Set Apart by the Lord for a Special Vocation and a Special Ministry or Profession

In today's gospel, Mark 2: 13-17, Jesus calls Levi, a tax collector, to follow him.  At table dining with Levi in  his house, Jesus hears scribes outside the house asking why is eating with sinners and tax collectors.  His response is that he "did not come to call the righteous but sinners." And furthermore states: "Those who are well do not need a physician."  Sinners, not well spiritually, do!

Many are called be that to marriage, to single life, to religious life, to priesthood,  or to the deaconate. All of us need a physician to stay well, to remain faithful to the Lord, as Levi had even to the point of being martyred for his faith. You and I most likely will not face physical martyrdom but a spiritual martyrdom, dying to sin, to selfishness, to anything that is an obstacle within us to following the will of God for us, especially when the choices God calls us to embrace provoke others to say: Why has the Lord called this person to that way of life, to be involved in that ministry, to marry that person, to be involved in that profession?

Samuel, unlike Levi, was highly praised: "There was no other child of Israel more handsome than Saul; he stood head and shoulder above the people....When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the Lord assured him, 'This is the man of whom I told you; he is to govern my people'...[Saul anointed him, saying:) 'The Lord anoints you commander over his heritage. You are to govern the Lord's people Israel, and to save them from the grasp of their enemies roundabout."

Saul, unlike Levi, does not remain faithful to the Lord or to his calling, but get lured into evil ways with others around him.  You and I need to know that fidelity to the Lord is not a given.  We, like Saul, may face challenges to follow others paths. Without keeping our focus on the Lord and remembering that we are sinners dependent on the Lord for our salvation, we, too, could succumb to temptations all around us. 

Lord, help us remain faithful to you in whatever calling you have given us. May we stay close to you and remember our dependence upon grace to do the good  to which you have called us.

Learning from the Scriptures

Today's Gospel, John 1:45-51, presents the calling of Nathaniel (St. Bartholomew) to become an apostle of the Lord.  God uses Philip to alert Nathaniel to his calling. Philip find Nathaniel under a fig tree and tells him that he and others "have found the one about whom Moses were in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth."  Nathaniel sarcastically asks: "Can anything good come from Nazareth?"  Philip does not get sucked into Nathaniel's sarcasm or dismissal but says to Nathaniel: "Come and see!"

Am I, in this passage, Nathaniel, one who does not mince words, who speaks his mind, who is forthright in speaking to others? Jesus sees the depth of Nathaniel's heart and introduces him as "a true child of Israel," one in whom there is "no duplicity."  How would Jesus describe you/me?  Nathaniel is amazed and says to Jesus: "How do you know me?"  Jesus responds: "Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree."  Jesus sees you and me wherever we are and  in whatever we are doing!  He knows us more than we know ourselves. As God, Jesus knows what we are thinking before we do and what we might say before we have said it!  God knows us through and through. We are a book, so to speak, in the process of being written and Jesus knows us cover to cover!  Are you/am I aware of this fact?

As with Nathaniel, Jesus uses other people to communicate God's will to us, or uses us to bring truths to other people's attention, truths which He wants people to know and to which He wants their response. Are we listening for God's messages sent to us through others and, also, do we allow God to use us to bring His message to other people?

Another very important fact to note in this Scripture passage is how Nathaniel is changed by His encounter with Jesus!  Immediately, he recognizes and acknowledges who Jesus is! His sarcastic, critical attitude is changed from "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" to a stance of appreciation and  awe: "Wow, look at the good coming from Nazareth!"  How am I, are you, changed in the presence of Jesus?

Called to follow Jesus and Accept His Invitations

In today's Gospel, Mt 4: 18-22, we join Jesus as He walks by the Sea of Galilee. He sees two brothers, Simon and his brother Andrew.  They are casting a net into the sea, as they were professional fishermen. It was through this profession that they provided for their families. Jesus calls to them: "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of [people]." Peter and Andrew leave their nets and follow Jesus. As we walk along with Jesus, Simon and Andrew, Jesus spots two other brothers, James and John, fishing with their father. He calls to them as well.   "[I]mmediately they,[too,] left their boat and their father and followed" Jesus.

