God calls us to unexpected vocations

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A Reflection for Tuesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time

Find today’s readings here.

There’s an old saying that goes, “If you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans.”

Today’s first reading is from Paul’s letter to the Galatians. He speaks of his lengthy, circuitous journey made into Arabia, back to Damascus, then to Jerusalem and on to Syria and Cilicia. This was a journey of many miles and many months. But every step of the way Paul trusted in God, “who from my mother’s womb set me apart and called me through his grace.” Paul trusted God to guide him to his ultimate vocation. He went not just from Damascus to Rome, but from a zealous persecutor of Christians to one of Christianity’s most important saints.

Many of us experience similar journeys: professionally, personally, academically. Like Paul we encounter unexpected twists and turns along the course of our own vocations. These journeys lead us down long, winding roads that take many months or years to complete.

I call myself an accidental schoolteacher. I never expected to find myself in a room full of rowdy high-school sophomores, hoping to guide them toward a relationship with God and themselves where they too might “proclaim him to the Gentiles.” Yet this is where God has led me: to the Religious Studies faculty of Brophy College Prep, the Jesuit high school here in Phoenix, Arizona. From corporate America to the Jesuit School of Theology to Brophy, mine was not at all the path I expected years ago.

Back then I had no idea what an Ignatian educator was. I wanted to make a lot of money, so I went into the corporate world looking for what I thought was valuable there. Paul never wanted to be a Christian; he wanted to drag Christians back to Jerusalem in chains. But God had other plans. Paul could not have known where his journey would lead him. Nor could I. Not until I walked into a classroom and introduced myself.

Paul’s path is not unlike that of Ignatius, whose expectations of courtly life were radically and unalterably changed by a French cannonball in Pamplona. From Loyola to Manresa to Jerusalem, and ultimately to Paris and Rome. The fruit of Ignatius’ journey is the Spiritual Exercises. In his own life Paul left a rich corpus of letters to the fledgling Christian communities of his time and that are still studied today. Most of us can only dream of leaving behind such legacies.

Whatever mark we make on the world, if only a student who is spiritually curious and comfortable in their own skin, it is often the result of traveling roads never expected. What is important is our trust in the God who knew us in our mother’s womb and guides us on our paths.

God called Paul, urging him along his journeys of both distance and faith. Paul listened to God’s voice; that voice in his heart offering encouragement and strength. So did Ignatius. We too are strengthened and encouraged by that same voice. If we have faith in God we will be sustained on our own personal journeys.

It is hard to know where God will lead us. Our hopes and dreams may not be realized quickly or in the manner we intend. But the key, for me at least, is to trust in God who calls us “through his grace.” God led Paul from persecutor to saint, and Ignatius from courtier to pilgrim. God led me from corporate conference rooms to noisy classrooms. Trusting God’s voice led me to a vocation far more rewarding than anything I experienced previously. I am certain many others reading this are equally surprised to see how God called them to unexpected vocations.

Life’s journey is not easily mapped out. We head off in one direction only to end up in a place we did not expect. And if we listen carefully, we might hear God chuckle.

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