Some Biblical Examples of Call

Jeremiah: Robert Carroll explores how we might understand the call concept with respect to Jeremiah in his comments on Jeremiah 1:4-10 in his commentary on Jeremiah: “Many exegetes treat vv. 4-10 as the ‘call’ of Jeremiah to be a prophet. Such a ‘call’ makes Jeremiah a prophet and authenticates his ministry. However, the story is better read as an account of his commissioning to a specific task: being a prophet to the nations. This interpretation fits the pattern of the commissioning narratives and it is more appropriate to describe such commands as commissions to perform certain tasks (e.g. Moses is sent to Egypt to confront the Pharaoh and deliver the people from there; Gideon is commissioned to defeat the enemy; Amos is sent to prophesy to Israel; Ezekiel is commanded to go and confront the rebellious house of Israel). Being a prophet may be a by-product of obeying such commissions or a perspective introduced into the stories by the editors, but a ‘call’ does not make a prophet. What makes a prophet is the possession and delivery of the divine word at the divine command. The distinction between a commission and a ‘call’ may be regarded as rather subtle, but a commission is a very specific task whereas a ‘call’ is an abstraction.” Samuel: Walter Brueggemann makes a similar point with reference to 1 Samuel 3:1ff. in his commentary on 1 Samuel, suggesting a distinction between the fundamental call and the call to an actual role: “The dream report … is too often taken simply as an idyllic account of childlike faith. It is that, but it is much more than that, for the dream narrative is used to articulate a most disruptive, devastating assertion. The form of the narrative is a dream theophany in which a decisive word is given from outside conventional human experience. …. The roles between the two (Eli & Samuel) are then reversed. …. While the response is the same and Samuel’s deference to Eli is consistent, there is no doubt that the power has shifted. The young innocent one is now authorized; the old knowing one has become fully dependent upon Samuel. The reversal of roles is not stated directly, but the narrative is formed so that the point becomes unavoidable. Yahweh does indeed “raise up and bring down.”” Elizabeth and Mary: The difference that God’s call makes is reinforced in the stories of Elizabeth and Mary (Luke 1). Mary’s response to Elizabeth’s blessing is to sing the Magnificat with its clear message of standards’ reversal. Although the best manuscripts attribute the song to Mary, as has the Church traditionally, some suggest the song may be Elizabeth’s and that ought to be considered possible. The form and content of the Magnificat closely resemble Hannah’s song (1 Samuel 2:1-10) with its implications for Samuel’s call and it is Elizabeth’s story that parallels that of Hannah. The Magnificat is a radical reflection of the call to which both women responded, despite potential damage to their status, in view of Elizabeth’s age and Mary’s singleness. Their specific call is to motherhood, but it has wide-ranging implications. As Sharon Ringe points out, in her commentary on Luke, this song could “never be confused with a calming lullaby being rehearsed by two pregnant women. …. God’s faithfulness to God’s promises, and to those people or peoples with whom God is joined in covenant, is at the heart of Luke’s theology.” This then raises the question of the link between call and covenant. Jesus’ Call to Discipleship: When we consider the call of Jesus to the twelve disciples we see that the original call is to the whole, unqualified, task of discipleship, but authenticated in terms of specific calls to specific tasks. This is well demonstrated in the passages recording the call to discipleship. In Mark 1:16-20, 2:13-17, 3:13-19 (and parallels) the general call to discipleship is made, but is subsequently particularised in various ways, for example in the sending out, recorded in 6:7-13. The original call is to commitment. As Ched Myers, in his commentary on Mark states: “The call of Jesus is absolute, disrupting the lives of potential recruits, promising them only a “school” from which there is no graduation. The first call to discipleship in Mark is an urgent, uncompromising invitation to “break with business as usual.” The call to specific tasks is the means of practising the general call to discipleship, but offers the possibility of variety in response whilst the general call requires only an affirmative commitment. The call described in Mark 6 is different from that in the earlier passages which we have mentioned in its particularity. As Edwin Broadhead says in his commentary on Mark, referring to this section of chapter 6: “Their mission and message stands, in essence, in the place of Jesus. …. The Twelve have thus been elevated to a decisive role in the arrival of God’s Kingdom; through their ministry the work of Jesus is multiplied and is broadcast to the villages of the Galilee.”