The Call to Be

A long time ago, I heard a story that came back to me as I prayed with these readings. I am sorry I don’t know who to credit with it, I just remember the story.  It goes like this:

A long, long time ago, there was a very wise Rabbi named Zoché. He traveled throughout the region preaching and teaching the people about God. People were mesmerized by his teaching. Over time several people started to follow him and learn from him. He was considered very wise and very close to God. He was a great prophet in his time.

Rabbi Zoché grew older and neared death. His disciples gathered around him. They were shocked to see that he trembled as he faced his final hours. What was this? The great Rabbi feared death. It was very frightening for his followers. But, if Zoché feared death, what did that mean. Did his teaching mean nothing? Was he really not a great prophet after all? Had they been fools for believing in a false prophet?

They stood around his bed, watching the light dim in his eyes. Finally, one of the older disciples asked him, “Rabbi Zoché do you tremble because you fear God?” The Rabbi whispered, “That is not why I tremble.” 

 Another disciple asked, “Do you tremble because you fear that you have not lived up to the call of the great prophets?” Zoché replied, “That is not why I tremble.”  

Another said, “Rabbi Zoché, your trembling in the face of death frightens us. Do you tremble because you have not lived up to your father’s call? He was also a great prophet?” Shaking his head, Zoché said, “That is not why I tremble.” 

Finally, as his death became imminent, a young disciple asked, “Please, Rabbi Zoché, before you go, tell us why you tremble.”  

Zoché replied, “I tremble because I fear I have not lived up to the call to be Zoché.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is speaking about who He is. He tells the disciples that those who are His will hear and recognize His voice. Today, the Gospel ends with the words, “The Father and I are One.” Jesus knew who he was and who He was called to be. Jesus knew the demands of that call, and He responded to the call of His Father. Jesus heard the voice of God, the call of God. He lived out the God within Him.

Yet we know that he trembled at the time of his death. He worried and wondered if he had been and had done enough. Had he lived up to the call to be One with the Father?

Each of us has a similar call within us. We are called by God. We are called to the fullness of our being. We are each uniquely gifted. The call of God is for each of us to fully use the gifts He has given us. We are called to be simply who He has called us to be, and to know that is enough.  We are missioned to live out the God within us.

Too often, we get caught up in evaluating our gifts and the gifts of others. We see this one or that one as more gifted. Then, we criticize when we see someone who uses their talents in a way that is not pleasing to us. Sometimes we are so like the Pharisees who criticized Jesus because they did not understand that He was One with the Father. 

God knew what He was doing when He created us and gave us life. God knew what He was doing when He gifted us each differently. So we need to learn to look at one another and see the gift and not the lack. Perhaps when we can each live the gift of being fully ourselves, we together will reflect the fullness of the glory of the face of God.

It is a lifelong journey to be who God has called us to be. We don’t just get there and then hang out. There is no magic age or degree of maturity that means we have made it. Instead, we pray and discern who God calls us to be throughout our lives.  We discover what gifts He has given us. We share them freely, without restraint or hesitation. And we appreciate the gifts of others without judgment or comparison.  

In the end, when we approach God, there will be only one question. There will be only one criterion for us to be one with the Father. We will each have to answer only one question. 

Have I lived up to the call to be me?

In God’s Unending Love,