(IS 42:1-4, 6-7 or IS 40:1-5, 9-11; PS 29 or PS 104; ACTS 10:34-38 or TI 2:11-14; 3:4-7; LK 3:15-16, 21-22)
After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying… heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove.
Luke 3:21-22
I think one of the most overlooked aspects of Jesus, is really just how much he prayed. The New Testament is littered with His wisdom and miracles that He performed, and rightly so. But through it all – during the good times and the bad times – he prayed devoutly to His Father. The Gospels talk often about how He prayed before doing something, while He was doing it, and he would withdraw by Himself and pray after it was over. So often we focus on the amazing things He did, but we often lose sight of the fact that it was all through intense and faithful prayer that it was all possible, that He was able to discern and fulfill His Fathers will – His calling.
The Gospel reading today tells us how after Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist – He was praying – He was praying to God the Father, and Heaven opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him. Now being the Son of God, did He really need to be “baptized”? I often wonder if Jesus really knew who He truly was those first 30 years of His life. Did He know that He was the Son of God? Or did it take this baptism to open His eyes for Him to understand that He is God, in addition to being human?
I think there was a definite awakening and new understanding that Jesus experienced at His baptism. And He was praying in thanksgiving afterwards, as so many of us do after our own baptisms and praying to God about what to do with this new understanding – this gift, and this grace that we have been given. He prayed about what this meant, and what His new responsibility was.
Whether we’re a cradle Catholic, or a new convert – we too need to do this. Constantly. We need to pray about what our baptism means and what we’re called to do, just as Jesus did. Because while it is a gift, and a gift we need for our salvation, it also means we have a responsibility to do more with our lives. It is a calling. But it’s not the type of calling about what necessarily makes us happy, or what career we should choose, or a passion we have, though those can greatly play a part. But it’s a calling deep down within us that we just know is something that we need to do. It might be a little scary, or make us vulnerable and uncomfortable, but we know it is Gods will. We know that it is a gift we have, our reason for being that will benefit others. It may not benefit ourselves, but it will better the lives of others.
I think this is what Jesus constantly prayed about. Being the Son of God, He could have just mailed it in after His baptism and said, “I don’t need to pray, I’m God.” But He prayed even more. In His humanity, he was just as vulnerable, and uncomfortable, and maybe a little uncertain about His new realization and responsibility as we all are. And so throughout His ministry, there must have been many times where he was concerned and confused, and overwhelmed, and so He would retreat in prayer to His Father to calm down, to discern what to do, and to simply recharge.
Jesus set the model. And so we must follow. But do we? Do we really think about what our baptism means, and what our responsibility as a Catholic is, and do we really discern what our calling is? I firmly believe that our single calling in life is to love and serve the Lord through each other, but that we each have multiple ways in which we are called to do this throughout our lives. Just as Jesus has multiple ways in which he was called to serve His Father and fulfill His purpose.
But I think often, we get confused about what our calling is because we don’t pray about it enough. We don’t pray enough about the decisions we must make. I think often, we have our own idea about what our calling should be and a plan on how to get there. We feel that God should be on board with our plan for our calling and purpose, and it should be fun, and easy, and comfortable. But then we get riled and upset when nothing goes according to our plan.
How often do we pray about what we are called to do? How often do we pray in thanksgiving when things are going well in our life, and pray to God about what’s next? How can we be His instrument? And when we’re going through struggles, how often do we pray for acceptance and again, to be Gods instrument in His plan, as opposed to praying for what we want?
I have an experience with this, and a personal story to share with all of you.
In the summer of 2014, I was not happy where I was professionally. I was searching – searching for my purpose. The thing is, I was a year into a new job, one where I had left a company I was with for 13 years and we were coming off serious financial issues. After leaving that job for the one I had at the time, I said that I needed to be more well-rounded in my life because I let my job define me. Yet, over a year later, I was still letting my job define me, and who I was, and what I felt my purpose was. I had this vision about what I wanted to do. I wanted to use my skills, and my passions, to do something I loved, where I could provide for my family. I felt my calling could be in this.
But the more I prayed for what I wanted, the more I was disappointed, and the more employers passed me by and the more opportunities that never materialized. I was lost. So I prayed the Novena to St. Therese of Lisieux, which was to end on her feast day. I devoutly prayed this novena, and prayed for her intercession to help me find this calling. Now, those of you who know St Therese know about how roses tend to show up to those who pray for her intercession. Now we have rose bushes around our house, but I walked out the front door one day and there was a single rose laying on the sidewalk, as if someone cut it with clippers and purposely placed it there.
The next day, was when I started talking with Laura about writing for this website. I was always passionate about writing – and I love scripture and reflection – but it never occurred to me it was a calling. I wrote my first reflection two weeks later and aside from my wife and son, it has been the biggest blessing in my life. I was so tied up in my career and what I wanted in that, and what I thought would make me happy, but I failed to see other things that I should be doing. Through prayer, God helped me see a different angle. And this different angle at this time was to work as part of this ministry and use a gift I have to serve others around the world. This helped me to start looking at life from a different perspective.
For the next six months, I continued to struggle with fulfillment in my career, but through prayer, the sacraments, and writing reflections on scripture, and acceptance in what I was doing that finally, out of the blue, I was able to land in a role more befitting – one where I could use and grow my skills, in something I love to do, where I can serve others and provide for my family. Hmm… Exactly what I was praying for. But it’s not a happy ending. It’s just a beginning. I know there will be more trials, and there are more callings that will take much more prayer and discernment.
But the power of prayer is amazing! And God answers our prayers, but it won’t be in the ways we expect. It’s always better.
Every day, throughout the day, I thank God for everything I’ve been blessed with and have been given – good and bad. What I am seeing that defines me is how I treat those who I live with, work with, worship with, and walk by on the street in the midst of whatever it is I do. I look to Him for guidance. I look to Him for help.
Can I do better? Do I sometimes forget and get sidetracked? Do I get off course? You bet I do… We all do. But we keep trying, we keep reading, we keep praying, and we keep coming back to Him. We pray incessantly. And I keep trying to put God first, that in all things, God may be glorified and we keep trying to seek His will in all that we do, and do everything in His name and His glory.
This is what we are called to do through our baptism. This is what Jesus was called to do, and He did it perfectly. We are not perfect, but we can keep trying, and continue to pray – pray for ways we can fulfill our calling and the baptismal responsibility we have each been given.
