Hearing the Call

Hearing the Call

“Therefore it says, ‘Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’”
- Ephesians 5:14 (NRSVUE)

Last month, our Cub Scout Committee Leader sent out a volunteer sign-up sheet for roles at our campout. I signed up for a few things, but one caught me off guard:

Bugler.

That’s right, the guy who plays the trumpet-looking instrument first thing in the morning.

I thought, “I don’t have a bugle. I don’t even know how to play a bugle. But I’m signing up.”

It sounded like my kind of adventure.

So I scoured Facebook Marketplace and found an old Rexcraft Scouting Bugle from the 1950s. I drove the family up to Sherman (we made a day trip out of it), handed over $45, and just like that, I became a bugler. Or at least a proud bugle owner.

It took a few weeks of practice to get the calls into decent shape. Practice sessions were quickly relocated to our master bedroom closet, as my wife gently reminded me that bugle calls aren’t universally appreciated by the neighbors.

But eventually, Reveille (the wake-up call) and Taps started to sound like…something.

Then came the campout this past weekend.

I packed up our gear, tucked the bugle into my bag, and we headed to Camp James Ray. Families arrived Friday evening, set up tents, and settled in.

At 6:59 the next morning, I stepped outside with the bugle and, right at 7:00, I played Reveille.

It was probably the worst I’d played in weeks, but it was loud, and it was recognizable. Tents unzipped. Heads popped out. Adults and kids stepped into the morning: some confused, some smiling, but all drawn to this unexpected sound.

Reflecting on it now, I realized a bugle call is different.

It’s not background music or one of a hundred phone notifications competing for attention. It doesn’t ask politely. Instead, it assumes a response. It marks a moment and says, this matters right now.

We live in a world full of noise, but if we’re being honest with ourselves, most of it doesn’t ask anything of us.

Our phones buzz. Headlines scroll. Music fills the background. But most of it is optional. We can ignore it, mute it, swipe past it. Very little interrupts us with clarity and purpose.

But scripture is different.

“Wake up, O sleeper…”

“Listen…”

“Come, follow me…”

Again and again, God doesn’t offer passive notification. Instead, God calls us. Sometimes gently, sometimes urgently, but with the expectation of our response.

There’s an important difference between hearing something and being called by it.

At camp, Reveille wasn’t just a song. It called campers out of their tent to get the day started. The sound mattered because it actually asked something of you. We’ve grown used to a life that is on-demand and self-directed. And while that freedom has its benefits, it can leave us unaccustomed to being called by something outside ourselves.

But the voice of God isn’t background noise. 

So the question isn’t whether God is still calling. The question is whether we’re listening and whether we’re willing to respond.

Because a call, by its very nature, is meant to be answered.

Reflection: Where in your life might God be calling you to wake up and how have you been responding so far?

Prayer: Gracious God, You are always calling, even when I’m distracted by the noise around me. Help me to recognize Your voice and not ignore what You are asking of me. Give me the courage to respond with clarity. Awaken my heart to live with purpose in the moments You place before me. Amen.

With faith, hope, and love,
Eric Smith