Call, Choice & Condition
May 12, 2019 - Fourth Sunday in Easter
Acts 13: 14, 43-52; Rev 7: 9, 14-17; Jn 10: 27-30
When I am lifted up, I shall draw everyone to myself said Jesus when he was around. And after his resurrection that is what he did. He drew everyone to him. It was not merely incidental, it was always part of God's magnificent plan. Yes, it is a plan for the whole humanity, 'beginning with the Jews' as St. Paul would often point out! But what happens depends on three considerations: the call, the choice and the condition!
THE CALL is given to every one, there is no Jew or Greek, Christian or not! The first reading today speaks of that shift that took place from the Jews to the entire world, within the salvific plan of God. Paul and Barnabas pay heed to that call... the call to go to the entire world, the call to be the light to the nations, the call to reach out to the ends of the earth.
The call to belong is universal, every one is called to come and belong! Recently speaking to a group of youngsters, I found them struggling to understand how everyone will be saved, if only those who believe in Christ could be saved. I almost had to shove it down their throat to believe that the Father wills the salvation of ALL. And yes, salvation is through Jesus Christ alone! And the Father will see to it, that the whole creation is reconciled in Christ Jesus our Lord. The call to belong is for every one!
The call to belong is universal, every one is called to come and belong! Recently speaking to a group of youngsters, I found them struggling to understand how everyone will be saved, if only those who believe in Christ could be saved. I almost had to shove it down their throat to believe that the Father wills the salvation of ALL. And yes, salvation is through Jesus Christ alone! And the Father will see to it, that the whole creation is reconciled in Christ Jesus our Lord. The call to belong is for every one!
THE CHOICE is mine to make! I have to make a choice and when I don't make a choice to belong to the Lord, of course the Lord misses me, but loses nothing; whereas I lose everything! The apostles tried their best to impress this upon their fellow Jews, but nothing would change them. They would make a choice for their own supremacy and their own comfort and their own life style!
This is where the hitch lies; though it is God's will that everyone heed the call to belong, God will never force it on anyone - that is not God's style! The possibility is offered to me: behold, I place before you life and death, salvation and ruin, eternity and end, says the Lord. What is going to be my choice today? To belong to the Lord or continue in the way I think best?
This is where the hitch lies; though it is God's will that everyone heed the call to belong, God will never force it on anyone - that is not God's style! The possibility is offered to me: behold, I place before you life and death, salvation and ruin, eternity and end, says the Lord. What is going to be my choice today? To belong to the Lord or continue in the way I think best?
THE CONDITION that the Lord places is just one: that I listen! I should know my Master and listen to my Master's voice. Isaiah has a very pointed way of saying it, when he says even the donkeys know their stable and the asses their master! At times we are very enthusiastic and we COME...the sad fact is that we fail to BELONG. My own know me, and they follow my voice, says the Lord.
We too, begin with so much enthusiasm only to soon find some excuses to fall by and give up. If only we can work out of the emotional overtures and truly commit our ways to the Lord, we shall not only come, but continue to be and belong to the Lord forever. When we come, stay on and belong to the Lord there is so much joy and we are filled with the Spirit.
These are specifically the two signs of our total belonging to the Master: being Joyful and being Spirit-filled: a joy that no one can take away and the Spirit that enlightens every bit of my daily life... what more do we need?
We too, begin with so much enthusiasm only to soon find some excuses to fall by and give up. If only we can work out of the emotional overtures and truly commit our ways to the Lord, we shall not only come, but continue to be and belong to the Lord forever. When we come, stay on and belong to the Lord there is so much joy and we are filled with the Spirit.
These are specifically the two signs of our total belonging to the Master: being Joyful and being Spirit-filled: a joy that no one can take away and the Spirit that enlightens every bit of my daily life... what more do we need?