Isaiah 49:1-7 John 1:29-42
There is a new film on Netflix called The Two Popes. It’s a dramatization about the relationship between the Popes Benedict and Francis. Pope Benedict, who was elected after Pope John Paul died, and Pope Francis, who was elected after Benedict resigned. Or retired. Or quit.
I’m not sure what to call it. It was something that has no precedent in modern history. Popes don’t usually resign – they die.
The film portrays how during the conclave when Benedict was elected, the cardinals were not initially all of one mind. Many wanted Francis instead. But Benedict eventually received the required number of votes and so that was it. Francis (although he wasn’t called Francis at that time. He was Jorge) went home to Argentina and continued serving as a cardinal.
Some years later, Francis, or Jorge, sent a letter to the Pope asking for permission to retire. He may have expected this to be a simple thing, handled through the mail. But much to his surprise he was summoned to see the pope. He didn’t know why.
These two men didn’t have a relationship at that time. They were very different and they had a lot of disagreements. There were many things Benedict did as pope that Jorge disagreed with, and this was a large part of the reason, according to the film, Jorge wanted to retire. He was no longer comfortable serving under this pope.
When he arrived at the pope’s summer residence he discovered that Benedict did not want him to retire. So they spent a few days together with Jorge trying to press the issue and Benedict changing the subject.
Eventually, he realized why Benedict was resisting the matter of his cardinal’s retirement when he disclosed to Jorge that he, Benedict, intended to retire. And he wanted Francis to succeed him. This wasn’t his choice, of course, but he had reasons to believe that Jorge would probably be elected. And would then become Pope Francis.
This is a story about calling – answering the call of God and then learning what that call will involve, what will be demanded of you. It’s always a matter of answering the call to “come and see.”
Neither of these men knew what would unfold for them. It’s possible that Benedict always dreamed of being pope. But he surely never dreamed that it would turn out as it did. He became embroiled in scandals – the sex abuse scandals that we all know about, and the Vatican financial scandals that were less sensational but very serious. And he was somewhat at a loss as to how to deal with these things.
In their conversations, they spoke about their spiritual lives and Benedict confessed a painful thing: he felt he was no longer hearing God speak to him. He no longer felt the Holy Spirit working in him – a very lonely feeling. He began to wonder what he should do. How could he be the Holy Father of the church if he no longer felt God was with him?
It was while he was trying to discern his way forward that he received the letter from Jorge, and only then felt he knew what God wanted him to do.
You never really know where a call will take you.
In the story from John’s gospel, John the baptist’s disciples are with him when Jesus approaches. John says to his disciples, “Here is the Lamb of God.” And right then two of John’s disciples left John and followed Jesus.
Now, Lamb of God was not a title. There was no reason why John’s disciples would have recognized the term and knew what it meant. It’s actually an odd name for John to call Jesus. A lamb is meek, mild. Maybe not too smart or too strong. We don’t think of lambs as leaders, do we? We don’t envision ourselves following a lamb.
And for Israel there is one other thing: a lamb is a sacrifice.
This goes back to the book of Exodus. The story says that God visited ten plagues on the Egyptians to compel the Pharaoh to release the Israelites from their slavery. Frogs, locusts, boils, and so on. The final sacrifice being the death of the firstborn sons of Egypt. And so, the story goes, the Israelites were instructed to sacrifice a lamb, and then smear the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of their houses. When the angel of death saw the blood he would pass over that house, sparing them. This is remembered every year in the celebration of the Passover.
And so all of Israel knows what a lamb represents – sacrifice.
Nonetheless, these two men, disciples of John, followed Jesus. They didn’t know anything about him and, I suppose, they didn’t really know why they were following him. He said to them, “Come and see.” And they did. One of these two was Andrew, the brother of Simon. He went to his brother Simon and said to him, “Come – we have found the Messiah. And Simon went with him.
And when they arrived, Jesus said to Simon, “You will be called Cephas,” which is translated Peter.
Peter, the one whom, it is believed, all the popes are spiritually descended from.
Every single one of these men was called. And each one said yes to the call. “Yes” to “Come and see.”
Of course, it isn’t only popes that receive calls to serve God. Everyone who joins the church has received a call. Everyone who has been baptized has been called to come and see. That means you and me.
You don’t know, when you say yes to the call, where it will lead you. When I joined the Presbyterian Church, I certainly didn’t know that I would, within a couple of years, be called to serve as a Director of Christian Education for the congregation. And I sure did not know when I said yes to that call that God would soon be calling me to pastoral ministry.
You know, one thing leads to another. But God always knows the plans God has for us. And often God gives us some pretty tall orders – Isaiah knew all about that. But God also equips us for the call, no matter what it is. God simply asks us to come and see, to trust enough for that.
This weekend we celebrate the life of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, who answered the call of God, which took him to places he never would have imagined – and likely would not have chosen, left to his own devices. But he had faith enough to say yes, to come and see what it was. And the world is changed because of that.
The world is a better place because of him.
God called Martin to work for justice, to teach nonviolence as a way of life, and to lead with love.
And then God called him to be a sacrifice.
Perhaps this was necessary. I don’t know. But I am grateful that Martin answered his call and followed the Lord when he said, “Martin, come and see.”
May we also do likewise.
Photo: Sukkoria, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
