by Rev. Dr. Mary Susan Gast, Conference Minister, September, 2001
Monthly Reflections from The Pacific ~ News and Events of the NCNC United Church of Christ

DIRECTIONS FOR THOSE WHO ARE CALLED TO ORDAINED MINISTRY

Words of encouragement and support for those ministering "in the fields."

Call.  Close call.  Last call.  Catcall.  Call off.  Call into question.  Call for.  On call.  Call collect.  Call time.  Call forth.  Call waiting. 

Call me.  Call?  Me?  Who's calling?

"Morning by morning God wakens, wakens my ear, to listen as those who are taught."

Maybe this awakening, this dawning openness, this hungry listening Isaiah describes was what first tipped you off that God was calling you into ordained ministry.

When I meet for the first time with new members of Committees on the Ministry I talk about the call to ministry that comes to every Christian by virtue of our baptism. And then I talk about this business of authorization for ministry, this calling out of certain members of the Christian community for peculiar preparation and service as ministers of word and sacrament.

Maybe your call to ordained ministry was of the dramatic lightning-flash, knock-you-off-your-horse, wake up call variety noted by Saul who became Paul.

Or perhaps your call to ordained ministry was more along the line of Samuel's. In the chill of night, through the fog of dreams, troubling you out of sleep, groggy, stumbling around, trying to respond, but not having the slightest clue Who was summoning you. But eventually, after pestering and disturbing the people around you for a while, you got the message . God is calling. Security code entered. Password verified.

Or you might find yourself still being nagged and shoved into reluctantly, but ultimately courageously, pulling on your royal robes -- or your liturgical gear -- as Esther did, for just such a time as this.

Whatever the routing of your call, you may be subject to the kind of regular reminder of which Isaiah speaks. The haunting and riveting melody of Divine discourse: Morning by morning God wakens, God wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught.

Garrison Keillor tells the story of how, as a little boy, he dreamed of being an orchestra conductor. He would "practice" alone in his room while listening to radio broadcasts of the New York Philharmonic. One Sunday evening his mother walked in on him and, he says, "there I was, no longer a renowned conductor, just a kid in pajamas waving a pencil."

That's the kind of thing you fear a lot if you're one of those who are silly and foolish enough to answer the call to ordained ministry. Here you are, proclaiming eternal truth, preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, teaching the way of transforming love..when you know you're just a kid in pajamas waving a pencil.

Jesus tells his disciples, "I'm sending you out like lambs in the midst of wolves." [Luke 10:3] Travel light. Move quickly. There's this sense of urgency-and danger. Dispatching the disciples two by two, Jesus calls up visions of the buddy system, swimming deep waters, every bit as much as it may refer to companionship and accountability in ministry.

You really don't know what's in store for you as you are called into a particular ministry. You are, in a profound way, absolutely dependent upon the hospitality of strangers as you minister. You're not given a very cogent or specific plan of operation. You're expected to improvise on the particulars. All you know is that you are going to a place "where [Jesus] himself intends to go" and that you have a message to deliver, "The realm of God has come near to you." [Luke 10:9]

So, enough. Go on your way. Someone's calling you. Take care on the road.

                                                                  ~ Mary Susan

For previous editions of "Pacific Currents", click here.

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