Monday, November 13, 2006

Purpose and Calling (Hebrew Bible)

"I don't feel called to do that" has become the new Christian blow-off line. How often do we see needs in our world that aren't filled because people don't "feel called" to do something. I wonder if the priest in the Good Samaritan story thought to himself, "I'm not trained in First AID, healing isn't one of my spiritual gifts..." as he passed by the man who had been left on the side of the road to die. The prophets spoke against people who ignored the poor and the oppressed. Jesus reminded the Jews of his day that piety without justice for others is empty. Hundreds of thousands of people are being killed, raped, mutilated, and displaced in Darfur, and none of the world's leaders "feel called" to take any real action on their behalf.

Tonight in class, the lecture was about Exodus and Sinai, and one of topics covered was the idea that we need to read the Exodus story from the point of view of the Egyptians, because as privileged people in the First World, we are part of the oppressive power structure. We harden our hearts against the cries of the oppressed in many ways, and Denise said that one of those ways was by focusing on personal spirituality to the point that we don't notice the plight of other people. She mentioned The Purpose-Driven Life as an example of self-centered Christian thinking, and this was uncomfortable for me, because I had experienced a purpose-driven life adjustment when we read the book for Camp. Of course, the whole summer staff had to read it, and we did so in the context of focusing on serving kids all summer.

I think a lot of people get so focused on spiritual growth and finding their calling, that they forget that spiritual growth is supposed to lead directly to serving others and seeking justice. We forget that personal faith has to lead to and be balanced with meeting the needs of the people around us. Having a sense of purpose helps us to focus our lives, but we are called to do all sorts of things that don't fit into the "main calling" we experience. If I am called to youth ministry, that doesn't mean I can ignore adults how are in need. When there are a million different ministries at my church, I focus on the ones where I can serve best, but sometimes needs arise that must out-rank what we think our calling is. If I am preparing for Bible study, but some one in church has a crisis, I need to lend a hand there. If we are called to serve local churches, there are still other crises that call our attention to the larger community, and to the world.

My mom works in property management and teaches Sunday School. She's also filling in at the youth center after-school program, while they look for a new staff member. She went into it without a sense of vocation or a call to youth ministry, but she did it because the need was there. Those kids are really difficult kids. I know this because I also filled in there for a month last year. The kids are awesome, wonderful people, but their experiences so far have shaped them into individuals who are hard to handle and slow to trust. I'm not saying that my mom is called to work at the youth center (she would kill me). My point is that a lot of people talk about not feeling called, or not being sure of their gifts, or not having enough faith yet, and these excuses drown out the cries of the oppressed and needy. We usually grow more when we are serving God and working to extend God's grace to others anyway.


Blogger Aurelian said...

I tend to agree and think that many in the church need to hear this, probably myself included, although I would make the distinction that we should limit service that is really far outside of our gifting to the short term, otherwise it leads to frustration and burnout. For example, I'm not a gifted teacher, but I can teach without too much stress. But if I were to fill in during an emergency for an administrative position within a church, it would have to be really short term, because my hair would start falling out from stress within a week.

Some of your examples involved people in a immediate crisis, and I think you're right that we should all be prepared to lend a hand in that situation.

8:36 AM  
Blogger LutheranChik said...

Delurking this week...great post.

1:12 PM  

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