Calls and Sendings

The following sermon was preached by Pastor Marissa Galván-Valle on June 14, 2026, at Beechmont Presbyterian Church. Reflecting on Matthew 10, Pastor Marissa invites us to consider both the beauty of God’s call and the challenge of being sent into the world as disciples of Jesus.

Calls We Like. Sendings? Not So Much

As many of you know, I grew up in the Presbyterian Church. My mom told me stories about family members who were pastors, stories about her life in the church, and about my grandmother being part of the church’s leadership.

When I became an elder at age 21, I knew that God had something else planned. I knew—as I have mentioned before—that I was supposed to do more.

That sounded great in my mind.

I would be like my great-uncle Osvaldo, who spearheaded a unique ministry at the San Juan International Airport, helping departing Puerto Rican immigrants in the 1950s understand U.S. currency and directing them to welcoming church communities in various U.S. cities.

Here is a picture of him with a group of pastors...

Photo found on the Presbyterians in Puerto Rico Collection of the Presbyterian Historical Society. “Ministers of Mayaguez District, Puerto Rico.” From Right to Left: Mr. Archilla, Rev. R. Gutiérrez, Rev. Luis Maldonado, Rev. T. A. Ojeda, Mrs. E. Torres (Esperanza), Rev. Juan Bidot, Mr. Osvaldo Carlo, Rev. Diego Rico Soltero, and Rev. Antonio Pagán. In Front, the individuals listed are Rev. J. L. Santiago-Cabrera and Rev. Felipe Toro Quiñones.

And then I started listening to the stories of people who were candidates for ministry.

Some were having issues with the Committee on Preparation for Ministry. Some were struggling with pastors who had decided to take on the role of sergeants, trying to make them suffer as they had suffered. Some were hearing people tell them they would lose their faith by going to seminary.

Being called by God is beautiful.

Being sent? Not so much.

Maybe Bonhoeffer was right: “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”

The Call and the Sending

In Matthew 10, Jesus does something interesting.

He calls the disciples. He gives them authority to cure every disease and sickness. He calls them by name.

And then, almost immediately, he tells them: “I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves.” You will be flogged. You will be dragged away.This is what awaits you.

The call is beautiful.

But the sending is dangerous.

What Is a Call?

According to our church’s understanding, a call is God’s invitation to participate in Christ’s mission, recognized and affirmed by the community of faith.

A call is not only a private feeling or personal ambition.

And it is not a call only to be a Minister of Word and Sacrament. Everyone here has a call:

• to follow Jesus

• to love God and neighbor

• to participate in Christ’s mission

• to use our gifts in service

• to seek justice and reconciliation

• to bear witness to the gospel

A teacher, social worker, parent, nurse, activist, musician, accountant, retiree, volunteer, or student may all understand their lives as responses to God’s call.

The church functions as a community of support and affirmation.

But this call is not about being better than anyone else or more special than others. When Jesus calls the disciples, he does so because he sees a world of sheep without a shepherd. He sees a hurting world. And he has compassion.

This call exists because there is a mission.

And mission, according to Jorge Zijlstra, begins long before we feel ready for it.

Who Are the Called?

The disciples are not necessarily prepared for what Jesus is asking them to do. There are fishermen. A tax collector. People from opposing political movements.And eventually, even a betrayer.

But Jesus knows the world needs love. It needs service. It needs grace. And those needs are urgent. Everyone is needed. You, me, everyone. And God calls whom God wants to call.

The Rev. Zijlstra reminds us that even though a list of men is included in this passage, the Gospels also show women disciples who traveled with Jesus, supported the ministry, remained faithful at the cross, and became the first witnesses to the resurrection.

Some look at that list of men and believe it establishes an exhaustive membership list. But Jesus gathers a community of followers—women and men—to participate in the work of healing life. When we forget that, we confuse service with being in charge.

A Call Not Recognized

The passage says that Jesus gives the disciples authority. But that word can trip us up.

Jesus does not give authority to dominate. He does not give authority to control. He does not give authority to expel. He does not give authority to reject. He does not give authority to pass judgment.

He gives authority to heal, restore, and serve.

Danny Zacharias reminds us that in many Indigenous cultures, leadership is not about hierarchy—Who am I in charge of?—but about service—Who can I help? A true leader is one who cares for the people, ensuring their well-being.

Jesus embodies leadership that is deeply relational and motivated by compassion. But sometimes the church gets service and power confused.

If a call is not merely individual, but must be recognized by the community of faith, what happens when that community fails to recognize the call?

What happens when authority is used to deny God’s calling?

Many women sensed God calling them long before churches were willing to affirm them. Recently, a neighboring Christian denomination with a seminary in town reaffirmed its position that God does not call women to the office of pastor.

But this happens in Presbyterian circles as well. Several Presbyterian denominations here and around the world do not ordain women.

At the same time, LGBTQIA+ Christians have experienced calls to ministry while their calls were questioned or denied.

And I have to say this: As a woman pastor, I cannot deny their sense of call, because I do not want my own call denied. People use the Bible to tell me I cannot preach. And they use the Bible for that same purpose against this community.

And if someone wants to talk about sin, remember what I said last Sunday: We are all sinners.

Authority and Humility

Our understanding of call must include an understanding of authority. It must invite the humility first exhibited by Jesus Christ.

Our task as a church is not to create calls. The church’s task is to recognize whom Christ is calling.

When we recognize whom Christ is calling, we support. We affirm. We make the journey easier—because it is already hard enough.

The church is not supposed to be the wolves among the sheep.

I have seen fellow women pastors become physically ill because people have hurt them in the name of the church.

I have seen a brother and sister crying because both had a call to ministry, and the sister could be ordained while the brother could not because he is gay.

And still, I have seen these people live out their faith. Fight for their faith. Fulfill their calling. Even in the midst of rejection and hatred.

Who am I to deny what God is doing among us?

The Newness of God’s Future

Walter Brueggemann said:

“As we go to the places where we are called by God—sometimes gladly, sometimes reluctantly, always in anxiety—we are drawn into the newness of God’s future.”

A call is not a reward. A call is not a status. A call is not proof of perfection.

A call is God’s invitation to join Christ’s healing work in the world and to participate in the new things God is doing.

Jesus calls ordinary people. He calls them before they are ready. He calls them before the church is ready. He calls them to serve rather than rule. He sends them into places where healing is needed. And he warns them the journey will be costly. Yet he promises they will not go alone. Even when the newness of God’s future causes fear and anxiety, we will not go alone.

Esperanza

I do not know about you, but I was very curious about the picture I found with my great-uncle and all those pastors who are part of Presbyterian lore in Puerto Rico.

I was curious because there is a woman there—a lone woman in the middle of all those men.

There is a note on the back of the picture identifying everyone.

That woman’s name is Esperanza Torres.

It does not say “Reverend.” She is listed as “Mrs.”

But if you dig deeper, you discover that she was an elder.

She participated in presbytery meetings. She was part of a session in a church in Aguadilla. She was the director of La Escuelita in the 1930s, a project that helped establish a church in the northwestern part of the island.

Photo taken from APUNTES PARA LA HISTORIA DE LA IGLESIA PRESBITERIANA EN HIGÜEY - AGUADILLA, PUERTO RICO

She was living out her call.

And she was invited to stand in that picture with all the male pastors.

Her name means hope. And she gives me hope that the church will continue to recognize calls that are unexpected and surprising. Not only recognize them—but bless, support, and send those whom Christ has chosen.

We are here not to create calls or walls. We are here to open our eyes to what Christ is doing and to recognize the calls of women, LGBTQIA+ persons, and others whom God may already be sending into ministry. May God help us to do so.