Call and response

Have any of you have ever played the game Marco Polo? Not the app – that is something different. This is the game usually played in a swimming pool. The person who is “It” is blindfolded and placed in the center of a group of people. The person who is “it” calls out, “Marco!” while the others call out, “Polo!” The “It” person tries to reach one of the others to touch them. And when they do, that is now “It” and…so it goes!

Now, if you haven’t played Marco Polo, maybe you’ve been on a “trust walk” before? It’s kind of similar. You are blindfolded and led through an unfamiliar place by a person who can see. You are completely at the mercy of that person. To succeed, you must trust them and have faith that they will keep you from falling or getting hurt. And the trust goes two ways. The person doing the leading must care for you and protect you even you make step into the unknown.

So here’s my question: if a random person asked to blindfold you and play Marco Polo or do a trust walk, would you do it? And what about if someone from our own parish of St. John’s asked you? Would you be more likely to say “yes” to them instead of to a stranger?

While the game can be fun, trust requires vulnerability. Marco Polo is a kind of “call and response,” like an old-style revival sermon.

We are like lost lambs in the night, calling out to God. When we hear a voice respond, we call out again, and again the voice responds. We go back and forth like the Marco Polo game so that we draw closer and closer to one another. We trust the voice to lead us through the valley of the shadows and guide us along right pathways. In goodness and mercy, God pursues us, and, in that relationship, we are cared for like the sheep of a shepherd. God draws near to us – and we are called, invited, encouraged to draw near to God!

In Lent, we wandered in the wilderness, following Jesus all the way to the Cross. In Eastertide, we seek the resurrected Jesus paying attention to different things than the rest of the world, like we did before.

In our Gospel today, Jesus does works in God’s name and makes it clear that he and God are united in the work that they do. He also stresses that we as work more and more in concert with Jesus, the Good Shepherd, we tune our ears to his voice and trust that he knows us each by name.

I am sure that many of you are familiar with the image of the good shepherd captured in Psalm 23. We often hear it at funerals, because it is for mourners at a time when they may feel alone, untethered, or on strange new territory. The psalm’s imagery is rich, meaningful, and comforting for any time in our living, reminding us that as we call out, God answers and guides us.  

As we play Marco Polo with God, the psalmist reminds us of how we need to move through transition in our lives—any transition—whether it be death, divorce, job loss, moving, loss of health, or any change in life trusting in God’s care. Whenever we cry out, “Marco!” God inevitably responds, “Polo!” and guides us through those times where the only way out is to live through them – one trusting step at a time. As we draw nearer to God, we find that God draws near to us. Even when we experience profound emptiness, God is still closer than our breath. We are able to continue to be faithful even when we feel forsaken because God is still with us.

Human beings want to see tangible, measurable signs and while John’s Gospel is full of them the Gospel also reminds us that the signs that Jesus does aren’t enough. Believing is a choice—it is a something we live and do, rather than a mere argument that win us over. All the evidence in the world doesn’t change that we followers of Jesus are stepping out in faith.

We discover this as we learn and do the work of Jesus every day: Every day we take one small step in the darkness toward the voice – a soft shuffle in the right direction that brings us closer. As we respond to God’s voice, others who are also lost also hear us and they are able to both call out to God and hear God’s call. The things we do when we follow Jesus in our daily lives matter, our ethics, our manner, our kindness, our generosity, our listening heart… and these fan out like ripples in a pool and change lives.

In today’s reading from the Book of Acts, Peter is called to the deathbed of a devout disciple of Jesus, Tabitha, who did many acts of charity. This is the only time that the feminine form of “disciple” is used in the New Testament, which shows us how vital she was to this early church community. She is also called Dorcas, the dual name indicating she is a Greek-speaking Jew, maybe even an apostle herself.

When Peter gets there, he kneels down and prays, then asks her to get up. Miraculously, she does, just like what happened when Jesus healed the little girl in Mark chapter 5. She is restored to her community and the community rejoices— because God’s healing is not just about fixing things, it is about a restoration of relationship and trust. Notice that no one bows down to worship either Peter or Tabitha, because it Peter’s relationship with Jesus and his confidence in that relationship that makes him able to heal and share the Good News. Peter’s focus was on God and because of his faithful act in Jesus’ name, “many believed in the Lord.”

Jesus is clear: everything must always point to God and Peter shows how this is true. Jesus’ signs, Peter’s healing, the neighbor we help, the communities to which we contribute, and the lives across the world that we touch in this digital age—all tell of the glory of God, so that people may come to know and believe and so have life in Christ’s name. This is the Good News. This is how we learn and do the work of the Risen Jesus every day, one glorious, trusting step at a time! Alleluia!

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Here is a link to the bulletin for the Fourth Sunday of Easter at St. John's Episcopal Church, Clearwater

Here is a link to a video of the sermon.

Here is a link to a video of the  liturgy.

Based on a sermon by The Rev. Danae M. Ashley