Givens Creative

Life at the intersection of faith, nature, history and art

Vocation & Call

Today’s Word: Vision

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Walking path on Ellis Island (West Alton, Mo) on the Missouri River. SJG photo.

Memo to the Church: Beginning next Sunday, we will have a new vision statement: “Do justice, love goodness and walk humbly with your God.” Thanks to Micah and the mission and vision committee for putting in all the hard work and wordsmithing. I think this has a nice ring to it.

Here’s the only problem I see with adopting this motto: Far too many of you already think you’re doing these three things and, well, sorry but it just ain’t so. Let’s take a look at what we might look like as church if we really take these words to heart.

Do justice: We’ve got to start seeing the people around us and responding more fully to their needs. We’ve got to be more inviting and open to those who don’t look like us, live like us, sound like us or drive the same kinds of cars. We’ve got to look outside of our zip codes and tax brackets if we want to find the Christ that we sing about so joyously. (But thanks to the choir!)

Love goodness: To begin, we’ve got to be willing to redefine what we mean by goodness. It is not what we own, where we went to college (or high school…St. Louis joke), where we work or how much we earn. It is not even how nice we are to each other. It is what we ARE deep inside, at that place where God touches us and makes us come alive. If we were to see and appreciate that place in everyone, we would be surrounded by goodness.

Walk humbly with your God: To have true humility in this world is tough, for everything around us tends to reward our pride, accomplishments and self interest. To walk humbly means to give that up, to empty ourselves and throw ourselves into the lap of a waiting God like helpless children. Give it a shot.

Please pick up a copy of the new statement on your way out of church today and memorize it. There will be a test.

Peace,

Jesus

Ask yourself in silence: What do I need to change about myself in order to help change the church?

Today’s Word: Yes

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The Annunciation, by Henry Ossawa Tanner (Wiki Commons)

The Annunciation

(Found in Luke 1:26-39, the Annunciation is the Christian celebration of the announcement by the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus.)

The announcement, the call to her in the midst of sleep,
is the very beginning of the story,
the pinhole of opportunity,
the invitation to grace
the way opening to way.

It is God saying:
“Yes, this is what we will do. We will begin here,
with this one, this girl.
This poor girl from the middle of nowhere.
This will catch them off guard.
Through her we will look like the rest of them,
work and walk among them, be with them,
point them in our direction before they realize it.

This will be, for many, the path of greatest resistance,
not an easy and gentle way,
but a birth and rebirth offered for them,
a way marked by labor and blood,
things unknown to us,
yet necessary for the work we must do in them.
Yes, this is what we will do.
Yes.”

This offer of grace and salvation now extends to us,
The sons and daughters of creation,
and it asks for an answer.
It requires from us the same yes she gave,
Sitting on a rumpled bed
In the middle of the night,
Inviting in the light,
Saying yes.

Ask yourself in silence: To what have I said yes to God? To what have I said no?

Today’s Word: Purpose

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Purposefully made. Creve Coeur Park, St. Louis. SJG photo

It is perhaps the question that thoughtful, discerning, reflective people most often ask themselves and God: Why am I here? For what purpose was I created? Like the world and all within it  — which God created not once but, rather, continually creates — we were fashioned by the hand and mind of God and continue to be reshaped and repurposed by the events and people that enter our lives. We are molded again and again into the men and women that we are right now…right now…right now. The molding and shaping never ceases; we are never the same person we were the day before. But to what purpose, we ask? Why the change, the evolution? To what end?

God wants us fully human and fully alive, never lukewarm. And so God plants a passion and a call deep within us, an original seed of purpose and foundation that lies dormant until we discover it, cultivate it, bring it fruition. This is our life’s work. Only through a life of introspection — of faith and prayer — do we sense this purpose and respond with lives in service of others and in worship of the One who made us.

Ask yourself in silence: What is my foundation and purpose? From what passion and call does my life flow?

Today’s Word: Creative

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My daughter, Jenny, creating some music with friends Phil Cooper, left, and Gerry Kasper. SJG photo.

When we create art — at whatever level of expertise and of whatever kind — we reflect the work of the Creator, the One who put that creative spark in our gut. I have friends who create music, paintings, photography, quilts, poetry, plays, novels and many other types of work that would just remain ideas if not for the effort and commitment they put into their art and the inspiration that comes from somewhere deep within them. For the creative arts may be “inspired,” but if the idea never comes to life and no one experiences it, then what good is it? It’s like walking through an art museum or gallery and thinking, “I could have done that!” Well maybe so, but you didn’t. Someone else had the idea and took the leap.

"All You Need is Love," acrylic and paper on canvas by Steve Givens.

The creative arts, at least for many of us who profess a Creator God, are acts of faith. When we dare to create, when we “step out the boat,” we move from safety and comfort into an area of uncertainty, for when we begin to create we don’t always know where we are going to end up. The poem begins with a single word or line. The song with a note. The painting with a sketch or with putting brush to canvas. So it’s easy enough to talk ourselves out of creating because we think we’re not talented or creative enough. But our call as artists and people of faith is not to artistic perfection but to genuine and authentic response to the call. We are called to find some glimmer of truth and beauty in the world around us — to capture the movement and color of God — and respond, to reflect that back to those around us. Not everyone finds God in the same way. As artists and creative people, our vocation is to gently lead those who view or read or hear our art to look a little closer at the world around them and see for themselves that something beautiful, loving and eternal is waiting  their notice.

Ask yourself in silence: What could I create today? How can I turn a creative gesture into both prayer for myself and a guidepost to God for others?

Today’s Word: Vocation

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Historic schoolhouse, West Branch, Iowa. SJG photo.

“Vocation is where our greatest passion meets the world’s greatest need.”
– Frederick Buechner

The word vocation has, unfortunately, become all too familiar. We use it synonymously to mean, “what we do for a living.” And while that might be true, it only tells part of the story. The word comes from the Latin meaning “call” or “summons.” Thus, our vocations are not just what we do but what we are summoned to do. Summoned by whom? That’s up to the listener.

As people of faith, we hold to the idea that this call comes from God and reflects God’s desire and will for our lives. It is one of our great responsibilities to prayerfully discern our call and then respond. Importantly, it’s good to remember that we are perhaps called to different things at different times over the course of our lives. What we are called to in later life may be quite different from the call we responded to (or didn’t respond to…) when we were much younger.

Like any call, the answer to our vocation question can be found by listening. We need to listen to ourselves and trust our hearts. We need to listen to those who know us best. And we need to listen to that still, small voice that whispers (and hardly ever shouts): “Follow me, I’ve got something for you to do.”

Ask yourself in silence: To what are you sensing a call? Has there been a call you ignored because it seemed inconvenient? Do you have a passion that meets a great need in the world?

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