LUMP UNTO OUR STEPS
Vocation in the Bible

To approach the Bible we need faith. The Bible is not simply a book for instruction or a compilation of memories from the ancestors. On the contrary, the Bible is the Word of God which communicates life to us. The Bible is a Lamp unto our steps.

When we read the Bible we meet persons, not only ideas or information. The Bible is a history of salvation: events from the past shining upon our present and giving meaning and strength to our future.
The Bible is a history of love. From the first page till the last, the Bible shows us the face of a loving Father. The Bible manifests to us the drama of God's fidelity amidst men's and women's betrayal and stubbornness. It is a tragic victorious history where love becomes death; death becomes mercy; mercy becomes pardon; pardon becomes freedom and freedom becomes eternity.

In this perspective of love and salvation, the Bible is totally a book of vocation. From any angle we look at it, the Bible is "a call" to take part in the Plan of God.

In the Bible we find our own vocation, both on a personal and social level. Our lives are narrated there with all their ups and downs. Through all the characters of the Old and New Testaments, God is calling us to fullness of life, to overcome our sins and to be happy in union with him.
Every vocation, in its diversity, must have biblical roots. The way to know the will of God for me is in meditation on the Scriptures face to face with my own reality and the needs of my brothers and sisters. The Bible is not only a font of "inspiration" for us, but mainly a fountain of "revelation" of God's thoughts to us.

THREE BIBLICAL MEANINGS OF VOCATION
There are in the Bible at least three different meanings of the word "vocation." We want to refer to them in order to understand better the gift that we are receiving from God in his call to us.
A) Vocation means "creation."
When God calls, he always creates something new. God is creator of the universe (Gen 1:1-44; Ps 8:4, 36:6). He is the source of life. God spoke a word and we were called into being. Actually, we exist because our name has been pronounced by him. "I have called you by name: you are mine... because I love you" (Isaiah 43:1-4).
This assertion brings us confidence in our discernment. God takes care of us. He has carved us on the palm of his hand. When God truly calls us to walk in some specific way, he also creates in us the conditions to be able to answer. His grace and power are our arms against all possible obstacles.
The foundation of each vocation is the Word of God. His call is the ultimate reason to be what we are and to do what we do.

B) Vocation means "salvation."
God calls to save. Responding to God's call changes a person. He calls us to be different. Vocation is another name for conversion. The Word of God calls to break the chains of sin and to grow in holiness. To signify this transformation of the person who has been called, God often changes the name (Abram-Abraham; Jacob-Israel; Simon-Peter). Vocation is a call to start a new life. Vocation is a call to a new intimacy with God.

C) Vocation means "'mission."
God never calls a person to be self-centered. Vocation is a call to serve. To be a "person of God" (election) and to be a "person for others" (mission) are two sides of the same coin.
God intervenes in human history through missionaries, people who have been sent to announce the Good News and to accomplish a service for the coming of the Kingdom of God.
Even the most apparently useless vocation (in the routine of home, job or convent) is a service of salvation for the entire human community.

FIVE ELEMENTS OF VOCATION IN THE BIBLE
If we analyze all the stories of vocation that the Bible has kept for us, we will be surprised at their variety; there are still some common elements. We want to emphasize this general structure of vocation in the Bible, in the hope of providing some support and encouragement to the many who are searching for God's will.

1) A Situation of human necessity.
The starting point of each vocation is a commitment to the struggle against misery, all kinds of misery: lack of food, inhuman living conditions, ignorance, lack of respect for dignity, disregard of the values of the Gospel. Every vocation should be an encounter between misery and mercy. We need to look through the eyes of God to see and share the hungers of our brothers and sisters, as he does.
"I have seen the humiliation of my people in Egypt and I hear their cry when they are cruelly treated by their taskmasters. I know their suffering. I have come down to free them" (Ex 3:7-8), the Lord God said when he called Moses.
Jonah was called because Nineveh was on the verge of imminent destruction. The Judges (Gideon, Samson... ), the Kings (David, Solomon ... ) were saviors of Israel from the hands of the enemies. The Prophets sprang up because of exploitation and degeneration in the fulfillment of the Law.
The disciples of Jesus had the beginnings of their call precisely because of compassion for the large crowd of the sick and the poor, "for they were like sheep without a shepherd" (Mark 6:34).
Vocations are concrete answers to concrete needs of humanity. Vocations are "incarnations" of the love of God, here and now.

