Friday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time [I]
Genesis 23:1-4,19;24:1-8,62-67  +  Matthew 9:9-13
July 2, 2021

“I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

Today’s Gospel passage presents to us the vocation of Saint Matthew.  The word “vocation” literally means a “calling”.  A vocation is something “vocal”, which comes from the Voice of God (or perhaps better, the Word of God).  That might not seem earth-shattering news.  But what we sometimes forget is that a Christian vocation is not announced by Christ to a Christian at a single initial moment.

Rather, a Christian vocation is “declared” to the Christian in an on-going, unfolding manner.  Of course it’s true that in the beginning, a specific form of vocation is articulated (whether marriage or life as a vowed religious, for example).  But that is only the beginning of Christ’s announcement of one’s vocation.  That is only the beginning of Christ’s guidance.

Throughout the course of living out one’s Christian vocation, the Christian must expect, listen for, and heed God’s Word.  Each of these is a different skill in the skill-set required to grow in one’s vocation.