The Call

JESUS CALLING

Today we read of Jesus walking along the Sea of Galilee, finding Simon and  Andrew and then later James and John. He issued a life changing invitation to them, to leave their respective profession of fishing and follow him.  We don't read of the men pondering this invitation, nor do we hear of them talking it over with family members or friends. The four abandon their nets and immediately follow Jesus.

Calling of the Apostles Peter & Andrew” Lorenzo Veneziano, c1370

For most of us the call to follow Christ is more subtle. It occurs daily in our challenges with life situations or for others it can be a sickness, tragedy, or life changing event. Somewhere there is a beckoning to make a change in our ways or even professions. But rarely, do we drop all that we are doing and make an immediate change. And the call it seems never comes directly from Jesus. As matter of fact when we think of calls, most of us think of our cell phones. Pardon the reference as I imagine most of us think of the old landline phones that many of us grew up with.

OF PHONE CALLS

So let me deviate a bit. Having grown up with a landline phone in a rural area a phone call usually prompted everyone to rush to the phone to pick it up as calls were not very common. There was always the question to our parents, "Who is it?" Such excitement. There was very little privacy in the call as one could not meander through the house to escape prying siblings our even parents. What was said was heard by everyone. The area that I grew up in initially had party lines in which the phone lines were actually shared by neighbors nearby so you could actually hear conversations while you were talking. However,  a call late at night or early morning hours indicated that something was wrong, much like today. This in itself might be a life changing event that could possibly in some way be a call for compassion, assistance, and other qualities that are consistent with being a Christian.

In the day and age of cell phones we can choose to answer a call when it occurs, ignore it if we are busy, or even eventually block it so that we never receive a call from that number again. I am sure that like myself you receive calls from telemarketers of which you have taken that very action. Thus we filter our calls. We can identify who is calling us as we have input numbers our contacts. We can even do face to face calls via Facetime, Skype, Google Hangouts, and the like. It seems like the actions are unlimited. But do we have time for the call that is more subtle, the prompting of the Holy Spirit?

DAILY CALLS

I am called daily to take the unextraordinary actions of not judging, not engaging in rumormongering, and a host of other actions. These promptings come from the small voice that usually is accompanied from a Scriptural reference or reflection I might have read earlier. I have yet to receive a call from a voice that is overbearing and demanding nor have I received a call from God on my phone during Mass. These actions which I take lead to the greater call of Christ which is similar to that of the disciples mentioned in the Gospel. Come follow me. It is life changing although not as abrupt.

AND THE FINAL CALL

The call to follow Christ is also full of challenges. The four men called could not predict where they would go nor their martyrdom. Jesus himself in the Gospel passage has taken the bold action of following John, most likely knowing where it would take him. So the call to follow Christ is a faith-based decision not be taken lightly. For me knowing that this call is really many calls and not just "the call" is a reality of a Christ-filled life. It is full of decisions that I make every that can have a lasting effect on those I interact with. There can be the difficult calls to repentance and to mend broken relationships. It can be the call to love those that seem unlovable. It can be in this day and age of secular humanism to call to rise above the fray and speak my true convictions without regard to what people might think of me or possible repercussions. It is the call of what is called a Christian.