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“So, what’s next?”
Today we recognize Epiphany’s graduating high school seniors. I’m guessing “what’s next?” is a question they have been asked 10 times or a million times in recent weeks. Followed by “where are you going?” “What’s your plan?”
As I have been preparing for my sabbatical (which starts tomorrow), I have been getting a version of the same questions. Where are you going? What are you doing? These are natural questions.
But I want us to ask a deeper question this morning. Not “what’s next?” But rather, “what are you being called into?”
Both of our readings today are about people leaving familiar places. In Genesis, Abram and Sarai leave their home to go to the land of Canaan.
In the gospel, Matthew the tax collector leaves his tax booth to follow Jesus. And then, Jesus leaves the dinner table to follow the leader of the synagogue to his home because his daughter is ill. On the surface, these stories seem to be about leaving something behind. But they are more about being sent and having faith in the unknown.
Let’s take a closer look at Abram and Sarai, who will become Abraham and Sarah. God tells them to leave the familiar behind, their country, their family, and their lives. Notice what God does next. God makes a promise.
The promise is not comfort, stability, or success. God’s promise is a blessing. God says, “I will bless you so that you will be a blessing.”
God blesses Abram and Sarai and then, God sends them to be a blessing to others. This is what transforms the story into something that speaks directly to us today.
This pattern of blessing and sending should sound familiar. Every baptism follows the same pattern. We are blessed by God and then sent into the world.
In the baptismal liturgy we pray, “Send them into the world in witness to your love.” In baptism, we are blessed, nourished, formed, and sent, not for ourselves alone, but for the life of the world. Baptism blesses us and then sends us into the world.
If baptism is about being sent, how do we hear God’s call? God calls us in a myriad of ways and this story of Abram’s Calling is about much more than his personal journey. It is about all the families of the earth. It is about us. God’s call always enlarges our lives beyond ourselves. What if vocation is less about finding ourselves and more about joining God’s work?
Let’s take a look at Matthew the tax collector. He is sitting in his tax booth when Jesus comes along and says, “follow me.”
To give this a little context, tax collectors in 1st century Palestine were Jewish citizens who worked for the Roman Empire. They paid taxes to Rome with the money they collected from the people after taking a cut off the top for themselves. Think of it as a franchise. Tax collectors were not popular.
This context is important because Jesus has invited Matthew to join him for dinner. Jesus was always doing things like this, having dinner with sinners and tax collectors. When Jesus calls Matthew it is very public, probably at the public market. Can you imagine the gossip? This was scandalous, even for Jesus!
Jesus publicly calls Matthew into community. Just as Abram is called away from what is familiar, Matthew is called away from the identity that has defined him. Neither knows exactly what comes next. Both simply trust the One who is calling.
By eating with sinners and tax collectors, Jesus is widening the circle and inviting them into the work of reconciliation and belonging. Jesus calls Matthew and then sends him into a new life.
Think about all the people who ultimately benefitted from Jesus inviting Matthew to the table. Jesus blesses Matthew so that he could be a blessing to others. “I will bless you so that you will be a blessing,” God says.
To our graduates today, I’d like to tell you something that applies to all of us. People will tell you to follow your dreams, find your passion, build your future. There is wisdom in that and I know you will pursue it.
But the church asks a different question altogether. For just a moment, set aside any thoughts about college majors, internships, or summer jobs, and consider how your life will become a blessing to others. This is a question for every single one of us. How is your life a blessing to others?
Whether you’re going to school, working, traveling, or sitting in a phase of uncertainty, recognize that God’s call is bigger than any achievement. God’s call is more than success. God’s call is your invitation to participate in God’s love for the world.
And wherever you go, your belovedness goes with you. Your calling goes with you. Wherever you find yourself, in a dorm, or with new friends or family, ask yourself these questions:
Who needs encouragement?
Who needs welcome?
Who needs justice or compassion?
I’ve been thinking about this myself a lot lately. As I step into sabbatical and three months away from this place, I’ve been thinking about what that looks like. Many clergy go into sabbatical feeling “burned out” or exhausted. That’s not true for me. I continue to be energized and inspired by my work.
Sabbatical isn’t about stepping away from God’s work. It’s a reminder that God’s work doesn’t depend on me and Epiphany doesn’t depend on me. Everything will be just fine in my absence.
Preparing for this sabbatical has been an exercise in humility. Because as much as I will miss this place and all of you in the coming weeks, I know all will be well.
A sabbatical is its own kind of sending and I am ready to step into that space. This is a season of renewal in my life and in the life of my family and that is for the sake of the future. I will be better when I return because I have taken this time away.
God says, “I will bless you so that you will be a blessing.” Consider all those who have been sent before: Abram and Sarai, Matthew the tax collector, Jesus himself….
God sends us into the world to bear witness to his love, to be a blessing to all whom we meet.
Today looks like a day about endings: graduation, the school year, sabbatical. But scripture sees something different.
It’s not about endings, but rather sendings. Not departures, but callings. This is more than leaving something behind whether literal or figurative. It is about being invited into something larger.
As I head into a season of rest and sabbatical, I know God is still calling. And if I’m still, maybe I can hear it.
Whether you are in a season of transformation, stability, or uncertainty, God is there, calling you to be a blessing.
We are deeply blessed. Not for our own sake, but in order that we might become a blessing for the world.