Word to the Wise
Friday, October 21, 2022 - Friday in the 29th Week in Ordinary Time
[Eph 4:1-6 and Luke 12:54-59]I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace; one Body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. [Ephesians]
A recent "Raider Awakening" retreat at the Catholic student center here at Texas Tech University chose a line from these words of the Letter to the Ephesians as the theme of the retreat: "Worthy of the Call." That exhortation can be a constant theme in any Christian life. Can we live in "a manner worthy of the call" we have received in baptism? St. Paul's letters to the various communities he established all seem to refer to disagreements and quarrels over various aspects of community life. The First Letter to the Corinthians is a good example: factions, clothing, marriage, eucharist, etc. - all of these are mentioned.
At the parish missions I have preached, the first service always focuses on the baptismal call we have received. For so many of us, that event seems like something in the distant past. It took place when we were infants! We have a certificate somewhere in a drawer to prove it. For those who have joined the Catholic community later in life, the event tends to have a greater significance. Perhaps those of us baptized as infants could benefit from talking to the recent converts!!
In his Letter to the Romans, St. Paul reminds us that we have been baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus. That profound reality must shape our way of life - to live in a manner worthy of the call we have received. It is a daily effort, requiring not only the constant mercy of God, but the mercy of one another! AMEN