Maybe you got some time to go to the movies during the holidays and if so you might have seen Wicked. Course, you might have seen it at the Hershey Theatre in October. But I finally got to see it and of course I enjoyed it immensely. I’m not going to talk about it today, because I don’t want to give anything way.

But what I am going to talk about is what sparked Wicked, and that is the 1940 movie The Wizard of Oz, which if you see Wicked, you will want to watch again, that’s what I did. And honestly, I had forgotten what a good movie that is.

But what stood out in seeing it again was this common theme of how each character names theirs wants and desires, and how “if only” those wants would be met, they would be happy, they would be content.

Take for instance The Wicked Witch of the West- what does she want? The pretty ruby slippers. The scarecrow? A brain The tinman? A heart The lion? Courage.Dorothy- what does she want? To go home

And of course throughout the movie we are reminded of those wants with some great music: Dorothy’s Somewhere over the Rainbow is timeless. The “If I only had a brain, a heart, a home, the nerve” melodies

And the song of how all can be achieved because they are off to see the Wizard, the Wonderful Wizard of OZ! It’s no wonder the movie won the Oscar for best music that year.

It’s one of those impressionable movies that makes you think, What would make me happy? What do I want? What follows “if I only ….?”

Our first scripture lesson is Jeremiah’s call story and the background is Jeremiah lives in one of the most critical times in the history of Israel. It is the time of the downfall of Judah, the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, and the exile of the Israelites. God is calling this young man in the middle of this difficult time to be God’s voice to the nations and let them know God’s will for their lives.

But before God can do that, God has to convince Jeremiah of his call. I say convince because  Jeremiah has his lists of “If I onlys” He says in verse 6 , I said, ‘Ah, Lord GOD! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.’Throughout the Bible we read about similar situations , how God calls people and they protest with a lists of “If I onlys”

In fact there is actually a sequence of events with Biblical call stories and they always include the “If I Onlys”. To begin with, all call stories start with a Divine Confrontation, that is God takes the initiative and begins to get things in order, so that God can get the person ready to receive the call. We know for Jeremiah, it was him being born at a certain time, in a certain place, he was predestined by God to be the bearer of God’s word for that period of Israel’s history.

Next is the Introductory Word, that is God speaks of the call to the individual like we heard in our opening text, verse 4, 4 Now the word of the LORD came to me

Third, the Individual Objects, listing the “if I onlys” like we hear Jeremiah do remarking about his age and speaking competencies.

Fourth, God moves over those objections and Commissions the person with affirmation. Sometimes through established leaders of God’s community. Like for Joshua, it was Moses. For David, it was Samuel.

And sometimes God affirms through God’s own words, like with Jeremiah in verse 8, “Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you”

Fifth, God gives a Sign to the called individual. The sign may be the reception of God’s spirit like Saul and David experienced, or the silence in the wind for Elijah, or for Jeremiah God gives a vision. IF we would continue to read this interaction between Jeremiah and God, we would come to verse 11 where we read, The word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘Jeremiah, what do you see?’ And I said, ‘I see a branch of an almond tree.’

Once those signs are recognized, the individual has the Reassurance that God is with them. Verse 12, 12Then the LORD said to me, ‘You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.’

That’s the pattern of God’s call:

-God issues the Divine Confrontation

-God shares the Introductory Word

-The Individual Objects

-God Commissions

-God gives a Sign

-God offers Reassurance

This is how it went for Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. As well as Moses, Joshua, David, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the Apostle Paul, this is how it goes for you and I. You see, we each have a calling too.

In our gospel lesson Jesus declares ¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, ¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

As followers of Jesus, we are each summoned by God to help further the kingdom of righteousness and justice. We have a part in making God’s favor a reality, sharing God’s glory.

Now this may be difficult for you to accept or believe, because you, like those before, around, and after you, are probably overwhelmed with the “If I Onlys” in your life.  “If I only had a sign from God to know that God truly is there” “If I only had trust in God’s grace for my life” “If only I was younger…if only I was older….” This list goes on. The problem is those “If I onlys” convince us that there is always room for improvement in all that we do and all that we are. And there is, to a degree, but there comes a time when we need to make some acceptance of what is, being at peace with who God has made us to be and where God calls us.

Going back to the Wizard of Oz. Do you remember that Dorothy and the crew do everything they are asked to do by the Wizard and so they are excited that they will now receive a home, a brain, a heart, the nerve.

But they discover the truth about the wizard, he’s really not a wizard at all. And while that is a harsh lesson to accept, eventually it is the man who plays the wizard that simply shows them how everything they want or need, they already have.

He points out that the scare crow does have a brain, everyone does, filled with seeds for learning, he just needs to give himself permission to use it, cultivating those seeds.

The wizard man says the tin man has a heart, he just needed a testimonial to know that a heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others.

Turns out the lion is courageous, he just had a conflict with wisdom, and had to get over that distinction of wisdom and courage to obtain the nerve.

And for Dorothy, while the wizard could not help her in the end, it is Glenda, the Good Witch of the North who tells Dorothy “You always had the power to get home. You just had to learn that for yourself” and she does, they all do, they learn that what they needed, what they wanted, was there all along.

I want you to know, God has a call for you, a call into God’s glorious ministry. Whether it is in your work, school, your home, this church, God wants to work through you in ways beyond your “If I onlys” to bless you and those around you. Moreover, you have been equipped by God to do so. Each one of us has different gifts given by God to be used for the glory of God. That is to make God known for the common good. And I want you to know your gifts.

Today, at the back of the sanctuary you will find a Spiritual gift inventory. This is a tool the church has developed to help you discern what gifts God has given you. This is Biblical in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians he writes how we are all given spiritual gifts to be used for the glory of God, to point people to God and God’s good works around us.

So how you learn your gifts is to take this type of test. Simply answer the questions and then total them to learn what the gifts are. There are explanations of what those gifts are too.

I want you to be able to name your gifts because when you know them, you will see the most amazing thing about God’s call and about yourself, that is, everything you need to answer that call, everything you need to be the person God has created you to be, the person you know deep down who you want to be, is already there, within you, you just have to learn that for yourself.