Being "called"

Have been praying the passage on Jesus' baptism. The Spiritual Exercises asks the retreatant to imagine that at some point, Jesus leaves his hometown of Nazareth, saying goodbye to his mother. I imagined how he came to that decision.......perhaps through his years of waiting on the Father, he had developed a discerning heart and knew when the time was right. I imagined how his long years of preparation brought him to this significant entry into his life of ministry. It's amazing how often we just jump into ministry, whether prepared or not, whether led by God or not! And through the years, during times of struggle, the confusion and discouragement sets in.

Our Lord was well prepared for the "call". For us it is more often a longer process of trial and error, as we take small steps to discern God's direction for us. Perhaps it is because we have so many 'baggages' to let go, and it takes us time to let go, slowly and one by one, even though conceptually we 'know' that God can be trusted fully and completely.

From the baptism passages, after appreciating Jesus' "call", we are told to meditate on our "call". One of the passages, on "Zacchaeus" was significant for me. I noticed just how keen he was to meet Jesus. Nothing deterred him - not what others might have thought of him (his reputation of being a sinner), or how he looked (short stature). It is therefore not too surprising how he responded to Jesus - willing to give up his 'baggages' - those things that kept him from Jesus. I found myself also wanting to 'give over' those things that have a hold on me - particularly the worries and fears (that sounds better when i call them 'concerns'). It is amazing that when one focuses on Jesus, it is true that "the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace". Most times, our eyes/ears/senses are distracted in a myriad of ways. Lord, have mercy and help us turn our eyes upon you.