The voice of God is calling . . . it summons in our day. I wonder: do you hear it? Have you heard the voice of God calling you?

When I was in high school, one summer a friend and I served as aides in the Phoenix mental hospital. It was one of the service projects our youth group sponsored. As I think back on it, I surely must have been braver then than I am now. It was not, in those years, a very sophisticated facility, and some days were wild and crazy. Most of the patients were very kind and appreciated our youthful energy and smiles. And several, as I recall, were quite convinced that they had heard the voice of God. Actually, one thought he was Jesus, which led to some interesting conversations.

But it's too bad that, as a modern society, we've relegated conversations with God to mentally ill people and saints, and maybe an artist or two. Today's Gospel reading makes it quite clear that, in fact, God has a word for each of us and plenty of work for us to do. God is calling to us-to share good news, and bind up those who are hurting, and help those who are discouraged and worn down to find new life. God is calling us to do that work.

In fact, Jesus says, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few." Do you know that the population of the city of Santa Monica is around 85,000? That's what they call the "sleeping population." Daytimes swell to 250,000 and weekends to over a half-million. The harvest is plentiful.

Have you thought that within your own circle of friends and co-workers and neighbors, within your own family, are to be found, even today, some folks aching for hope and joy and a reason to live with purpose and focus?

We have a lot to offer them and God is calling on us to do so. In fact, God is counting on us to do so. We find ways. Several of you have spoken about how you try and live ethical and faithful lives in the midst of your business setting. In the ways you treat your colleagues and subordinates, the choices you make when faced with moral dilemmas, you are proclaiming good news. Some of you, dads and moms, have spoken of your decisions to keep your kids and family true priorities in your lives. How you've wrestled with choices about job promotions and moves, and how you have sought to do the right thing by those you love the most. You, too, are living out the good news.

Many of you give amazing amounts of time and energy and talent to people and groups in our community, healing those who are hurting in body, mind or circumstance. You are living out the good news. Others of you, in conversations with a friend in trouble or facing surgery, have found yourself saying: "I'll pray for you." You, too, are living out the good news. The harvest is plentiful and God is calling us to take part.

But having said all that, it's funny that most of us here in our particular corner of Christianity shy away from the word "evangelism." Even members of our own Evangelism Council have told me that they don't like the word "evangelism." To our ears, it smacks of the hard sell, of superiority, and even maybe a little sleaze. We cringe at the thought. And we bend over backwards not to offend, not to impose, not to alienate, not to sound less than totally tolerant and open.

But you know, it is possible to be "too cool." Isn't there something about this place that we want to share with others? Isn't there something about our faith that we would want someone else we love to know?

We're not shy about telling people about our favorite new restaurant or where we found a fantastic bargain or a great book we just read or a movie to be sure and see.

So, why have we become way too shy about sharing our experience of God's love and grace? The harvest is plentiful. More than ever, in these times of terrorist threat, and economic uncertainty, and tremendous social pressures, people are hungry for good news. We have some to share.

Sometimes the work of responding to God's call happens within our own families. History is full of stories of children who were shaped by their father's faith, sometimes communicated more through actions and example than by the words they spoke. But in last few months, a story of a father being profoundly influenced by his daughter's life and values has captured the hearts of many here and around the world. You may have read the story of Peter Biehl, whose life was turned inside out by his daughter's death and the values she espoused during her short life. Amy Biehl, a Fullbright Scholar, had gone to South Africa to work with disadvantaged youth. She taught literacy and health care and was committed to lifting people up out of conditions of poverty. Her father thought her something of a naïve do-gooder.

Tragically, Amy was killed by some black youth who saw her only as a symbol of the apartheid policies they so hated. But in her death, her father was converted to the values to which she'd dedicated her life. He was transformed, he said. And on the plane back from South Africa after her funeral, Peter Biehl wrote his slain daughter a letter in which he pledged to carry on her work.

He left his marketing career and established the Amy Biehl Foundation, which has now awarded several millions of dollars in grants to social programs and business projects around Cape Town. Using his business acumen and guidance, the Foundation built a golf driving range outside CapeTown to provide youth recreation and jobs. It has developed a chain of bakeries, which produce "Amy's Bread-The Bread of Hope and Peace." Besides jobs and cash, the loaves provide education. Each bag is printed with HIV and AIDS prevention information.

Perhaps even more significantly-Peter Biehl, a graduate of Whittier College, a school founded by Quakers, who met his wife Linda in Sunday School-this father did the hard work of forgiveness. In the new post-apartheid South Africa, he supported amnesty for his daughter's killers, hired them to work in the Amy Biehl Foundation, and became a mentor to them. Peter Biehl later reflected on his daughter's influence on his life. "It is true, as you have read in Scripture, that a little child shall lead them."

Peter Biehl died of cancer on Easter Sunday this year. His and his daughter's legacies live on in the lives of countless South African youth and their families, American students who work there as interns through the Foundation and many thousands who have been inspired by their story. The voice of God was calling through the lives of Amy and Peter Biehl.

The voice of God is calling still, sometimes through voices we would not ever imagine, and God's people continue to respond by living out the good news in myriad ways to bring life and healing and hope.

Each of us is called to share the good news through what we say and do. Mostly, it won't be dramatic. It won't be on the world stage. However, it will be no less important. God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, as you heard read this morning from Paul's letter to the early church in Rome. And in the manner of Jesus, who had compassion on the crowds when he saw them, as Matthew tells us, that love is to flow back out of our hearts to draw in all those who long for its healing and liberating power.

The title of this sermon is "A Changed Life," meaning that the love of God changes our hearts so that we might in turn love and bring newness of life to others. But when I submitted that title to Ann Wagner for the Order of Worship, she couldn't read my writing and she asked me, "Is that 'A Changed Life' or 'A Charged Life'?" And you know, "A Charged Life" works really well here, too.

Christ Jesus charges us with a new life job. He charges us with authority to be his apostles. He looks at us, ordinary folks that we are, and sees something more. He sees disciples and evangelists, dare I say it. He sees prime candidates for the life-changing, world-altering work of spreading the good news of the kingdom. You and me. He charges us with plenty of work to do.

A friend tells a story of a parishioner who forgot about the new summer worship schedule and showed up for the 11 o'clock service just as the new 10 o'clock service was being dismissed with the benediction. (You know why I'm using this example today!) He got in the door just in time to hear: "Go in peace to love and serve the Lord."

My friend said, "You caught the most important part of the service. That's what it's all about. It's about you and me getting the strength to be sent into our world to announce that God's kingdom is near."

The voice of God is calling. It summons in our day. Do you hear the voice of God calling you? Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.

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NOTES:

1. Peter Biehl. The Los Angeles Times. April 2, 2002.

2. Jay Sidebotham, Vicar, St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church. "The Harvest is Plentiful." Oh marvelous God of love and mercy, hear now our prayers of petition and thanksgiving. Hear the silent thoughts of each, even as you accept these words spoken for us all.

3. The Amy Biehl Foundation: www.amybiehl.org

© Patricia E. Farris, 2002. Permission is given for brief quotation with attribution. All other rights reserved.