I just returned from a retreat led by Doug Wysockey-Johnson of Faith@Work. Doug had a lot of great things to say about calling, that is about how each of us is called and the nature of that call and the role of pastors in helping others to live out their call. I will probably touch on some of that at a later time, but for now I want to talk about a short film we watched entitled “Laundry and Tosca”. The film is about 30 minutes long and is a documentary of Marcia Whitehead, and her dream of becoming an opera singer. It’s an awesome and moving story – I don’t think there was a dry eye in the place.A 9-5 office worker in California, she has dreams of a life beyond the ordinary. But most days are, as she tells her friend on the phone, the usual – “laundry and Tosca.” Every day after work she drives past her exit to take voice lessons. She listens to opera constantly. Her home is filled with opera albums and scores. At last, someone arranges a chance for her to “audition” with Maestro Franco Iglesias (whose students include Placido Domingo). He sees in her an incredible talent and agrees to work with her. She moves to New York and begins the arduous process of being shaped into a world-class lirico-spinto soprano.
The story follows Marcia and two friends (Susana and ???) as she seeks to fulfill her dream. It is a film about many things, including the nature of calling. While we do not often think about people as being “called” to be opera singers, the story reminds us of two important things. First, that call is not limited to those people who enter into paid ministry or missions. Second that calling has to do with all parts of our life, our vocation. Or to put it in other words – all of our life is lived before God, not simply the time when we are in church. God desires that we live each minute to Him, and so wherever we are, whatever we are doing, we are living out our call.
It is not possible to summarize the whole film, but here are some thoughts and images from the film. Warning: There are spoilers here as I tell parts of the story. So, if you don’t like to know what happens; watch the movie first and then come back.
At one point, this quote appears on the screen:
God did not give us opera singers because he loves opera singers. He gave us opera singers because he loves us.
While some may consider opera more punishment than love from God, the point remains the same. God does not give gifts for the sake of the person getting the gift so much as for the sake of others. Substitute anything for opera singers. For example, God did not give us preachers because he loves preachers. He gave us preachers because he loves us. Something I need to remind myself of – God created me, gifted and called me not for my sake but for the sake of others, and ultimately for his own sake.
Rescue Workers and Rigoletto. When Marcia and her friends fly to Manhattan to first meet with Maestro Iglesias it is immediately in the aftermath of 9/11. The hotel in which they stay is filled with rescue workers and firefighters. Marcia feels a bit odd, pursuing something which seems so trivial when compared with what is going on in New York City. She is almost embarassed that she is in New York to audition with an opera voice teacher when the others are there cleaning up after the worst terrorist act ever to occur in America. One of her friends is in the hotel bar and is asked by someone else why she is there. Hesitantly she tells them of Marcia’s story. The listeners are enthralled with this story, and continue inviting their friends to hear this story. Marcia, when leaving for the audition the next day, get numerous yells of “Go, Marcia” and wonders what sort of bizarre dream is happening. The people in the film wonder at the incredible interest of the rescue workers. I don’t know for sure but I would guess that they were drawn to the story of a woman who was seeking to live out her dream, taking a great risk. In addition, it was something in the midst of the horror to remind them of the beauty of a dream. Do we sometimes think that our calling is not all that important? That the burning desire and passion deep within us is not important and are afraid to share it with others out of embarassment? Do we see the “rescue workers” around us doing the important work – the people pastoring the megachurches or starting great new ministries, feeding thousands of homeless, writing books that sell millions – and question the significance of our own calling? Perhaps we should not be too quick to decide how important our calling is. It is what God called us to after all, and we never know what others may need at a particular moment. Sometimes we fail to see how things work in God’s strange economy.
The Maestro sees the talent within. Maestro Iglesias describes meeting Marcia for the first time. Even before he hears her voice he is able to see, after years of training, that her skeletal and muscular structure is just what is needed to be an opera soprano, and not just an ordinary one, but one of the best. After hearing her voice, he is certain that she can be one of the greatest in the world. It was amazing to listen to Iglesias describe how he could see the way that God had built her such that she could be a great opera singer. Aside from his appreciation of God’s hand in who Marcia is, I was awestruck at his ability to see her voice without even hearing it. I know it does not work the same for all things, but I wondered in what ways I could be developing my ability to see the gift that God has given to others. If my role is to equip the saints, as I believe it is, part of that role is to see the gifts that the Spirit has given others and to help them develop those gifts. Why could Maestro Iglesis see it in Marcia? Because he had spent years listening to and working with opera singers. Perhaps it is a reminder to me of the need to be spending time with people, developing gifts and talents, helping them be put to use for the kingdom (not just the church) and that maybe over time God will use that work to help me develop the kind of insight that allows me to see the gifts in people. Maybe not in the same way as the Maestro, but in some way to be able to say, “yes, you have that gift” or “no, that is simply not how God has gifted you.”
