15th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Cycle B
July 12, 2015 7:30am and 9:00am
Saint Margaret
Parish, Bel Air
My Vocation
Today’s
readings got me thinking about my first thoughts of becoming a priest.
I was
about eleven years-old. When I look
back, I almost can’t believe that the idea of becoming a priest came to me so
early.
I very
much admired some of the priests in my home parish. And I thought I wanted to be like them and do
what they did.
It was
that simple at first. Then, there were
lots of twists and turns in the road, doubts about it, and a lot of maturing in
my motivation.
In the
end, I was ordained a priest at age twenty-five and here I am today. I am enjoying being your pastor!
Our Vocation
Well,
that’s a snapshot of my vocation.
And
that’s the word we use to name this – a vocation, a calling, and a mission from
God to do something. This morning, I
recommend that all of us look at our lives in this way.
As I
said before, the readings really speak of this today. The key words are “took,” “chose,” and “sent.”
The
prophet Amos says that God “took me”
from what I was doing and told me to do something else. Saint Paul says that God “chose us” to live holy, God-centered lives.
And
Jesus “sends” the apostles to do his
work. These are vocation, calling, and mission
words.
I think
we all have this from God. And I think
it is very helpful for us to look at our lives in this way.
It’s
something like wearing sunglasses and looking at everything through these
lenses. I see two responses we are to make
to God – two dimensions to our vocation.
First Response: Self
The
first response is the giving of ourselves.
We do
this by using the gifts God has given us.
So, most obviously, we go to school and learn whatever we can.
Maybe
we are good at math, and so we work at this and take advance placement and
develop our math skills as best we can.
Or maybe it is music, language, chemistry, biology, sports, whatever.
We
develop the abilities God has given us.
We may not think of it this way when we are doing this, but this is responding
to God and to vocation.
As part
of this first response to God, we also have to deal with our rough edges. All of us come out of our growing up with
some stuff we have to deal with.
Maybe
there is some unresolved anger and we have to get to the root of it. Or maybe there is conflict with our parents
and we need to do our part to resolve it.
Dealing
with our stuff and moving forward is important.
The more we deal with this successfully, the clearer and fuller will be our
response to God’s calling.
Second Response: Others
And
then the second response we make to God is the giving of ourselves to others.
In
other words, we grow as persons and develop our talents. And now, in some way, we use all that we are
for others.
A clear
example of this is husband and wife.
They give of themselves to each other in marriage.
And
then, God willing, they together give of who they are to children. This is a wonderful vocation and many of you
have done this.
I saw a
different kind of example of this giving of ourselves to others two weeks ago. One of our high school youth has been taking
dance lessons.
I have
known her and her interest in this.
Well, I saw her assisting at Vacation Bible Camp and leading 225
children in song and dance.
I could
just see the life in her face as she did this and how wonderfully she brought
so much out of the children. What a great
example this is of responding to vocation and using for others what God has
given us.
Conclusion
So, vocation, calling, and mission from God!
I recommend that we all see our lives in this way. It is a wonderful lens through which to
appreciate and live our lives.
