SATURDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY
- Dn. Prosper (Njoroge)
- Mar 5, 2022
- 2 min read
5TH MARCH 2022
VOCATION
Most of us, sometimes, misunderstand the word vocation. We, always mistakenly, think vocation refers only to priesthood and religious life. When we talk about vocation, it is for all and concerning one’s life and his connection with God. The term vocation comes from Latin word “vocare”, means, to call. It is God’s call to any individual to be with Him and to live according to His will so that He might use him/her to be His agent. This cannot be limited only to the priestly life or religious life. Each one of us, by the fact of the Baptism we received, has been called by God to live with Him and to be his witness to the world, his disciple, to work for the building of his Kingdom on earth.
God knows each and every one through and through. And He has plan for each. No one is left behind in the eyes of God. All of us are the same whatever and whoever we are. His eye and way of looking at us is different from ours. He looks and discern the heart, not the external. Therefore, we cannot judge nor exclude someone from God’s choice and call. This is the Message of the Gospel of Today.
The Pharisees and the Scribes judged Matthew not to be fit to the call and to be in connection with God. They look at the external situation of Matthew. Since Matthew or Levi was a tax collector, hey consider him as a public sinner; someone who is friend of money and keeping stealing from the public and the poor. This kind of office was mostly considered for the bad people. And Jesus corrected them by showing that all are the same in God’s eyes and He came to save all including the tax collector, the sick.
But what Matthew did and showed is a very good lesson for each one of us. Though he was a public sinner, and he truly was; he recognized his unworthiness and he humbled himself and decided to truly convert and change his life. Though he made very good money and had a steady employment, he gave that all up to follow Jesus and became a better person. He left the worldly riches and values, and dedicated his entire life to surrender and serve God alone and seeking his will; to be his disciple. And we can see how important Matthew was after his conversion and vocation. Levi’s immediate choice and decision is a powerful witness to Christian life. He realized that life without Christ is nothing. And that is what makes us Christian. The word Christian has a radical and three letters as suffix. If we separate the suffix from the word Christ, it became “IAN means I Am Nothing”. Therefore, as Christian, if I separate myself from Christ, I Am Nothing.
Therefore, the Gospel of today invites us to look at our life and our inner heart and discern: What is Jesus calling me today to walk away from so as to love and serve Him totally and without any hindrance?
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