Extra-Ordinary Callings in Ordinary Lives

Scripture Reflection for the Fifteenths Sunday in Ordinary Time (July 12, 2015)

Scripture Readings:
Amos 7:12-15
Psalm 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14
Ephesians 1:3-14
Mark 6:7-13

This week’s readings give us some deep insight into the very definition of vocation. Today’s Gospel from the sixth chapter of Mark is a commissioning of sorts. Jesus pairs up the Twelve and sends them out on mission with specific instructions. His instructions boiled down to this: "Thou shalt not take anything with you but a pair of sandals, a walking stick, and one tunic." Being a Boy Scout and having backpacked in the Rockies, I know the importance of packing light. But a pair of sandals, a walking stick, and a tunic ain’t much for a journey of any kind! Apparently we do not need much when answering God’s call, and that is what I have discovered over the last few years. One year ago this week, when I had the honor of marrying my wife, those were our exact circumstances. She had just finished college, and I was in the middle of graduate school. So we had student loans and related expenses, phone bills, credit card payments, and personal expenses to pay for, and we had very few possessions with which to start our life together….not much money or sack. It is a bit intimidating when you accept God’s calling on the condition that you not to bring anything with you along the way…even when you already have little!

Interestingly enough, Amos was likely in a similar situation when God called him from the fields. Shepherding in those days was not a pleasant or popular occupation. It was reserved for lowly people, who, as a result, did not have much material or financial wealth. But Amos, with experience only as a shepherd, content on being a shepherd for the remainder of his life, and without any training in evangelization, consented to do God’s will and switched careers nonetheless. In my experience, God does not call ready and qualified people. He qualifies the called. I cannot speak for Amos or the Twelve, but if the last three years I have spent with my wife has taught me anything it is that even though God has a plan for each one of us it takes an enormous amount of trust in God to follow it. Three and a half years ago, I was unsure if I was called to marriage, and I never would have believed that I would have a beautiful daughter named Angela (who is sleeping in my arms as I write this). But as Amos and the Twelve undoubtedly discovered, I have found that once we allow ourselves to trust in God’s plan for us (even if we have yet to figured out what that plan is), everything we need in life will be provided for us, including directions for the journey and the means to follow them.

As if he knew that discernment and living our respective vocations can be a rough road sometimes, Paul gives us the reason why the process of discernment and following God’s plan are important, and he provides us encouragement to do so. In today’s second reading, Paul blesses God because he has chosen us to be his people and has ransomed us from our sinfulness through his son, Jesus Christ. In exchange, we, God’s people are glad to give thanks and praise to God and his gloriousness because “it is right and just.” As part of our thanks and praise, we discern and follow God’s plan for us, mysterious and unknown as it may be. I imagine any parent would agree that even though raising children (especially young ones) can sometimes qualify as one of life’s burdens, it is also a privileged way to live out one’s vocation and bring forth the kingdom of God. The last year with my wife and daughter have certainly presented some roller coasters (finishing graduate school, long distance living, finding a job, searching for an apartment, traveling, moving, etc.), but I have never been more grateful for God’s goodness, mercy, and kindness. God may have some hidden surprises for our lives, but God is good to us all the time…and all the time, God is good! So let us enter this week, continue our discernment, live our calling, and give praise and thanks to God praying that “the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our hearts, that we may know what is the hope that belongs to our call.”

Image: You are my rock. By Alex Garcia. Found on Flickr under a Creative Commons License.