The Rev. Frank Logue
King of Peace Episcopal Church
Kingsland, Georgia
December 22, 2002

Here Am I
Luke 1:26-38 

When I was in my early to mid teens, it was a common errand for me to be sent to the toy store at the mall to by a toy phone. I never discussed the purpose of my purchase with toy store employees, so I have no idea what they thought of a 13- or 14-year old boy who had a frequent need for a bright, new, plastic phone. The phones were not for me to play with, of course. In fact, no one played with the toy phones I bought. The toy telephones were for my Mom’s flower shop.  

Growing up from about third grade onward in a flower shop meant that I got to run some unusual errands at times for a young boy. The phones were for funeral arrangements. There was a somewhat popular one that had a wreath with a plastic phone and two ribbons. The top one would say, “God called…” The ribbon on the bottom of the wreath would say, for example, “Mary answered,” filling in the name of the recently deceased. God called and someone answered. That idea was connected to death in the days of my youth. It makes me wonder why I ever responded when I began to hear God calling me. After all, look what happens to people who respond to God’s call. 

In our Gospel reading for this morning, God calls Mary to a unique ministry in all creation. Mary is to give birth to and raise the Son of God. Mary’s call from God comes through a visit from the angel Gabriel. It must be awe-full in the old sense of the word, being full of awe, to receive such a visit from an angel. You’ll notice Gabriel tells Mary “Do not be afraid.” Angels often begin a visit with those words. A visit from an angel must be much more impressive than seeing the winged babies that grace much angel art. God’s own messenger appears to Mary and gives her the details on her upcoming pregnancy. 

Before we look at Mary’s response, I want to take a moment to look at how Mary was called. Mary gets the special effects filled call. An angel appears with the news. All of us can experience God calling us to do something. Perhaps none of us will ever have an angel appear to us with a task from God.  

Even in the biblical times, hearing God speak audibly or having an angel appear with a message from God was a rare event. I believe in the ministry of angels and the ability of God to speak in an audible voice. I also know that these are rare occurrences, much more infrequent than God’s call. 

God may call you to something, a career, a ministry, even just to reach out to one person on a given day, but God might not send the archangel Gabriel to get your attention. I have experienced God calling me not just to full time, ordained ministry, but in other smaller ways as well. It takes some spiritual discernment though to determine when it is God and when it is just my own desire at play. 

When I was in seminary, two big opportunities came up that interested me. I want to share this with you as one was from God, the other was not and it is instructive to see the difference. One opportunity was to spend a year as an exchange student at Cambridge University in England, the other was to spend the summer as an intern in Tanzania. I found out about each opportunity through an announcement on campus. I wanted to do both of them. God can use your own interests and desires to call you, but your own interest and desire alone is not God’s call. 

I talked with Victoria and Griffin about these England and Africa. We decided that I should apply for each. This was a step of faith as each opportunity came with a price tag in the thousands and I had not one penny of money to spend toward either. I was in graduate school and broke. 

I prayed about these two trips the way I often pray. I asked God that if these were of him, to make a way where there was no way. Open doors and make the trip come together, even though it seemed impossible. Then I asked God that if these trips were not of him, to close the doors and make it impossible even if it seemed a sure thing. Victoria, Griffin and I prayed about the trips and I talked to others as well. It is important when discerning God’s will to surround yourself with godly people and to ask them to pray as well. 

In time, I was selected by my seminary for both Cambridge and Tanzania. My Bishop approved each opportunity as well. It all looked set, but I continued to pray for God to close the door if it was not God’s will. Tanzania worked out miraculously with the Seminary paying half my expenses and the Episcopal Church paying the other half without me having to but ask for the assistance.  

As for Cambridge, the money fell into place, but then a letter arrived from Cambridge, citing difficulties with overcrowded dorms, etc. etc. making it impossible for them to accept a student from the program that year. Even though Cambridge seemed like a done deal, the door slammed tightly shut.  

The trip to Tanzania was wonderful and through an even more amazing turn of events, Victoria and Griffin were able to come join me for the last two weeks. Our budget of no money was expanded yet again to make room for all of us to experience the trip together. 

God’s call may not lead you overseas, but God when you begin trying to walk this walk of faith, God will call you to service. God’s call could come as an audible voice or with an angel’s announcement. However, God’s call will probably take a more subtle form. If God is calling you, God is able to make a way where there is no way. That’s why you can pray for God to open doors or close them. Praying for God to close doors is hard. After all, the thing you are praying about may be just your own will and desires talking. Yet, you still should pray for the opportunity to fall through if it is not God’s will. I say this because it wasn’t easy for me to pray that God would take away the trips trip to Tanzania or the year of study in England. 

