THE JOY OF THE VOCATION

Acts 4, 8-12; 1John 3,1-2; John 10,11-18

         We are celebrating the Sunday of Good Shepherd and of the vocations. This Sunday is invitation to thank to God for the great gift of the vocation and to ask him to continue blessing his church with the increasing of the vocations. This proposal was initiative of the pope Paul VI, in 1964, motivating all Church to the commitment with the vocational sake. The prayer for the vocations is also obedience to the appeals of Jesus of “praying to the owner of the harvest to send out workers to gather in his harvest, because the harvest is large, but there are few workers (cf. Mt 10, 37-38). The vocation is a gift, it is a calling of God; it is a necessity of the church and baptismal identity. The vocational cultivation start in the family and the one who calls expects always a generous answer from those who are called. Let us reflect about this reality through richness of the readings of this liturgy in order to live with enthusiasm our vocation.

        In the First reading the apostles are caught and questioned about the good done to a paralysed person. Their answer before the Jewish authority confirms the strength of the Holy Spirit acting in their lives. For them, each moment was always a new opportunity of witnessing to the new life offered by Jesus to all who believe in him. The mission of Jesus was directed to all people. He is the fullness of the revelation of God and only through him the people can find salvation. According to St John, though the mission of Jesus the people became children of God and they are called to establish deep relationship with him just like the Son establishes with the Father. The reason of this identity of children is his love for the humanity. Only the love creates familiarity and intimacy. Only through the love it is possible to live as children of God and to spend the life for the sake of Jesus and his message of salvation. Only the person who loves is able to overcome all rivalry, competition, tribalism and discrimination, spending all his/her energies with the essential.

        In the gospel of John we have the revelation of Jesus as Good Shepherd. He is the Good Shepherd because loves his sheep and is willing to lay down for their sake. He takes after of them and spends all his energies for their lives. The relationship of intimacy between the Son and the Father is the referential for the relationship between Jesus and his sheep. The freedom of the Son is expression of the intensity of love received from the Father. In the gratuity and generosity of his gesture of surrender is expressed all his love for the sake of his sheep. Being sheep of the flock of the Good Shepherd Jesus is to be willing to listen to his voice and to follow his instructions because he desires only the good of the flock. His intention reaches also those who don’t know him, but one day will listen to his voice and will walk in unity with him. The lack of commitment of those who aren’t shepherd causes dispersion of the flock. The flock needs good shepherds.

        In Jesus, good shepherd, God manifests all his care for his people in passionate way, giving right direction for their lives. The resistance to the voice of Jesus is resistance in doing God’s will and to live the familiarity with him.  The correct answer to his calling in the actual reality is the good disposition to live his Words, very attentive to his inspirations in order to act with wisdom in the reality around us. From God we learn to take after of the vocations, especially among the youth.   

        The church has necessity of good vocations in order to continue with fidelity the mission received from Jesus, the Good Shepherd. We are called to act like the first disciples, who assumed the vocation and mission entrusted to them with joy and enthusiasm. The new identity lived as disciples of Jesus remained us about the importance of the vocation received in our baptism through which we became priests, prophets and shepherds. The true vocational living must be imitation of the gestures and feelings of the Good Shepherd in his care for the sheep, assuming with responsibility the task of leadership for the good of people of God and flock of Jesus.

Fr Ndega

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