Our Call in the Moment

So often when we think of our calling in life or we hear about "the call" on someone else's life, we think of a vocation or a grand direction....and usually it is a desire or compulsion to pursue an occupation such as the feeling you are being called to be a doctor, or a missionary, or priest. Of course there are not-for-pay callings too such as being a stay-at-home mom (or dad) or being a deacon. And certainly there are callings to marriage, or virginity, or celibacy. All of these are examples of God's stirring something in us that desires to live a certain way and/or perform a certain job. But the other day while I was praying...seeking to surrender my will to His, I found myself asking God to help me hear and recognize His call not in this big sense...but in a much smaller sense. I asked him to help me hear His call in each moment. I didn't think about these words before I said them, but once I did, I quickly suspected that maybe I had just been given a bit of Divine insight.

Many theologians (Protestant and Catholic) have written and preached about how each of us have God-appointed tasks to do in life or God-given duties to perform. And there can be no doubt that God directs us and leads us to our occupations and roles in life...if we let Him. (I love the line in one of St. Therese's prayer: "May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.") But I feel like maybe there is an opportunity to draw closer to Him if we usurp the idea of a calling...or of God's call...from it's normal context and see it at its core.

God's call is not about our making a one time decision or about His occasionally pointing us in a certain direction. Rather God's call is more basic. It is His voice in our lives...urging us to follow along the perfect plan He has for us. God's calling is dynamic and specific. It is not measured in lifetime achievement or years of service....but rather it is measured in seconds...in the outcome of individual moments. You see....this is where He lives. He is in the Now...He is the Present. If we accept this premise...that ultimately our "calling" is just God's appointed direction...which is to say action...in our lives, then we can see that "His call" is more than roles and occupations. In fact, I think maybe we need to see that is His call is really just for each of us to obey Him in every moment...To act like His Son in every situation. In other words, God's calling on our life is much more granular than what we normally think. God is much more personal! God has a specific plan...a desired action...for each one of us in each moment. He wants to be there and help us in every situation. He wants to lead us in every moment of our lives. He loves us THAT much.

And how can we not trust His direction? He sees beyond us...beyond this moment. He not only knows the moment we are currently in, but had already been there before us. He sees the actions that will most benefit us...and the actions that will most benefit those around us.

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)

And so He calls to us...longing to directs us and guides us along our best path...not just the big picture path...but each step, around each stone, across each crack of the journey. We don't ever have to enter a moment feeling alone...feeling lost or unsure. Not matter what the moment looks like...God is there...calling us.

So yes...we all have a calling. And yes...God has appointed-tasks for us in life. Most of us have to work...and all of us have roles to fulfill. But more than being a doctor, a missionary, or a priest...He wants us to be a healer, a servant, and yes even to be His Son...in every moment of our lives. So I guess that means that you and I need to forget the "big" question and begin asking God the smaller question (over and over again)...what is Your call for me in this moment?

Lenten Thoughts: Recalculating

I don't think I have ever used my GPS on a trip and not heard the system announce "recalculating." And usually I hear it multiple times. For any number of reasons it's just hard to consistently stay on corse and follow each and every direction. Many times the reasons are my fault, but sometimes it's just a matter of "life" just not working out as planned (such as when there is no road where the GPS says we are suppose to turn right). What I realized last night (Ash Wednesday) is that this is true for both traveling down the highway...and traveling through life. And as our pastor pointed out, what an incredible metaphor for Lent.

Lent is a time for us to reflect on and be transformed and renewed by Christ's Sacrifice and God's Love. It is a time for us to humble ourselves, to remember our weakness, to acknolwedge our faults. And inevitably, if we are honest and exhaustive in this exercise, we come to realize that we are not wholly where we need to be. For some of us...or maybe it is better to say that at some point in all our lives...we are significantly off course. For others...and at other points in our lives...maybe we have just drifted off the road a bit or slowed down too much or spent too much time in the rest area.

But regardless of the degree, most of us are off course...and so Lent is a time for recalculating. It's a time to assess where we are and spend maybe a little time thinking about how we got here. But most importantly, I think, Lent is a time for figuring out how to get back to where we need, and want, to be.