When Jesus calls us to follow Him, do we, also, leave everything behind to follow the Lord? Do we recognize that Jesus is not just an ordinary man but that there is something about this person that we cannot resist accepting His invitation to attach ourselves to Him, to follow His instructions and grow in intimacy with Him and in building up the Kingdom with Him?  Is our faith strong enough to trust the Lord's calls throughout the day? Or are we like those persons who, later, Jesus invites to a banquet and who conjure excuses for not accepting the invitation, as we read in Luke's Gospel (Lk 14: 18-20): "I have bought a piece of land and must go see it. Please accept my apologies."   "I have bought five yoke of oxen and am on my way to try them out. Please accept my apologies." "I have just got married and so am unable to come."  If we refuse  Jesus' call, what excuses do we make? 

Jesus' Association with, and Transformation of, Sinners

In  today’s Gospel, Matthew 9: 9-13, Jesus calls Matthew to become an apostle. Matthew is despised by his people. He is a tax collector, working for the Roman government, the occupiers of Israel. He not only is on the side of Israel’s oppressor, he is also overcharging the people the taxes owed to the government and lining his own pockets with extra cash.  In the words of the first reading, Amos 8: 4-6, 9-12, he is cheating.

How can Jesus, the Pharisees wonder, choose such a man and even sit down with him at table, feasting.   Why, they ask, is He associating with sinners?  Jesus knows what the Pharisees are thinking and responds:  “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice.  I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

We, too, have Pharisaical thoughts and are baffled by the choices Jesus makes.  “She, a nun, we ask. He,  a priest!  How come so and so was chosen for that position.  Why do you want to marry him/her?  Of all people!  And on and on goes our list of objections to choices being made that we do not understand or accept.

Let u, also, imagine ourselves being a Matthew. God sees us at work in ways that are in opposition to who we really are and what He really wants of us. In fact, God sees us cheating here and there. He also reads our hearts. He knows of what we are capable. He wants us working for the Kingdom, His Kingdom here on earth and to be a part of His Kingdom in eternity. And, to the amazement of those who know us, chooses us to walk closely with Him, to sit at table with Him (the Eucharistic banquet here on earth and later in heaven), to be ones who recognize Him, follow Him, and proclaim His death and resurrection. He calls us, not because we are righteous,  but because we are sinners in need of a Physician like no other. 

Wow! Thank you, Jesus, for recognizing my need of You. Thank you, Jesus, for calling me to walk closely with you, to sit down at the Eucharistic table with You, to get to know You intimately and to serve You faithfully in building up the Kingdom with You and through You and for You. Give me the grace each day, Lord, to sit at Your feet, reflecting on the Scriptures, the Living Word of God, and being transformed by this Word that never returns to You without doing the work for which You sent it.

Speak, Lord, Your Servant Is Listening

In today’s first  reading, 1 Samuel 3: 1-10, 19-20, young Samuel is asleep when he hears his name being called.  He goes to Eli, his superior and mentor, thinking Eli called him. He does this three times.  Eli then realizes that it is the Lord who is calling Samuel and instructs him to go back to sleep and if he hears his name called again that he should answer: “Speak , Lord, your servant is listening.”  Until that point, Samuel “was not familiar with the Lord, because the Lord had not revealed anything to him as yet.”  Note the statement “as yet.”  You may not, yet, be familiar with the Lord.  However you will be, that is part of our call as baptized Christians to get to know the Lord and His ways, to put on His thoughts, to recognize His will and follow it.  “I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her” (Hosea 2:14). Sometimes, as we say in the addiction’s field, people have to hit rock bottom before they cry out: “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.”   Somehow we need to experience the absolute emptiness of the promises of this world and in that desert come to realize that it is the Lord whom we  seek, and need, that it is His voice for which we need to be listening. Out of our sleep, the Lord calls us to be His instrument in a world darkened by sin, led astray by ego-demands to accumulate material things and to climb the corporate ladder of success while neglecting those of the Spirit. 

Am I ready to be awakened? Do I have a wisdom figure, a spiritual director,  like Eli whom I trust, who encourages me to listen for the Lord’s voice amid the darkness of night?

