Embracing God's Call

The Second Sunday of Lent
Today’s Readings: [Click here]

Mother Teresa once made a comment that has really stuck and resounded with me. She said, “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.”

Most of us like to think that we’re pretty much in control of our lives. But the truth of the matter is, we’ve all experienced how life has a knack for throwing an occasional monkey wrench into our plans. Sometimes, out of the blue, something unexpected comes along that seems bad—like an accident or illness or the sudden death of someone special. Or, maybe life’s curveball seems like something really good—a once-in-a-lifetime career opportunity totally out of left field or meeting an amazing person and falling into a wonderful new relationship.

The monkey wrench in all these situations, of course, is God. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that we’re like marionettes without free will and God is up above pulling the strings. Rather, I’m thinking of the famous philosophical maxim that says, “There’s no such thing as coincidence.” Everything happens for a purpose, and God—the Lord of the universe—is in charge. Plus, our faith tells us that because we’re his beloved creatures—his children—he’ll use all these little twists and turns of life, intentional or haphazard, to bring about our good and our salvation.

In our first reading today, God calls Abraham—still known as Abram at this point—to follow him. This is the first call in the whole bible! Notice what God commands him to do: Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you. God never calls anyone to “Stay put!” We’re always told to move—if not geographically, at least psychologically. Like Abraham, God asks us to leave the comfort of our own plans and the security we’ve built up through the years and begin a quest for a new security: our relationship with God.

Note also that God never tells Abraham where he’s supposed to go. It’s simply ¬a land that I shall show you. Do you know what this means? It means that God wants us to say “yes” to him before we find out where our commitment is going to lead us. In fact, our answering “yes” to God’s call is the only thing that will ever bring true fulfillment and blessing to our lives and those whose lives we touch. God guarantees that to Abraham: I will make of you a great nation… I will bless you… I will make your name great… all the communities of the earth shall find blessing in you.

It’s always this way with God. That’s the blessing that Mary was promised at the Annunciation… and in an identical way, it’s also offered to each of us.

You may be thinking: well, Abraham was one of God’s favorites—a man of deep faith, a good man. And Mary! She was conceived immaculately and never sinned. It’s different with me. I’m not like that. I know I’m far from perfect. OK, I’ll say it: I’m a sinful person.

Not to worry. Listen to the incredible words of Paul in his letter to Timothy: God saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to his own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began… Abraham did nothing before his call to merit that call. Ditto for Mary. And it’s the same with us. Our call has absolutely nothing to do with “our works.” It is simply a free gift of God, given to us out of love, based on the merits of Jesus Christ—not our merits.

Let that awesome message sink in. Popular piety often sends the opposite message. It leads us to believe that God only wants people and calls people who have led a holy life. Nonsense. If anything, God has a soft spot in his heart for those struggling with a checkered past. Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick” (Mt 9:12).

Responding to God’s call and forming a determination to follow Christ always entails an ending to our old life and a beginning of a new life. Or, to put this in Easter language, there’s always an element of dying and rising in it. That’s why Paul describes Jesus today as the one ¬who destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. Just the way that Abraham died to himself and reached fulfillment by going to the land that God led him to, we’ll also gain eternal life by imitating Christ and letting him lead us where he’ll have us go.

We can see still another dimension to all this in the transfiguration story in the gospel. Peter, James and John are privileged to see something in Jesus that most people never notice. If you pay attention to the language of the Scriptures, you’ll see that the bible is usually referred to as “the law and the prophets.” That’s why the appearance of Moses, the lawgiver, and Elijah, the prophet, demonstrate that the apostles and the early Church believe that Jesus’ message completely coincides with the message of the Hebrew Scriptures. In other words, Jesus isn’t some kind of Jewish radical or the founder of a strange, new religion. In the mind of his first followers, he’s simply someone who takes those Scriptures seriously and actually tries to live the message and lifestyle they teach.

And just as Jesus himself listened to the law and the prophets, so God tells us to listen to him. This is my beloved Son… listen to him. The core values of the Scriptures—loving God and neighbor profoundly and in all circumstances—are the core values of Jesus Christ… and if we are willing to follow him, then these must be our core values, as well. That is the essence of our call and the Christian life.

As we continue on our Lenten journey, may God touch our hearts and draw us ever closer to himself.