The following seven meditations appeared in the third week of August, 2019 by the Upper Room "Disciplines."
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Baby brother came home from hospital with his proud parents, to meet his sister. The four year old asked her mom and dad if she could be with her brother alone. Anxiously, they allowed her. She went into the baby’s room, closed the door, and moved towards the crib. Her parents, their ears peeled to the door, listened as she whispered, “Quick, tell me who made you. Tell me where you came from. I’m beginning to forget!”
When the Lord God called young Jeremiah, God made sure that Jeremiah would not forget who he was and to Whom he belonged to. “Before I formed you … I knew you… I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations” (v. 5) Jeremiah wasn’t sure if he believed God or could fulfill His call. … “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy” (v. 6).
When the bishop laid his hands on my head and intoned the timeless words, “Take thou authority as an elder to preach the Word of God….” Like Jeremiah, I wasn’t quite sure I could fulfill God’s call in my life either, “…. for I [was] only a boy” (v. 6).
The Latin word, “vocatus” means to be called or summoned by an authority. It also means a calling or a vocation. Whether we are ministers, laypersons, professionals, or in the trades., we are all called and given a mission. In the new Revelation, Christ Jesus calls us as he did the disciples. The stakes are higher than with Jeremiah. Christ invites us to co-create with Him in the Reign of God, today and into eternity. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” (Matthew 28:19).
Prayer: God of prevenient grace, when you call, am I listening?
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