Called by Name

Today I am conducting a Come and See for women interested in religious life.  One of the activities today is to take time in quiet prayer, reflection and meditation on Moses' call to mission.
We read in Exodus, 3: 4, 10 that "God called to him [Moses] out of the bush, "'Moses, Moses!'  And he said, 'Here I am.' Then the Lord said, 'I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.'"

With every call--be it to marriage, to the single life, to religious life, to priesthood--comes a mission, comes responsibilities.  Carrying out the mission God entrusts to each one of us means that God calls the shots, God is the one who is sending us, and God is the one who matches the person to the mission.

I was deeply touched when I repeated to myself: Dorothy Ann, God matched you to the mission you are now asked to carry out for the sake of the Kingdom.  God matched me. God called me. God has a work for me to do. And when he chose me for the work I am now doing, He chose carefully. God knew, better than anyone, who He needed to do this particular work. That is true for each of you reading this: God chose you.God matched you to the mission, the job, the tasks to which He sent you to perform in His name. No one else but you and you were specially chosen to be the mate in your marriage, the father/mother to this/that child, to do this or that ministry/job as a teacher, a counselor, a plumber, an electrician, a store clerk, an administrator, a physician, a nurse, a technician, a physical therapist (fill in the blanks).  Specially chosen. Sent by God. And God calls the shots!
Source: I HEARD GOD CALL MY NAME, from the National Religious Vocation Conference.

Called to evangelize and be evangelized, to love and be loved, to nurture and be nurtured by friends

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Luke, the evangelist and a physician.  God calls persons from all walks in life to serve Him as priests, as men and women religious, as deacons, as married men and women and as single persons.  All of us, no matter what vocation in life we choose--and hopefully we seek God's will in the choices we make--are called to evangelize, to share our faith with others: parents with each other and with their children, single men and women with their co-workers, neices and nephews and with the children in their parishes as catechists,  as fellow worshippers and participants in parish programs; men and women religious through their ministries (healthcare, education, youth ministry, pastoral associates, catechists and other forms of services that address the needs of the poor and needy, the marginalized; that confront injustices perpetrated in the world of our day).

St. Luke was a friend of St. Paul, one who did not abandon him in his sufferings, including being imprisoned and put to death for the faith. Luke was at his side.  God also sends each of us friends to support us, encourage us, and give us strength to proclaim the message of salvation, to share our faith with others in a variety of ways, but especially by how we live our faith in the daily events of our day.

May we have the courage, the wisdom, the passionate love to fall in love with Jesus over and over again and share that love with those with whom we live and minister in Jesus' name.

Called to set each other free

Today’s first reading, Ex 3: 1-6, 9-2, tells the story of God calling Moses to be his instrument in freeing the children of Israel from Egyptian oppression.  Moses is pasturing his father-in-law’s flock near Mt. Horeb when he spots an unusual sight, a bush on fire but not being consumed. He decides to go over and examine this sight when he hears his name being called. Immediately, he answers “Here I am.”  God instructs him to come no closer and to take off his shoes because he is standing on holy ground.  God then tells him that He has seen His people’s oppression, has heard their cries for help and that He is asking Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.  Moses, who has fled Egypt to escape being killed by Pharaoh because of his crime, says: “Lord, who am I to lead the people out of Egypt?”  God says: “I will go with you.”

We may object to what God is asking of us, as well. We may, rightly or wrongly, judge ourselves as incapable of doing what the Lord is asking of us.  Are we failing to realize that, if God is calling us to a task that will set us free, that He goes with us?  Are we also failing to realize that God does not hold on to whatever misdeeds we may have committed, holding those against us or judging us unworthy to be instruments of grace in other people’s lives and within our own? We are God’s children, God’s beloved sons and daughters whom He has set free.  That means that God will choose us to be His instruments in bringing fuller life to others, in freeing others and ourselves from whatever enslaves us. God wants us to know the freedom, the joy, the satisfaction of being His chosen ones.

What do I need to do today to recognize God calling me to be an instrument of freedom in the world in which I live? What do I need to do to realize that God goes with me into situations that are oppressive to myself and others, that God empowers me to release others and myself from “prisons” we may have created for ourselves?oHo