On Vocation

I'm working on another already-too-long blog post and I realized that it needs some context on how the Lutheran understanding of vocation differs from what seems to be the prevailing view.  So rather than try and fit it into the other post, I've decided to do it separately.

Let's start by looking at the way I think most people think about vocation.  The word for vocation comes from the Latin word vocare, which means 'to call,' so it's fair to associate vocation with calling.  The way I had always been taught to think of vocation was as something akin to my life's grand purpose, the one thing that all else in my life should help me accomplish.  This could be something like owning a business, making a better life for my children, becoming involved in missions work, etc.  In a Christian context, it is the one big thing to which God is calling you, and only you.  A very large part of the talk about vocation while I was at Whitworth was focused on discerning our vocation; trying to figure out "where our greatest joy meets the world's greatest need."

While I don't think there is anything strictly wrong about this way of thinking about vocation, I do think it is incomplete.  Here's how Lutherans talk about vocation:

Lutherans tend to talk more about our many vocations than about one big overriding calling, and this can be confusing to someone who is used to thinking about vocation in the way described above.  In Lutheranism, our vocations are understood to be our roles in life.  So, to use myself as an example, some of my vocations are: husband, son, brother, friend, neighbor, blog writer, student, therapist, etc.  Because of my belief in the sovereignty of God, the very fact that I find myself in these roles tells me that God has called me to them.  This doesn't mean that vocation can't be understood to mean the "big" roles that we aspire to, but it isn't limited to that.  I, for example, have been following a call to pastoral ministry for nearly ten years now, and I certainly consider that to be my vocation, but it is only one of many, even if it is a very important one.

There's a couple advantages that I see to the Lutheran understanding of vocation over the prevailing view, and they both have to do with inclusivity.  First, this understanding of vocation includes all of our roles in life, which allows us to recognize God's call over the whole of our life, rather than in just one aspect.  Instead of being so consumed with preparing myself for some future grand purpose, I am called back into the present to do the work set out for me right now.

Second, this understanding of vocation includes everyone in a way that the prevailing view doesn't.  While speaking about the big thing you're going to do in the world may be entirely appropriate when speaking to a group of college students, many don't think of their lives this way.  Many people aren't going to have one overriding calling in their life that will be publicly acknowledged as such.  If we talk about vocation only as the one big thing we need to do, as the grand impact we're going to have on the world, then many will succumb to the myth that a life without a publicly recognizable achievement was a life not worth living.  If we only talk about some big capital "V" Vocation, then we imply that the mailman or the janitor are failing human beings or are somehow worth less than the CEO or the pastor or the politician.  Not only does talking this way devalue people in their professions, but within the church it puts pressure on people to "be better Christians" or some such nonsense by working for the church or going overseas instead of letting them focus on the place they are at, the place where God has put them.

Now I'm sure that my professors at Whitworth had the best intentions in talking about vocation in the way they did and, as I said earlier, it may have even been appropriate given the audience, but I think that a move to the understanding of vocation I have put forward would be beneficial for a lot of people.

What do you think?  Does this seem to cheapen the idea of vocation as you've understood it?  Enrich it?  Let me know in the comments.

On Baptism

This is a sermon I gave at St. Luke Lutheran Church on March 30, 2011. I apologize if it's not very readable, it was meant to be read aloud.

Edit: Here is the scripture reading for this sermon: Romans 6:3-11

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Brothers and Sisters, grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

As many of you know, I was raised in a Baptist church and I have been a Lutheran for only a few years. One of the biggest disagreements between Baptists and Lutherans is, of course, baptism. So doesn’t it seem appropriate that I of all people would be the one to teach about baptism?!? Preparing for this lesson has been as much a learning experience for me as I hope it will for one or two of you! Anyway, because of my background, I am going to begin by talking a little bit about my baptism and what I was taught, and then compare that to what I’ve come to know about baptism as a Lutheran.

My baptism was very different than how baptisms are done here. I was baptized on Aug. 21^st, 2001 (I was 14). I had decided at a church camp earlier that summer that I needed to dedicate my life to God and be a better person, so I decided to show that to my church by being baptized. At the church I grew up in, every summer we would have a youth baptism event. The congregation would go out to Lake Whatcom, we’d have a potluck and then the youth who were to be baptized would wade out with the pastor (all in their swimsuits, of course) and be baptized, one by one.

