A Sermon Preached at St. Stephen's on Jan. 27, 2008, by the Rev. Cork Tarplee

            Vern Gibson was the much beloved town dentist in Hamilton , New York .  He fixed teeth for a living, but he was also a devoted church leader, spouse and father.  Like a lot of professionals, he loved his Wednesday afternoons golfing.  In fact, he loved those golf outings so much that as he aged he dreamed of retiring someplace warm so he could golf all the time.  When the opportunity came to sell his house, office and practice to a young dentist, Vern bought a house on the edge of a golf-course in Florida and retired.  I cherished the thought of Vern whacking at golf balls in the sun until six months later he called.  He sounded deeply depressed.  "I'm going to go nuts," he said.  "I still love golf, but ten hours a day seven days a week is too much.  There's got to be more to life than this."   We talked about his options off in the boonies with nothing much close by except a golf course.  Finally we hit on a possibility that appealed to him: how about signing up with Literacy Volunteers to teach reading?  He liked the sound of that, but was afraid he didn't have the background to be a teacher.  "Who knows," I said.  "Just call them."  A year later Vern made a brief visit back to town.  Happy, relaxed, and radiant, he enjoyed seeing the old church and a round of golf with his old friends, but he couldn't stay long.  "I've got five students who depend on me," he said, and went on about each of them in detail and beamed about the difference reading was making in their lives.  Seems as if being a people person was enough teaching background to do the job.  It was as if God had said to him, "Follow me, Vern.  From now on you'll be fixing lives instead of teeth."

            Reminds me a little of the story in today's Gospel.  Jesus is on the road, walking through Galilee .  He sees some likely looking fisherfolk and calls them, "Follow me," he says, "From now on you'll be fishing for people."  There's no mention of the qualifications these guys had to be evangelists and preachers.  It's likely they didn't have much going for them except the dogged determination and unshakable hope that it takes to fish.  But this we do know: their lives really weren't in their hands.  God took the initiative.  And God transformed them.  And God used them to transform the world around them.

            I believe that's true for all of us.  If you ask me how I came to be here at St. Stephen's, I'd tell you the story of a couple--now deceased--who had family ties here.  I'd tell you about a visit from Larry and Barbara Keller who wanted me to apply for this job when an upheaval in my family life made it impossible for me to move.  And I'd tell you about the day seven years later when I discovered that St. Stephen's was looking for a pastor again.  It's a quirky story and it reminds me that throughout it all, I thought I was calling the shots: refusing the job for personal reasons, going somewhere else, finally deciding to check out St. Stephen's, and so forth.  Funny thing was that God was really calling the shots.  It has been that way my whole life.  I was baptized into the church without having any say in it and since then, forces and values I absorbed have shaped my life.  God has taken the initiative.  God has transformed me from a student to a teacher to a teacher of the Gospel.  And I hope and pray that God has used this process for the good of those around me.

            I believe that process is happening here in this room.  We think we made the decision to be here, but we didn't. God called us here.  God gave us the will to seek fellowship and prayer and guidance and inspiration.  And God is still transforming us.  We think we have secular jobs and roles to play.  We're coaches and teachers and lawyers and truck drivers, but God is always changing those roles.  "You will no longer be just a transporter of goods," God says.  "Follow me and I will have you drive my people to doctor's appointments."  And to a coach God says, "You will no longer only help strengthen people's bodies, you will strengthen their souls, too."

            I believe the process goes on as long as we live.  Jesus is always on the move as Jesus is in the Gospel this morning.  Always transforming us until we die--and probably after, too.  Always shaping others through us.  I remember Ida Mae Yates, who thought when she retired as a secretary for the U.S. State Department that life would be pretty empty.  Arthritic and pretty immobile in a retirement home, Ida Mae discovered a calling that made a difference.  She volunteered to make telephone calls to greet newcomers to her church and invite them to parish suppers.  She became legendary.  You didn't say 'no' to Ida Mae.  The same winsome, funny, but persuasive voice that once got things done for visiting ambassadors, got things done for ambassadors working for Christ.  It was as if God said, "Ida Mae, follow me and I will make you the Secretary of the Kingdom."

            What's God got in store for the rest of our lives?  You never really know.  But this we do know: God has work for each of us.  Just as God brought us here, God will send us out transformed, and send us out able to transform other lives. Where? How? Who knows? It is up to us to follow and find out.                                               AMEN