Answering God's Call To Mission
Sermon
Cross, Resurrection, And Ascension
First Lesson Sermons For Lent/Easter
On a warm and sunny early June day in 1943 John Francis Laboon, "Jake" to his friends, stood with his Naval Academy classmates on Worden Field; it was graduation day. These men were the class of 1944, but because of the war raging in both the Pacific and European theatres, and thus the need for its services in the fleet, the class was "accelerated" one year in its training. A rough and tumble young man from the steel town of Pittsburgh, Jake had come to the Academy in the summer of 1940. He excelled in athletics during his tenure, earning the honor of an All-East selection as tight end on the Academy's football team and leading the lacrosse squad, by his selection as an All-American defenseman, to the national championship in 1943.
The athletic heroics and even the regimen of the Academy had to be put away, however, as it was not only graduation day, but the date each member of the class was to be commissioned as an officer in the Navy or Marine Corps. Jake and his classmates raised their right hands and took the oath of office from the Secretary of the Navy, pledging themselves to service of country and "to defend and protect the Constitution of the United States." Jake had trained for this moment for three years, academically, professionally, physically, and spiritually. Now was the hour for him to accept his commission, apply the talents and gifts he had nurtured and acquired, and do the work for which he had been trained. He knew not where his commission would take him, but he accepted with faith that if he carried out his duty his efforts would be rewarded and recognized.
After graduation Jake reported to the Naval Submarine School in New London, Connecticut. When this short training period ended, he traveled west to Pearl Harbor and was assigned to the USS Peto. As a junior officer he served well, completing five war patrols, and winning the silver star for gallantry when he rescued a downed naval aviator in Japanese waters. In June 1946 Jake was transferred from the Peto. Three months later, with the whole US military in standdown after the war, he resigned his commission in the Navy. The Lord was calling Jake Laboon to another commission with its uncertainty and the probability that it would require him again to change and go where God called.
Jake contemplated the diocesan priesthood for a couple of years, but, in response to God's call, entered the Jesuit novitiate at Woodstock, Maryland, in 1949. He was ordained a priest in 1956 and two years later completed a doctorate in theology. Uncertain as to the ministry he desired, Jake reached out for God's guiding hand and heard the call to return to the Navy as a chaplain. After securing the permission of his religious superiors, Jake reentered the service with its life of uncertainty and travel. Beginning with his first duty station at Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland, Jake Laboon served an illustrious career as a Navy chaplain. He traveled far and wide and met many people. Some of his most noteworthy duty stations were a return to his alma mater, the Naval Academy, from 1966-1969, chaplain to the staff of the Commander-in-Chief Pacific Fleet from 1972-1975, and just before his retirement in 1980, service as force chaplain for the Commander-in-Chief Atlantic Fleet.
Upon retirement Jake took up a new commission when he joined the Jesuit retreat house staff at Manresa on the Severn in Annapolis. With the Naval Academy visible from his bedroom window, Jake Laboon touched the hearts of thousands as a retreat master and confessor. In 1988 he was assigned as pastor of St. Alphonsus Church in Woodstock, Maryland. There, after a short illness, he died. Because of his wide-reaching and important assignments, as well as his dedication and commitment to God and country, Jake Laboon was without question the best known and most widely-respected chaplain in the US fleet. The commissioning of the USS Laboon in 1993, only the second ship ever dedicated to the memory of a chaplain, demonstrates his greatness and the appreciation of others. Jake Laboon was a man who accepted his commission, went where the Lord asked him to go, applied his talents, and served God and country.
Jake Laboon followed his call from God, despite the distance from familiar territory, the changes which it required, or the fact that it might not have been his choice. His faithfulness to purpose, God, and country made him well-respected among his peers and gained him the admiration of many. On this the Second Sunday in Lent we hear how Abram was placed in a similar situation, demonstrated his faith, and in the process initiated God's plan of Salvation History for all people.
Abram's call from God was not expected. He was an obscure Semite who lived in a region east of the Jordan River, but God had special plans for him and his descendants. Abram was asked to dissociate himself from his pagan past, metaphorically to leave his kinsfolk and father's house. He was further challenged to migrate to a distant and foreign land under God's direction. God's commission to Abram was not easy; it required him to leave behind everything that he knew and to start over again. God did not ask obedience without a promise, however. The Lord promised Abram that he would be rewarded for his obedience. His name would be considered great and respected by all people; he would be the father of a great nation. All the world would find a special blessing in Abram.
