On the Nature of a Call or On Eating Sh**
Luke 1:1-4
Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,
Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;
It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,
That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.
Luke 4:14-21
And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.
And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
In the modern age, the idea of a ‘calling’ is an almost impossible concept to understand. Besides the fact that most people don’t believe in much more than themselves, there is a real struggle with any sort of particularity at all. People think that their entire life is supposed to be about making money. Have you ever heard someone say that they have a calling to be a payday lender? What about a venture capitalist? Or maybe even the executive of a predatory health insurance company? I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. Most people are in it to get paid. There is no ‘calling’ when the sole objective is to get paid. Unfortunately, the idea of ‘calling’ is nothing more than something that a few superstitious people embrace. Jesus didn’t feel that way at all.
In Nazareth, Jesus went into the synagogue and opened one of the most well-known scriptures of the time and loudly declared his ‘calling.’ He did not come to save the pious or the paid. Jesus came to save the poor, heal the brokenhearted, release for the captives, recovery of sight to the blind and to set at liberty all who have been abused. Nowhere in his ‘calling’ did Jesus talk about making money or gaining influence. Jesus is claiming who he is. The ‘calling’ of God is about embracing who God has created you to be the first place…not making or doing anything.
One of the misleading ideas I hear bantered about all of the time is that people are making money and gaining influence so that they might use such things to help other people. The problem is that rarely do I meet people who are actually doing such work. Most of the time, I just see such people collecting bigger houses and nicer cars. The idea of ‘calling’ is not about collecting…it is about being. We are all called to be something. If such a ‘calling’ does not align with the ‘calling’ of Jesus then such a ‘calling’ is bullshit.
In the passage, Jesus doesn’t hesitate to claim his calling. If we are truly connected to him, we won’t either.
Over the last few days, my family and I have received an outpouring of hate and death threats from those who are very angry that I denounced Donald Trump and his dehumanizing policies. In a fiery sermon, I unapologetically declared, “May God damn Donald Trump if he enacts these evil policies, and May God damn us if we allow it to happen.” To those who have spewed hate and threatened the lives of my family and I, I unequivocally say,
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
These words are the measure of a ‘calling.’ I make no apologies for following Jesus. I make no apologies for following my ‘calling.’ If you don’t like it, eat shit.
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