Joshua 24:1-13
Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel together at Shechem; then he called the elders, leaders, judges and scribes of Israel, and they presented themselves before God. Then Joshua said to all the people:
“The Lord the God of Israel says this, ‘In ancient days your ancestors lived beyond the River – such was Terah the father of Abraham and of Nahor – and they served other gods. Then I brought your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan. I increased his descendants and gave him Isaac. To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the mountain country of Seir as his possession. Jacob and his sons went down into Egypt. Then I sent Moses and Aaron and plagued Egypt with the wonders that I worked there. So I brought you out of it. I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, and you came to the Sea; the Egyptians pursued your ancestors with chariots and horsemen as far as the Sea of Reeds. There they called to the Lord, and he spread a think fog between you and the Egyptians, and made the sea go back on them and cover them. You saw with your own eyes the things I did in Egypt. Then for a long time you lived in the wilderness, until I brought you into the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan; they made war on you and I gave them into your hands; you took possession of their country because I destroyed them before you. Next, Balak son of Zippor the king of Moab arose to make war on Israel, and sent for Balaam son of Beor to come and curse you. But I would not listen to Balaam; instead, he had to bless you, and I saved you from his hand.
‘When you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho, those who held Jericho fought against you, as did the Amorites and Perizzites, the Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, but I put them all into your power. I sent out hornets in front of you, which drove the two Amorite kings before you; this was not the work of your sword or your bow. I gave you a land where you never toiled, you live in towns you never built; you eat now from vineyards and olive groves you never planted.’”
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Matthew 19:3-12
Some Pharisees approached Jesus, and to test him they said, “Is it against the Law for a man to divorce his wife on any pretext whatever?” He answered, “Have you not read that the creator from the beginning made them male and female and that he said: This is why a man must leave father and mother, and cling to his wife, and the two become one body? They are no longer two, therefore, but one body. So then, what God has united, man must not divide.”
They said to him, “Then why did Moses command that a writ of dismissal should be given in cases of divorce?” “It was because you were so unteachable that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but it was not like this from the beginning. Now I say this to you: the man who divorces his wife – I am not speaking of fornication – and marries another, is guilty of adultery.”
The disciples said to him, “If that is how things are between husband and wife, it is not advisable to marry.” But he replied, “It is not everyone who can accept what I have said, but only those to whom it is granted. There are eunuchs born that way from their mother’s womb, there are eunuchs made so by men and there are eunuchs who have made themselves that way for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.”
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When you hear the word “vocation”, what is the first thing that you think of? No doubt you will think of the priesthood and religious life. But is that all there is to vocation? How about married life? Is that not a vocation?
To clarify, as human beings, we all have one ultimate vocation in life – to know God more, to serve God more, to love God more, and to be happy with him in Heaven. However, there are three different ways of properly expressing this one ultimate vocation in life. They are: blessed singlehood, married life, and religious life. But these three expressions are of the same vocation.
Each one of us is called to a specific expression of that vocation, and it is up to us to cooperate with God as he reveals to us what our specific vocation in life is. Does this mean that if we make a mistake, we are doomed to live an unhappy life? No, definitely not. If we were, then we wouldn’t have free will to say ‘no’ without fear of consequence, would we? When it comes to choosing our specific vocation, we can say ‘no’ to God and still be relatively happy in life.
The point of vocation is, in a word, to make us holy and to prepare us for life with God in Heaven. As such, it is of utmost important to remember that whether we are single, married, or in the religious life, our experiences that pertain to our specific vocation all have the purpose of making us holy. It is helpful to remember that when we are caught up with the mundane tasks of life.
Cooking and cleaning, paying the bills, raising children, making up with the spouse after a quarrel, being patient with screaming kids and complaining parents and in-laws… they are all part of God’s plan to make us holy and loving people. Similarly for priests and religious having to listen to the incessant complaints of parishioners, the long-winded explanations given by people in ministry, the politics faced at meetings and within the parish or church organization… they are all part of God’s plan to make us holy.
Our vocation in life is, after all, to become holy people ready for Heaven. But we cannot do this on our own. When we read the first reading, we see how much God has done for the Israelites, we are forced to look at ourselves and realise that, no matter how much we try, no matter how good we are, we can never become holy people on our own strength. Only God can make us holy, and only if we let him.
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Prayer:
Dear God, please help us today, that when we are faced with a particularly trying person or situation, that we remember that this experience, if dealt with lovingly, is going to be part of our ticket to Heaven.
Give Thanks to the Lord for: Calling us to know you more, to serve you more, to love you more, and to be happy with you in Heaven.
Filed under: Daily Reflections, Discernment
