Pope's Resignation Stuns Catholics Worldwide

On Monday, Pope Benedict XVI surprised the Roman Catholic world by announcing that he will resign from the papacy on February 28, due to failing mental and physical strength to carry on the work of that office.
What made the 85-year-old pontiff's decision so startling is that almost all of his predecessors have stayed in office until their death. The last pope to resign willingly was Celestine V in 1294. Gregory XII abdicated in 1415, but only to end a dispute with a rival claimant to the papacy.
Still, there's been no widespread condemnation of Benedict's decision, and many Catholics have expressed understanding. The crowd at the Ash Wednesday service at the Vatican cheered him.
Speaking in Latin, Benedict made his announcement to a meeting of Vatican cardinals on Monday morning. What follows is an English translation of his remarks:
"After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry. I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering.
"However, in today's world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark [ship] of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me. For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the Cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way that, as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a Conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is."
The pope's decision to step down is likely to have little impact on non-Roman Catholic Christians. No Protestant, Orthodox or unclassified Christian body, including those with hierarchical structures, has a position that is equivalent to the papacy, and most non-Catholic Christians do not think of the pope as speaking for them.
More on this story can be found at these links:
Full Text of Pope Benedict XVI's Declaration. CNN
Pope's Sudden Resignation Sends Shockwaves Through Church. Reuters
Successor to Benedict Will Lead a Church at a Crossroads. New York Times

