<p>What does it mean to be called by God? Is my heart ready for a calling that feels far beyond what I expect or believe I can accomplish? These are the questions this weeks reflection invites us to consider. And further to recognize these calls not as possibly coming one day but as present and urgent and in our midst.</p><p><strong>January 21 2024: Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B</strong></p><p>Jonah 3:1-5 10</p><p>Psalm 25:4-9</p><p>1 Cor 7:29-31</p><p>Mk 1:14-20</p><div><h3 class=titan__email-divider data-color=#282968 data-thicknessnum=2 data-dividerstyle=solid data-topnum=12 data-bottomnum=12 data-height=1 data-lineheight=1>&nbsp;</h3></div><h3><strong>The Call to Be Ready<br></strong></h3><p>A reflection by Thomas DeVoyd</p><p>The first reading is from the Book of Jonah. In it God calls Jonah to preach repentance to the people of Nineveh. Several things about this seemingly mundane call may have shocked the storys intended audience. One the Ninevites were Israels enemy. Nineveh was the capital of Assyria the country that conquered Israel (the northern half of the Jewish nation) in the 8th century BCE. Two the Ninevites did not worship the same deity as the Israelites. Why would their God reach out to a foreign people? Most of Israel would have had Jonahs precise responseclamoring for Ninevehs destruction as opposed to working to forestall it. In the larger context of the Jonah story as Prophetic Literature part of the purpose of this narrative is to challenge and broaden the Israelite view of God beyond a narrow nationalism. However when seen in relationship to the other stories for this Sundays liturgy Jonahs call reminds us that Love calls us beyond our friend group or nation-state and challenges us care deeply not only for those with whom we agree but also for those who may see the world very differently than we do. It is a narrative foreshadowing of Jesus call to love our enemies as ourselves.</p><p>The second reading is from 1 Corinthians. It is harder for me to really interpret so I looked at some commentaries. Based on what I read it is important to realize that Paul felt Jesuss return was imminent. Therefore we needed to get ready for it right away! There is real wisdom here no matter when Jesus returns: we all need to be prepared to welcome Jesuss spirit nowif we can do that the second coming will not be an issue for us no matter when it happens! I do wonder how Paul felt about the fact that this did not happen in his lifetime. I wonder if he had a time of doubt in his beliefs. Some people might think this is heresy but I believe it is ok to question what happened in the early church. We do not know the date or time. So we are called to be our best selvesall the time. That is what this verse says to me.</p><p>The gospel passage focuses on Jesuss call of the Apostles. Jesus called and they came. They may not have known everything about Jesus but perhaps they had heard about the sign he performed at the wedding in Cana. I am sure they felt the power of God in him. The fact that Jesus had chosen them would have felt like an honor. Jesus first called fishermen and said he would make them fishers of men and women. If they really stopped fishing it may have devastated their families. Perhaps their parents wondered how they would provide for themselves. Yet these first disciples still left their nets. Would we have had the courage to leave what we have known for such an uncertain future? I am not sure what I would do. This may be hard to imagine. But how many of us would leave the security of the jobs that we have to go where nothing is guaranteed? These first disciples realized immediately that this is what they wanted. Did they imagine that they would die proclaiming the word of God? That they would be imprisoned many times? Or did they just say yessensing that now was the time for them to change their lives.</p><p>The thread that runs through these readings is a call for us to be prepared to drop everything in service to Gods calleven when we may not totally understand it. Are we ready right now to do this? Are we working toward being our best selves? Are we open to Loves call to care for those beyond the people that we like? These readings have caused more questions than provided answers. But that invites us to fill in the blanks: like a book that does not wrap up all the storylines. It can be frustrating but instead I think the call is to stay curious about who Love is inviting us to serve; who Love is inviting us to become; how we can get our lives on to the path to which God calls us. Jesus could come again tomorrowperhaps it will be millennia and in a way that we cannot imagine or predict. But am I ready to welcome Jesus spirit of love right now in my life? To drop what is not serving my loving even if it comfortable and familiar? And to envision a call to love that is larger than I could ever imagine big enough even to encompass those whom I consider my enemies?</p><div><div class=titan__email-divider data-color=#282968 data-thicknessnum=2 data-dividerstyle=solid data-topnum=12 data-bottomnum=12 data-height=1 data-lineheight=1>&nbsp;</div><div class=titan__email-divider data-color=#282968 data-thicknessnum=2 data-dividerstyle=solid data-topnum=12 data-bottomnum=12 data-height=1 data-lineheight=1><img src='https://www.dignityusa.org/sites/default/files/tom.png'></div></div><p><em><strong>Tom DeVoyd</strong> is a nurse in long term care and works with resident with Dementia. He is an advocate for his residents and has a Masters Degree in Nursing in Adult Psych/ Mental Health. He is also an advocate for the LGBTQI+ community. Tom currently lives in a small town in NH with his partner of years Phil. He enjoys reflecting on the scriptures and focusing on the world of when the scriptures were written.</em></p>