God’s Call Is Irrevocable!
I find that I do not have a very good memory for the things that I did wrong in my childhood. I am absolutely convinced that there were misdemeanors galore… for I have been told that I was disobedient… but I simply do not remember them. For example, I do not remember not completing my homework assignments for school… though I do remember sitting in class and hoping that the teacher did not call upon me, because I was not prepared. I do not ever remember taking anything from my parents’ room… although I do remember having some of their things in my possession and knowing intimately how they looked and felt. Now, I do remember lying to my mother on one occasion about brushing my teeth… but only because I thought that the punishment for that infraction… having my mouth washed out with soap… was a little extreme. I do not remember not doing my chores around the house. On the other hand, I do remember all the different places I had around the house for hiding from my parents. Why would a child need a hiding place unless she had done something she should not have done…or not done something that she should have done? And I needed one because I either had been… or was planning to be… disobedient.
Now, I have no difficulty remembering some of the things that my brothers and sister did wrong… like the time that Mom’s expensive bottle of Chanel No. 5 perfume was overturned … or the time that the thread in Mom’s sewing machine was so impossibly knotted that the needle could not move at all. I vividly remember standing in solidarity with my brothers and sister to deny any knowledge of the infraction. And I remember the undeserved punishments that followed… punishments that I blamed on the cowardly sibling who failed to confess his or her guilt. Most of those punishments involved the removal of privileges that had been promised… a dessert after the meal… an overnight with a friend… a trip to the movies… or something like that… wonderful things that had been given… or promised… that were now taken away to allow me the privilege of rethinking my behavior. But, if punishments were given to help me rethink my behavior, they did not work… for I did not spend a lot of time rethinking my behavior… except, perhaps, to think of better ways to hide my tracks the next time.
I find that the mind is a very powerful tool… and that, as I get older, it very carefully selects those memories that it would like to retain. Most of my memories are like Cary Grant movies… filled with laughter and happy endings. I tend not to remember many of the experiences that might have resembled an Alfred Hitchcock movie or other “Film Noir” of the 1940’s or 1950’s. Of course, that may be dictated by my personal philosophy that life is too short to focus on the trying… stressful… or difficult times that all of us experience. And so memories of my childhood disobedience have faded away… and that part of my life retains a rosy glow.
Our text today talks about Jews and Christians… and disobedience to God. Paul reminds us… in case we, too, have forgotten… that we have all been disobedient… but that our very disobedience reveals even more clearly God’s mercy towards us. Paul goes even further than that. Paul shares with us that it is God’s desire that all people will find salvation… and experience God’s incredible grace. And that salvation is not limited to salvation for the Israelites… the chosen people of God. Do you remember the story that Diane read to you this morning from the gospel of Matthew? When Jesus told the Canaanite woman that he had come only for the lost sheep of Israel… and that the food meant for God’s children should not be given to the dogs… which was a derogatory term that was used by the Jews in Ancient Palestine… and is still used in the present day… to label those who are not Jews… the Canaanite woman stood up to his harshness to demand the crumbs from the table for her child. Jesus, in admiration for her faith and compassion for her child, granted her wish for healing for her child and bestowed God’s blessing on her… despite her ethnicity. In doing so, Jesus opened the door for the Gentiles to also experience the miracle of God’s grace and he did it with such strength during his ministry that Paul, writing to the Romans, stated it as God’s clear purpose.
In the first two chapters of Romans, Paul talks about the gospel being the power of God for salvation… and three times, he says that salvation will come to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Here, in a stunning reversal of his former statements, Paul says that the Jews will not experience salvation until the full number of Gentiles has come in. For God’s salvation is for all people. Was Paul, in fact, talking about individuals… or was Paul talking about peoples… nations as a whole… when he said that “all Israel will be saved” and that “the full number of Gentiles will come in”? He is so emphatic about salvation for all that there is a debate in the commentaries about whether Paul believed in universal salvation for every human being on the face of the earth.
But let’s go back for a moment to the people to whom Paul was writing… the Jewish Christians in Rome. Imagine, for one moment, that you are a Jewish Christian in Rome in the first century. When you hear Paul state that the Jews will not experience salvation until the full number of Gentiles has come in, how do you feel? Do you not believe that you are one of the chosen ones? Are you not part of a nation that God has chosen from the beginning to bless? Hasn’t this story been told to you since the day you were born? The children of Israel are God’s chosen people! Why must your salvation wait for these others to come in? Why have you been moved to the back of the line going into heaven? It is inconceivable!
