The Gifts and the Call of God are Irrevocable

Week of August 20, 2017

Did you ever wonder what the voice of God is like?  In our Second Reading we hear that the call of God is irrevocable.  What does it sound like?  Growing up one of the calls I received every night in the summer was the call of a parent yelling at me to come home.  My mom or dad would yell from the door of the back porch that dinner was ready.  I can remember having to leave the whiffle ball game or basketball game and run home.  The power of the call evoked an immediate response.  My friends would mock me and make fun of the call of how my parents would summon us kids home.  Being the youngest I caught the brunt of it as a child.  But there was something in that call that meant it was time to go.  There were no questions asked.  The ball was dropped and you left your friends.

The call of God is the same.  It is a summoning to the Table of the Covenant.  It is a time when reality becomes immediate.  Authority is not questioned and your feet move.  God’s call comes from all-powerful authority.  God’s call comes from a covenant of mercy created long before the world ever came into existence.  On the day of Baptism we are claimed by God and His sacramental grace is infused into the DNA of our being.  What a gift; a gift that is irrevocable.  This gift is to be lived with joy and integrity.  This gift is to be treasured each and every day of our lives.  In the First Reading the Prophet Isaiah tells us that God’s house shall be called a house of prayer for all people.  That call is also irrevocable.  So often we allow society to create lines; lines that separate and divide.  We cast out sinners who do not live like we would have them live, we make judgments upon those who do not come to Mass every week.  We cast a shadow on those who do not share the same spirituality.  The call of God and His house is irrevocable.  These doors are to be open to all.  The Muslim and the Jew are welcome here.  The Hindi and the Buddhist are welcome here.   The Baptist and Evangelical are welcome here.

The challenge for us is not that we feel called.  We do feel we are called, but our challenge is allowing others to be called as well.

Reverend John J. Ouper