Called by God – 30 January 2022

Luke 4: 21-30

As we settle in to hear the little homily that Jesus will offer to explain Isaiah’s pronouncement of freedom and release, we think we know what to expect. After all . . . we’ve been told . . . that we are God’s people. Some of us interpret that as having been called or claimed by God and we proclaim that we have answered that call. Some describe it as having been changed, using words like born anew or born again, thus transforming us into people of God. When God’s word is read aloud for us we assume they are our words. Who else would they belong to since we are the people of God?

But there’s another message in the word and that message is: God’s chosen people are not chosen so they can be privileged or favored; they are not chosen so that they might be superior to others. God’s people are chosen to be “a light to the nations.” “By your offspring shall all the nations of the earth gain blessing for themselves,” the Lord said to Abraham many, many years before Jesus ever sat down to teach in the synagogue of his hometown of Nazareth (Gen 22:18). Then comes the sermon about the widow at Zarephath in Sidon and Naaman the Syrian. We weren’t expecting that.

To stave off any more unexpected sermons, the congregation of First Church Nazareth decides to throw the preacher over a cliff. They tried, but were unsuccessful on this particular day. Luke tells us, “he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.” Sort of reminds you of Elijah riding his chariot into heaven, mysteriously lifted by God away from the turmoil. Or maybe there’s nothing mysterious about it at all; maybe Jesus just walked right past them because they were all bark and no bite. Whatever reason, they didn’t throw him over the cliff that day. But they will later—not over a cliff, but on a cross. They’ll try to put an end to all this foolish talk about inclusion and acceptance and forgiveness—put an end to it once and for all. –– Jennifer Copeland

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Knowing that you’re called by God from inception could cause a number of reactions ranging from elation to fear. Jeremiah’s initial reaction appears to be fear . . . He does rise to the occasion, however . . . Each of us can find our own response somewhere along the continuum and our attitudes predictably change according to our surroundings . . . Once we recognize to whom we belong, however, declining the invitation is not an option. –– Jennifer Copeland

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Paul reminds us that love is the greatest gift of all, and that this love does not come from anything within ourselves or anything within this world. Love comes from God. It is God’s gift to us. We don’t love anything, not even the lovely person beside us at the altar, except that God first loved us. Only when we understand God’s love can we begin to understand how love operates in our lives.–– Jennifer Copeland

Jennifer Copeland, a United Methodist ordained minister, served for 16 years as chaplain at Duke University and as director of the Duke Wesley Fellowship. She is currently executive director at North Carolina Council of Churches in Raleigh-Durham.

Homily Service 43, no. 1 (2009): 124–136.