The Big Questions
1. In the realm of our faith, what is meant by a "calling"? What callings are normally understood as for a lifetime? What callings are normally understood as time-limited? What makes the difference? How do we know when we are called for a season rather than for a lifetime?
Are there term limits for those serving in leadership for your congregation? Tell why that is or isn't a good idea.
2. At what point does continuing to serve in a position actually impede the goal the position was created to accomplish? What factors should be considered as indicators that it may be time for you to relinquish a position? Can retirement be a calling from God? How can a person know?
3. Sometimes people feel called to step down from a position when they are still effective in that work, are handling it well and are enjoying it. How do we determine when God may be calling us from one field of service to another?
4. In what sense does your service in a position within the church create a helpful legacy? When withdrawing from a position, how can you enable your successor to make a good start?
5. To what degree is your sense of who you are tied up with what you feel called to do? How is your identity affected when you are no longer working at that calling? What do you think it means that we are called  "human beings," not "human doings"?
Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope
Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:
Deuteronomy 31:2
I am now one hundred twenty years old. I am no longer able to get about, and the LORD has told me, "You shall not cross over this Jordan." (For context, read 31:1-8, 14-15.)
This statement is from Moses, acknowledging that his advancing age rendered him incapable to "get about." Despite this declaration, the Bible says Moses was still vigorous and had good eyesight (Deuteronomy 34:7), but he obviously felt he was no longer able to do the job to which God had called him. Moses had clearly been in communication with God about this, and God had even told him to commission his successor, Joshua.
Since Moses died a short time later (Deuteronomy 34:7), his calling was, in effect, "until death." But before his death, Moses was able to read the signs, and thus arranged for an orderly transition and a strong leader to carry on the work of leading the Israelites.
Questions: In what sense is retirement intended to contribute to orderly transitions and the continuation of the work? An expectation of "retirement" is a relatively recent concept in human history. What are some advantages and disadvantages of an expectation of retirement?
Have you observed or heard about instances where retired leaders continued to control a situation or provide leadership to the detriment of those who replaced them?
Exodus 39:32
In this way all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished; the Israelites had done everything just as the LORD had commanded Moses. (For context, read 39:32-43.)
This verse is referring to the completion of the tabernacle, which was a portable center for sacrifice that the Israelites carried with them during their time in the wilderness. God gave specific instruction for its construction, adornment and furnishing, and craftspeople from the Israelite tribe contributed their skills and labor to create the structure and all that was in it. Two multi-skilled men, Bezalel and Oholiab (Exodus 35:30--36:2), were asked to supervise the work of the others.
This was a divine calling, not only for Bezalel and Oholiab, but for each artisan and laborer involved, but it was a time-limited calling. Once the task was finished, with everything done "just as the LORD had commanded Moses," the workers were released from their calling.
The Bible includes other examples of time-limited callings as well, including the people called to build the temple (both Solomon's temple and later the post-exilic temple), and those called to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in Nehemiah's day.
Questions: Should we value longer-term ministries more than shorter-term ministries? What is the value, for instance, of volunteering to teach a Sunday school class for a month, a quarter or only part of a year? Does your class have the same leader for an extended period of time, or is there a rotating leadership? What are the advantages and disadvantages to this sort of leadership?
What ongoing calling did the workers who built the tabernacle have even after their project was completed?
1 Samuel 12:2
See, it is the king who leads you now; I am old and gray, but my sons are with you. I have led you from my youth until this day. (For context, read 12:1-7, 23-25.)
Samuel had spent his life as the Lord's prophet, judge and priest, and he was now old and, apparently, hoping for some rest. His statement above sounds like he's planning to step down. He had anointed Saul to be Israel's first king and he had installed his two sons to be judges in his  place.
In verse 23, Samuel refers to his intention to continue to pray for the people and even to instruct them "in the good and the right way." But that sounds like post-retirement activity at a slower pace, leaving others to deal with active leadership.
As it happened, however, Saul disobeyed God and the Lord rejected him as Israel's king (1 Samuel 15:10-11). Samuel's sons proved to lack their father's character; "they took bribes and perverted justice" (1 Samuel 8:3). Thus, while Samuel may have intended to step down, circumstances demanded that he stay "in harness." At the Lord's instruction, he challenged Saul on his failure (1 Samuel 13:13-14) and anointed a new king, David (1 Samuel 16:11-13). It's not known if he was able to do anything about his sons' corruption, but clearly, his plans for a quiet retirement didn't come to fruition. Later, when Saul was trying to kill David, Samuel took David in and gave him sanctuary (1 Samuel 19:18-24). Samuel's death is recorded in 1 Samuel 25:1.
Question: To what degree do circumstances and need become evidence that God is calling you to carry on with a task or responsibility when you would rather step down?
2 Timothy 4:6-7
As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. (For context, read 4:1-8.)
Clearly, Paul understood his call to be an evangelist for Christ as one that had no retirement plan, no cessation until he stepped into eternity.
Questions: In what ways should Paul's understanding of his call as ongoing affect our understanding of our service to the church? Can you think of occasions when the leadership of a congregation might have benefited from a long-time pastor, board chair or other leader stepping down sooner than he or she did?
Ephesians 1:17-18
I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints ... (For context, read 1:15-23.)
Ephesians 4:1
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called ... (For context, read 4:1-6.)
Regarding our faith in Christ, some callings can be considered to be till death and even beyond. Here in Ephesians, Paul mentions two such callings: For one, we Christians are called to "hope" (that is, to the confidence that when all is said and done, God is the victor over sin, death, chaos, wrong, etc. That hope is what we express when we pray, "Thy kingdom come.")
For another, we are called to be Christ's disciples ("to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called").
Neither Christian hope nor discipleship is by itself a specific vocation, but both things are foundations from which specific vocational callings -- which might or might not be time-limited -- can emerge. The calls to trust God and to be Christ's disciple, however, have no expiration date.
Questions: What is entailed in Christian hope? What qualities ought to characterize "a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called"? How are each of those qualities a component of discipleship?
For Further Discussion
1. Ask your class members to name the responsibilities they carry in your congregation. To what degree do they see those tasks as open-ended callings? What would happen if they felt God was calling them to take on a different responsibility? Is there a difference between feeling that God was calling one to a different responsibility, and believing or thinking that God was making such a call?
2. Some denominations have programs with names such as "Short-Term Mission Opportunities." What does "short-term" imply about the callings of God?
3. In many denominations, some ministers continue to pastor churches after they have retired. Why do you suppose that is the case?
4. How might the Roman Catholic Church benefit from Pope Benedict's willingness to admit his incapacity and step down?
5. Have you ever felt a faith-related calling from God that you ignored? Is it too late to do something about it now? Why or why not?
6. Relate occasions when you were part of, or observed, a successful transition in sharing offices in the church? Are there times when some may be doing a fine job, but new leadership brings new ideas? Do you know of times when this backfired and a person was called back into service?
7. Does your denomination assign pastors to a church and replace them on a regular basis, providing fresh leadership, sometimes before a person may have had time to accomplish something? Does your denomination practice a "call process" where there is no time limit or governing authority to make decisions about pastoral tenure? What are the advantages, in your opinion, to each system? The disadvantages?
Responding to the News
This is a good time to think about your responsibilities in the church and consider in what ways you think of them as divine callings.

Closing Prayer
O Lord, thank you because you work on earth through us, despite all our frailties, shortcomings and failures of energy and zeal. Help us to find the pace that enables us to serve in the ways best for where we are in the journey of life. In Jesus' name. Amen.