Francesco Albani’s The Baptism of Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Devotional Thought of the Day:

¹⁴  “At that time the Kingdom of heaven will be like this. Once there was a man who was about to leave home on a trip; he called his servants and put them in charge of his property. ¹⁵  He gave to each one according to his ability: to one he gave five thousand gold coins, to another he gave two thousand, and to another he gave one thousand. Then he left on his trip. ¹⁶  The servant who had received five thousand coins went at once and invested his money and earned another five thousand. ¹⁷  In the same way the servant who had received two thousand coins earned another two thousand. ¹⁸  But the servant who had received one thousand coins went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money. ¹⁹  “After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. ²⁰  The servant who had received five thousand coins came in and handed over the other five thousand. ‘You gave me five thousand coins, sir,’ he said. ‘Look! Here are another five thousand that I have earned.’ ²¹  ‘Well done, you good and faithful servant!’ said his master. ‘You have been faithful in managing small amounts, so I will put you in charge of large amounts. Come on in and share my happiness!’ ²²  Then the servant who had been given two thousand coins came in and said, ‘You gave me two thousand coins, sir. Look! Here are another two thousand that I have earned.’ ²³  ‘Well done, you good and faithful servant!’ said his master. ‘You have been faithful in managing small amounts, so I will put you in charge of large amounts. Come on in and share my happiness!’  Matthew 25:14-23 (TEV) 

 I dream—and the dream has come true—of multitudes of God’s children, sanctifying themselves as ordinary citizens, sharing the ambitions and endeavors of their colleagues and friends. I want to shout to them about this divine truth: if you are there in the middle of ordinary life, it doesn’t mean Christ has forgotten about you or hasn’t called you. He has invited you to stay among the activities and concerns of the world. He wants you to know that your human vocation, your profession, your talents, are not omitted from his divine plans. He has sanctified them and made them a most acceptable offering to his Father. (1)

As a Lutheran pastor, one of the doctrines that we count on is in regards to the Office of Holy Ministry, the interesting balance of those who serve the priesthood of all believers.  A vocation that is never about authority, but can only be about responsibility – we are responsible to care for souls – using God’s word and the Sacraments as our primary tools.  But the Office of Holy Ministy, (or Public Minsitry) does not free the laity from their responsibilities as priests of God.  Just the opposite, the Office of Holy Ministry serves them and assists them in their ministry.

Each of us is in ministry, in the strictest sense – being a diakonos – whether clergy or laity, or someway in between.  But the challenge is seeing our work, our homes, our errands as that of ministering in the stead on by the commissioning of God (i prefer commissioning to command) That is true where ever we go, whatever we are doing.  We re being sent there by God – to represent Him, to tell of His love with our words and our lives.   It is not our work as much as the work of Jesus.  This means more often than not we die to self – we get the heck out of the way, our priorities, our lives are set aside, and His replace them.

This is seen in the quote by St. Josemaria as he says at the beginning that we sanctify our lives – by setting them apart – sanctifying themselves – but then at the end – we realize it is Jesus that sanctifies them and makes them acceptable to the Father.  That this is the role of “ordinary” people – (we in the clergy are of the opposite of “usual” 🙂 .   It happens whenever and where ever Christ has placed you, planned for you to be.

So there is your holy vocation…. let Him guide and empower your service there.

Godspeed!

(1)  Escriva, Josemaria (2010-11-02). Christ is Passing By (Kindle Locations 823-827). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.

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