Ordinary People, Extraordinary Callings

The Rev. Joseph Winston

June 15, 2008

Sermon

Grace and peace are gifts for you from God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.1
The biennial run of the Regata de Amigos happened a week ago Friday. Every
two years, sailboats leave Galveston Island in the afternoon and make the seven
hundred mile race to Veracruz, Mexico. One of the boats in the race this year was
a thirty-eight foot racing craft known as the “Cynthia Woods.”
A combination of students, former students, along with university staff made
up the crew of six. These experienced sailors on the “Cynthia Woods” were from
Texas A&M’s Offshore Sailing stationed at Texas A&M in Galveston.
Tragedy struck the sailboat’s crew about twelve hours into the race. It was
near midnight on Friday and the boat was about twenty-three miles south of
Freeport, TX. The weather was rough. The wind was holding steady at twenty
1
Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians
1:2, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, Philemon 1:3

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knots with gusts to thirty. Frequent large waves pounded the boat. Safety Officer
Roger Winslow Stone was beneath the deck with two of the students. There Stone
yelled out one of the most feared words upon any ship, “Water!”
Instantly, Stone realized what had happened. The force of the winds and the
waves had ripped off the boat’s keel. Because of this horrible accident, seawater
was rapidly pouring into the hold. It would not be long before the water’s weight
would take the craft down to the bottom of the sea. Stone’s extensive training
kicked in and he took immediate action. He quickly shoved the two students into
the gangway. The students struggled through the water to safety.
Today as we celebrate the Feast of St. Barnabas, we remember ordinary peo-
ple with extraordinary callings. St. Barnabas is one of those individuals. The Acts
of the Apostles gives us a little bit about his background. He was born in Cyprus,
an island about fifty miles south of Turkey (Acts 4:36). His name given to him by
his Jewish parents was Joseph but the other apostles called him Barnabas, which
according to Acts means son of encouragement (Acts 4:36).2 It takes five more
chapters before we begin learning what this nickname really means. Barnabas has
been given by the Holy Spirit the gift of convincing people. The first example that
we hear is when he persuades the other apostles to accept Saul who had perse-
cuted the Christians as coworker in God’s fields (Acts 9:27). Because of this gift
of inspiring others, the apostles send Barnabas from Jerusalem to the church at
Antioch (Acts 11:22). We heard this in today’s lesson from Acts. In fact, Barn-
abas’s gift of preaching was so strong that the church at Antioch needed another
2
The name in Aramaic means a prophet’s son.

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leader to handle all of the growth given by the Holy Spirit (Acts 11:24). That is
why Barnabas left Antioch and went to Tarsus (Acts 11:25). He wanted Saul to
come and help him. Barnabas’ consistent witness to Christ’s life was so powerful
that we still remember Barnabas almost two thousand years after his death.
Even though the Acts of the Apostles contains many more examples of Barn-
abas’s work in the Church, life is not always easy for Barnabas. The author of Acts
tells us of persecutions (Acts 13:50), of stonings (Acts 14:5), and even of fights
between Barnabas and Paul (Acts 15:37-39).
Another group of individuals that have listen to the Holy Spirit’s call to be
extraordinary Christians can be found right here at the Tree of Life.
Take for example our Vacation Bible School that starts next week. Absolutely
nothing would happen at VBS if it were not for the men, women, and youth of
our church. They have volunteered their time and talents so that others might hear
God’s message that He loves them. Thank you for the hard effort, which you have
so graciously undertaken.
Today is also Father’s day. In addition to all the work and chores they do at
home, these boys and men, our brothers, husbands, uncles, cousins, and friends,
find a bit more time to do something extra for God. They help maintain the
grounds here at Tree of Life, they volunteer to sing in the choir, they teach us
of God’s love for everyone, and they can be found at every council meeting. We
give God the glory for providing us with these men who have taken up these ex-
traordinary callings.
Finally, consider the baptism of Morgan Baty at the late worship service. Her

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family has done something extraordinary. Lloyd and Nicole have brought Morgan
here to receive God’s blessings. God will wash away her sins. God will give her
new life in Christ. God will adopt Morgan. Lloyd and Nicole could have done
nothing like so many other parents. Instead, they followed the Holy Spirit’s call to
bring Morgan here. Do not forget, you too have a role in Morgan’s baptism. You
are a part of the community that Morgan is joining and you are responsible for
providing her with a place to worship God. This means you will ensure that God’s
Word is properly given to her. Of course, this includes teaching her the Creeds
and the Commandments but this promise also encompasses all the Sacraments.
You must provide her with the opportunity to receive the Lord’s Supper and give
her the chance to pass the gift of baptism on to others. The extraordinary amount
of work that we are called to do by the Holy Spirit on Morgan’s behalf is why the
council voted on approving Morgan’s baptism at last Wednesday’s meeting. We
carefully looked at what was required of us and we decided with God’s help, we
will accomplish all these tasks.
The idea of voting on Morgan’s baptism at the council meeting takes its in-
spiration from the last line in today’s Gospel lesson where Jesus commands His
disciples to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves (Matthew 10:16). Wisdom
requires us to look at a problem from all directions. When this line of reasoning is
used, we must ask and answer all the hard questions. Can we find the needed re-
sources to keep the church open? Are we committed to teaching Morgan her entire
life? Do we believe in what we are doing? Innocence indicates trust in someone
or something else. As Christians, we teach and believe that we can do nothing