Now I want to turn to Mary’s response. Because you will find in her words what you are to say when God speaks to you? The answer is written in today’s bulletin in both English and Hebrew, God’s own first language. Turn with me in your bulletins. Just underneath the spot for the sermon, is written, “Here am I,” then you get the funny calligraphic squiggles and dots, which are the word in Hebrew, followed by that same Hebrew word written out phonetically as “Hee-nuh-nee.”  

Here am I, or if you want to get fancy and give it in the biblical Hebrew, Hee-nuh-nee, is the correct response to God. If you hear God calling you by name and the response is “Here am I.” 

At least half a dozen times we see this exchange played out in the Bible. 

The great father of the faith Abraham heard God call his name. The Book of Genesis states, “God tested Abraham. He said to him, ‘Abraham.’ And he said, ‘Here am I.’” Then later as Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his son, an angel of the Lord called out saying, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” (Genesis 22:1,11) God provided a lamb for the sacrifice. 

Further along in Genesis we get the story of the contentious twins Jacob and Esau. Jacob is on the run from his ever so slightly older twin brother Esau after tricking his father Isaac into giving him Esau’s birthright.  An angel of the Lord appeared to Jacob in a dream calling his name and Jacob replied, “Here am I.” (Genesis 31:11) Later in his life, after Jacob was renamed Israel, God spoke to him in a dream calling out to him with the name of his youth, “Jacob. Jacob.” And Jacob said, “Here am I.” (Genesis 46:2) 

Another time a run-away murderer was tending his father-in-law’s flocks of sheep. A burning bush caught his eye and when he went for a closer look he saw that though it burned, the fire did not consume the bush. God spoke saying, “Moses, Moses.” And he replied, “Here am I.” (Exodus 3:4) 

Then there is the story in the Bible of a time when the “Here am I” response did not work out quite right. Eli was a priest in the tabernacle. Samuel was a young boy whose life was committed to temple service. Samuel took care of the elder Eli. In case you think this sort of audible voice of God occurred every day, scripture tells us that “The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.” Samuel was lying one night in the Temple near the Ark of the Covenant. The Lord called out, “Samuel, Samuel.” Samuel hopped up and said, “Here am I,” but did not know that it was God speaking to him. Samuel ran to see what Eli wanted. This happened two more times that night. Then Eli understood that it was God who was calling Samuel in the night. Eli instructed Samuel that if he heard the voice calling him again he was to say, “Speak Lord for your servant was listening.” Samuel did so and God began to direct his life in a new way. (1 Samuel 3:1-16) 

Many years pass and Isaiah is in the temple. He has a vision of God on the throne with seraphs, six-winged angels, flying around the throne calling out, “Holy, Holy, Holy.” The voice of the Lord calls to Isaiah and says, “Whom shall I send and who shall go for us.” Isaiah responds, “Here am I, send me.” (Isaiah 6:1-8) 

Then we come to Mary in our Gospel reading for today. An angel of the Lord appeared to Mary and said those words angels so often begin with, “Do not be afraid.” Then Gabriel lays out the plan for Mary explaining how she is to be the mother of the Messiah. Mary does not understand how this can happen and Gabriel explains it will be the Holy Spirit’s doing. Mary’s response is the time-tested response of Abraham, Israel, Moses, Samuel and Isaiah. She says, “Here am I.” 

Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Samuel, Isaiah and Mary did not try to pressure God into doing something for them. Great men and women of faith share the common attribute of making themselves available to God. God calls and they simply reply, “Here am I,” often before they even know what God has in mind for them.  

If you are being led toward something, text whether or not it is God calling you with prayer, by surrounding yourself with godly people who are also praying for your discernment and then ask God to make a way or close the way. Then if God is calling you, the appropriate response is, “Here am I.” Simply make yourself available to God.  

But what if you have never experienced God calling you to do anything, ever? The appropriate response is still “Here am I.” Offer your life to God. Try praying “Here am I, Send me.” Keep praying that prayer and before very long, I am certain you will start to feel a tug in some direction and will then find that it is God working in your life. 

Lord, here we are, use us, send us, and keep us in your will. 

Amen.