Can you hear the sense of entitlement that must have reverberated in the minds of the Jewish Christians? And then the tough question: Are we any different than they? Think about it. Don’t we, as Americans, think that we deserve God’s salvation more than the other nations of the world? Are we not a Christian nation… founded upon Christian principles? Don’t we believe that God is on our side? And yet, Paul is saying very clearly to those of us who think we are entitled to salvation that we will not receive our salvation until the full number of Gentiles… of outsiders… of other peoples… have come in!
Is this a diabolical plot, or what? My salvation remains in suspended animation until the full number of Gentiles have come in? I have to wait in line? For how long? How long will it take… for all these others to come in? To be honest…I don’t know. What I do know is this: it will take a whole lot longer if I wait for someone else to do it! It is up to me… it is up to you. We can sit on the sidelines and watch… and wait… or we can get involved… and work to make it happen… work to bring the full number of Gentiles in. Isn’t that the goal of “Operation Jesus” right here in Stephenville… to go door to door to share the good news… so that others may come in… may experience God’s mercy and find salvation?
Paul tells us that the gifts and call of God are irrevocable. God will never change God’s mind about what it is that God has called us to do! God gave that call to us without regret… and God will never take it back. And what is it that we are called to do? Do you remember? Have you forgotten so quickly the words of Jesus to his disciples on the hillside of Galillee? Let me share with you again those words from the gospel of Matthew, chapter 28: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." People, if that is our call, then doesn’t it make sense that we will not see our salvation until our work is done… until God can greet us with the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant?” “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,” Jesus tells us… and Paul emphasizes the importance of the task by telling us, first of all, that God’s call is irrevocable and, secondly, that we will not receive our reward until the full number of Gentiles has come in. Then, and only then, will all of Israel be saved. For, you see, the power of God’s grace is made perfect in our weakness. In our disobedience, we see mercy… and in that show of mercy, God is glorified.
So, we are called to make disciples… and that call is irrevocable. Does that mean that we have to go door-to-door, as people from all these other churches have done… and plan to do… to bring people in? Well, no… and yes. No, we do not have to go door-to-door to share the good news of the gospel with the unchurched in Stephenville, for that is not the only way in which the news of God’s grace can be shared with others. You see, God gives each one of us gifts to use in his kingdom and each person’s gifts are unique. Those gifts are given to us to be used for the common good and to spread the good news. So, think about how you might use your gifts to do that. Perhaps, your gift is listening to others. When was the last time that you invited a neighbor over and spent an evening listening to him or her talk? Perhaps, your gift is making things. When was the last time that you made something for someone else… and shared your belief that God gave you that gift to make them happy… and to glorify God? Perhaps, your gift is writing. When was the last time you wrote to someone… describing some of the things that God is doing in your life… in this church …and sharing your gift in this way? There are many gifts… and many ways that others can discover the wonder of God’s grace and find salvation. Listen to the voice of God speaking to you… and allow that voice to guide you to the unique way that you can use your gifts to share the story with others.
So, we are called to make disciples… and that call is irrevocable. Does that mean that we have to go door-to-door, as people from all these other churches have done… and plan to do… to bring people in? “No” was one answer, but “yes” was the other. And here is the challenge: Does God ever ask us to step outside of our comfort zone to reach out to others in our community? Do you think that God asked Jeremiah to step outside his comfort zone? Do you believe that Amos… or Jonah… or Moses… or Esther… or any other figures in the Bible had to step outside their comfort zones to do God’s work in this world? Reread any of those stories and you will find that the answer is yes. God does ask us to step outside our comfort zones to do God’s work in this world. Perhaps, going door-to-door on September 17 is what God is calling you to do. Only you and God know. I do know that some individuals from our church will be joining those who go out on that day. And that they will be stepping outside of their comfort zones to do this work. If God is calling you to step outside your comfort zone to do this, remember that God has also promised to be with you… as he was with Moses… or Amos… or Esther… or Jeremiah… or Jonah.
We are called to make disciples of all nations… and that call is irrevocable! Each person’s gifts are unique… but those gifts were given to us so that we might do God’s work. How will you share the story of God’s grace with others? Listen for God’s voice calling to your heart today. Amen.