The day I was baptized, it was raining and really not a great day for a picnic, but there were still a lot of people there. So when it was my turn, I waded out, the Pastor asked me some simple questions (such as ‘Do you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord?’), and then he baptized me (by submerging me, of course) in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Now, in the weeks leading up to this, I had been attending a class on Baptism, and here’s what I was taught:

· Baptism is a public declaration of faith in God, and that’s all it is, it’s really no different than telling your church that you’re a Christian.

o This means that only people who can say they believe in Jesus and the Bible can be baptized, otherwise it’s not real

o This also means no baptizing babies, because they can’t declare their faith

· Baptism is only a symbol

o Nothing happens to you in Baptism, it just represents what Christ has done and what is supposed to happen to you in your life

· Baptism is something we do as followers of God

o Jesus commanded it in Matthew 28

This idea of Baptism is much different than what we believe in the Lutheran tradition. Here’s section two of baptism in Luther’s Small Catechism:

“What gifts or benefits does baptism grant?
It brings about forgiveness of sins, redeems from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe it, as the words and promise of God declare.
What are these words and promises of God?
Where our Lord Christ says in Mark 16,‘The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned.’”

Notice how different this is from what I was taught!

o I was taught that Baptism is nothing more than a declaration of faith, but we believe that it brings about our entire salvation!

o I was taught that Baptism is only a symbol, but we believe (as Paul says in our Romans reading) that it actually buries us with Christ into death—actually kills us—so that we can have new life!

o I was taught that Baptism was something that I did, but we believe that it is something that God does to us. We believe that God actually makes a change in us.

So how can it be that water does all this? I mean, it seems like magic! It seems like it doesn’t matter what we believe, all that matters is that we have a baptism. It seems like we should just take a hose out onto the street and start spraying everyone we can! And what about faith? In Romans 3, Paul says very clearly that it is by faith that we are justified, so how can we say that baptism saves us?

Well, faith on its own accomplishes nothing; faith needs something to believe in, to cling to. Obviously having faith in Shiva is not the same as having faith in Christ. Well, I have faith in Jesus Christ and in what he accomplished for me, but how can I be certain that the promises in scripture are mine? After all, God didn’t come down from heaven and physically tell me these things. How do I know that I’m saved? Is it because I believe the right things? I’m almost 100% certain that none of us have it all figured out. And I know that I’m nowhere close. So that doesn’t help. Do I know I’m saved because I have faith? Well, I certainly do have faith, but if my beliefs are wrong, then how do I know that have the right faith? Also, sometimes I have doubts, how do I know that I have enough faith to make up for my doubts? No, I can’t rely on that. Do I look at my works? No, there’s not one of those that’s good all the way through. Do I weigh my sins against my repenting? No, my sins would win outright.

You see, without something concrete to cling to, we flit about helplessly, trying to find a sign or something with which we can calm our fear and convince ourselves that we’ll make it. Baptism gives faith something to cling to. Because the water was poured over you, and the words were spoken to you, you can know that the promise is meant for you. You see, the promise of salvation is like a precious jewel. It’s incredibly valuable in and of itself, but you can’t really do anything with it. Without a ring to put it in, you’re just left holding this jewel, scared that you’ll drop it. You’re sort of paralyzed; it’s too valuable to risk losing. Baptism is the ring in which you can set the jewel securely and go about your business. Baptism binds you to the precious word of God. It takes the universal promise of Jesus on the cross and binds it to you in particular.

But what if you didn’t believe during your baptism? I mean, infants don’t have any idea what’s going on, so do they need to be re-baptized? Or what about my baptism? I didn’t believe that God was doing anything to me, and neither did my Pastor, or anyone else involved. Does it still count? If baptism is there to give faith something to cling to, than how can we baptize someone who doesn’t have faith, or who has wrong faith?

Well, think again about the analogy of baptism being a ring that holds the promise of God like a jewel. Does that ring have any less value if I don’t wear it? Do my beliefs about the value of that ring have any effect on its price? Just as my ignorance of the ring’s value doesn’t make it worthless, neither did my wrong beliefs make my baptism wrong, nor does an infant’s lack of belief nullify her baptism. The baptism still contains the promise of God, even if I was unable to hear it at the time. And just as I can put on a ring I once considered worthless, so I can now cling to the promise given to me in my baptism. I do not need a new baptism, as though my ignorance somehow overpowered God’s promise. No, rather I need to reclaim what I once considered to be worthless. Before I did not understand the value of my baptism; now I cling to it with all I have.

So cling to your baptism! When you are attacked by sin and conscience, when it looks from all appearances that you are lost, remember that you were baptized, and if you were baptized, then you have the promise that you will be saved. Nothing in all creation can take that away from you! Hold fast to your baptism. Protect it, for it is the surest sign you have that you are a child of God. Let it free you from worry and fear, so that you may live the life God has laid out for you, so that you can take your mind off of heaven and do the work prepared for you here on Earth. You are a child of God, sealed with the cross of Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit. God has made you a promise, and he will keep it. Amen.