Fr. Frank Majka, SJ – The Bridge

Vocations Between the Lines

The gospels sometimes leave out details. For instance, in the first chapter of Mark’s gospel, the story of Jesus’ calling the first disciples is about as bare bones as one could imagine: Jesus sees four fishermen; he calls them; they follow him (two leave their father as well).

One suspects there had to be more to it than that, and we are free to imagine what Mark left out. For example, it seems likely that these four knew about Jesus either from other people’s reports or their own experiences of seeing him heal or hearing him preach, so when he called them they had some notion of what he was calling them to. It’s also reasonable to believe that James’ and John’s leaving their father entailed a goodbye and perhaps an apology for leaving him two men short in his boat.

Of course, sometimes we do make quick decisions, like a man or woman who meets someone and decides right away this person is the one they want to marry. But I think that most important decisions, especially about vocational calls, take some time.

How has vocation happened for you? Did your call to follow Jesus come to you suddenly or gradually? Is it still getting clearer as to what your calling involves? Each of us has a unique vocation story. What’s yours?