The ancients knew something about it. Both
the “Odyssey” and the “Aeneid” tell stories of
men confronting terrific hazards in their quest
for home. The “Odyssey” recounts Odysseus’
danger-filled journey to Ithaca after the siege
of Troy. On the journey back he loses all of his
companions, and upon his return to Ithaca he
has to vanquish all of his wife’s suitors in order
to win her back. In his “Aeneid” Virgil tells us of
Aeneas’ flight from Troy and his quest to found
the city of Rome, his new home. Both Homer and
Virgil understood that at its heart the human
story is all about the journey home. This intu
ition is confirmed and filled-out all throughout
the narrative of the Scriptures. From beginning
to end they tell the story of a loving, heavenly
father calling his children home to the kingdom.
At the narrative’s climax, recounted in the Gos-
pels, we learn that our father’s desire to bring us
home is so intense that he has gone so far as to
send us his beloved son to extend to us the final,
definitive invitation.
Any discussion of ‘vocations’ must take place
within this context. As a stand-alone entity the
concept makes no sense. At its core, each vocation
is a particular, unique instantiation of the fa-
ther’s summons to the true homeland of the king-
dom. The etymological root of the word ‘vocation’
points in this direction. The word is derived from
the Latin verb “vocare” – “to call.” Thus, through
the son the father calls each one of us home.
But why does the summons take on such a
personal texture? Why isn’t it a generic call to
order? Because the kingdom is a communion of
love, and love is never generic. It is personal to
the core. A lover’s affection is always directed
to a specific beloved, and so the father’s address
to each of us through the son has the character
of a personal summons, a personal encounter.
It is here, at the point where the father’s sum-
mons meets us, that the drama of human life
takes place. This encounter is dramatic precisely
because genuinely loving exchanges only take
place within the context of freedom. The father
beckons us home but he cannot compel us to heed
his call. We must choose.
Our sketch is still incomplete. What does it
mean to accept the summons and set out for the
journey home? The Scriptures show us that the
summons always has the character of a mission,
a task to be accomplished. To say yes to the sum-
mons means to say yes to a mission. I can gauge
the quality of my “yes” to God’s invitation by
examining how thoroughly I have taken on the
task entrusted to me. At its base the mission is
the same for all of us. To accept the summons
requires that I accept the mission of setting out
for the journey home. I am not brought into the
Father’s house by a simple, uncorroborated “yes.”
For my “yes” to truly mean “yes” I have to give
my life to it. I say “yes” by actually setting out on
the journey. We find an early, outstanding exam-
ple of this in Abraham.
The Lord Jesus shows us that, because the
house of the father is the house of love, to set
out on the journey home means to progressively
conform our lives to the standard of love. But
there is more. He also makes known that, as the
father has invited him to cooperate in building
the house, so he now turns and invites us to share
in the work also. God dignifies us by inviting us
to labor alongside him in building the kingdom.
Each summons therefore contains a unique mis-
sion ordered to sharing in the building. This ex-
plains the multiplicity of vocations in the church.
Some are called to help in the work through
marriage and family life; others through the
ministerial priesthood; others still to some form
of consecrated life; others still in a whole array
of missions too numerous to count. To each one
is entrusted a mission that is irreplaceable and
not reproducible. No one is left out; no mission
is inconsequential. Here then is the center of the
dramatic scene. God has summoned us home by
entrusting each of us with a unique mission: How
have we responded? How are we responding now?
How will we respond from here on out?
According to the newspaper, Mark Doherty is a fourth-year student of theology at St. Patrick's Seminary and University in formation for the priesthood for the San Francisco Archdiocese. His article is deeply thoughtful, broadly encompassing and spiritually stirring, not to mention that it was succinctly and brilliantly composed. A priest who thinks and writes like this will rise in the ranks quickly. I hope he continues to publish so I can continue to be inspired by him and to quote him.
I love reading it. He hits on all the major themes that I find important. First, he talks about going home. We are from God and to God our soul yearns to return. Second, he talks about a father, our Father, sending his beloved son to "extend to us the final, definitive invitation" to return home. That is the new and everlasting covenant. [2] Third, he talks about God's unique love for each of us and that "[i]t is here, that the drama of human life takes place." All of us are created in the image of God and each of us has been imparted a part of God with differing talents and abilities. In God's eyes all talents and abilities are cherished but not in Satan's. Satan wants to sow the seeds of envy and greed, bitterness and vengeance and in my interpretation of the author's thoughts, the tension between seeing the good in all and unfairness and injustice in everything is the human drama. Fourth, he mentions that "[w]e must choose." In order to choose, we must have Free Will, an oft-repeated theme in this blog. The choices we encounter daily between good and evil defines our lives. They represent clashes between God and Satan and are always dramatic. Fifth, he tells us how we must choose, how to respond to the "final, definitive invitation," to the most important and critical R.S.V.P. in our lives, and that is by saying yes, corroborated by an action to serve God. To serve God properly, one must follow the will of God so that one can enter the house of God. Sixth, he says that "the house of the Father is the house of love." This is unconditional love, a love that is born out of humility. Finally, he tells us that loving and serving God unconditionally is just the beginning of our journey home. To actually reach home, we must participate in the work of God, by employing the gifts God has given to us individually. [3] He ends this thought with these beautiful words: "To each one is entrusted a mission that is irreplaceable and not reproducible. No one is left out; no mission is inconsequential."
May God bless us all on our individual journeys home. Let us not lose focus and stray onto paths leading us farther and farther away. When we do stray, may God lead us back onto the lighted path. Amen.
[1] Doherty, Mark. "The human story is all about the journey home." Catholic San Francisco, November 1, 2013.
[2] See http://www.salvationhistory.com/studies/lesson/covenant_the_new_and_everlasting_covenant, Section V, subsection E, paragraphs 20-24 (the paragraphs are not numbered - they are counted)
[3] The more elaborate and the more perfect the gifts, the heavier the burdens; the more modest and the more awkward and imperfect the gifts, the lighter the burdens. Nobody is given a burden that is heavier that can be carried. Regardless of the gifts and the attendant burdens, we must be thankful for the greatest gifts of all, our incarnate lives and our freedom to choose.
No comments:
Post a Comment