts, be acceptable in
your sight, O Lord our strength and redeemer. Amen.
We
are all on a journey; as individuals in our daily lives, as families, as
friends, as our Church gathered here today, as well as the wider Christian
Church, and beyond. Here I am; this is where I am, on my journey at the moment,
here on placement as I explore what my vocation is, or what my vocations are,
in the Church. It is a real pleasure for me to be here, to meet you, and to have this opportunity to serve God and serve you in this way; thank you all. Fr. Philip, who is the curate at the Church I´ll be serving at
from September for a year (St. Michael´s Church in Croydon, South London), is
being ordained priest today - a
significant milestone in his journey in faith and in life. Many of my friends
from university are preparing for the next stage in their lives - whether
that´s continuing on to the next academic year of their studies, or graduating
and moving on to a career, further training or study, or taking some time to
relax and maybe also travel. Many of you will have been on journeys which have
taken you to several different parts of the world; and what a variety of
different careers, lifestyles and stories everyone here today will be able to
tell!
Our
journeys in life have many features and characteristics - quite like a long
road trip. Our life-long road trip, comprising of several different sections. Sometimes
the journey is easy, and the road is free-flowing; other times, it is not, with
unforeseen circumstances causing a delay or other hindrance in our journey. Sometimes
we may be progressing along our way for ages before the next resting point or
landmark; other times our next chapter may be just around the corner. Sometimes
the route is obvious, and well signposted; other times it is less so. Most of
the time, we´ll probably be able to follow our planned route; but, even when we
think we have everything planned out, occasionally we might need to take a
diversion, and the new route may well be unfamiliar and unknown. Or, some might
be on a journey where they have no idea at all where they are going; perhaps
with ideas, yet perhaps also totally unsure, and wondering what to do when a
fork in the road meets us.
But
still moving. We are all moving. We are all travelling. And we are all making
progress.
Sometimes
you might come to a signpost along the way that directs you in a particular way.
It may or may not give you a choice. Some may say "Dual Carriageway
ahead," or maybe even "Motorway ahead." "Next destination
300km to go," followed by a gentle reminder that there´s "No stopping"
even if you want to. These may be fine for most drivers - if you´re experienced
and comfortable with what you´re doing. But if you´re new to the road - starting
a radically new chapter in your life - they may be a little daunting.
Some
signs are such that we do not need to particularly worry about them. In England
we have these somewhat hilarious signs which read "Plant crossing the
road" - I assume this refers to tractors moving from one field to another,
because I must say I´ve not yet seen trees uprooting themselves and walking
across the road! Other signs are more helpful, like a roadworks sign in advance
of a set of traffic light; even if it looks like a person having an argument
with their faulty umbrella.
But
if we deliberately ignore important signposts along the way, we could be headed
for trouble. There´s suddenly a speed restriction in place on that motorway,
and your lane has been unexpectedly closed just ahead; you´ll need to change
lanes. Another road has just been closed due to roadworks, and you´ll have to
take a detour. And there is a traffic light, which is lit red. It would be
ridiculous to ignore signs like these; and I think we would all follow these
signs and signals whenever we see them.
These
signs are often in the form of commands. Some examples of these in the Bible
are the Ten Commandments received by Moses and the people in Exodus, and
Jesus´s command to us to love one another in St. John´s Gospel. As we saw in
our first reading today from Amos 7, the people did not listen to God, and
deliberately ignored His important commandments - and were punished by means of
exile.
Some
signs are obvious; as are many in life. But many other signs are less obvious,
and we have to look more carefully. We have to listen more carefully; that´s
certainly something I´ve found at times. I attended a Benedictine school, which
was attached to a monastery where the monks follow the Rule of St. Benedict.
St. Benedict, who is revered as a patron Saint of Europe, began his Rule book
with this crucial word: "Listen."
Psalm
85 today reminds us of the importance of this. If we listen to God, and if we
seek His ways, He can inspire us, by the grace and direction of His Holy
Spirit, and He will give us reward. God asks that we listen to Him and follow
Him, as best as we can; He does not expect perfection. We are not perfect; I`m
certainly not perfect, although of course we can strive to live as well as we
possibly can, with the help of God. For us, some things may be impossible; but
nothing is impossible with God. Psalm 85 also reminds us that we have
forgiveness, and that our sins are pardoned; this is something that is opened
to all of us, by the works of Jesus Christ, and is manifest in us in many ways
- from the moment of our Baptism onwards, and especially every time we receive
Christ - who is always present, at all times and in all places, and especially
when we meet Him in the Eucharist. We may always receive His direction by being
open to the grace and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He always increases what
is good, and this is something He will continually bring about in us.
We
all know that we are on a journey, together and as ourselves; and so do many
others. But do others know exactly what kind of journey they are on? Maybe. At
the end of our reading from Amos, we have a commission to prophecy. Yes, this
is a historical text, intended for the audience and recipients at the time; but
it is also a call and commission for us today, since God´s word is eternal. We
can both give and receive help to and from each other, since God is at work in
us. I am a keen runner, and yesterday I took part with Fr Frank and Jim in my
first Hash run in the countryside nearby; and we all finished the course by
helping each other, navigating the course and the directions laid out for us.
We followed the signs; we appreciated them; and we helped each other.
So,
we try our best to listen to God, and to how He is directing us in our journeys
in life. But does God listen to us, when we pray? Indeed, He does; because He
knows us. In our reading from St. Paul´s Epistle to the Ephesians today, we
learn how Jesus Himself chose us. Just as Psalm 139 details how God knew us as
He knit us together in our mothers´ wombs, Jesus has always known us - and
still does - and always will. And that´s very reassuring! He knows us
throughout our whole journeys, and even when we do not know where we are headed
on our journeys, He does; again, this can be very reassuring. We are adopted as
His very children from the moment of Baptism, into His life, death and
resurrection - and, as a result, our inheritance - our salvation - is indeed
ours. This is a free gift from God to all; a relationship with Him.
God
has a plan. He is omniscient; that is, He is all-knowing. This is especially
reassuring, especially when we remember how we don´t know everything. All we
need to do is listen to Him on our journey in life.
So,
let us freely accept God’s free invitation, and to look for opportunities to
love and serve Him and our neighbours, empowered through having faith in Him. Let
us always abide by this, and encourage our siblings in Christ to do the same. In
the name of God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
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