Well, here it is, my last time to preach at CCC. Unlike Dale, I have chosen to have someone else preach on my last Sunday. Yes, I know that is a cowardly thing to do. But, I do not want to be writing a sermon that last week. And there is a person very dear to me who got me into ministry, so I thought it only fair that she get me out of it too! Her name is Jean Alexander. She used to be the minister at Bethesda, UCC, and is now one of the Conference Ministers in the Maine Conference of the UCC. She will be preaching on February 22^nd. So, this is it for my preaching here.

It is a little intimidating if I let myself think about it. I find myself thinking that if this is the last one, it better be good! PRESSURE! And then, how do I follow that wonderful personal sermon by Dale last week? What an act to follow. So I have decided to just preach on the scriptures, just do my thing. You can look for my personal reflections in the News Notes.

Anyway, I love these scriptures. I wish I knew how many times I have used this Jeremiah passage with youth, helping them to realize that they are not too young to be known by God, and to be called by God for very significant ministry. As I say that, a flood of memories washes over me. And the Corinthians passage about the gift of love. That has been a glorious passage for use with all ages, and of course for weddings. The Luke passage was read at my ordination. So that they are together in today’s lectionary is a gift to me.

Jeremiah clearly did not volunteer for this task. It would be a daunting task and he seems to have realized that from the beginning. It would be daunting first because he was a young man. Getting older people to listen to him would not be easy. In his time, age, rather than youth was more often respected. But it was an even more daunting task because of the task itself. He was to speak words of repentance and even punishment to a people who had gone astray or who had become unfaithful. The temple, once holy ground, no longer occupied the meaningful place it had in the hearts of the people. Religious practice had become completely corrupt. And so, this divine imperative would certainly be no easy task. It would be a huge challenge.

Jeremiah accepts this task because he is encouraged by the promise of God’s presence. Also, there is the wonderful assurance that God knows Jeremiah so well. And so, comforted by the knowledge that he is known so well and held closely by God, he accepts the call and is faithful to that call for 40 years.

As Jesus begins his ministry, he is immediately faced with a challenge and nearly loses his life. He opens the scroll and reads from the prophet Isaiah. The people are amazed at his reading and his claim that the words are fulfilled in him. They are angered that he understands that he will not be received well by those who have known him from childhood. He knows they are thinking, "Who is this guy to claim that he is the fulfillment of the prophecy? Isn’t this Joe and Mary’s boy? Fulfillment indeed!" Jesus is not deterred. He begins his ministry and slowly people begin to grasp the power and depth of his person and presence.

We all have feelings of unworthiness, like Jeremiah. We are never old enough, or we are too old! We, like Moses claimed, do not speak well enough. Or perhaps we think we do not know enough about the issues. The list can go on and on. Add to that the fear of being discredited or rejected and a normal response would be, who needs it.

The truth is, the world needs it. The world is always in need of prophetic voices to speak for the poor, the disenfranchised, the captives and the oppressed. The world is always in need of a voice or voices calling the faithful to be open to and to accept God’s extravagant love. And so, in each age, God calls prophetic voices for those tasks.

But there are two other factors that play into this equation. The first factor is, as Corinthians reminds us, that calls can be corporate as well as individual. Just as Jeremiah was called and commissioned, so too the Corinthian church was called. And their call is very clear. It is to love. In spite of all differences, in spite of all the reasons to not love, in spite of all the power plays, they are to love. The church in every age is called and commissioned. The problem is, we do not have Paul to write to us and clearly define our call. In order to discern our call as a church, we need to have a relationship with God that allows us to listen to God’s call. Sometimes that is easier than other times.

There have been many times in the life of this church when the call was very clear. When this church began, the call was clearly to reach out into the community and invite people to become a part of this new faith community. With the guidance of John McClelland, it seems like everybody and their brother who lived in this community was welcomed into this church. And are there stories to tell about that time!

Then, in the sixties, members of this church marched to end racism, visited the Silver Spring Hecht Company and insisted that African Americans be employed, and built shelters for those who were coming to Washington as a part of the Poor Peoples Campaign. This church was answering the call to work for social justice. And that continued through the next decades as church members participated in Witness for Peace trips and were instrumental in getting Shepherd’s Table, Progress Place, Impact Silver Spring and Silver Spring Vision up and running. All major undertakings and witness to the vision and commitment of this church.

When Dale and I came, the call was pretty clear. Time and tender loving care were needed as the congregation grieved the deaths of Len Ebel and Joey Nobel. Energy and direction were needed to enable the growth of programs for all ages. And the church needed a major overhaul and remodeling. That has been our focus over the past five years. With God’s help and encouragement along the way, those calls have been answered. As I look back over this time I am touched deeply as I think of energy, love and commitment of many of so our folks who gave hours and passion to get so many tasks accomplished so well. It has been a beautiful time together and God has blessed us well along the way.

Now here CCC stands, at a new time, with a whole new future ahead. What is God calling CCC to do and be in this next time? How do we know? How do we discover or discern that call? What would it be like to just spend some time listening to God and for God? How would we do that? As a part of that listening, is there a need to hone or sharpen our meditation skills and practices? Do we do that individually or in small groups, and share our insights? Will the event being planned by the Spirituality Committee for March 20 entitled Exploring Pathways to God be an important part of this quest to discover God’s call? Does the Spirituality committee have other resources or ideas that would help? And what about doing things like touring the CCC community and having speakers or forums to inform us of the needs of our community? Can we hear God’s call that way? And what about the small group entitled Prophetic Voices? Would they have some helpful insights into God’s call? And how about the youth who go to Taize and the World Council of Churches this summer? What insights might they have into God’s call for CCC?