Sometimes we have to figure out where exactly that is. Sometimes we just know...and maybe have known for awhile. But regardless, the broader method is the same. We have to identify where we are, we have to decide where we want to go, we have to map out a plan for how to get there, and then lastly we have to resolve to follow that plan. Maybe we need to start (or re-start) a daily prayer time. Maybe it's saying the rosary on a weekly basis. Maybe it's reading the Bible more frequently. Maybe it's going on a retreat. Maybe it's reading an inspirational (and/or very practical) book by a saint. Or maybe it is a combination of all these things. Each person's path is going to be unique because God has a unique plan for each of us...and He is dying to show us what it is. Some of us already see it (and we are just not there yet). Some of us know that we saw it at some point in our life, but that seems so long ago. And some of us have never really seen it at all. But again...that is what Lent is for. This is our opportunity. All we have to do is say yes to God's Positioning System (GPS!) and He will recalculate our lives. We may have to go down some unfamiliar roads...we may have to travel through the night...but if we humble oursleves and diligently follow His directions...we'll get back on course...His course...and come Easter morning...the Son will rise...and we will find we have Life...and have it abundantly (John 10:10)!

When Worry Grips Us

Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to His disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. Matthew 26:36-37

It is always a little surreal to me saying the Rosary during Christmas time, particularly the Sorrowful mysteries. There is something about pulling the Crucifixtion into the Nativity that seems wrong...jarring. But in truth, they are one and the same. Both are saving acts from our Creator. Their significance is eternally woven together. We shouldn't see one without the other.

Besides, there is so much to learn from Jesus...and about Jesus...through His Passion. Take the passage above for instance. In just a few verses we learn at least two very practical things about Jesus...and about ourselves.

First, we learn that Jesus worried. He grieved and felt distressed. He knew what lie ahead for Him...and quite naturally...it upset Him...made Him anxious. How very human! And all the more testament to Paul's teaching:

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:15

Second, we see that Jesus thought about the future. His mind wandered, just as ours does, out of the present moment and into the not yet formed future. So often it seems we are encouraged not to worry about tomorrow. To focus on today and let tomorrow take care of itself....as if simply thinking about tomorrow...about what might be is wrong. And while no doubt Christ's words are Truth and Wisdom (Matthew 6:34), I think this very vulnerable moment in Jesus' life helps frame what He really means when He says not to worry about tomorrow.

Clearly Jesus worried (or grieved or was anxious or distressed)...and yet He was without sin. So that must mean that worrying...or maybe I should say feeling worried...is not sinful. In fact, I think we have to admit it is very human. It's in our nature. But where the real decision point comes...where the step toward or away from sin really happens...is in where we go from there....in what do we do next. And the answer to that, is found in the Garden.

And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will." Matthew 26:39

AND

He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, "My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done." Matthew 26:42

AND

And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. Matthew 26:44

Like so many aspects of our human nature, it is not our initial reaction which leads us to sin. For better or worse, we are the creatures we are...at least at this level...the level most similar to animals' "instinct". No...the decision point...the thing that determines if we take another step toward being a heavenly creature or a hellish creature (to borrow from C.S. Lewis)...is what we do after that initial reaction...what we do next. And thankfully, Jesus made it abundantly clear what we are supposed to do next. Whenever we are worried, or anxious, or grieved, or distressed, we need to go to God in prayer. We need to seek Him. We need to acknowledge His sovereignty and our weakness. When we need peace...we must go to the source of all Peace. And then...we need to let go of our worries and trust Him. Sometimes this takes work....sometimes it takes time. Jesus prayed three separate times before He completely exorcised His anxiety...His distress. So we must expect that there will be times when we will need to go back to God in prayer again...and again...and again. But if we go to Him faithfully...honestly...openly...humbly...and if we truly desire to abandon our worries and fears and instead trust Him...then Jesus teaches us...God will answer (http://www.biblestudytools.com/nas/luke/22-43.html)!