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Vocation Meditation -
August 1, 2010
"Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed;
for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions."
Luke 12: 15
In today's Gospel, Jesus tackles the temptation of greed, being drawn to want more and more things, "possessions". We hardly can avoid it. Our North American culture seductively sets us up to want the latest of everything, to discard what is still very usable, to find in mere products for ourselves a satisfaction and security that can be filled only by good relationships with other people and ultimately with God.
Jesus wants His disciples to be people of integrity who will be true servants of God inside in their hearts and outside in their actions. Jesus knows that his disciples will be tested and tried by their enemies and critics, to see if their words and their actions ring true to the beliefs they profess about Jesus and His Good News.
St. Paul (2nd reading) speaks of having stripped off the old self and its practices, and being clothed with the new self that is being fashioned in the image of its Creator. This new life into which we have been called to live does away with earthly distinctions, like slave or free, liberal or conservative, black or white, Christian or Jew. It is exactly this new life that offers me freedom to live my life fully and to follow the path to my destiny in God.
Vocation Challenge:
What am I clinging to that keeps me from hearing and accepting to follow Jesus more freely in my life?
Help me O' Holy One to grow in trust of you, to gently let go of any attitudes and behaviours in me that block my learning to love and serve you with all my heart.
Amen
For the full Gospel reading for this Sunday, visit the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops site.