Responding to God’s call to mission

God calls us in and through the story of our life; He is in the story

Feb. 6—Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading: Isaiah 6: 1-2a, 3-8; Psalm 138, R. In the sight of the angels, I will sing your praises, Lord.; 1 Corinthians 15: 3-11; Gospel—Luke 5: 1-11

The call of Peter is our call. Let me invite you to reflect on three elements of our call. One, our call is embedded in our life story. Two, our call carries with it a prophetic character. Three, the call brings forth a radical reorientation in our life.

People often ask how one gets to know God’s will or mission for them. God works in patterns that reveal to us His will. These patterns make up our life story through which God calls us to mission.

In Peter’s call, it is striking that it is Jesus who enters his life, his work as a fisherman, and within the context of his life, calls Peter. He meets us where we are.

Note, too, that Peter does not recognize Jesus at the start, but after the “miracle” of the catch, he realizes who this rabbi is.

So it is that in our life, we often fail to recognize immediately Jesus’ presence, movement and call until a “miracle,” something out of the ordinary, happens to us. As we say in Filipino, “matauhan tayo.”

This first point to reflect on, God calls us in and through the story of our life. He is in the story. We need to discover and discern his presence and providence.

Let me introduce the second point, each call having an element or elements of the prophetic call.

There are five basic elements in the prophetic call. The first element is that the call is often made at a time of distress or crisis, a crisis in the community and/or in the life of the one being called.

The call always involves God’s plan or will, i.e., he commissions the prophet to deliver his message to spur action in our world.

Like Peter, the one being called refuses or objects to the call, expressing a sense of unworthiness and thus is not up to the task or the commission.

“Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” This was Peter’s response realizing who this rabbi in front of him was. Note, too, that he addressed him as “Lord,” a title used to address the Risen Lord.

Assurance

Then after this realization and initial refusal, God gives the assurance that he who called will sustain and bring to completion the work or mission he calls the person to.

This assurance often comes with a sign that carries with it the gist of the mission: “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”

Finally, the call brings forth a radical reorientation in our life—like Peter, who was called from being a fisherman to a fisher of men and who in responding to the call leaves everything behind.

The same is true for us; as we respond to God’s call to mission, we also accept a radical reorientation in our life. This may vary according to the story of our life, for there is no generic call.

Each call is a personal call. Yes, it is a call to share in the mission of Jesus, but it is always to do so in a way particular and personal to the story of our life. The call to mission is a call to be a prophetic voice not just in words, but more so in deeds, in our way of life that must call people back to God’s plan for us.

The prophetic voice always necessitates a radical reorientation in the one who proclaims to make it credible in calling others to a radical reorientation toward God. St. Paul captures this eloquently and powerfully when he wrote: “For we do not preach ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord ... We hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us.” (2 Corinthians 4: 5, 7)

This is the radical reorientation our call asks of us and blesses us with. In the words of John the Baptist, “He must increase, I must decrease.” (John 3: 30)

Bringing Jesus into our world, now more than ever, is at the heart of the call to be a prophetic voice today.