Employment and occupation.
You perceive the difference between a profession and a job. Employment can be what feeds the worker and his family. Occupation is what fulfills a person. So is the vocation of a father, mother, missionary, priest, charity worker, teacher, craftsman… There is an obvious difference whether an activity is a job or a vocation for someone. In the true sense of the word, the question of vocation is also encountered today during the celebration of two great men of the Church – St. Peter and Paul. Simon is a fisherman. It is no different from its fellow tribesmen, who make a living by fishing. For Peter and some other apostles, it was a job (and maybe a vocation until they met Jesus). Jesus invites Simon to follow him. At his call, he leaves everything: family, ship, co-workers… He understands his entire following life as a response to Jesus’ call. However, his answer was tested several times, in which he did not always pass with flying colors. And yet Jesus founded the Church on him. He turned an ordinary, simple person into a rock of the Christian faith. The nobility of the profession and the wretchedness of human nature are two components of Peter’s personality. And that is still in the Church – both nobility and human wretchedness. The way to Christ at St. Paul is quite different. Small in stature but big in spirit. He attends important Jewish and Greek schools.
He was a learned rabbi, a passionate opponent of Jesus and his work on earth. “I greatly persecuted God’s Church and destroyed it. In Judaism, I surpassed many of my peers because I was more zealous for the customs of my fathers” (Gal 1:13-14), as he later admits in his letter to the Galatians. His first but true contact with Christ near Damascus means a radical change in his life. Jesus changes the life path of a young, ambitious man. He sends him to preach the good news among the Gentiles. Saul becomes Paul – the apostle of the nations. An educated man, but without material means, and on top of that sick, he familiarized the entire then-known world with Christ’s teaching. Is it even possible? What led Peter and Paul to change their lives completely? Although their life paths are different, the answer is the same: an encounter with Christ. They were willing to hear and accept the voice of Jesus. Even more, they believed in him. They let themselves be filled with the light, power, and fire of the Spirit of Jesus. They followed the vocation path that God had ordained for them. Not only the apostles, but every person has his path – calling. God offers it to each of us in a certain way. To accept the kingdom of God, as Carlo Careto says, means to take our vocation, which God prepares for us through the concrete life in which we are immersed. To know this, God precedes us. He precedes Adam, Abraham, David, Moses, Peter, Paul… He is the one who determines everyone’s calling. He calls Adam to life, he calls Abraham from his homeland, he calls David to the royal throne, he makes Moses a powerful leader, Peter and Paul his friends… We may not have to go anywhere to follow the Lord Jesus. Every Christian is called to follow the Lord Jesus and thus to salvation. This calling and following has three degrees. Let’s test where we are at the same time. According to Pseudo-Dionysus the Areopagite, there is talk of the path of purification, enlightenment, and unification (via purgative, illuminative, and unitive).
Purification: On the way to God, one must first purify oneself from everything that hinders perfection. Attention, not just a customary confession, but a sincere effort to turn away from sin. It is evident with Pavel and Peter. The one who goes to confession at Christmas, Easter, before marriage, at a funeral, before a funeral…to “have it” – that is, confession – is not on the path of purification. It is a constant effort to correct life through the sacrament of penance, daily examination of conscience, meeting with the Lord Jesus in the Eucharist, and prayers…
Enlightenment: Then begins the growth in knowing the truth – enlightenment. I find time to educate myself in faith and think about what Jesus means to me. I answer the question: Who do you think I am? You know what it took Peter and especially Paul. Peter walked with Jesus for three years. Paul had to be taught by Ananias, meet with Peter…
Unification: In the end, the soul longs only for union with God. My food is to fulfill the will of the heavenly Father – says the Lord Jesus. Paul: I no longer live, Christ lives in me… It is thinking according to the Lord Jesus. St. Ignatius of Antioch speaks of uniting with God as the strings of a guitar. In the book Following Christ, we read: You would be perfect if you eliminated one mistake in 60 years of life in one year.
Brothers and sisters, we must realize that our vocation to life is so defined that it does not allow us to think about compromises, indecisiveness, or half-hardness. God calls each of us. Therefore, let us not make excuses for our wretchedness and weakness because God is the God of the impossible. Let’s open our hearts to him so that he can fully work in us.
Hello. And Bye.