{"id":915,"date":"2016-12-18T07:18:39","date_gmt":"2016-12-18T12:18:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/?p=915"},"modified":"2016-12-19T07:22:13","modified_gmt":"2016-12-19T12:22:13","slug":"you-are-being-called","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/?p=915","title":{"rendered":"You Are Being Called!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fourth Sunday of Advent<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Is 7: 10-14; Ro 1: 1-7; Mt 1: 18-35<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Deacon Larry Brockman<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Isn\u2019t it exciting!\u00a0 The Lord is coming and he is inviting all of us to follow in his footsteps.\u00a0 We are being called, all of us.\u00a0 That\u2019s Paul\u2019s exciting message this morning.<\/p>\n

Here again is what Paul said:\u00a0 \u201cThrough him we have received the grace of apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith, for the sake of his name, among all the Gentiles,\u00a0<\/sup> among whom are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ\u201d.\u00a0 And that\u2019s exciting for two reasons:\u00a0 First, that Jesus extended the chosen people from the Israelis to all nations, the Gentiles; and second, that we are all actually being \u201ccalled\u201d.<\/p>\n

Yes, you and I and everyone else are being called by God.\u00a0 And it is that second part, being called, that most people don\u2019t really appreciate.<\/p>\n

I heard a very interesting interview recently with President Elect Donald Trump.\u00a0 What really struck me were his words about \u201cbeing called\u201d.\u00a0 Now this man has been known a real estate tycoon, a business man, and a lot of other things during his life; but now he feels that he has been \u201ccalled\u201d.\u00a0 This was the essence of his response to questions in the interview.\u00a0 He feels that his \u201ccalling\u201d transcends the former emphasis in his life in business and real estate.\u00a0 His focus now is on what he has been called to do, to be president of our country.<\/p>\n

Mr. Trump didn\u2019t specify who has called him.\u00a0 He probably thinks that he has been called by the American people; but I hope that deep down he also feels that he has been called by God.<\/p>\n

Now being called is different from other motivations for doing a job.\u00a0 We can make a conscious decision to go after something.\u00a0 That\u2019s different than a \u201ccall\u201d. \u00a0\u00a0You see, being called means that you are being wooed, solicited, sought.\u00a0 Someone else is after you.\u00a0 That\u2019s what is so special, that God is calling all of us.\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t wait for us to find him; but he is always seeking us.<\/p>\n

Now I don\u2019t know whether Mr. Trump\u2019s statements about being called are rhetoric or reality.\u00a0 For my point in this homily, it doesn\u2019t matter.\u00a0 Because, on the merits of his words alone, Mr. Trump is describing a conversion of the heart.\u00a0 When we are \u201ccalled\u201d by God and we listen to that call, and then respond to it by making a basic change in our focus on life, then we have \u201crepented\u201d and have experienced a change in heart.\u00a0 Mr. Trump\u2019s words describe the beginning of that process as he approaches his term as President.\u00a0 It remains to be seen how that process plays out for him.\u00a0 But his words illustrate the process well.<\/p>\n

So, this is an example of what Paul is talking about this morning.\u00a0 The only thing I would add about the \u201ccalling\u201d process is a little more on what it takes for this change to be true repentance.\u00a0 Repentance is a change in heart, but one in which we change from some sinful path to a righteous path.<\/p>\n

Now most people are not interested in change.\u00a0 The fact is that most of us resist change in general.\u00a0 We become used to, and in many cases comfortable with the way things are.\u00a0 And so, when we are \u201ccalled\u201d to make a change, especially for the better, we fight it, just as we avoid anything else uncomfortable.<\/p>\n

Such was the case with Ahaz in our first reading.\u00a0 The King and his Israeli subjects were simply was not interested in changing things.\u00a0 They weren\u2019t interested in following some God given sign to reform. \u00a0\u00a0They didn\u2019t want to listen to any of Isaiah\u2019s prophetic predictions.\u00a0 And so, Ahaz cleverly says that he won\u2019t ask for a sign.\u00a0 Isaiah responds by chastising the king and the Israelis about their stubbornness.\u00a0 Whether they like it or not, the Lord is going to send His Messiah.\u00a0 And that Messiah will be born of the virgin.<\/p>\n

A thousand or so years later, the Messiah arrives.\u00a0 That\u2019s our Gospel story.\u00a0 And what was striking about that arrival was the way that the Christ arrived.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t arrive as a well to do citizen anointed by the authorities to shepherd the people of Israel to a renewed worldly greatness like his ancestor King David did.\u00a0 Rather, he came as a simple peasant boy, later carpenter, later journeyman preacher; and he was anointed by the Holy Spirit, not by the authorities.\u00a0 He did come as Isaiah had predicted, born of a virgin.\u00a0 And he came as Matthew quoted the Angel, with this mission:\u00a0 \u201cFor it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/sup>She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yes, Jesus came and did His Father\u2019s will.\u00a0 And in doing so, He saved us from our sins.\u00a0 Now, we are all called to follow after Jesus Gospel example.\u00a0 It is an example that we can all understand.\u00a0 It is not hidden or protected; it is not something theoretical and transcendent.\u00a0 It is the example of one who became one of us and lived in every way as we do, but without sin.\u00a0 And all of us are \u201ccalled\u201d to it; we are actively sought to respond to it.\u00a0 We don\u2019t have to seek it; it is being continually offered to us.<\/p>\n

Yes, you and I are called; and that is so exciting!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fourth Sunday of Advent Is 7: 10-14; Ro 1: 1-7; Mt 1: 18-35 Deacon Larry Brockman Isn\u2019t it exciting!\u00a0 The Lord is coming and he is inviting all of us to follow in his footsteps.\u00a0 We are being called, all of us.\u00a0 That\u2019s Paul\u2019s exciting message this morning. Here again is what Paul said:\u00a0 \u201cThrough […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,6],"tags":[447],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/915"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=915"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/915\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":916,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/915\/revisions\/916"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}