Emphasis Preaching Journal

Henry Gerecke is not a household name; yet he had one of the most significant callings in the history of the church. He was the chaplain to 21 Nazi war criminals during the Nuremberg Trials, and shepherded five of the most notorious Nazis to the gallows. Gerecke was a Lutheran pastor from Missouri who was fluent in German. He volunteered to serve in the Army in 1943 when the military was desperate for men to serve in that capacity. His wartime duties took him to Dachau where he was able to witness the Nazi atrocities. At the time he was unaware of his future role. During the Nuremberg Trials, those overseeing the proceedings learned of a German-speaking chaplain. They asked Gerecke to take on the role as the minister to those accused of crimes against humanity. Gerecke accepted. During his counseling sessions he would only offer Holy Communion to those men who were truly penitent and confessed their faith in Jesus Christ. Only four sentenced to hang meet Gerecke's standard and received the Eucharist. One unrepentant Nazi officer said, "This Jesus that you always speak of, to me he is just another smart Jew." After the war Gerecke was criticized for ministering to the monsters of the Third Reich. Gerecke would respond that he considered his calling to the Nuremberg defendants to be a mission.

We are called to serve the Lord in our present position in life. We do not have to be a minister to be called into service. Each of us is an ambassador for the Lord in whatever our present capacity is in life.

James Cash Penney was a businessman when he opened his first store in 1902 in Kemmerer, Wyoming. He named the store J.C. Penney. Committing himself to the highest ethical standards possible, he based his business on biblical principles. Of these, the most important principle for him was the Golden Rule.

Jesus placed no restrictions on who was called into ministry. He summoned fishermen and a tax collector. The message for us as a clergyperson, businessperson, homemaker, or community worker is that we all have a special calling and a special place to serve. Martin Luther, the founder of Protestantism, put forth the theological doctrine of the "priesthood of all believers." It is the declaration that everyone is a priest. Everyone has a special role to play in the service of the church.

Paul emphasized this in his letter to the church in Corinth. Paul spoke that a human body has many parts, each with a specific function, but each is dependent on the other. It is only when all the parts of the body work in unison that the body can function properly.

For all of us gathered together in the sanctuary, each one of us brings a unique gift to the ministry of the church. Each gift complements the other. This is what makes us a congregation. This is what makes us the priesthood of all believers. This is what makes us the Body of Christ.

1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20)
In this passage we have the calling of Samuel to be a prophet. Prior to his call Samuel only knew God through the teachings of the Hebrew scriptures and the traditions of the Hebrew people. It was when God called to him three times and upon hearing the voice of God that Samuel realized he had a special mission to fulfill. God's call was really a recruiting of Samuel for service. Unlike Samuel we may never hear the audible voice of God calling us into service, but we can have a sense of God's overwhelming presence. And like Samuel, we will have a specific role assigned to us.

1 Corinthians 6:12-20
As Paul wrote to the church in Corinth we are all a part of the Body of Christ and each of us has a special function in that body. One part of the body, that is, one person's ministry, is not more important than another's. Each part of the body, that is, each person's calling to serve, is necessary for there to be a complete and total ministry. Paul now expands upon this concept by writing that an individual's body is "a temple of the Holy Spirit within you." This means we cannot defile our bodies, which would in fact not only infect us but also be detrimental, like a virus, to the entire Body of Christ, the church. This is why in our calling to be ambassadors for the Lord we must be obedient to the scriptures, keeping ourselves pure and holy.

John 1:43-51
"Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" is a fair question for Nathanael to ask. Nazareth is such an insignificant city that it is never mentioned in the Hebrew scriptures. Nazareth is a very ordinary place. Jesus, whose vocation was that of a carpenter, is a very ordinary person. This highlights that everyone is ordinary yet extraordinary when it comes to the service of the church. Jesus in his calling of his disciples simply said to them, "Follow me." Yet following Jesus has very strong implications for our role in the church. It means each one of us as a part of the body of Christ has a special role and mission. This is demonstrated when each disciple referenced Jesus by a different title in our passage. Jesus of Nazareth, rabbi, Son of God all have specific meanings attached to them. To associate with one or another is to have an understanding of one's specific calling to serve.

Application
1. Discuss what it means to be called into service of the church.
2. Discuss the callings of those presented in our lectionary readings for this Sunday.
3. Discuss the meaning of being a part of the Body of Christ and how we all work together as a single congregation.

Alternate Applications
1. Share the various ministries of your congregation. Include a discussion on how your congregation is a part of all congregations working together throughout the world.
2. Discuss the meaning of being called into service as outlined in the lectionary readings for this Sunday.
3. Discuss how each person in the sanctuary has a special calling and how they can become involved in the ministry of the church.