The call of the prophet in our Old Testament lesson and the call of the first disciples in the Gospel present strikingly different images.  The prophet Isaiah presents a dark and frightening scene—a vision that reflects the majesty and power of God, the difference in scale and holiness between God and humans—even the hem of God's robe completely fills the temple.

"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory."
The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said: "Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips”

     Yet the Gospel lesson is entirely different, almost comic—there's Jesus talking to a bunch of people and over a little way off is a group of discouraged fishermen—no fish, just cleaning their nets. Jesus works his way over, and starts teaching from the boat.   Of course, when Jesus finishes talking, he has something to say to the fishermen--'let's go out in deep water, and throw down the nets for a catch'--you can pretty much hear Peter thinking 'Oof! This guy is no fisherman, we've been fishing all night, caught nothing, and we've just finished cleaning the nets.'  Just what they need, another Know-it-All.  Then, of course, the miracle story aspect takes over, and their problem moves from having no fish to having too many fish.  It's like something out of Charlie Chaplin, or perhaps the Three Stooges.  The two images are very different, but they share one thing in common, the people who are called, end up frightened.  Why is that?

     These are both stories of God's Call:  Isaiah's call to be a prophet, Peter and Zebedee's sons call to be Jesus' disciples.  What is this Call?   It’s quite common to equate the call with the ordained ministry, but I find this problematic—on the one hand, it glorifies the mundane (if tortuous) process of committees and commissions that comprise the bulk of the path to ordination and on the other, it lets the great majority of Christians, that aren’t going to be ordained, off the hook.  The Call is the invitation from God, and it is for everyone.  Though for each one, it is a little different.

      The story of Isaiah's call continues:  Isaiah is directed to be a prophet to a people who would not listen and to foretell their being sent into exile in Babylon—not exactly what the clergy of that time did, nor is it a very desirable task.  In years past, the Old Testament lesson for this Sunday was the story of Gideon, which was fun because Gideon was called to bring the people together to fight off the Midianites. But Gideon preferred to hide and to try to argue with God to get out of his calling.  Of course, that's a pretty common occurrence; God's expectations of each of us may be more inconvenient than we like

       These inconveniences can be mere small things in life, not as grand a thing as calling together people to go to war against your enemies. For example, a person who wants everyone to placidly get along without conflict might find a call to speak uncomfortable truths quite difficult. Likewise, a person who wants to make everything happen right away, might find a call to be patient  or quiet to be quite impossible.  God's call comes in life, not in stained glass.

       We know who Jesus is, we hear his Gospel every week.  He is out there in everyday life, in offices and on the street every bit as much as he was in that  fishing boat with Peter.  If we hear Jesus and pray,  we know what it is to be his: what generosity is, what humility is, and courage and gentleness and hope.  Listen for God, and at some point you will discern God's call.  Sometimes it will be an opportunity to be humble or generous on a single occasion; at times God's call can be for a pattern for life: a career, or a community, or a life-long relationship.

        Back to the guys on the boats.  Out there cleaning the nets, that's a real image of discouragement—no fish, a whole night's work wasted.  Maybe the lake is fished out; the fish are gone forever?  Then Jesus comes, with his “Good News”-- but notice, the first reaction is not happiness.  Peter seems pretty annoyed to me.  And they put out into the water, and drop the nets that they have just cleaned back into the water.  This incredible catch of fish—Peter calls for help, his colleagues come out, they rush and struggle to land the net.   And their reaction? Not joy.  Fear. This new reality is frightening—lots of the security of the past is gone, and it is none too sure that Peter and the sons of Zebedee will make it through this safely.

        And that may be the surest sign of the call of God: fear and uncertainty.  Ask our friend Gene Robinson next time you see him—he's one of the most joyful and transparent people I've ever seen in responding to God's call—but ask him, is he ever afraid or uncertain?   The call of God is a frightening thing, largely because God is indeed there.

        As individuals are called, so also are communities.   One community that is familiar to us that is experiencing a lot of fear nowadays is the Episcopal Church.  Like the fishermen in their boats, many in the institution are afraid it will fall apart and sink.  I take this as a sign that we are called to listen and discern, how our church is called to be Jesus' Church: in humility, compassion and hopefulness.  In the process, who knows what we may lose?  Perhaps the vestiges of being the church of power, wealth and privilege—believe me, responding to the call of God is bound to hurt.

         The continuation of the passage of Isaiah that we heard read today is: “Go and say to the people –'Keep listening, but do not comprehend; keep looking, but do not understand.'  Make the mind of this people dull and stop their ears, and shut their eyes... Until the cities lie waste...until the Lord sends everyone far away.”    Isaiah the prophet was called to announce the exile in Babylon, and God's judgment on kings and people of Judah.  God is present in his sanctuary and in our sharing of the bread and wine, while the seraphim continually cry:

 “Holy, Holy Holy is the LORD of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”