Many of us have had cars or some other gadget that has been recalled for some kind of defect or update. I have had a couple of those in my time. But I am not thinking about this kind of recall, when I entitled this little inspirational piece “recall experiences.” As I type this, I realize I cannot be sure how someone reads it. If I could say the two words, you would have a better idea what I want to do. For example, you might think I am using the word, “recall,” as a verb. Here the directive is to focus on experiences---and recall them, i.e. bring them back into your mind.
But I am actually wanting to focus on the word, “recall,” as a noun. For example, there are some experiences I have had that were “calls.” Of course, there are phone calls, but I am not thinking about those. Rather, I am focusing on the spiritual use of the term, “call.” The Apostle Paul uses call language quite a bit, following the lead of Jesus here. Paul often opens one of his letters by addressing the recipients of the letter as “those who are called.” This does not mean someone is yelling at them in some back room! Rather, he is thinking about the initial encounter Jesus had with his disciples. We remember that Jesus approaches James and John (and others) and said, “follow me.” He called them into a new relationship. We label them now to be disciples.
The language of call gained currency after Paul, as it was used to specify God’s ongoing “calling” not only into relationship, but into special vocations. I like how the Apostle Paul said we were all called---called to saints, as he puts it in Romans. This is what I like to label a “general call.” We all share this call into discipleship. No one is particularly special compared to anyone else. But there is another type of call.
That is a specific call into a particular ministry. In Roman Catholic circles the language for these folks typically is “the religious.” This normally means those who are called to the priesthood or to be monks. In Protestant circles some people were “called” to be pastors or ministers in the broader sense. In both traditions all these specially called people were in particular “vocations.” Vocation is simply the Latin word for “call.” It is not unusual to hear someone say, “I was called to be a pastor.”
I feel like I have experienced both kinds of calls. To be sure, insofar as I am a Christian, I have been called into that new relationship that Jesus invites all to embrace. In my case it was not some dramatic, give-your-soul-to-Christ thing. There was no altar call---no bells and whistles. In fact, it has been such a slow evolutionary thing, I could hardly pinpoint a particular moment and say, “there, that was the time.” However, I hope this is just as valid as the most dynamic altar call of someone giving their life to Jesus.
I also feel called into ministry. In my life I have done a variety of ministries. Often I have quipped, I sensed a call into ministry in a general sense. It could have been pastoral ministry or teaching or hospital. I have done some of all three. I also have the sense that I was called particularly into some specific ministries in particular places at particular times. I felt called to teach in my first institution of higher education. I stayed there quite a long time and then felt called that I was finished with what I had to do. I moved on to the next call.
And so it is, I have had three or four major calls, as I would put it. In each of these cases where I had felt called to a particular ministry at a particular place and time, there was that ending of the call and a call into the next phase. This is what I mean by “recall experience.” I had another experience of being called into another place. As I sit on the boundary of finishing a career and, perhaps, retirement, I am suspecting there is yet at least one more recall experience.
Part of the recall experience is discerning when the prior call is ending. Again, in my case there has been almost no drama in this ending phase. It was more like a dawning awareness that the call was ending. I always recognize I could keep doing what I was doing, but it would be without the Spirit. The Spirit was leading me---calling me---into the next new call or phase. I need to discern that, too.
I spend time talking about all this for a couple reasons. As a Quaker, I believe everyone has both calls---general and specific. We all have the general call into relationship with God and the Spirit. And each of us likely also has a call into a particular ministry. Some are called to teach; some are called to be parents. We may simultaneously have multiple callings, i.e. as a parent and a businessperson. But some (or most?) particular callings are not forever.
Many of us will have recall experiences. The key is to be aware and be willing to discern. I do think many calls are missed or ignored. This is why I wanted to pay some attention to this. I do think our life makes the most sense when we have the good feeling that we are responding to the call in our life. Living life on our own is not what we were designed to do.
We are called---and recalled---to live life relationship to God and each other.
Those of us who have read theology or, perhaps, those who are people of faith and are old enough might well recognize this title as a reminder of the late Jewish philosopher and theologian, Martin Buber. I remember reading Buber’s book, I and Thou , when I was in college in the 1960s. It was already a famous book by then. I am not sure I fully understood it, but that would not be the last time I read it. It has been a while since I looked at the book. Buber came up in a conversation with a friend who asked if I had seen the recent article by David Brooks? I had not seen it, but when I was told about it, I knew I would quickly locate and read that piece. I very much like what Brooks decides to write about and what he contributes to societal conversation. I wish more people read him and took him seriously. Brooks’ article focused on the 2016 contentious election. He provocatively suggests, “Read Buber, Not the Polls!” I think Brooks puts
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