Jesus Is Still Choosing You

When Israel split up, there were ten northern tribes and two southern tribes. The southern tribes were Benjamin and Judah. And Benjamin sort of got absorbed into Judah, which to this day is why we refer to them as Jews, because they originated from the tribe of Judah. The northern tribes, about 731, were overtaken by the Assyrians, and the first two tribes that would have been decimated were Zebulun and Naphtali. And so, in our first reading, what Isaiah is promising is that that destruction would not be the end, because from that region a light would enter into this world, and that light is Jesus. And so that’s what our Gospel reading is talking about, the fact that Jesus began His ministry in a place where the people lost everything, where the northern tribes, especially Zebulun and Naphtali, were completely destroyed. But He promises them, and us, hope.

I find it interesting that it’s actually optional to not read the second part of that Gospel reading. And I find that horrendous, because the second part of the Gospel reading talks about why we have the first part. Why are we talking about Zebulun and Naphtali? Because the original twelve tribes of Israel basically were gone. This is why Jesus chooses twelve apostles, because He’s reconstituting the tribes of Israel. He’s starting over. He promised that He would not abandon His people, and one of the ways He does that is by calling twelve apostles so that everyone would know that the tribes of Israel are here again.

Now, sadly, the whole point of the tribes of Israel was to form one people of God. And then we have the second reading from St. Paul. And what’s St. Paul complaining about? The Church has just started, we’re talking twenty to twenty-five years, and what do we see? Division. “I belong to Paul.” “I belong to Apollos.” “I belong to Jesus.” Luckily, that never happens today. But the whole point of reestablishing the people of God, of calling the apostles, was to form once more one people of God, us. And yet we see division from the very beginning, and it hasn’t stopped.

Have you ever wondered why we have 40,000 Protestant denominations? Because every one of them started because a group of people decided to follow one person instead of another. “I follow Luther.” “I follow Zwingli.” “I follow whoever.” And the Church is divided. But it’s not just Protestants. How often do you hear people going, “You know, I used to go to this parish, but I really didn’t like the priest, so now I’m going to this parish. And when they change priests, I’m probably going to go and change to this parish where I like the priest.”

We don’t go to church for the priest. We do what Paul tells us. We go there for Jesus. We all follow Jesus. That’s the whole point. Ignatius of Antioch wrote seven letters on his way to martyrdom, and one of his chief urgings was that every Christian follow their bishop with a trust that their bishop follows Jesus. Now, that’s our job as Catholics. Whether we always like what the bishop says doesn’t matter. We follow the bishop because a bishop follows Christ.

Now, this is Called by Name Sunday. Well, tomorrow is, but this is the vigil. It’s Called by Name Sunday. And why do we have Called by Name Sunday? Because we need priests. Someone has to shepherd God’s people. That’s the way Jesus set it up. This, again, is why He called the apostles. He took twelve men and told them, “You go out into the world and you lead My Church.” And they did. From those twelve men, we now have 1.2 billion Catholics in the world. And as that number of Catholics keeps going up, we need more shepherds to lead them. Sadly, the number is going in the opposite direction. Especially right now, we’re getting more Catholics. We’re not getting enough priests.

So, we have Called by Name Sunday so that we can strive to at least point out people we think might make a good priest. And if we find somebody that might make a good priest, we might find people that make a good bishop. And if we find someone that makes a good bishop, we’re carrying on exactly what Jesus did, calling the apostles by the seashore. Because if we point out somebody and they become a priest, it’s not because we pointed them out. It’s because God called them, and they said yes. No one has a vocation because they decided they have a vocation. Everyone has a vocation because God calls their name over and over and over again. And sometimes He needs us to go, tap, tap, “Are you listening?” That’s what Called by Name Sunday is all about.

Our job is not to push somebody into becoming a priest. Our job is to say, “You know, I recognize something in you, and I think you might have a call.” So, at the end of Mass, when you get that envelope, if you know the name of someone you think would make a good priest or a good nun, put their name in the envelope and turn it in, and the Diocese will get in touch with them and give them the opportunity to discern whether or not that call is real. And again, we don’t call people to the priesthood. If they have a call, it’s God who’s calling. He’s asking us to tap him on the shoulder and go, “Are you listening?”

Jesus never stops building His Church. He started by the Sea of Galilee. He started building a Church, and it has been building for over 2,000 years without end. And it’s our job to keep it going, our job to cooperate with the Holy Spirit and continue to work on expanding the Body of Christ and finding shepherds for it.

And Jesus, I trust in You. Amen.