May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
There are over 600 hymns in our hymnal.
Hymns that speak of joy and sorrow, of praise and thanksgiving.
Christmas hymns, and Easter hymns, and even hymns on stewardship.
And most of us who have been attending worship for a number of years have our favorites.
There are a number of hymns that speak to what we're called to do
as beloved children of God, and followers of Christ.
One hymn that stands out to me
as one that outlines our calling
is admittedly my favorite hymn.
The Summons, or Will you Come and Follow Me, tells the tale of the
relationship between God and us, and our calling in response to God's calling.
I invite you to open your hymnals to number 798.
We'll sing the first three verses. Please join me on the second and third verses.
Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?
Will you go where you don't know and never be the same?
Will you let my love be shown?
Will you let my name be known?
Will you let me life be grown in you and you in me?
Will you leave yourself behind if I but call your name?
Will you care for cruel and kind and never be the same?
Will you risk the hostile stare, should your life attract or scare?
Will you let me answer prayer in you and you in me?
Will you let the blinded see if I but call your name?
Will you set the prisoners free and never be the same?
Will you kiss the leper clean, and do such as this unseen,
and admit to what I mean in you and you in me?
Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?
I think the reason I find this hymn so wonderful is because I know my name has been called.
The same way that I know that all of your names have been called.
And so the Lord says, "If I but call you name, will you do these things?"
And so many days, I think; "Yes! Of course!"
I have this "Here I Am Lord" attitude.
I feel this especially after a retreat,
or after a really meaningful worship service.
I'm full of passion and energy and excitement.
I'm ready to should God's name from the rooftops,
I'm ready to love those who have hurt me,
I'm ready to take up my cross, and follow.
But...
Like it is with most things,
Excitement and energy and passion don't always stay up there.
I don't know if maintaining it at that level is even possible, permanently.
What I mean is...
I fall short more times than I don't.
In the hymn, we're asked to leave ourselves behind, and care for the cruel, and kiss the leper clean...
And there are days when I look at that like and think
Wow, that's asking an awful lot.
...As if I don't.
As if I'm not over here asking for forgiveness every day,
and asking for another chance to try again every morning.
As if I'm not struck with selfish ambition when I want things done my way...
and I don't fail to live up to this summons in some way every day.
But yet, God keeps calling.
Because there's a faith in me that God has...
for a reason I will never understand.
Because there's patience that God has that I don't know that I could have.
And this is why we have Ash Wednesday...
every year.
In the Bible, ashes are often used to express grief or sorrow for sins and faults.
In fact, a common theme in Ash Wednesday literature is;
Look how much you messed up.
Look at how many times you've failed.
You're not as good as you think you are.
Honestly, I don't know how helpful that is.
I do think it's helpful to be aware of our shortcoming.
Because if we're perfect, why do we need Jesus?
Because it we're perfect, why do we need the cross?
So, instead, I offer this to you:
that we view our ashes not of marks of shame,
but instead, that we see the ashes as proclamation of what God can do within dust and dirt.
Because we don't get it right... kind of often.
But this day isn't about all of the times we trip and fall.
It's about what God can do with clumsy human beings.
In this hymn, God is asking; "What are you willing to do once you've been called?"
The true beauty lied in the fact that God works through all of us to do these things:
to set the prisoner free.
To spread seeds.
To kiss the leper.
The slogan for the ELCA is and has been for awhile now,
"God's work. Our hands."
This is exactly what we're being called to in this hymn.
And in this day.
To be the hands of God's work.
God's work.
It's BIG work.
But remember, you've been called.
You were called at your baptism.
And you acknowledged your call at your affirmation of baptism.
And here, tonight,
we're called to acknowledge it again.
As we remember our baptisms while we receive our ashes,
let's commit to doing something courageous.
Let's not only acknowledge our summoning,
let's respond.
This is what tonight is all about.
It's humbly acknowledging that we fall short.
It's realizing that we trip and fall.
But then...
It's grasping the hand that helps us back up every time
and knowing that God continues to call us.
It's also a recommitment to keep trying.
It's promising again that when we're summoned, we'll answer.
We'll answer:
"Lord, your summons echoes true when you but call my name.
Let me turn and follow you and never be the same.
In your company I'll go,
Where your love and footsteps show.
Thus I'll move and live and grow in you and you in me."
Amen.
