Homily for the Week of March 16, 2014

Second Sunday of Lent, 2014

Genesis 12:1-4a;  Psalm 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22; 2 Timothy 1:8b-10 ; Matthew 17:1-9

         Growing up Catholic, I thought the only people actually called by God were priests and nuns. They alone received some special, heavenly invitation to carry on Jesus' work. Though I also heard that married and single people were called to their particular way of life, What it practically boiled down to was that if you aren't called to be a priest or nun, you could assume you were probably being called to be married. But if you weren't married, then God must have designated you to be single.

         I discovered years later that such a reason has nothing to do with the Bible. On reading and studying the Bible I learned that priests in the Bible weren't called; they were born. Only those men belonging to a specific Jewish tribe, clan and family could be priests. No one went into a seminary and studied to be one. But all of this changed with Jesus. Most of you have heard the word priesthood at Mass and at Baptism or other Catholic events. Priesthood means all of the followers of Jesus, not just a few men who were born to be priests.

         Those who wrote the books of the Bible knew nothing of a distinction between clergy and laity as we speak of it today. Biblical people are simply called to be disciples of God or Jesus. Specific tasks or ministries might eventually surface within those calls, but the call itself is always open-ended.

         Our second reading today reminds us of one of the most important aspects of such calls: There's no rhyme or reason for one person to be called and not another. We can't do anything to prepare ourselves for it, except to keep our ears open.

         You just heard that God saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to his own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began, but now made manifest through the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus.

         Today's first reading contains the Bible first call. God calls Abram. He and his wife Sarai are the first humans to have God as their God. Their call will set the pattern for all other biblical calls. The Bible tells us that Abram was 75, an age when most people are looking at the last stage of their life, not starting a new one. But the call of Abram has important meaning and suggestions for us.

         The first element to note is God’s command: "Go!" God always demand we move. We're expected to leave the "place" -- either geographical or psychological -- where we're comfortable and go somewhere else. No one in the Bible is ever told, "Stay right where you are! Don't move a muscle!" God always expects us to change our position: either to alter our physical location or our frame of mind. Those who are called should always have their bags packed.

         Second, our relocation always includes some insecurity. In Abram's case, he and his wife are expected to "Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and from your father's house." We're expected to abandon what once provided us comfort and stability.

         What do we get in exchange? We're never quite certain.

         Abram and Sarai are to go to "a land that I will show you." Where that will geographically take them is never detailed in the actual call. Likewise, Jesus' disciples on the mountain are simply expected to "Follow him" to a unique destination in which humans will be more important to them than fish.

         Biblical callers can never be sued for breach of promise. The person called is never told the exact particulars of the call. Once they relinquish their security, they begin to experience a process of wonderment and discovery.

         Notice also that Abram is called to follow an actual person. Unless he first gives himself over to God, he'll never find out where God is leading him. Jesus expects the same of his followers.

         Anyone who has ever given themselves over to another person -- especially in marriage -- realizes that the discovery of where you're going is also a discovery of the person traveling with you.

         This happens in today's Gospel passage. Jesus' followers eventually discover qualities in him they never noticed during their first encounter on the Galilean seashore. He's the God among us for whom they and their fellow Jews have been longing.

         If we buy into the theology that only special people in the faith community receive calls, we'll have a hard time hearing God or the risen Jesus calling us.  All of us are called to participate in God's saving actions. But if we don't notice that we're even being called, God's salvation is going to take a longer time to be realized than God originally intended. The Transfiguration is a promise and a reassurance that, if we encounter Christ, we will receive all the strength we need for whatever He calls us to do.  We will go beyond our fears. We will experience joy.