Answering the Call

Nick Fisher-Broin

Moses Project Kick Off 2025

Jeremiah 1:1-10

The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of King Josiah son of Amon of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. It came also in the days of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of King Zedekiah son of Josiah of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

Now the word of the LORD came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”  Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.”  But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a boy’;  for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you.  Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD.”

Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the LORD said to me, “Now I have put my words in your mouth.  See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”

Dear Friends in Christ:

You have been called!  I presume that’s why you’re here, embarking on this essentially year-long continuing education community called the Moses Project.  Something in you feels called enough to dedicate focused time, emotional, spiritual and intellectual investment to fine-tune your collaborative skills and sense of collegiality.  It’s a big commitment! But you were called, and you already know what you’ve gotten yourself into!   And over this year, I think you’ll grow to deeply treasure that you’ve been called together, here.

It wasn’t like that for Jeremiah. His call came out of the blue and he had no accomplishments on his resume, yet.  And so, Jeremiah learned early in his life that God, too, had called him to serve God’s people.  There are fascinating pieces to Jeremiah’s call story.  Of course, the parts that get the most attention are that Jeremiah was called while still in the womb.  He was consecrated! And in the direct encounter with the Lord, Jeremiah reminds God that he is still a child and did not know how to speak.  But God, ever the persuader, touches his mouth and puts God’s own words in there, and sends him off on his calling.

So, that part of Jeremiah’s call story is the more memorable part.  But the opening part of the text has its merit, too.  The text triangulates Jeremiah’s call in a moment in history—the 13^th year of King Josaih’s reign, also in the days of King Jehoiakim, until the end of the 11^th year of King Zedekiah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.  It’s a fascinating rooting of Jeremiah’s call into a specific point in time—it will require of him a specific word, to a specific people in a specific time and a specific place. 

And that’s how call works. You, too, have been called into this ministry—to be among specific people, in a specific time and in a specific place.  There are probably times where you’ve wondered if you are supposed to be there—or if you were meant for someplace else, or some other people.  And unless the Holy Spirit had a bad cellular connection, I dare say, you are called to where you are supposed to be.  That doesn’t mean your call can’t change—sometimes you realize that God’s people need a new voice and someone is called now to follow you.  That’s life as a pastor.

That’s not to say your call is without challenge, hardship and even suffering with your people or because of your people.  We all know that being church in these times may be as difficult as it’s ever been.  Have you ever been to a county fair and gone into the fun house?  The hall of mirrors is always a hoot—you see your image all distorted—big head, little legs; big bottomed and pointy head; squiggly body and arms a mile long.  It’s good to laugh at oneself.  But it’s a metaphor for the times we live in, too—our culture is acting like a fun house hall of mirrors and our people are being distorted by political divisiveness, by radical Christian nationalism, by fear-mongering over racial and gender division, and sometimes the church looks more like a horror show than a fun house. 

But, we are called in this time to be an accurate mirror to God’s people, reminding them they are God’s beloved—but that they aren’t the only ones who are God’s beloved. We are called in this time, and in a place and to a people who can be loving in one instant and then turn on us like a ravenous lion in another.  Jeremiah was called “the weeping prophet” for a reason.  He loved his people and their willing demise frustrated him when he could not pull them back from demolition by Babylon and forced exile.  And just like Jeremiah—you are called to answer God’s call to speak and to lead, but you cannot predict or plan the outcome.  You can only be faithful in answering God’s call.

Now, I imagine each of you has some kind of call story—and I hope we get to hear about it through the year.  Just as Jeremiah’s call story was very specific, I imagine yours was, too. Some of us maybe are Isaiah: there’s room shaking, hot coals and smoke, and you were called in rapturous fashion:  Here I am, send me!  Or some of you are Jonah—reluctant prophets, running the other way as fast as you can from God’s call, until God swallows you up and spits you out at Ninevah—or somewhere in Nebraska.  Or some of you are like the woman serving Jesus by washing his feet with her hair—serving that turns into calling. Or maybe you were Saul—who had to get whacked upside the head to turn you from one life, to a completely other life as was Paul. 

The truth is, God’s call might not even be about you—it might be because an unexpected person called you when you least expected it, and you happened to be in the right place at the right time. That’s kind of what happened to me.

I grew up on a small hobby farm in SE Pennsylvania. Because my little sister was allergic to cow’s milk, Doctor Feigly recommended goat’s milk and said to my mom: you can buy goat’s milk or you can raise goats yourself.  My mother, ever the pioneer woman, chose to raise goats.  We hand milked goats for years and years.  The only fun part was, when milking, you’d squirt, squirt, squirt in the pail, then:  pshhhht—hit the cat.  You’s soak ‘em right in the face, like they were drinking from a garden hose.  They loved it!  But goats turned into cats, dogs, ducks, geese, sheep, pigs and chickens.  The problem was we lived on a busy road. 

Over the years, I can’t tell you how many times we’d be in the house and hear a “thunk” out on the road, and, sure enough, a poor creature got hit on the road.  So, whomever was handy would be sent out with a grain scoop shovel to pick up the poor creature, and put them in a wheelbarrow, and march back to the woods for a burial.

On one particular occasion, we lost one of our dogs and that was particularly hard—because, unlike a duck or a goose, a dog was named, was family.  So, my sisters Heidi and Mary and I were sent out in our undertaker roles.  We scooped up the poor animal, laid him in the wheel barrow and wheeled him back to the pet cemetery in the woods.  We took turns digging the hole and gently laid Peter’s broken body in its resting place and we stood over the grave.  And in the silence, my sister Heidi looks at me and says: “Well, aren’t you going to say something?”

And that was it.  That was the start of my call. My sister spoke God’s word of call to goad me to say a meaningful word over my dog Peter’s lost life.  And so I did.  I was called, after all. My sister issued the call—and I think it began an inkling in me that some of us are called to lead in the heightened times of God’s people’s lives—over their graves, over their baptismal fonts, over their marriage vows, over their hospital beds, and over the mundane, the crooked and the sublime moments of their lives.  It is in those moments, we remind people of who they are, and whose they are.  They belong to Jesus—they belong to something larger than themselves.  They belong to the reign and the kingdom of God—and to no other pretenders.

Dear friends in Christ—you have been called!  And whether you are happy about it or whether you are wishing you could turn and run away, you are here because the Holy Spirit has called you to serve the Gospel—to speak a Word of Grace and admonishment and hope. 

You are called, you are appointed, you are consecrated—you are gifted.  And you are God’s beloved messengers in a world that is both a fun house and a horror show—but God’s Word is in your mouth and when you speak, the Lord will protect you and deliver you.  Thank you for answering the call.

In the name of Christ.  Amen