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OUR CALLING AS A VOCATION

SCRIPTURE READINGS
JEREMIAH 23:1-6
EPHESIANS 2:11-22
MARK 6:30-34, 53-56

REFLECTION

“Our calling as a vocation” is the theme for our reflection. Our calling is God’s gracious salvation and divine appointment or selection of a believer to partake in His mission in the world. Vocation, on the other hand, is our faithful and lifetime dedication to a particular duty assigned to us by God. Our calling as a vocation therefore means God has graciously saved us through Jesus Christ and has appointed every believer to serve Him faithfully in the furtherance of His mission of saving the world. Our calling as a vocation, also means a lifetime commitment to serve God all the days of our lives on earth in whichever assignment or ministry we find ourselves. We shall reflect on the fact that

1. Our calling as Christian leaders is a vocation.
2. Our calling to become children of God is a vocation.

Firstly, it is important to note that as Christians, our calling as leaders both in the Church and society is a vocation. It is a vocation because it is a lifetime duty or ministry to represent God as shepherds or caretakers of His people. Examples of leaders who must take their calling as a vocation are Pastors, Catechists, Presbyters, Members of Parliament, Ministers of state, Presidents, Judges, Chiefs, Parents and any person or group of persons who are put in charge of the welfare of others and are expected to provide guidance or direction. In other words, we are stewards of God’s people and are accountable to Him. It is for this reason when the leaders of Israel failed to provide leadership and care for the nation, Jeremiah said to them, “Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the LORD. 2 Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 23:1-2) The calling of leadership is a vocation that requires faithfulness to God and dedicating oneself with compassion and love towards the welfare of the people God has placed under our leadership or care. Jesus is the perfect example of a leader or Shepherd who understood His calling as a vocation, because when “…he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.” (Mark 6:34) Again, we are told, “When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. 54 And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him 55 and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.” (Mark 6:53-56) Beloved in the Lord, what is the main motive of people desiring to become leaders or shepherds in church or society? Is it calling or desire to provide godly and progressive leadership or amass wealth and abuse power for selfish gains? Do leaders who are Christians see their calling to be more of a profession(money-focused) than a vocation(service-focused)? Do leaders who are Christians see their calling as business or a vocation? Any godly leader who sees his or her calling as a vocation will always do the will of God concerning the people placed under his or her care. What is the will of God? The will of God is to “do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8) Again, the will of God to leaders is seen in Jesus’ instruction to Peter, “Tend my sheep” (John 21:16).  Tending God’s people or sheep requires selflessness, compassion, justice, respect for human dignity, probity, accountability and responsible management of state funds and resources while totally eschewing corruption. We are greatly admonished in Proverbs 29:2, “When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan.“

Secondly, apart from the call of leadership as a vocation, our entire Christian life is a calling that must be lived as a vocation. In other words, we must all dedicate our entire life to the service of God as people who were once upon a time strangers or unwelcomed sinners but have now been saved by grace to the glory of God. Paul reiterates this fact when he wrote, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22) If we are no longer strangers and aliens, then we must faithfully dedicate ourselves to our vocation of serving God all the days of our lives. As strangers or aliens who have been saved through grace, one of the key callings in our vocation is found in Matthew 28:18-20 when Jesus said to the disciples “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20) In other words, we have a vocation or a lifetime commitment to evangelize or spread the Good News as believers wherever we find ourselves so that those who are still strangers or aliens beyond the wall of salvation will have access to the saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is part of your vocation to “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season;” 2 Timothy 4:2)

In summary, we have learned that our calling as Christian leaders is a vocation. Again, our calling to become children of God is also a vocation. May the Holy Spirit continue to strengthen us to remain faithful to our calling even as we discharge the duties of our vocation. Amen.