Ok, I admit it, that was a shameless ploy to help you remember this sermon.  And the reason I want you to remember it is not because I think it’s the best sermon you’ll ever hear, but because I believe this topic of “call” is and important one to keep close as we examine who we are as the people of God in this time and place.
 You’ve heard me say it before and no doubt, you’ll hear me say it again.  God has called each one of us.  It wasn’t like our phone rang and when we answered God was on the line.  But we were called.  Where?  Here, in the waters of baptism, God called each of us, surrounded by the community and family of faith. 

 Now, Isaiah’s call story was a bit different.  In fact, it was downright strange, in a Harry Potter/Lord of the Rings/Wizard of Oz kind of way.  Like your strangest dream, Isaiah saw the Lord on the throne, the hem of his robes filled the heavens.  Seraphs were singing Holy Holy Holy!  They were flying everywhere, not unlike those creepy flying monkeys in the Wizard of Oz, when one of them touches a hot coal to Isaiah’s mouth.  So, in the midst of all this the Lord asks “Whom shall I send?” Isaiah promptly responds: “Here am I!  Send me!”  Get me the heck outa here!

 Let’s remember back to our Old Testament reading from last week and revisit Jeremiah’s response when God called him.  Jeremiah said: “I don’t know how to speak, I’m only a child”. 

 When I first began to discern that God’s call for my life involved ordained ministry, I had a similar response.  First, I pretended not to hear…this kind of thing…(fingers in ears, eyes shut).  Then I tried arguing.  I said (deep inhale) “Really God, you can’t mean me.  I have 2 small boys and a full time job and a home to care for and all of these committees at church I’m serving on.  You cannot mean me”.  Later, I said (big inhale) “Uh, God, have you been keeping up with how old I am?  And now I have three children, so I think you’ve got the wrong person”.  Eventually I learned that God does not give up on us. Scripture tells us that God has a perfect plan for each of us.  And you can bet that plan involves a call.

 In the Gospel lesson today, we learned how Peter, James, and John responded to the call of Jesus.  The text says that when they brought their boats back to shore they left everything and followed him.  They left everything.  The didn’t argue or protest.  They didn’t ask how many pieces of luggage they could bring along.  They simply left everything and followed Jesus.

 So, at this point you might be thinking “Whew, I’m off the hook.  I haven’t been called to be a prophet or a pastor or a disciple.  But wait…we are all called….to be speak the word of God to others, to minister and care for others and to be disciples of Jesus.  How we live that out varies from person to person and call to call.  And we are called in life in many ways and to many things.

 For example, we are called to be children.  Some are called to be parents and grandparents and spouses.  Some are called to be teachers and musicians.  Some are called to military service.  We are called to friendship.  Think about it for a moment.  To what has God called you?

 Do you remember in school when we were taught to ask those six important questions…who, what, where, when, why, and how?  Maybe if we applied those questions to our calls, we could come to a clearer understanding of exactly what it is that God is calling us to.

 Who, then, is God calling us to serve?  Jesus said we are to the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and then love our neighbors as ourselves.  God, neighbors, and self.  And Scripture is clear that everyone is our neighbor.  So we are called to serve God and in so doing, to serve others while not neglecting to love and care for ourselves. 

 What are we called to do?  Scripture says we are to go and make disciples.  Paul says we are to live together in love.  Perhaps we teach Sunday School, serve on Council, fix the furnace at the church or prepare a meal for a funeral luncheon.  It can mean that we pray for the difficult people in our lives.  Kids, this may be as simple as saying to the new person at school: ‘Come and sit with us’ or to the one who is always left out ‘Come and be a part of what we’re doing’.

 When will we spend time with God each day?  Believe me, I wish I were one of those people whose first thought was directed toward God instead of “I wonder if we’ll have another two hour snow delay today?”  But sometimes it’s helpful to have a visual reminder to begin the day with God.  There is a story of a nun who turned her slippers each night so that the toes faced the bed.  That way, when she got up in the morning she would turn to put on her slippers, face her bed, and go to her knees in prayer.  Now this nun obviously did not have children at her bedside when she awoke saying “I forgot I need 2 dozen cupcakes for school today”.  Nevertheless, it is good to plan to begin and end one’s day with God, and good to spend time in prayer throughout the day, in study, in reading, and in fellowship with others.

 Where do we see the presence of God in the world?  Where did we see the face of Jesus?  There’s something about the way the snow hangs in the trees that reminds me of the presence of the God that created the earth.  I would bet that four years ago today the Getz’s and the Black’s and their families saw the presence of God in two newborn faces.  And we must never neglect to see it in the face of the stranger. 

 And don’t we have a lot of why questions?  Just like inquisitive children we ask a lot of why questions.  But as we think about our calls, we might ask why God called us.  I know I’ve asked that question on many occasions.  Like Jeremiah and Isaiah I want to protest that I am not worthy of this task.  I’m just not up to it.  Surely there are others who are more suited.  Why me?  Why us? 

 Elsewhere in Isaiah we hear these words: “Thus says the Lord, the one who created you O Jacob, the One who formed you O Israel. Do not fear, for I have redeemed you.  I have called you by name, you are mine.”  And in 1 John: 3 “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God, and that is what we are.”  And the familiar words of John 3:16 “For God so love the world that he gave his only begotten Son”.  God calls us because God loves us.  It’s that simple.  It’s that wonderful.

 How, we ask, how can we possibly deserve this?  How can we, sinners all, deserve to be called by God?  The answer is simple.  We don’t.  We can’t.  God’s call to us in the water of baptism is God’s reaching out to claim us as God’s own.  God’s call to us is free, unearned, it is grace. 

 Sisters and brothers, there is much to be done in the kingdom.  There are people who are hungry, thirsty, naked, lonely, afraid, grieving.  There are people who need to hear the saving word of God and feel the touch of love and listen to a message of hope.  God asks “Whom shall I send”.  May our response, like Isaiah’s be: “Here am I Lord, send me!”.  Amen.