God’s call to us Jer 31:7-9; Ps 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6; Heb 5:1-6; Mk 10:46-52 My brother and I were not raised within any faith tradition. Both of my parents were raised Catholic, but they left the church long before either my brother or I were born. I started to feel a spiritual call in my early 20s, and I began exploring different religions to see if I could find a place to call home. But I knew from the start where I would end up. When I was a little girl, I loved to stare at the rosary my Nana had on her bedroom wall. Something about it called to me and calmed me. I had been to many different churches over the years. I had been to weddings, funerals and even some regular Sunday services after sleeping over at a friend’s house. I never felt anything in those churches. But the day I walked through a Catholic church by happenstance, I felt the same calm feeling I had felt when I would look at my Nana’s rosary. But when I began my “spiritual journey,” I fought tooth and nail against the call I knew I was feeling. I came up with many intellectual objections and reasons why I did not want to be Catholic. But there was only one true reason: fear. I was afraid of what my family and friends would think of me. Neither my family nor most of my friends were religious. Many of them were staunchly against religion. I was afraid they would look down on me or think less of me. I was afraid of the sacrifices I might have to make. I was afraid of how my life would change. This was the true root of my fear: change. Because that is what God truly asks of us. Radical transformation. This transformation can be frightening because it often comes as the result of sacrifice. The prophet Jeremiah (20:7-9) tells of how isolated he has become as a result of following God’s call. He is the laughingstock of the neighborhood now. Yet he tells us that he had no choice in the matter. God’s call was too powerful. When he tried to ignore it, his body became like a prison and his heart burned within him until he stopped fighting and became the prophet he was called to be. My life changed when I finally accepted God’s call and went through the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults process. Being a part of the church is not always easy. It is a challenge. But it has been one of the most rewarding journeys of my life. No matter what we do or how we try to hide from God’s call, we will not feel right until we take the path that we know in our hearts God has laid out for us. We may even have family or friends who unknowingly encourage us to avoid our call, like Peter when he rebuked Jesus (Mt 16:22). In today’s Gospel, we see the community attempting to silence the blind man as he calls for Jesus (Mk 10:48). He keeps calling out to Jesus despite their condemnations. When he receives Jesus’ call, he springs up without hesitation. Then he follows Jesus on the way (10:52). In other words, he decided to follow Jesus as one of his disciples. This blind man offers an important lesson about responding to God’s call. He knew in his heart that Jesus could heal him, but he knew that accepting this healing was not his only call from God. He recognized that following Jesus was the true call he was receiving. This is the challenge presented to us in life. We must learn to recognize and accept God’s call. Until then, our hearts will burn, our flesh will pine and our souls will be as dry as a desert. As scary as it can sometimes seem to trust God’s will and to let ourselves be transformed, we will never be settled until we let go of our fear and follow the pull of the Holy Spirit.
About the Author Kate Oxsen is an assistant professor of Old Testament studies at Catholic Theological Union.