Today’s readings: Is 49: 3-6, 1 Cor 1:1-3, Jn. 1:29-34
What is the meaning of vocation? Vocation is from the Latin word ‘vocare’ meaning to call.
Who calls? Who is the caller?
Jeremiah 1: 5 says, “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born, I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”
In today’s first reading from Isaiah 49:3, 5-6, Isaiah says the LORD said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” And now the Lord says, who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him”….”I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
So in these two callings who formed the persons? It is God. Therefore, God forms everyone in his or her mother’s womb. So, our vocation starts by God calling us into existence by forming us in our mother’s womb.
The second way God calls us is by setting us apart for a particular work, for a particular vocation.
And what is that vocation? Firstly, We all have a common vocation, that’s the purpose of our existence.
And what’s that? God created us to know him, to love him, to serve him on this earth and after to go back to him and enjoy eternal life with him.
This is the general reason why we exist and this is our common vocation.
Apart from this general vocation to holiness and to be with God eternally, God calls each person in a peculiar way.
People have different vocation story: The persons mentioned in the scripture today: Jeremiah, Isaiah, Paul and John the Baptist have different vocation stories.
Let us look at two of them:
Paul’s story of vocation.
Paul the Apostle’s conversion was a radical transformation on the road to Damascus, where as Saul, a persecutor of Christians, he was blinded by a heavenly light, heard the voice of the resurrected Jesus, and was later healed and baptized by Ananias, becoming the “Apostle to the Gentiles”.
I love the way Paul starts most of his letters like that of today: from 1 Corinthians 1:1-3, Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes:
Paul recognizes who calls him and Paul is always proud of his call and identity. He knows who called him and the purpose of his call.
The second person today is John the Baptist.
John the Baptist’s story of vocation.
Let us see the attributes of John the Baptist’s style of vocation.
First: Simplicity, humility, and truthfulness; John the Baptist shows us the path of simplicity and humility and truthfulness. We are in the world that is full of lies, arrogance, pride but John was honest and humble enough to tell the world that he was not the one they were waiting for.
John, who was regarded as a great prophet because of his strong message of repentance, asceticism, ardent preparation of Christ’s coming, and imminency of God’s kingdom. Ordinarily, many would have simply thought he was the Messiah, but in humility and truthfulness, he acknowledged that He wasn’t the Christ. If he had said he was, many would have accepted without an iota of doubt. Nevertheless, he solemnly pointed out Christ to his followers by saying, “Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
Today, it’s a different story. Some people have openly told their followers that they are God or another Christ or a modern Christ.
We need to be true to ourselves and like Paul identify ourselves as servants who have been called to follow the footsteps of Christ and not to assume that we are Christ ourselves.
Christ is the one who restores our life, and He is the light of the world whose place no other individual can take. No other substitute at all.
Like Paul and John, We are called to bear witness to him.
Every vocation has its challenges, temptations and goods.
Married people have love stories of their particular vocation
But apart from this love story, there is something more the Lord is calling you to do.
The essence of every vocation is to repeat to the world what John the Baptist did today:
Behold the lamb of God.
To bear witness that he is the one through our words and deeds.
We pray that God may help us to be good Apostles of Christ. We pray for the grace to be able to show the people around us the Lamb of God. All these we ask through Christ our Lord, Amen.
Have a blessed Sunday.
Rev. Fr. Ambrose Onyeka Anene SDB, is Parish Priest of Church of Archangels, Gaduwa Abuja