Wagner and the WalMart Moment. Marcia tells of a particularly hard day of training when nothing seemed to go right and she felt as if she were ready to quit. She is humming while doing her shopping, unaware that she is even doing so. A woman stops her and says, “I hope you sing.” When Marcia asks why, the woman tells her that if she sings like she hums it must be beautiful. Marcia tells her that she does sing and that in fact she sings opera. The woman tells Marcia she has always loved opera and asks her to sing. Marcia proceeds to sing a portion of an opera, at full volume, not something I see at WalMart often. After she finishes, she and the woman both tearfully embrace. Life my comments above on the rescue workers, I am reminded that sometimes God’s economy is very strange. But I am also reminded of the ways that God affirms our call, often at the time when we need it most. We may feel like we are not accomplishing anything, that our studies, work, whatever are having no impact. And then God gives us the woman in the aisle at WalMart to encourage us and remind us of God’s gift to us and allows us to see the impact that the gift can have, but only if we use it. And we are encouraged not to give up, but to press on in the race.
God Brought Us Together Maestro Iglesias shares during the film his belief that God has placed the two of them together. He believes that only God could have arranged for the office worker from California to be brought to him and combined their unique talents for some greater purpose. But, what struck me was how Iglesias saw Marcia’s gift and his and how they worked together, each needing the other. Either one on their own was of little value but together they could produce something truly beautiful. A reminder that in the body of Christ we need each other.
Unconvenational Success Each of these little stories (I won’t spoil the ending for you) are pictures of what I have already referred to as God’s strange economy. That when we follow our call, there are successes along the way but that they do not always come in the shape or form that we want them to or expect. But, when we do follow our call, whatever that may be, God will give us the success that he wants. Each of us is called to something, to a vocation. Some may see Marcia has merely having a dream and following the dream. Or, we may choose to see it as her call from God. It is a calling that we live out in our family, our work, our church. It is not always easy, but when we follow that call, then the heartaches and bad days will seem small in comparison to the rewards, even if we don’t see the reward until we are told “well done, good and faithful servant.”
I am still not a big fan of opera, but I am a fan of Marcia and the folks who put together this film, a powerful story of call and following the call.
If you want to purchase the movie, visit the Fuller Seminary Bookstore.
Tags: Laundry and Tosca
Interesting read…..
There are a lot of things about “calling” that I’ve always struggled with, but I’m not sure I can put it into words. Calling / spiritual gifts? Is there a difference here? I would venture to guess that most people fall into their vocation by accident, even believers. That’s kind of sad. I haven’t met a lot of passionate people when it comes to their daily “calling” (maybe I just meet the wrong ones?) Did I ever have a calling? I’m sure it wasn’t banking. Being a church secretary was fun and fulfilling, but I pretty much fell into that one too.
I also wonder about what’s going on when a person feels a definite call and passion and then things happen to sidetrack that dream…. a singer is riding her bike and runs into a clothesline injuring her voice, a talented artist loses his sight, a woman with the heart of a mother is infertile or a mother’s only child dies, a missionary can’t raise support. What is God trying to say in situations like these? People are left with a passion that can’t be fulfilled for one reason or another and that can be very frustrating, especially when it seemed like they were making a thoughtful and godly choice at the time. Can we automatically assume that there was no call in the first place? I suppose it has to do with your words:
“When we follow our call, there are successes along the way but that they do not always come in the shape or form that we want them to or expect. But, when we do follow our call, whatever that may be, God will give us the success that he wants.”
Maybe it has something to do with God giving us a passion for something only to prepare us for the REAL ministry which comes after we lose the first thing? We have such limited sight, it’s hard to know what God is doing lots of times… or trying to do through us. It does make people fearful though. It’s hard to close one’s eyes and dive in time after time when God may decide at any moment to drain the pool so to speak. Although the perfect will of God is fulfilled in the end,(which is for the best of course), it’s still painful for those whose passions are left wanting. I think this is why there is so much apathy…. no one wants to get excited or involved because all of us have gotten passionate before and then found ourselves diving into air instead of water. Ouch. People are afraid of getting hurt.
Yadda yadda….. I talk too much. Like I said… interesting….
Thanks for sharing.
Calling is indeed complex. I come back to it often but perhaps not often enough. Some of the difficulty comes from the way we use (define?) the term. Too often we use it only to refer to those in full-time paid ministry. But, all of us, as followers of Jesus are in full-time ministry. Perhaps few people are passionate about their everyday calling because along the way they have been taught that it is a lesser calling or not even a calling at all. Pastors and missionaries get up and talk about their “call to ministry” – do we ever hear anyone else do the same things? Or, if we do, is it only how they are called to a ministry within the church?
eBoda, “no one wants to get excited or involved because all of us have gotten passionater before and then found ourselves diving into air instead of water”
I think this goes along with my above point to some extent. People often get hurt because the community of which they are a part fails to validate, affirm or recognize the person’s calling. I’m sure I am probably guilty of it, e.g. getting upset because someone is not involved in ministry – meaning that they are doing something within the church, although they may be doing a lot for the kingdom.
The other quesiton to ask ourselves about this is when we run into an obstacle, how do we respond? I don’t have a good answer for this, but I consider missionary stories – Adoniram Judson is one of my favorites. AJ felt called to be a missionary to Burma, he labored for years without a convert, lost his first wife and child to disease yet remained persistent. I don’t know – was he following God’s call? How do we begin to explain the suffering that he endured while pursuing his call? Oh, for easier answers.
Faith@work (http://www.faithatwork.com) has a lot of good stuff on this topic. Maybe it is something for a blog series or sermon series. It’s a big topic and the more I consider it the less I think I understand it.
Seeing through a glass darkly,
Carl