John, the baptizer, heard his call to be the forerunner of the long-awaited Messiah in the words of the prophet Isaiah in the Hebrew scriptures (Isa.40:3). Likewise, Jesus told his neighbors in the Nazareth synagogue (Lk.4:16ff) that he recognized Isaiah’s words, that we have in our first lesson today, as the call for his life. These men must have been soaking in God’s word, listening diligently with open hearts for the words that seemed to touch them each deep within.

That was then; this is now. God is continually calling us, each and all, in all the seasons of our lives into the divine realm of Love, to participate fully in the cosmic dance of interdependence and self-giving. Unfortunately, most of us tend not to give the Holy One our full attention; like Martha of Bethany (Lk.10:38-42), we get distracted by many things when only Love is necessary. Instead of being awake and alert, open and available, we are all too often asleep at the switch, not interested in what the Beloved has to say. Sometimes, we may even close our eyes and ears, afraid of the high cost of listening. Responding to God’s call will, no doubt, require surrender, letting go of our self-centeredness, being open to change as the Beloved transforms us from within. The inner joy that comes from the Holy One when we accept our calls, however, makes the cost bearable.

Some folks perceive an over-arching call to the ordained ministry or to the religious life and assume that’s it. Only later do they realize there are lots of day-by-day calls that make up the vocation of the life we all share. If we are open, calls to befriend the friendless, to cheer the cheerless, to love the unlovable, come to us all from time to time—calls we can only answer because we trust the grace of God to show the way. Soaking in God’s word, as did John and Jesus, resting in the Divine Presence, surrendering our ego-centered need for control also help keep our hearts and minds open as we journey on the way.