{"id":511253,"date":"2003-01-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2003-01-19T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-07-21T08:53:56","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T12:53:56","slug":"we-find-ourselves-epiphany-2-b-2003","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/sermons\/we-find-ourselves-epiphany-2-b-2003\/","title":{"rendered":"We Find Ourselves…, Epiphany 2 (B) – 2003"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We find ourselves, on this Second Sunday after the Epiphany, early in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. This week between two holy days \u2014 The Confession of St. Peter and the Conversion of St. Paul \u2014 has been observed for many years as a particularly appropriate time to pray for the unity of the Christian Church. Peter, whose confession of Jesus as the Messiah becomes the rock on which Christ builds his Church, and Paul, whose dramatic conversion changed the course of Christian history, are most appropriate patrons saints for the movement toward church unity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lessons for this Sunday provide yet another lens through which we might look at the ecumenical movement: The lens of vocation. The word \u201cvocation,\u201d of course, means \u201ccalling.\u201d The boy Samuel was called three times before he was finally able to say, \u201cSpeak, Lord, for your servant is listening.\u201d In the Gospel, Jesus calls Philip with the words, \u201cFollow me.\u201d And then Philip calls Nathanael, concluding with those words of invitation, \u201cCome and see!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the church, we have often limited the use of the word \u201cvocation\u201d to a calling to ordained ministry. \u201cVocations are up\u201d or \u201cvocations are down\u201d has sometimes meant that applications for seminary are either up or down! However, in its purest sense, the word \u201cvocation\u201d is appropriate for any Christian calling. God has created each of us with gifts, talents, and abilities that we are expected to use for God\u2019s glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most fulfilling ways to live life is to discover what gifts, talents, and abilities God has blessed us with, and then, having identified them, to use them in our jobs, our hobbies, our various lay ministries in the church. Gifts and ministries are closely related in the Christian experience. We can discover our gifts, offer them in ministry, and so discover our true \u201cvocation,\u201d our true \u201ccalling\u201d in God\u2019s sight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, in this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, I want to explore another use of the word \u201cvocation\u201d and speak of our \u201cecumenical vocation\u201d as Episcopalians. By \u201cecumenical vocation\u201d I mean, of course, our ecumenical \u201ccalling.\u201d We all know that Jesus prayed for his disciples in John 17 that they might be one \u201cthat the world may believe.\u201d He seemed to link the unity of his disciples to the mission he was sending them out to accomplish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We know that Paul spent lots of time and energy working and praying for the unity of the scattered congregations he had started so that they might, in the words of First Corinthians, \u201cbe united in the same mind and the same purpose.\u201d (1:10c) Why would we think that it is any less important for us to be one \u201cthat the world may believe\u201d and for us to \u201cbe united in the same mind and the same purpose?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d like to suggest that Samuel, Jesus, and Philip, from today\u2019s lessons, are good examples for us as we seek to fulfill our \u201cecumenical vocation\u201d as Episcopalians. Samuel didn\u2019t get it the first time, when God called him. He didn\u2019t even get it the second time! But he kept responding, kept trying to be faithful until he finally heeded the advice of Eli and said, \u201cSpeak Lord, for your servant is listening!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We don\u2019t always get it either. Some of us are impatient with the slowness of ecumenical progress and just want to get on with it! \u201cWe\u2019re all Christians anyway,\u201d these folks are wont to say, \u201clet\u2019s just start acting like it!\u201d Others of us are a bit resistant to the ecumenical enterprise. \u201cI like being an Episcopalian,\u201d these others cry, \u201d I don\u2019t want to become a Lutheran!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, to the first group, I would say that we should exhibit a certain impatience for church unity, but that theological dialogues are important lest we wake up one day in a church that we don\u2019t want to be part of! And, to the second, I would say, don\u2019t worry \u2014 ecumenism doesn\u2019t mean merger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What we seek is a communion of communions, with each retaining its own style and ethos, but cooperating fully, and free to exchange ministers and ministries for the sake of common mission. So, if you\u2019re impatient or resistant to the ecumenical journey, I would suggest that you make Samuel\u2019s words your own, \u201cSpeak, Lord, for your servant is listening.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus\u2019 invitation to Philip in today\u2019s Gospel is instructive as well, \u201cFollow me.\u201d Jesus summoned his disciples, not to a static, sedentary life, but to a journey! A journey of risk and discovery; sometimes a journey of sacrifice; but always a journey into God\u2019s future which included going into all the world making \u201cdisciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit\u2026\u201d (Matthew 28:19) Surely we can fulfill that Great Commission better united than we can in our present state of division.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, Philip\u2019s words to Nathanael are also important: \u201cCome and see.\u201d Some of our divisions are perpetuated because we don\u2019t know enough about one another. \u201cChurches Uniting in Christ,\u201d an association of nine churches (of which the Episcopal Church is one), seeking to live their unity in Christ more fully, makes suggestions such as these for congregations:<\/p>\n\n\n\n