Preaching on Call of
God/Vocation
By Fr. Gulsan Ekka
Date 03.07.2021
Introduction:
Today we will reflect upon Religious Vocation. First
of all before we reflect upon the topic lets accept that we are the children of
God. As it is said though we come through
our parents but we are of God. We each one of us are sent into this world with
a specific purpose. Therefore you and I am unique. The way I think, the way I
talk, the way I behave fully differs from every second person in front of me. Now
as a mature human being let's not fence our knowledge, our qualities, abilities
only for our family, relatives, and friends but use them for the world. Because
there is no second person like you. The work which is assigned to you has to be
fulfilled only through you.
Point to reflect:
Why Did
God Send Me To This World? |
Religious Vocation:
The word Vocation
comes from the Latin "Vox" meaning voice. We are
speaking of divine vocation; it is the voice of God calling. what is the
meaning of call? To say
something loudly or to shout in order to attract attention. In this
materialistic world, where people tend to live only for themselves, enjoy the
life and accumulate things for future, God has attracted your attention towards
Him. Devine Vocation is a gift of God. Jesus says " You did not choose me; it was I who chose
you" (Jn 15:16) God chose us in
Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless
before Him. (Eph 4:1) He calls and we respond to his call.
1. God's
call and responses in the Old Testament
1.0.Who is the Father of Faith: Abraham: (Keep in mind every vocation has a mission to
fulfill, there are challenges, limitation of the one called by God and God is
there to help them out.)
1. 1. The Call of Abram
1.2. The Lord had said to
Abram, “Go from your country, your people and
your father’s household to the land I will show you.
2 “I will make you into a great nation,
and I will
bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will
be a blessing.
3 I
will bless those who bless you,
and whoever
curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be
blessed through you.”
4 So Abram went, as the Lord had
told him; and Lot went with him.
1.2. The call of
Moses
Mission: To free Israelite from Egyptians
Moses sees the burning bush and goes close to it. As he
reaches God assigns him a task to free Israelites from the slavery of
Egyptians. God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites,
`The LORD, the God of your fathers--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and
the God of Jacob--has sent me to you.
Limitation. Then Moses said to the LORD, “Please, Lord, I have never
been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to
Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” God said your
brother Aaron will be with you. You will speak what I command you. God was with
Him always.
His mission was not
so easy task to fulfill.
1.3. The Call of Jeremiah 1: 4-10
4 The word of the Lord came
to me, saying,
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you
were born I set you apart;
I appointed
you as a prophet to the nations.”
(Excuses from Jeremiah) 6 “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I
said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”
7 But the Lord said to
me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and
say whatever I command you.
God assures his
help 8 Do not be
afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares
the Lord.
God fulfills his
promise 9 Then the Lord reached out his hand and
touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See,
today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear
down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”
2. Call and
response From the New Testament
2. 1. Call of Mother Mary:
to be the Mother of Jesus
At first she was
reluctant to respond to her call, she asked How is it possible I am not yet
married. But later on;
·
She was ready to accept all the challenges to
fulfil the call of God,
·
She has to no place to give birth to her child,
·
she had to flee from one place to another to safe
guard the child.
·
She had to see her son's death. it was not an easy
task for her to do.
To Prepare the
people for the coming of the Lord. He said repent for your sins. Correcting all
the sinners to live a good life. He stood for the truth. and for the truth he
gave his life.
2.3. Call of St. Matthew: He was a tax collector became evangelist.
2.4. Call of St. Paul: Paul : St. Paul was more
than a prophet. His calling by the Lord ordained him
to be a missionary to the new people of God.
And when Saul had
come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of
him, and did not believe that he was a disciple. Read the Conversion and
mission of St Paul when you are free.
3. Every
vocation requires a personal response:
Every vocation is a personal call and requires a
personal response. as Viktor Frankl says, " everyone has his/her own
specific vocation or mission in life, and everyone must carry out a concrete
assignment that demands fulfillment. Therein he/she cannot be replaced, nor can
his/her life be repeated. Thus, everyone's task is unique." as I was telling in the introduction we are
unique so also our vocation and mission is unique.
Therefore vocation is personal. We each one need to
respond to the call personally. God proposes his project to an individual He
has chosen. He only proposes and does not ordinarily impose. He gives us
freedom whether to accept or reject His call. However, if you reject His
proposal, you reject what is best for you.
4. How can
I respond a call everyday in my life?
4.1.
Discernment:
How do you discern your vocation? ask the Lord every day, Lord what are
you asking me to do with my life. If you are unable to discern your vocation
people are around you to guide you to let you know about your call. For example
Call of
Samuel: Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. ... So
Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, 'Speak, Lord,
for your servant is listening.'” Here we see Samuel a
young boy has not known the Lord but Eli helped him to recognise the call of
God.
Similarly your
authorities over here are your immediate guide. Share with them and find help through
them.
4.2. Detachment from the worldly way of life:
You have responded the call of God therefore you have to detach yourselves
from the world, follow the teaching of Jesus and live as your congregation
demands.
4.3.
Prayer: ( calling upon God in prayer) Example: (Builder calling a
civil engineer) Though God calls us
for a purpose, we are unable to respond to that call without his help. We
cannot rely on our own wisdom, strength or ability. We have to depend on Him. Therefore
our response to the vocation necessarily includes our prayer.
Conclusion:
The aim to
live a religious life should be to do the will of God , to live for the love of
humanity and to draw close to Him. The decision to enter a state of life should
be made in light of this aim, and in the presence of Christ, in prayer.
However, normally God’s will is not immediately manifested to us, therefore
keep on praying discerning your vocation asking the Lord what are you asking me to do with my life. You may
have our own limitations, weaknesses but God has called you for a specific
purpose. May God bless you to be holy and blameless before Him. Amen.
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