The words of today’s Gospel
emphasize the theme of vocation.
Vocation is an essential element of the Christian life, and each
Christian person has a special vocation, which God gives to him for his
salvation and the salvation of the whole world.
An example of vocation, which the Gospel gives to us, is the vocation of
the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and James and John. The Lord Jesus Christ says to them: “Come
follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Being a fisher of men means to
value the salvation of souls before all other things, and to work for this goal
with great zeal and devotion. The
fisherman knows that his life depends on the life of the fish. The fisher of men knows that his everlasting
salvation depends on the preaching of the Gospel, which the fisherman is called
to preach.
This
story is similar to several stories that come to us from the Old Testament,
which demonstrate for us the true meaning of vocation. First of all, there is the vocation of the
Patriarch Abraham. God called Abraham to
leave his land, his family and people, and to go to the land, which God would
show him. By means of this vocation, we
know that true vocation has to separate us from our dependence on worldly
things. In true vocation, we choose God,
and therefore we abandon all other things.
Similar
to this is the vocation of the Prophet Moses.
The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a fiery burning bush. The Lord told him to return to Egypt and to
lead the people of Israel to deliverance and freedom. When he doubted his ability to fulfill this
task, God promised to help him with divine grace. When God calls us to work for the salvation
of souls, He also promises to help us.
We labour with the power of God.
The
vocation of the Prophet Eliseus is also an important example for us. The First Book of Kings says to us: “Elias
left that place and found Eliseus, the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with
twelve teams of oxen; he himself was following the twelfth team. Elias came up beside him and covered him with
his cloak. Eliseus, leaving the team of
oxen, ran after Elias and said: “Allow me to kiss my father and mother, then I
will come and follow you.” Elias replied to him: Go, turn back, what have I
done to you? Eliseus left him, took the team of oxen and butchered it, and
building a fire, he cooked the oxen and distributed the food to the people, so
that they could eat. Then, he rose up to
follow Elias and serve him.” This shows us another aspect of true vocation. When God calls us, we must give everything
that we have. The vocation from the Lord
requires total commitment.
Each
of us has a special vocation. Let us
pray that He will give to us all these signs of true vocation; that he will
separate us from dependence on worldly things; that he will help us with His
power; that He will give us the grace for perfect sacrifice. Let us pray to God that He will give us the
spirit of sacrifice, for the salvation of souls is highest priority.
This
spirit of sacrifice was the constant attribute of St. John the Baptist, whose
nativity we celebrate today. From the
time that he was an infant, he was an example of the ascetic life. The New Testament tells us about his customs
of fasting and poor clothing, as well as his life in the desert. Saint John chose to follow the Lord God, and
therefore he abandoned all other things.
In a similar way, we need to choose to follow the Lord, and thus to
abandon care concerning all other things.
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