A CALL TO SERVE
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” - Luke 1:38
After reading the story of the Annunciation this time around, I suddenly recalled my elementary days when I had to stop in the middle of the hallway and listen to the Angelus being recited on the school intercom. Listening to it at a young age, it seemed easy to follow in Mary’s footsteps and say “Yes” whenever God asks us to follow Him. As I’ve gotten older, there have been instances in my life not entirely unique to others that made me doubt how God works in my life and whether I am truly following my own personal calling.
This week alone, it was disheartening to hear of 2 separate incidents in Atlanta and Boulder that claimed the lives of innocent people due to racial tensions and gun violence. When I started reflecting more on our readings from today, it becomes clear that our call to action remains the same as it was 2000 years ago: to put God in the center of our lives.
Everyday is a constant struggle to say “Yes” to the Lord, in big and small ways, but our calling to do His will remains the same. Whether we are called to serve as parents staying home with our kids while trying to maintain full-time jobs, educators entrusted with the education of students who are at risk of falling out, healthcare workers battling in the trenches against this evolving disease, grocery clerks underpaid yet somehow goes to multiple jobs to provide for their families or civil servants advocating for a more equal and just society through policies and grassroots movements, we are called to accept our calling just as Mary did in spite of the incredible odds against us.
The confirmation might not always be there just as the Lord spoke to Ahaz in today’s first reading, but we are reminded this Lenten season that God sent his only son to experience the mess of this world and die in the worst possible way to remind us that he is Emmanuel, God with us, who remains present in our suffering and offers us His unconditional love with no preexisting terms or conditions. All we need to do is come as we are, in our brokenness and imperfections, and serve our loved ones and anyone else whose life we can touch in the best way we can.
Lord, help us to listen to your calling to enter into our lives, in big and small ways. Transform our hearts and minds so that we can shape our world closer to your kingdom. Amen.
Alfred Dicioco