LEAD A LIFE WORTHY OF YOUR VOCATION

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

The letters of Paul are full of little jewels - in a few sentences, he summarises important aspects of our Christian life. Our Christian faith implies a way of life that we pursue to become like Jesus Christ. To be Christian is to walk on the steps of Jesus. Some may consider it a philosophy or an ideology that aims at dominating the world. However, to be Christian is to be in a deep relationship with Jesus because we were seduced by him and experienced his love and compassion. In his encounter with Jesus, Paul realised that he was being called and in that call, he found his vocation, the vocation that gave meaning to his whole life. Being Christian is a vocation. We are called by name and a way to life and salvation is proposed to us. As a consequence, Paul tells us: “… lead a life worthy of your vocation” (Ep 4.1). Jesus had said something similar: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Mt 7:21).

We may ask what is a life worthy of our vocation? And Paul answers that a life worthy of our vocation is seen and proved in the way we relate to the others whom we live with: “… bearing with one another in love”. The traditional Bemba wisdom teaches nearly the same: Imiti iipalamene taibula ukushenkana - the trees close to each other always touch and brush themselves. Living together is not always a happy business; it demands effort, commitment, forgiveness and reconciliation. We need bearing with one another, and that is only possible with love. To do that, Paul presents three essential attitudes: humility, gentleness and patience. We may consider these as signs of weakness and then ignore and despise them. However, it is not so. To be humble, gentle and patient, one has to cultivate selflessness and self-control, overcoming the desires of the flesh. And that is possible only if we are moulded in the manner of Christ. We must be at peace with God and with ourselves and for that to happen we must be in peace with the others: “Do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together.” (Ep 4:3). God is the source of unity.

“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.” (Ep 4:4-6).