“Discipleship Doesn’t End With The Call”

I’d like to put a footnote to yesterday’s BLOG about “going deeper”. The final point made in the God’s Word Among Us article (Jan. 15, 2022) was about being ready. It says, “God is ALWAYS calling us, so we need to be on the alert at all times. We need to be ready, listening, and poised to act on the promptings of the Holy Spirit and do whatever God is asking us. Because while discipleship begins with a  call, it doesn’t end there. And for that we should give praise to God.” That is so well said. 

Back when I was a “star” on my high school basketball team, I would sometimes be coming off the bench to save the day…. the coach would shout, “hey Touhill we’re down by 50, get in there”. Well, I have to admit that sometimes “my head was not fully in the game … perhaps some of us at the end of the bench were discussing what kind of hotdog we were going to have after the game…maybe with ketchup, onions, sauerkraut… large order of fries and a milkshake…” We need to remember that when we are called, it’s important to be ready. 

It’s striking that when Jesus called the apostles, they responded immediately… check out the call of Simon, Andrew, James, John, Thomas. (Mt. 4:18-22) In the Old Testament, God called Abraham, he responded “ready”. Some 30 years ago we were on a family retreat on Mary St. The men were joined with their sons in some of the homes and the women with their daughters in other homes. I went to wake up my 5 year old son… “ Hey Pete, its’ time to get up… his eyes popped open with a big smile on his face… it was incredible …he was ready for the next adventure; he was ready for the new day.

Opportunity can surprise us at any time and we must be ready to seize the moment. This is true in sports, in school, in our job, in our family, but most importantly in our walk with the Lord. We must have our “head in the game” and be ready when the Lord draws up the next play and calls our name. It can be very simple…”take out the trash without being asked, encourage that brother with a phone call, forgive that person, get up and have your prayer time, give alms to that family, don’t eat that 3^rd piece of cake. Or it may be a larger call…. you need to leave that line of work, you need to be open to new life, you need to pursue that vocation…. Big or small, we need to be ready when the Lord calls.

So while discipleship begins with the initial call, it continues to deepen every day  into the heart of God. Let’s  accept the grace for the next steps of our great adventure.