God's challenge to Abram shifts the story of Genesis and initiates God's loving plan for all men and women, what theologians call Salvation History. It would be through Abram (later Abraham) and his descendants, God's chosen people, the Jews, that the Lord's master plan for the redemption of all people would be revealed. God chose Abram as a vehicle to initiate His plan that would find its fulfillment and climax in Jesus and the redemptive action of his life, and his passion, death, and resurrection. Abram's obedience to God's command was necessary so the human race could be released from the sin of Adam and Eve about which we heard last Sunday.
God calls us to go many places and do many things that may cause us to change, shift gears, or alter our plans. We may even be called to leave behind what we know and strike out in a new direction in life. In the journey of our working life we may be forced to relocate or to take up a different occupation. We may find ourselves in uncomfortable positions, where we feel our integrity or work ethic is jeopardized more often than we desire. In our families we also will be challenged by God. We may have to walk the road of ill-health with a spouse, a child, or other relative. Tough love may have to be exercised by us if we become involved with the addiction of another. We all will have to walk the road of death with someone close to us. Our lives of faith are not without challenges as well. God might not answer our prayers in the fashion or time we want, and the feeling that God has abandoned us may creep into our hearts. When someone special in our life ignores God and the Church and opts for the ways and things of the world we are again challenged.
Few of us in this life will have a task as great as Abram's, but we will all at different times be challenged to move from where we find ourselves to a new or higher realm. We must not be complacent; such an attitude leads only to stagnation. If we follow God's lead, if we place our trust in His providential guidance, then the Lord will safely lead us home.
Lent is a time to recast, reshape, and refocus our lives. We are on a journey that prepares us for the Easter mystery. We have all been commissioned through baptism to lead lives of holiness and service. During Lent we must look inside, honestly judge what we see, and then seek reconciliation and change in our lives. God's call will undoubtedly take us places we can only imagine today and ask us to perform tasks which seem impossible. If we have the courage of our convictions, that God is with us in all that we do and say, then the strength needed to persevere and continue on the road to God will be given to us. Let us today think of how Jake Laboon and Abram responded to God's call. They were challenged to forget their own desires and plans and do God's will in their lives. If we have the courage to do the same, our reward in heaven will be great.
The athletic heroics and even the regimen of the Academy had to be put away, however, as it was not only graduation day, but the date each member of the class was to be commissioned as an officer in the Navy or Marine Corps. Jake and his classmates raised their right hands and took the oath of office from the Secretary of the Navy, pledging themselves to service of country and "to defend and protect the Constitution of the United States." Jake had trained for this moment for three years, academically, professionally, physically, and spiritually. Now was the hour for him to accept his commission, apply the talents and gifts he had nurtured and acquired, and do the work for which he had been trained. He knew not where his commission would take him, but he accepted with faith that if he carried out his duty his efforts would be rewarded and recognized.
After graduation Jake reported to the Naval Submarine School in New London, Connecticut. When this short training period ended, he traveled west to Pearl Harbor and was assigned to the USS Peto. As a junior officer he served well, completing five war patrols, and winning the silver star for gallantry when he rescued a downed naval aviator in Japanese waters. In June 1946 Jake was transferred from the Peto. Three months later, with the whole US military in standdown after the war, he resigned his commission in the Navy. The Lord was calling Jake Laboon to another commission with its uncertainty and the probability that it would require him again to change and go where God called.
Jake contemplated the diocesan priesthood for a couple of years, but, in response to God's call, entered the Jesuit novitiate at Woodstock, Maryland, in 1949. He was ordained a priest in 1956 and two years later completed a doctorate in theology. Uncertain as to the ministry he desired, Jake reached out for God's guiding hand and heard the call to return to the Navy as a chaplain. After securing the permission of his religious superiors, Jake reentered the service with its life of uncertainty and travel. Beginning with his first duty station at Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland, Jake Laboon served an illustrious career as a Navy chaplain. He traveled far and wide and met many people. Some of his most noteworthy duty stations were a return to his alma mater, the Naval Academy, from 1966-1969, chaplain to the staff of the Commander-in-Chief Pacific Fleet from 1972-1975, and just before his retirement in 1980, service as force chaplain for the Commander-in-Chief Atlantic Fleet.
