Against the Current

Scripture Reflection for the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (July 5, 2015)

Scripture Readings:
Ezekiel 2:2-5
Psalm 123:1-2, 2, 3-4
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
Mark 6:1-6

In the beginning, we like to think that vocational discernment is as easy as “Come follow me” and “Yes, Lord.” If we can just figure out what God is saying, the rest is easy. We become excited, we start making plans, and then the pit in our stomach starts to grow: We have to tell our friends and family something radical. We have to say these wonderful and scary revelations out loud.

Now, sometimes this goes well, and I pray for you it does. But for many of us, we face a bit of the hardness of heart that Jesus faced with his home crowd in the synagogue. Often times those closest to us have the hardest time accepting unconditionally whatever we choose to do with our lives.

The responses given by the crowd reject the radical nature of Jesus’ vocation:

“Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary,
and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon?
And are not his sisters here with us?”

Jesus was not a stranger, but well known. Another way of asking these questions would be to say “Don’t we already know all about him? How could there be anything else?” Jesus was “their guy,” and now he’s altering the narrative they had in their head.

This is the key. It is not that those gathered loved Jesus too little, but too much. Perhaps they were not rude to him because they didn’t believe him capable. Rather, maybe they were trying to hold on too tightly to what they knew Jesus to be—to keep him as a static character in their lives, always predictable, always known. Speaking prophesy comes with danger, and it is far less nerve-racking to have their friend avoid any such struggle completely. They want to keep him from the dangers associated with the words he was saying.

Our friends and family do the same. My own vocation has taken me to some dangerous and uncomfortable places, to the great stress of my mother. Currently, I live in an intentional community in a notorious neighborhood, and even after having lived here for two years without incident, I get a weekly suggestion to move to the “nicer” part of town. This comes in the form of news articles about shootings and theft in the neighborhood, or housing ads from other parts of town. My mother loves me, but she just can’t help herself. She wants me to be safe, and her fear overcomes her ability to accept my choices.

At first, these negative reactions caused me great distress. But overtime, I’ve come to learn that just as was the case with Jesus, acceptance is not a necessary sign that you’re on the right track. In fact, seeking perfect acceptance will only delay your life, and most likely cause you far more grief and harm.

The reality is that as much as our family and friends try, God is the only one who can love us perfectly. Not only are we loved now, but God loves even more who we have the potential to become, and thus guides us through the dangers, struggles, challenges and sacrifices we will face as we grow into our life purpose. Not everyone will be on board with our decisions, but just as Jesus did, we must stay true to what we feel called to become.

So, when your friends and family tell you what a terrible idea your vocation is, smile, hug them, and say I love you too. Then, walk on in courage to love your Lord with your life, because “His grace is sufficient for you.”

Image: DSC_0299 by Alex Kerney. Found on Flickr under a Creative Commons License.