Born Anew

 

I Peter 1:22-23

 

      I have been called a lot of things in my lifetime.  Some of the names I have been called are good, some I would prefer to forget.  My least favorite was Buzzard.  When I played basketball in high school I was really thin and people liked to get on me by calling me Buzzard. 

 

      On the other hand, my favorite title was Abusa.  That was what the people from Malawi called me who were members of our church in South Bend.  In Malawi Abusa means shepherd and it was the title they gave their ministers. It was a good feeling to know that they considered me their shepherd and when we journeyed to Malawi it meant a lot to be called Abusa by the people there. 

 

       Now I have a new favorite.  It is Grandpa.  I had been called Grandpa before by Hank and Buck but it really struck me one morning last week when Buck called me Grandpa.  Somehow it was different.  I could feel the joy and the love in his voice.  I think it was like being born anew. 

 

      I think that may be how it was for Peter and Andrew and James and John when called by Jesus to follow as disciples.  They had been called by name before but on that day it was different.  They realized that God loves them and cares about them and was calling them to a new way of life.  There is something different about it, something good, something life changing.  Part of being born anew is recognizing that a word can change us, specifically God's word.  According to the Gospel of John, Jesus is the word and the word came not to condemn the world, not to destroy us, but to save us.  It seems to me that as God's people we are called to say words like Grandpa, words that help people become born anew.  Words that let people know that they matter, to God and to us.

 

      I am sure that you are aware that my grandsons are the most intelligent grandsons ever.  I even have proof.  Kristy and Paul, our daughter and son-in-law, have a garage behind their house that is a separate building.  Paul works out of an office in the garage so they spend a lot of time in there.  They have a telephone system set up so that they can communicate between the house and the garage.  One day Kristy was in the garage and she got a call from the house.  She assumed it was Hank, who is 7 years old, because it was getting close to the time for school to be out and she knew that Hank knew how to use the telephone.  So when she answered she said, "What are you doing home from school so soon?"  And the response was "I not go to school."  Buck had figured out how to use the system by watching his big brother.  Now there is a smart grandson who has abilities his parents never realized.

 

      As I look out into the congregation, I realize that at one time we were all someone's grandchild.  There are people who thought we were special.  As grandchildren we could do things our parents and grandparents never realized.  As we look around us today we are surrounded by gifted people on our right and our left, in front of us and behind us, they have gifts we never realized or imagined. According to I Peter, that too is part of being born anew.  One of the ways that we love each other is to recognize and rejoice over each other's gifts and talents.  Being born anew is not to be jealous of the gifts of other people,  It is to encourage each other in the use of those gifts and talents for the glory of God.

 

     We are called to use those gifts and talents to help people realize that God is calling them to be born anew.  We need to speak and act in ways that let people know that the grace of God is for them, that they are not only invited to the Lord's Table but they are welcomed as a child of God by a God full of grace and love.