Last weekend I attended a men’s retreat from one of the two parishes at
which I serve. The title of the retreat
was: “Who is Jesus Christ? Who am I?
Find the Divinity Within.”
One of the talks presented on the first day touched on how we discern our path in life’s journey. Do we choose ambition or vocation?
Ambition was defined as looking into our future through how we equate success in the world by amassing wealth, becoming powerful and being famous.
Vocation’s definition was accepting the purpose for which God created us: To be one with God in thought, word and deed and to reach out to others as Jesus loved us.
Looking at St. Matthew’s Gospel and second reading of St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians today, we receive a message that clarifies who God (specifically Jesus) is or should be in our lives: The Light (as presented to us in the first reading from the Book of Isaiah) to the nations who has come to initiate God’s Kingdom and Our Crucified Savior.
These two approaches are not only quite diversified, but they are exact opposites. Ambition’s message is about adopting an attitude of controlling one’s destiny by embracing success at any price; even our soul. It is shortsighted in that it only looks at our worldly journey, nothing beyond. Eternal life is a nice idea, but not realistic. We only have one life and we must live it to the full to serve our selfish ways.
Vocation is a call from God to follow the selfless ways of the Lord by putting our efforts into taking care of those in need, no matter what their problem. It is done in humility often with only the person you help knowing.
A recent example was a story related to me about a woman who helped a man in a wheelchair she did not know in a grocery store. Due to his condition, he had difficulty getting products on shelves higher than he could reach so she got them for him. She told him about finding other foods and noticed later merchandise that fell on the floor he could not pick up so she did that so he would not fall out of his chair.
The question for those of us who are baptized is will we live up to the promise of God’s gift of eternal life when we are called to keep our promise to love all God has created as Jesus loves us? Discipleship is a commitment to God’s call. When Jesus called the four fishermen: Peter, Andrew, John and James to leave their livelihood and follow Him, they didn’t hesitate. And, yet, we often argue with God in our mind about involvement outside our comfort zone.
Today’s call is asking us not just to fit Jesus into our chosen way of living, but to fit ourselves into His vision of life. Let us make a resolution this new year to not only do those things we will probably abandon in a few weeks or months, but to say “YES” to God’s call to be there for those in need whether they be in our family, with friends, neighbors, co-workers, fellow worshippers, the disenfranchised, the impoverished, the marginalized or strangers. It will make a great difference to those we help, as well as help us to better understand why answering God's call brings us peace, joy and love to all we experience.
Reading 1: Isaiah 8: 23 – 9: 3
Reading 2: First Corinthians 1: 10-13, 17
Gospel: Matthew 4: 12-23
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