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without God’s help. This statement of faith only scratches the surface on what it
means to trust in God. Being innocence as doves also includes believing that there
will be a tomorrow, that God will provide us with everything that we need to keep
Tree of Life open, and that God accepts people like you and me.
When we follow Christ’s calling to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves,
we are ordinary people with an extraordinary calling.
The truth is that we always fail in this task. Sometimes this occurs we overem-
phasize our intelligence. This happens when we look at the demographics of our
area along with our potential for giving and we say to ourselves something like,
“We can do this because the numbers are right.” There is no trust in this statement
because we think that we can do it on our own. In our arrogance, we leave God
behind and the results are naturally disastrous. At other times, we fix our focus
firmly on our feelings. This causes us to say things like, “I feel that something is
not right.” Or “It seems that we never do what is needed.” Both of these statements
rely only on emotion. By doing this, we have once again pushed God out of the
picture with the same horrible outcome as before.
Philipp Melanchthon, the layman who wrote the Augsburg Confession and
the confession’s defense known as the Apology of the Augsburg designed his own
coat of arms. On the shield was the text from Matthew 10:16, “Be wise as serpents
and innocent as doves.”
On the surface, it is easy to understand Melanchthon’s attraction to wisdom.
In addition to authoring these important Lutheran Confessions, which reformed

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the Church, he helped to improve instruction all over the world.3 He transformed
the education system in Germany; he and his students improved the schools in
Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and Moravia. It is no accident that
Shakespeare’s Hamlet studied in Wittenberg where Melanchthon taught. In fact,
the famous soliloquy given by Hamlet that starts with the phrase, “To be, or not to
be: that is the question.” is almost a direct quote from a book of logic, written by
Melanchthon, that was used to teach logic throughout the educated world.
Given Melanchthon’s overpowering intellect, it might be difficult to see the
connection with innocent doves. This question grows even more curiouser when
you learn that Melanchthon’s coat of arms also showed an “attractive serpent”
wrapped around a cross.4
Perhaps this apparent contradiction found on Melanchthon’s shield can be best
resolved by recalling one of articles in the Augsburg Confession. Melanchthon
writes:

that we cannot obtain forgiveness of sins and righteousness before

God by our own merits, works, or satisfactions, but that we receive
forgiveness of sin and become righteous before God by grace, for
Christ’s sake, though faith.5

Given this statement of faith by Melanchthon that we all profess, it is clear why
3
For more details on Melanchthon see Reflectins of Melanchthon as Theogian of the Augsburg
Confession.
4
Eric W. Gritsch, ‘Reflectins of Melanchthon as Theogian of the Augsburg Confession’,
Lutheran Quarterly, XII (1998):4, pp. 445, 446.
5
Augsburg Confession, IV, 1, Theodore G. Tappert et al., editors, The Book of Concord,
(Fortress Press, 1959), p. 30.

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he included the line from today’s Gospel, “Be wise as serpents and innocent as
doves.” on his coat of arms. He deeply trusted in Christ. Melanchthon completely
believed that Jesus had saved him from his sins and this action by Jesus made
Melanchthon acceptable to God.
Melanchthon was very familiar with the other meaning of the serpent. The
snake also indicates some of the worse attributes of humanity that can be summed
up in words like deceit, treachery, and betrayal. The twisted serpent on the cross
shows us what Jesus does for us. He takes all of these horrible things that we have
to offer upon Himself so that you and I might live.
It is Christ’s work that converts all us ordinary people into extraordinary indi-
viduals.
Roger Stone never had a chance. In less than thirty seconds, the “Cynthia
Woods” was completely underwater. Roger Stone went down with the ship.6
As a safety officer, Roger Stone knew that there might be times when he would
have to go into dangerous situations. That knowledge did not stop Roger Stone
from entering his last race one week ago. Barnabas also understood the risks of
being a Christian. He kept proclaiming God’s love for everyone his entire life.
Tradition tells us that Barnabas was martyred in his homeland of Cyprus.
The same holds true for all of us. We Christians are called to go into the world,
which is the most dangerous situation ever imagined. You hear this command at
6
The account of the “Cynthia Woods” and Roger Stone’s death came from several news
sources: Capsized sailboat rests in Freeport, Hundreds celebrate Roger Stone’s life, Goodbye to
sailor who died with valor, Self sacrifice that marks a real hero, and Another keel, Another Death
- How Long?.

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the end of every worship service. “Go,” the enabler says. “Go in peace. Live the
Gospel.” This Word from God sends us out of our comfortable situations into the
harsh world that one day will finally kill us. We are not afraid to go and do what
Christ has commanded because of what Jesus has already done for us.
“The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus.”7

References

Anonymous, Another keel, Another Death - How Long? (http:

//www.sail-world.com/cruising/index.cfm?nid=
45295&rid=11, June 2008), From the online version of Sail World
- Powerboat-World: Sail and sailing, cruising, boating news.

Gritsch, Eric W., ‘Reflectins of Melanchthon as Theogian of the Augsburg Con-

fession’, Lutheran Quarterly, XII (1998):4, pp. 445–452.

Paschenko, Chris, Hundreds celebrate Roger Stone’s life, (http:

//galvestondailynews.com, June 2008).

Rice, Harvey, Goodbye to sailor who died with valor, (http://www.chron.

com/disp/story.mpl/front/5834695.html, June 2008).
7
Philippians 4:7.

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Sauls, By Hunter, Capsized sailboat rests in Freeport, (http://thefacts.
com/story.lasso?ewcd=ea3d1e189cd98e7a, June 2008), From
the online version of The Facts, publised in Clute, TX.

Smith, Michael A., Self sacrifice that marks a real hero, (http://
galvestondailynews.com, June 2008).

Tappert, Theodore G. et al., editors, The Book of Concord, (Fortress Press, 1959).