Jesus Calls Us

A Reflection for 3rd Sunday of Easter St Luke & St. Anne. Roper and Grace, Plymouth May 4, 2025 Thomas E Wilson, Guest Celebrant/Preacher Acts 9:1-20 Revelation 5:11-14 John 21:1-19 Psalm 30 Jesus Calls Us We started off the service with the old Hymn, “Jesus Calls Us”. The words were written by Cecil Frances Alexander, a 19th Century Anglo-Irish writer and poet, and here she calls us to, and the lessons underscore, being called to a deeper relationship with God and the Creation. In the Gospel of John. This Gospel should have ended at the 20th chapter of John, for there is a colophon, a literary formula, an ending which sums everything up. But, there is this chapter added on; a new ending at the end of the ending. I think it was probably added in by an editor of the Gospel who just had to add one more story, a story of Jesus inviting his followers to bring his spirit into their daily life and work. I think it is a nice way of reminding us that the Jesus story does not end, but it continues in our lives. Or, the author's way of saying that the story of Jesus has no ending; as long as two or three are gathered in God’s name the Good News continues. 1. Jesus calls us o'er the tumult of our life's wild, restless sea; day by day his sweet voice soundeth, saying, "Christian, follow me!" In the lesson from the Acts of the Apostles, Jesus calls Saul, an enemy of the Jesus movement, to totally change his whole perception of his own faith. Saul, famous for being zealous in the persecution of those who followed Jesus; now is called to be Paul, the one who becomes the chief interpreter of the meaning of the Christ. The name Saul means “asked for” as in the name of the First King of Israel, Saul, whom the people called for a King. Saul will change his name to Paul which means humble 2. As of old the apostles heard it by the Galilean lake, turned from home and toil and kindred, leaving all for Jesus' sake. Saul starts off his religious career as being a devoted Pharisee; one who is determined to obey all matters of religious dogma and practice. He sees in the Jesus movement of the Christians a neglecting and disregarding, and even a hi-jacking of the Pharisee spirit by the followers of Jesus. So, in the name of religious purity, he works overtime, using all of his strength and powers to viciously get rid of these heretics. He works so hard that he collapses. In his collapse, a power greater than his religion gives him an invitation to healing. Saul is told to place himself into the hands of Ananias, a follower of Paul’s enemy, Jesus. The healing is a new sight for Saul, a way of seeing all things in a different way; seeing things through the eyes of Jesus. The vision he receives gives Saul a whole new vision of life and it will give hima new name “Paul” which means humble, as he empties himself out for the Gospel. 3. Jesus calls us from the worship of the vain world's golden store, from each idol that would keep us, saying, "Christian, love me more!" Six decades, more than a half of a century ago, my draft board sent me a note to go get a pre-induction physical. The docs did all the things they needed to do and told me that I had a cataract and was functionally blind in one eye. It was news to me, but then I am a male and by definition, do not pay attention to my own body. I pointed out to them that during the Arab Israeli Conflicts, General Moshe Dayan only had one functioning eye. The doc pointed out that the Israeli armed forces had different standards. After different operations over the decades, I see all right, but not perfectly. It is a reminder to me that I need to pay attention, to look deeply and see what is really going on in my life and in my world. As Proverbs remind us: “There are none so blind as those who will not see.” 4. In our joys and in our sorrows, days of toil and hours of ease, still he calls, in cares and pleasures, "Christian, love me more than these!" How much of a change is it when we make a commitment to truly see? Let me give you an idea. You have heard me tell you over and over again, of my religious beliefs; but I have not told you of my political beliefs. I am what is called a “Yellow Dog Democrat”! That is a term that came from the time after Reconstruction in the South after the Civil War. They were men, only men could vote then, who said they would vote for a “Mangy Yeller Dog” before they would ever vote for a Republican.. Where am I on the political scale? I am so far to the left that I consider Bernie Sanders much too conservative. Yet, regardless of my political beliefs, I pray every day for the current President of the United States, with whom I disagree on almost everything. Prayer is not a matter of agreement but of entering into the sacred space between each one and to see each other as brothers and sisters of Christ and children of the living God. 5. Jesus calls us! By thy mercies, Savior, may we hear thy call, give our hearts to thine obedience, serve and love thee best of all.