Fr. Thomas M. Pastorius
April 19, 2014
Spiritual Ponderings
Exploring Vocations

Over the last two weeks, we have been exploring what exactly the Church means by vocation. We have learned that there are three levels of vocations: Universal Call To Holiness, Priesthood/religious/married/single, and what we would call a career or job. We have also learned that there are three stages to each vocation: discernment, probation, and oblation. For the last two weeks, I would like to turn to Edward Hahnenberg in his book: Theology for Ministry: An Introduction for Lay Ministers points out that God usually (not always) calls people to their vocation through a similar pattern. Quotes from his book will be in bold.

The most famous call story (vocation story) is the Annunciation: the moment when the Angel Gabriel on behalf of God asked Mary to be the Mother of His Son. Each vocation has six parts. God called Mary. And in that call were all the features of a genuine vocation. The call came from God. It deepened a relationship. It led to transformation. It gave a mission. This pattern of call can be found again and again in the Bible. It extends over the course of Christian history. And it continues in our own lives.

The first part is a simple idea that we might miss it. If we are receiving a phone call that means there must be someone doing the calling and someone who the call is for. Our God is not sending out random messages hoping anyone will hear them. He is sending out a specific message intended for a specific individual. God did not send Gabriel to find Him a woman to be the mother of His son but rather He sent her the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The second part is that it is God doing the calling. As Catholics we believe that there is a divine order to the universe. Our God did not simply create the universe, set it in motion, and leave like a clockmaker. Our God remains intimately involved in human history. What is even more wondrous is that our God asks human beings to be His co-workers. We are not independent contractors or mercenaries, we are sons and daughters of God and our Father expects great things out of us.

Surely Jesus knew the Father’s love his whole life. When he met John the Baptist at the Jordan River, this love washed over him n a powerful way. As Jesus came up out of the water, he heard his heavenly Father say, “You are precious to me. And I am so proud of you.” For the rest of his life, Jesus would share with others the love that he so deeply experienced himself.

When the devil tries to prevent Jesus from starting His public ministry it is this experience of being a child of God that the devil attacks: “If you are the Son of God…”

The next insight is that the Father always call us through His Word.

He does this calling through his Son. If Jesus preaching shatters our old worldview, his actions help us move toward a new one. If Jesus described the reign of God in his teaching, he enacted it in the rest of his ministry. Salvation history is something that continues to progress. The Pharisees, Scribes, Chief Priests, etc in the Gospel get focused on trying to appease God like the Greeks and Romans were trying to do. They offered sacrifices in order to avoid divine punishment. Jesus’ life on earth is all about telling us that true religion has more to do with developing an honest authentic relationship with God than with appeasing an angry God.

Jesus was a servant to others. As we have seen… , his ministry was a life of teaching, healing, and self-sacrifice that revolved around what he called the kingdom of God. This kingdom was good news—the special presence of God bursting into the world, promising to make all that is wrong right. Jesus’ vision of God’s reign can challenge our assumptions and our prejudices. It can threaten our selfishness and self-centeredness. But at the same time it can be profoundly liberating—drawing us into a freedom that is the path to genuine joy. Jesus’ whole life—what he said, what he did, how he died—points toward the joy that comes through serving others… The first step in developing a Christ-centered ministry is to strive to serve as Jesus served.