By Father Alonzo Cox
Over the last 12 years of my priesthood and during much of my time as a seminarian, people would ask me about my vocation story. The question would always begin with the phrase, “How did you hear the call?”
I always pondered what “the call” really was. Of course I never received a call on the phone, but what did that “call” mean in relation to my vocation to the priesthood? All three of our readings today reflect that image of “call.”
We see in our gospel of how the Lord calls the fishermen, Peter, James and John to follow him. This literal call from the Lord opens their eyes and ultimately their hearts to follow him.
This call from Jesus radically changes their lives. Jesus says to these fishermen that they would no longer be catching fish, but men. This call from Jesus would begin for his followers a call to holiness and discipleship.
No matter what our vocation may be, the Lord is calling us to holiness. Jesus is calling us to a deeper relationship with him, that is rooted in holiness. Just as the lives of Peter, James and John were radically changed by the call of Christ, so must our lives be radically transformed by the voice of the Lord Jesus.
We hear in today’s second reading from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians how Christ called Paul himself to holiness and discipleship.
Paul, who persecuted Christians, was called by Christ to bring the Good News to the community. Paul describes himself as abnormally born, unworthy of this call by Christ, but is given the grace needed to be a herald of the Gospel.
In addition to the call to holiness, the Lord calls us to mission. Our goal as disciples of the Lord is to go out and be missionaries.
In my junior year of college, my classmate and I had the joy of studying Spanish in the Dominican Republic. In addition to our language studies, we also engaged in missionary work. That work involved praying with the poor, engaging in scripture study and bringing the Eucharist to the homebound.
Each of us are called to be missionary disciples at work to build up the kingdom of God here and now.
The call to be missionaries stems from our baptism. Each of us are called to go out and baptize all nations, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. This call can lead us to be in service to the Church in so many different ways, including vocations to the priesthood and religious life. We must not be afraid to answer the call to be sent out to bring Christ to others.
My sisters and brothers, Christ calls us by name each day to bring his light and love to our community. We must never allow the distractions or the “noise” of this world to hinder our hearts from truly hearing the call of Christ to grow in holiness and discipleship. The prophet Isaiah says beautifully in our first reading after hearing the Lord, “Here I am, send me.”
Let us pray that the call Christ sends will give us the strength and the courage to say, “Here I am Lord. As broken and unworthy as I may be, send me out to be a faithful and holy witness of your love.”
Readings for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 6:1-2a, 3-8
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Luke 5:1-11
Father Cox is the pastor of St. Martin de Porres Parish, Bedford-Stuyvesant and coordinator for the vicariate of Black Catholic Concerns for the Diocese of Brooklyn.