VOCATION AS HISTORY OF LOVE

Reflection from 1Sm 3: 3-10; 1Cor 6: 13c-15a.17-20; John 1, 35-42

The liturgy of this Sunday confirms that God establishes a relationship of love with each person, calling him/her to the service of his people.  God takes initiative to call the person by the own name, valuing his/her history and identity. Although God can do everything alone, he wanted to use us as his collaborators. This reality inspired Saint Augustine to say: “God created us without our participation, but he wanted to save us with our participation”.  

The vocation of Samuel, narrated in the First reading, is model for all vocations. God comes to meet him in his reality and calls him by his name. Of course he needed of a process of discernment in order to understand the desires of God. The priest Eli was the mediation of God to help Samuel to recognise the voice of God and answer to his appeals. In the same way, we need to be very attentive to discern the voice of God among the several voices which we normally hear. In this process we have been helped by many people and situations. Like Eli, we are invited to be available to help others to discover the will of God to them. Like Samuel, we need to be attentive to the call of the Lord and being generous in our answers to his appeals. Inspired by the word of God and supported with the help of others, our answers to God must be yes always. 

According to Saint Paul, our vocation is to be part of the body of Christ as living temples of God. Through the baptism, God has made us into a dwelling-place for himself. That is the statement of Saint Paul in his letter: “you are temple of God and his Spirit lives in you”. So, as members of the Body of Christ, our identity is to be Church through the communion and participation. The testimony of life and the respect with our physical body contribute to the up-building of this Holy Temple which is all of us. We cannot transform our body in source of pleasure and sin. Everything which we do concerning our body must be for the glory of God. Although the care about the external beauty is good, it cannot prevent us to take special care of the living temple of God within us.  

The gospel speaks about the vocation of the first disciples of Jesus and the people and situations used by God as mediations to reveal his mysteries to the humankind. It is continuity of the text of baptism in which the Father gives testimony about his Son, confirmed his mission as Saviour and inviting all to follow his words.  In the text today, John recognises Jesus who is passing by and points him as “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”. The testimony of John motivates others to follow Jesus. John is good example of mediator, who promotes the meeting and disappears with humility. The experience of “come and see” proposed by Jesus transformed the life of the first disciples, making them new witnesses of him in order to motivates others to the discipleship. The first disciples were very attentive to the mediations of God, let themselves be guided, showing availability to follow the Master and remain with him, assimilating his life’s style in order to become witnesses.

Our vocational journey is history of love and can be compared with the calling of Samuel and the first disciples of Jesus. Each day God wakes our ear in order to hear his Words and let ourselves to be transformed by them. He continues speaking to us also through the people and situation of the community. He expects that we may be attentive to this signs and answer to his appeals positively. Like Eli and John the Baptist, we are invited also to contribute in the vocational work in order other people, especially the youth ones, may discover the voice of God that is calling them in their daily life. May we live our vocation with joy and faithfulness, motivating others in their journey as followers of Jesus.

Fr. Ndega