2) God is the one who takes the initiative.
We do not know when or how, but one day God appears calling us to surrender our lives.
Abraham was a happy man in his Ur of the Chaldeans when suddenly the Word of God made of him an eternal pilgrim. He went through the desert with only a bag of promises, stars and sand, and a very old wife.
Moses was a fugitive. He was pasturing the sheep of Jethro his father-in-law, when God called him by means of the burning bush.
Amos was a breeder of sheep and a dresser of sycamore trees when God took him from his flock and sent him to defend the rights of the poor.
Peter and Andrew were casting a net in the lake when Jesus was walking along the shore. Then he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew was a tax collector sitting in his office, and Jesus called him in the same way.
For all of us there is also a moment when Jesus calls for our lives and says, "Follow me." Actually, he is always coming through persons and events. God changes our programs. Vocation is a gift. Vocation is a surprise. "You did not choose me. I have chosen you" (John 15:16).

3) The person who has been called presents. obstacles.
The call, we receive from God is bigger than our capacities. We feel small and incapable. The obstacles seem insurmountable.
Sarah is sterile. How can she give birth to the son God is promising? Jeremiah has the excuse of being too young. Moses is a stammerer. Jonah takes the boat in the opposite direction. Mary asked, "how can this be if I am a virgin?" (Luke 1:34). Peter puts the abyss of his triple betrayal and Paul the wall of his pride and religious securities.
We are convinced of our own sinfulness and unworthiness. Our doubts and weaknesses are normal in the process of searching. Crises do not mean absence of vocation. The most important thing is to analyze whether those crises are signs of death or of life, agony or a new birth. The first are consequences of egoism and bourgeoisie. The second are fruits of humility and the desire to grow. Only in the latter do the problems become opportunities and hopes.

4) God overcomes our fears.
This is the most beautiful element in each vocation. Despite all our obstacles, God says to us, "Dont be afraid" (Jer 1:8; Luke 130). I will be with you" (Ex3:12). "I will put my words in your mouth" (Jer 1:9). "The holy spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you" (Luke 1:35).
God is faithful, we are not. Our fidelity is not really that we are "never to fail," but that we are "always to come back" to the source of our first dream. Many times we do not believe in ourselves, but God does. He is the champion of our vocation.
The security of the Word of God brings us peace. Because of this we learn how to accept the rhythm of the work of the Spirit in our lives. We become one with our brothers and sisters who are also journeying. Because of his presence we risk the impossible. Because of his compassion we try again and again.

5) God expects a "yes."
Even though we will never be one hundred per cent certain in our discernment, we are invited to give a full "yes." Because of the signs we find in our lives, and through prayer which prepares us in the divine wisdom, we trust our "yes" in God.
From now on, we do not have the right to question our vocation every moment. We know that our decision is responsible and sincere, particularly because God helps us. Vocation is a profession of faith. We abandon ourselves into his hands, without limits. "As clay in the hand of the potter" (Jer 18:6).
Models of this kind of faith are Abraham and Mary. Abraham obeyed to the extent of being willing to sacrifice his son. Mary, on the night of mystery, said, I am the servant of the Lord, let it be done to me as you have said" (Luke 1:38). And so it was with Ruth, Rebecca, Aaron, Deborah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joseph,...

NEVER SAY. IT'S ENOUGH!
The Bible teaches us that vocation is a journey. Every morning we renew our "yes." Every morning we offer our love, even if the challenges and crosses are more demanding each time (Luke 14:23-33).
The most wonderful revelation of the Bible is this: God is faithful. We can always put our contradictions, fears and sadness on the Rock of His Word. He loves immensely the hard breathing of our sincerity.

VOCATIONS IN THE BIBLE