32nd Sunday OT, Year C
Fr. Albert
St. Peter Catholic Church, New Iberia
One evening, on the return drive from our weekly Boy Scout meeting, my brother and I were discussing our future. It must have been toward the end of my junior year in high school because I was driving the convertible my parents had just bought me. Life was good, then. A cool car, lots of friends, video games, a beautiful date for the upcoming prom, and not a lot to worry about. Anyway, my brother got on a tangent about his ideal career which was, incidentally, not a career at all. “I want to win the lottery at 20,” he announced, “and retire right away so I can spend my life doing whatever I want.” I have to admit, it did sound appealing but, it wasn’t quite what I wanted. For some reason I responded “sounds fun, but not me… there is something I am supposed to do.” I didn’t know it then, but that was my first time clearly articulating that I was feeling called to…something.
As it turns out, my brother never did win the lottery – I’m not sure he’s ever even bought a ticket – and I? I’m here before you as a priest, which explains that sense of being called. But you know what, even when my brother said he wanted to retire right away, I don’t think he really felt that way. Regardless, his dream job of winning the lottery is one shared by a lot of people – it appeals to the human desire to be comfortable… and powerful. But I think you already know what I’m going to tell you. It won’t make you happy. Even if you escape the fact that roughly 70% of people who win the lottery are totally broke within a few years, being rich and powerful does not make you happy.
You know who else knew that? The brothers mentioned in our first reading. Seven young men brutally tortured and killed right at the prime of life, full of so much potential. They gave up everything rather than disobeying God, even if was just about eating pork. We don’t see it in this passage, but the youngest brother is even offered power and wealth if would just break the law of God. From a human perspective, it doesn’t make much sense to throw your whole life away just because you happened to be born into a different religion and now refuse to give that up. This was the Greek Empire after Alexander the Great and cooperation with them would mean all kinds of human success, but they chose death. Why?
“It was from Heaven that I received [my limbs]; for the sake of his laws I disdain them; from him I hope to receive them again.” In a word, hope. Not hope in the sense of wishful thinking, but hope as in the conviction that God will deliver on his promises. If we are faithful to him until death, everything that we’ve lost along the way will be nothing compared to the final reward. Because they trusted God, and because they knew that worldly wealth and power would not make them happy, they were willing to throw everything away in order to receive the gifts of God.
God-willing, most of us probably won’t be put in a frying pan and asked to deny God, but that doesn’t mean our faith and hope aren’t tested. If they can accept death out of fidelity to God, then can we then accept a certain kind of life from that same fidelity? If God is so interested in whether or not these young men eat pork just one time in obedience to his commands, does it not stand to reason that he is really and truly concerned with how you choose to lead your entire life?
Yes. God does indeed care what you do with your life – and not because he’s controlling or manipulative, but because he wants to give you the greatest of gifts. His rewards are not arbitrary, but are rooted in what is truly good for the human person, from the eternal perspective. That is why he gives us certain commands and directions. I started with a story about my own experience of being called because I want you to seriously consider the way that God calls each and every one of us.
Today begins National Vocations Week, where Catholics in the U.S. will pray for and encourage vocations to the priesthood and religious life in a particular way. Of course, the truth is that every human being has some kind of lowercase “v” vocation – a place in God’s design. All of us, by virtue of Baptism and Confirmation, are called to work for the kingdom of God by worshipping God, spreading the Gospel, and loving our neighbors. At the natural level, human beings are called to marriage. It is written into your body and it comes from the very first command in Scripture “be fruitful and multiply.” You don’t need to discern if you are called to marriage: it is the default position. Instead, it is important to discern if God is calling you out of that default position. If not, it is important to be careful about whom you marry.
While we’re talking about marriage, consider what the Gospel says. Marriage is a great and beautiful thing and, by the grace of Jesus Christ, it can become a sacrament that signifies the unity of Christ with the Church. But, it is temporary. In heaven, we neither marry nor are given in marriage. Remember that eternal perspective we saw in the brothers of the first reading? Well, this is a bit of a game-changer. When we learn that marriage is a good, but temporary way to serve God and his kingdom, it opens us up to the radical reality of celibacy. Jesus Christ practiced celibacy and strongly recommends it for “whoever can accept it.” St. Paul likewise emphasizes the value of celibacy and encourages others to practice it. Why? Because it is a sign – a kind of “breaking-in” or “beachhead” – for the Kingdom of Heaven. It shows the world that there is a bigger perspective and a greater reality when it comes to God’s love and eternity.
Initially, almost no one is completely comfortable with promising celibacy for their whole life. Marriage is so attractive, as it should be! Yes, priests and other celibate people still feel the natural desire for marriage and a family. Sometimes, it is difficult and it can be lonely. But guess what? The same is true for marriage. Sacrifice is always part of the Christian life and I know married people who work a lot harder at their vocation than I do at mine. But all of that is besides the point. When should a person become a religious sister, a nun, a brother, or a priest? When God calls them. Look at the example of the men in our first reading; learn to make God’s promises a central part of your decision making about your future. The question shouldn’t be “what do I want to be” or “what job will make me wealthy and powerful,” but “what does God want me to do with my life?” I am happy and I know many happy priests, brothers, sisters, and nuns – they are some of the happiest people I know and most of them weren’t exactly thrilled the first time they heard the call, but they kept listening. They kept trusting God and taking little steps – God always rewards fidelity and sacrifice.
As we go into the Eucharistic prayer, I want to you to be listening for what God wants you to do. Especially when I elevate the Body and Blood of Jesus, ask our Lord to make his will known to you. If you are young and undecided, please be open to the religious life or the priesthood. If you are married or advanced in years, listen for the “call within a call” and the ways that you can refine and sharpen your vocation to respond to the specific situation of your life. If you hear nothing, keep listening because I can guarantee one thing. If you are a Christian, then you are called to some kind of service, sacrifice, or way of life so that, by God’s Grace, “the word of the Lord may speed forward and be glorified.”