Nature of the Call to Ministry

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary inform our sense of how to be witnesses of the Life of Christ in the world, that is, Christians. The Book of Acts presents the neeed of the Apostles to replace Judas in the “twelve”. The ‘calling‘of Matthias is a choice of the community for one to serve them in ministry. This choice is made with the guidance of the Holy Spirit in resonance with the indwelling Spirit of the Apostles. In the Gospel from John, Jesus presents the commandment for behaviour which will bring fruit to the endeavours of followers of the Way who are ministering to people, “love one another”. The Gospel stresses that the “friends” of Jesus who are commissioned to bear fruit in the work have been chosen by God for the work. Our tendency to “choose our work” and be in control of our time, talent and treasure seems to be out of step with the sense of “being called”.