To listen to the song:
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
There are over 600 hymns in our hymnal.
Hymns that speak of joy and sorrow, of praise and thanksgiving.
Christmas hymns, and Easter hymns, and even hymns on stewardship.
And most of us who have been attending worship for a number of years have our favorites.
There are a number of hymns that speak to what we're called to do
as beloved children of God, and followers of Christ.
One hymn that stands out to me
as one that outlines our calling
is admittedly my favorite hymn.
The Summons, or Will you Come and Follow Me, tells the tale of the
relationship between God and us, and our calling in response to God's calling.
I invite you to open your hymnals to number 798.
We'll sing the first three verses. Please join me on the second and third verses.
Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?
Will you go where you don't know and never be the same?
Will you let my love be shown?
Will you let my name be known?
Will you let me life be grown in you and you in me?
Will you leave yourself behind if I but call your name?
Will you care for cruel and kind and never be the same?
Will you risk the hostile stare, should your life attract or scare?
Will you let me answer prayer in you and you in me?
Will you let the blinded see if I but call your name?
Will you set the prisoners free and never be the same?
Will you kiss the leper clean, and do such as this unseen,
and admit to what I mean in you and you in me?
Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?
I think the reason I find this hymn so wonderful is because I know my name has been called.
The same way that I know that all of your names have been called.
And so the Lord says, "If I but call you name, will you do these things?"
And so many days, I think; "Yes! Of course!"
I have this "Here I Am Lord" attitude.
I feel this especially after a retreat,
or after a really meaningful worship service.
I'm full of passion and energy and excitement.
I'm ready to should God's name from the rooftops,
I'm ready to love those who have hurt me,
I'm ready to take up my cross, and follow.
But...
Like it is with most things,
Excitement and energy and passion don't always stay up there.
I don't know if maintaining it at that level is even possible, permanently.
What I mean is...
I fall short more times than I don't.
In the hymn, we're asked to leave ourselves behind, and care for the cruel, and kiss the leper clean...
And there are days when I look at that like and think
Wow, that's asking an awful lot.
...As if I don't.
As if I'm not over here asking for forgiveness every day,
and asking for another chance to try again every morning.
As if I'm not struck with selfish ambition when I want things done my way...
and I don't fail to live up to this summons in some way every day.
But yet, God keeps calling.
Because there's a faith in me that God has...
for a reason I will never understand.
Because there's patience that God has that I don't know that I could have.
And this is why we have Ash Wednesday...
every year.
In the Bible, ashes are often used to express grief or sorrow for sins and faults.
In fact, a common theme in Ash Wednesday literature is;
Look how much you messed up.
Look at how many times you've failed.
You're not as good as you think you are.
Honestly, I don't know how helpful that is.
I do think it's helpful to be aware of our shortcoming.
Because if we're perfect, why do we need Jesus?
Because it we're perfect, why do we need the cross?
So, instead, I offer this to you:
that we view our ashes not of marks of shame,
but instead, that we see the ashes as proclamation of what God can do within dust and dirt.
Because we don't get it right... kind of often.
But this day isn't about all of the times we trip and fall.
It's about what God can do with clumsy human beings.
In this hymn, God is asking; "What are you willing to do once you've been called?"
The true beauty lied in the fact that God works through all of us to do these things:
to set the prisoner free.
To spread seeds.
To kiss the leper.
The slogan for the ELCA is and has been for awhile now,
"God's work. Our hands."
This is exactly what we're being called to in this hymn.
And in this day.
To be the hands of God's work.
God's work.
It's BIG work.
But remember, you've been called.
You were called at your baptism.
And you acknowledged your call at your affirmation of baptism.
And here, tonight,
we're called to acknowledge it again.
As we remember our baptisms while we receive our ashes,
let's commit to doing something courageous.
Let's not only acknowledge our summoning,
let's respond.
This is what tonight is all about.
It's humbly acknowledging that we fall short.
It's realizing that we trip and fall.
But then...
It's grasping the hand that helps us back up every time
and knowing that God continues to call us.
It's also a recommitment to keep trying.
It's promising again that when we're summoned, we'll answer.
We'll answer:
"Lord, your summons echoes true when you but call my name.
Let me turn and follow you and never be the same.
In your company I'll go,
Where your love and footsteps show.
Thus I'll move and live and grow in you and you in me."
Amen.
To listen to the song: