Pray For Vocation 為聖召祈禱

Eleventh Ordinary Sunday, Year A
Theme: Pray For Vocation 為聖召祈禱

The first thing in the gospel reading today that catches my attention is the familiar phrase, “Like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36c) which can be found in the gospel of Mark as well (Mark 6:34b). With this phrase, Mark narrated the miracle of “Five loaves and two fish”, whereas Matthew switches to another famous phrase “The harvest is abundant but the labourers are few …” Then Jesus sent the Twelve to proclaim the Good News (Matthew 9:37-10:1). There are at least two points worth meditating.

First of all, I do not question the validity of Jesus’ uses of shepherds and fishermen images in conveying His message though He is only known to be a carpenter. Since the gospels fail to account for the eighteen years missing in Jesus’ life before His public ministry, it was not impossible for Jesus to have worked as a hired out fisherman or shepherd in those years! Even if we were able to prove that Jesus had never been a shepherd, that would not negate His comprehensive knowledge of the Bible as it is demonstrated by how He quoted the scriptures to overcome the temptations of Satan in the wilderness and fought away challenges from religious authorities in Jerusalem. Though His miracles are not earth shaking enough, they reminded His contemporary Jews of miracles worked by prophets in the Old Testament. No wonder John the Apostle bears witnesses that Jesus Christ is the Word of God and Jesus Himself says that He came not to abolish but to fulfil (Matthew 5:17). For example, when Jesus claims to be the “Good Shepherd” (John 10:11, 14), He is fulfilling the prophecy of Ezekiel 34! In fact, Jesus’ use of different images enriches our spiritual life and the path to sanctification is unique to each and every one of us. God’s mercy allows for diversity because uniformity fails to glorify the Lord. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament proclaims the works of His hands” (Psalms 19:2)!

Secondly, many people find the Bible irrelevant to the modern ears because since post-industrial revolution, few people find resonance any more in biblical images most of which came from agricultural societies, namely kings, fishermen, shepherds, sowers, potters, foolish bridesmaids and mustard seeds etc. Nowadays, there are only a handful of surviving monarchs. Agriculture is highly mechanized and is less labour intensive. Very few urban people have had experiences tending sheep or ploughing the fields. People are able to meet evangelists online without any need of physical contact … I totally agree that if we force people to accept only one official interpretation without allowing for some latitude of openness, there is only one consequence, namely people will feel that the very message you want to convey becomes distant and irrelevant. For example, the Bible was penned by men more than two millennia ago and gives readers a patriarchal impression. How would any female reader today, say a working mother in an office trading stocks and bonds, be able to feel what Jesus felt, namely pity, for the followers when “At the sight of the crowds, His heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36)! Unless she identifies the crowds as her own children and herself as Jesus Christ, she will not be able to feel the pity Jesus felt for the crowds! It seems rather challenging for modern Christians to make use of their imagination and put themselves into the gospel narratives. But this spirituality practice has been a proven formula for more than a thousand years promoted by many religious orders.

In fact, Matthew and Mark wrote their gospels for different communities to meet their needs. Mark wants to assure his community that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who is more powerful than other usurpers to the “Son of God” title, namely the Roman Caesars and their likes! Therefore, the Markan Jesus is a Saviour in action and works many miracles. When He saw the “sheep without a shepherd”, He acted immediately to feed His hungry sheep and it was only natural for Him to work the “Five Loaves and Two Fish” miracle!
Matthew was more concerned with the life of his Jewish Christian community. His narratives attempted to prove that Jesus was Messiah foretold by the prophets. Thus, we find Matthew quoting many prophecies to prove his point. Matthew also wanted to demonstrate that Jesus was a teacher with greater authority than Moses. For example, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus demands His followers to follow the spirit of the Law rather than the letters. Moreover, He teaches them a lot about how to forgive one another, e.g. the Christian way to win back the soul of a strayed brother (18:15-17); the authority He gave the Church to forgive sins (18:18); true forgiveness forgives seventy-seven times (18:22) etc. In short, reconciliation protects a community from schism.

Thus, in this particular circumstance, the Matthean Jesus was more concerned with the spiritual well-being of the crowds than satisfying their hunger. Jesus knew very well that later He had to return to His Father. He would not stay on earth forever. Otherwise, human autonomy would be trampled on. In other words, Jesus must leave behind His unfinished mission to the Church to accomplish. Which means she needs a team of spiritually mature and capable civil servants to govern, to sanctify and to teach the People of God. Where do these civil servants come from? Of course, they should be elected from within the community. Thus, instead of multiplying the loaves of bread, Jesus told His disciples to pray to the Father “to send more labourers for His harvest” (9:38). Remember that God only invites. He does not impose because He respects our autonomy. Then, how can we guarantee that there will be sufficient number of clergy to pastor the People of God? No, there is no guarantee that young people will respond positively to God’s call to become priests and nuns but we trust that God will provide.

Then, what is the proper attitude to pray for priestly vocation? Let us be frank. We have been praying for vocation year after year without any success. Thus, something must have gone wrong! I think we have missed some crucial orientations in our routine prayers for MORE vocation. When we see priestly vocation thrives in underdeveloped countries, we should not lay the blame on economic prosperity for the lack of vocation. Have not many saints in the Middle Age come from the nobility class and wealthy families? Do we pray to fill up vacancies in the Hierarchy? Or rather, do we pray because we feel what Jesus feels? In other words, do we see the parishioners like “sheep without a shepherd”? Do we thus feel pitiful for the Church community because of a lack of clergy to administer sacraments, to teach catechism and to run the Church hierarchy? Do we feel pitiful because some clergy are thieves and robbers that steal, slaughter and destroy (John 10:10)? Do we care about sheep that do not belong to this fold (10:16)? I believe that when our hearts synchronize with that of Jesus’, the Father will hear our prayers like His only begotten Son’s. Amen.
2020 Reflection
Picture Credit: afkimel.wordpress.com