Our vocation: spread the good news

August 18, 2002, Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

	Bishop Robert Morneau
	Questions for reflection: 1. What gift(s) has God given you? 2. What is your calling, your vocation each morning? 3. In what ways are you an agent of truth?

"God's gifts and his call are irrevocable." Thus writes St. Paul to the Romans, assuring them of the fidelity of God even in the face of disobedience and disbelief. God's gifts of creation, redemption, and sanctification cannot be revoked because of God's fidelity, his pledge of a covenant with the people. And God's call, a call that we are agents of love, reconciliation, and compassion is constant and enduring. Each morning we are given this vocation to be disciples.

The gift given to the Canaanite woman with the troubled daughter was the grace of faith. Though a foreigner to the house of Israel, this did not prevent her from approaching the Lord with trust and confidence. Her wish was not for her own well being but for that of her daughter's. Jesus healed the girl and praised the Canaanite woman for her great faith.

The scriptures do not record what happened to the mother and daughter after the healing. But we might conjecture that their "vocation" involved telling the good news of life and healing to their own people. Anyone who has a joy finds it difficult to keep it secret. They must have gone from house to house in their village proclaiming the marvels God had done for them. Receiving a gift leads logically to giving thanks and setting forth on a mission of proclamation.

The gift St. Paul rejoices in is the gift of mercy. Paul was a recipient of God's forgiveness and experienced a marvelous healing from self-righteousness and religious arrogance. Through Paul's encounter with Jesus, the risen Lord, all was made new. His own disobedience, which imprisoned him in blindness and violence, was broken. He was set free from enemies within and without.

His vocation was similar to that of the Canaanite woman: spread the good news. Healed of his disobedience, Paul set forth across the Mediterranean world to evangelize and encourage the people for whom he was responsible. His special concern was for this own people, the Jews. His wish was that they too might know God's mercy through the mystery of Jesus' healing ministry.

Isaiah had a gift. It was a vision that God's house was very large and inclusive. In fact, God's house was as large as the world and all people were called to this house of prayer. God's will is for universal salvation. But it is also a demanding vision, one that calls people to do justice and love the name of the Lord. When this call is responded to, God's house is filled with joy and deep peace. Isaiah saw broadly and deeply. What was revealed to him should fill us with hope.

And Isaiah's calling? Speak the truth whether convenient or inconvenient, in season or out of season. Truth telling is not an easy business since it can disturb those who live in darkness. An old adage should be kept in mind: "He who tells the truth should have one foot in the stirrup." Some prophets never even made it to the edge of town before they were stoned. Being an agent of truth has its price to pay but also its reward: freedom. The truth does set us free and Isaiah has set many of us free by his telling us of God's universal love and forgiveness.

Gifts and callings. When divine, irrevocable! Too often the gifts we give one another are taken back. Too often our callings go unheeded or untended. But not with God. God is faithful and true, which means that, if our faith is strong, nothing can disturb our deepest peace.

(Bp. Morneau is the auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay.)