Upon retirement Jake took up a new commission when he joined the Jesuit retreat house staff at Manresa on the Severn in Annapolis. With the Naval Academy visible from his bedroom window, Jake Laboon touched the hearts of thousands as a retreat master and confessor. In 1988 he was assigned as pastor of St. Alphonsus Church in Woodstock, Maryland. There, after a short illness, he died. Because of his wide-reaching and important assignments, as well as his dedication and commitment to God and country, Jake Laboon was without question the best known and most widely-respected chaplain in the US fleet. The commissioning of the USS Laboon in 1993, only the second ship ever dedicated to the memory of a chaplain, demonstrates his greatness and the appreciation of others. Jake Laboon was a man who accepted his commission, went where the Lord asked him to go, applied his talents, and served God and country.
Jake Laboon followed his call from God, despite the distance from familiar territory, the changes which it required, or the fact that it might not have been his choice. His faithfulness to purpose, God, and country made him well-respected among his peers and gained him the admiration of many. On this the Second Sunday in Lent we hear how Abram was placed in a similar situation, demonstrated his faith, and in the process initiated God's plan of Salvation History for all people.
Abram's call from God was not expected. He was an obscure Semite who lived in a region east of the Jordan River, but God had special plans for him and his descendants. Abram was asked to dissociate himself from his pagan past, metaphorically to leave his kinsfolk and father's house. He was further challenged to migrate to a distant and foreign land under God's direction. God's commission to Abram was not easy; it required him to leave behind everything that he knew and to start over again. God did not ask obedience without a promise, however. The Lord promised Abram that he would be rewarded for his obedience. His name would be considered great and respected by all people; he would be the father of a great nation. All the world would find a special blessing in Abram.
God's challenge to Abram shifts the story of Genesis and initiates God's loving plan for all men and women, what theologians call Salvation History. It would be through Abram (later Abraham) and his descendants, God's chosen people, the Jews, that the Lord's master plan for the redemption of all people would be revealed. God chose Abram as a vehicle to initiate His plan that would find its fulfillment and climax in Jesus and the redemptive action of his life, and his passion, death, and resurrection. Abram's obedience to God's command was necessary so the human race could be released from the sin of Adam and Eve about which we heard last Sunday.
God calls us to go many places and do many things that may cause us to change, shift gears, or alter our plans. We may even be called to leave behind what we know and strike out in a new direction in life. In the journey of our working life we may be forced to relocate or to take up a different occupation. We may find ourselves in uncomfortable positions, where we feel our integrity or work ethic is jeopardized more often than we desire. In our families we also will be challenged by God. We may have to walk the road of ill-health with a spouse, a child, or other relative. Tough love may have to be exercised by us if we become involved with the addiction of another. We all will have to walk the road of death with someone close to us. Our lives of faith are not without challenges as well. God might not answer our prayers in the fashion or time we want, and the feeling that God has abandoned us may creep into our hearts. When someone special in our life ignores God and the Church and opts for the ways and things of the world we are again challenged.
Few of us in this life will have a task as great as Abram's, but we will all at different times be challenged to move from where we find ourselves to a new or higher realm. We must not be complacent; such an attitude leads only to stagnation. If we follow God's lead, if we place our trust in His providential guidance, then the Lord will safely lead us home.
Lent is a time to recast, reshape, and refocus our lives. We are on a journey that prepares us for the Easter mystery. We have all been commissioned through baptism to lead lives of holiness and service. During Lent we must look inside, honestly judge what we see, and then seek reconciliation and change in our lives. God's call will undoubtedly take us places we can only imagine today and ask us to perform tasks which seem impossible. If we have the courage of our convictions, that God is with us in all that we do and say, then the strength needed to persevere and continue on the road to God will be given to us. Let us today think of how Jake Laboon and Abram responded to God's call. They were challenged to forget their own desires and plans and do God's will in their lives. If we have the courage to do the same, our reward in heaven will be great.
