[Helen Keefe preached this sermon on January 17. The lessons for the day included the call of Samuel and the call of Philip and Nathanael. The occasion was the Annual Meeting of our congregation. It struck me. I wanted to share it.]
Well, here I am.
Here I am - in this place, at this time, through the grace of God.
Here I am, because God's voice calls me - through your voice.
Thanks be to God, here I am.
I have thought about that phrase for weeks now.
Here I am. We all say it:
You called? Here I am. You asked for volunteers? Here I am.
You're taking roll? Here I am.
Beyond the simple statement of fact, it is a declaration of presence and alertness. Here I am. Ready.
Then I thought what if I added a comma? Here, I AM. Here. In this place, in this time. I am. I exist. I can't be in the past or in the future. Just here, now. I am who I am, shaped by my life this far, honed by this time, this place, these people. I am who I am because I am, Here. We spend so much of our life trying to figure out who we are. Let's concentrate on the fact that we ARE.
