LEAD A LIFE WORTHY OF YOUR VOCATION

XVII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME: Ephesians 4:1-6

Try to read attentively the following passage, from the letter to the Ephesians; then, make an effort to apply it to your own life.

I, the prisoner in the Lord, 

implore you to lead a life 

worthy of your vocation. 

Bear with one another charitably, 

in complete selflessness, 

gentleness and patience. 

Do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together. 

There is one Body, one Spirit, 

just as you were all called 

into one and the same hope 

when you were called. 

There is one Lord, one faith, 

one baptism, and one God 

who is Father of all, over all, 

through all and within all.

• Our vocation: called to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect (Mt 5:48). There is a Bemba proverb that says: Cimumbwa, pala noko; pala wiso ukuwama, meaning: creature, imitate your mother; imitate your father’s goodness.
• God is love: he is a merciful and compassionate God. Being his children, we must show love and compassion. Paul says: complete selflessness, gentleness and patience.
• God is a God of peace: God is communion, is sharing and self-giving. God is a continuous, eternal outpouring of love. That is what we affirm, when we proclaim our faith in the Holy Trinity. God is one, but he is not a lonely God; being love, God is relationship and communion. We are called to that unity.
• Thanks be to God: He is the “Father of all, over all, through all and within all”.