The Call

“Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying: Master we would see a sign from you. Who answering said to them: An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign: and a sign shall not be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.” (Matt 12:38-39) This is the Gospel; these are the words of Jesus to a generation that asks Him for a sign. Because for them, He Himself is not a good enough sign. So how is this related to the pro-life movement? What do we find here that is familiar to us? I would suggest that we are often much like the people in the Gospel who ask Jesus for a sign in spite of everything that He already is to them, and all that He is already doing for them. So often, before we are willing to do a good work, we want another sign, another probing, another call. So often, it is not enough for us to do a good work simply because we are Christians and are thus already called to great love and good works. We are always saying, “Master, show us a sign”. And is it not so with pro-life activism and the defense of the innocent and vulnerable unborn children who are daily being slaughtered in our midst? We find it a great difficulty to commit ourselves to the steadfast and whole-hearted work of doing what we can to prevent their deaths, and the ruin of their families. Time and again we acknowledge the truth that we should be doing more, but we don’t really get around to living that out. We know very well the commandment, “Thou Shalt Not Kill”, and we have heard many times the passage from Proverbs 24 that says, “Deliver the innocent who are led to the slaughter”. We know the Beatitudes and the 7 Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy, and we are familiar with the commandment, “Love one another, as I have loved you”. (John 13:34) Perhaps we have even read this passage from the “Evangelium Vitae” encyclical of Pope John Paul II: “…every man is his “brother’s keeper”, because God entrusts us to one another.” (Chapter 1, 19) And yet, so often we are asking for another sign, another call from God to convince us that it is our calling to get more actively involved in pro-life work. I would like to suggest that we need ask for a sign no longer, wait no more for a call, and look no furthur for a reason! We call ourselves Christians; what more of a sign do we need? We believe the Bible is the voice of God; what more proof must we look for? We want to live the great commandment, “Love one another, as I have loved you”; what more do we want? These are “The Call”! We should not need or want another sign! We do not need to say anymore, “Master, show us a sign”! Our Christianity is our sign, our call, to live out the love that we profess for God and for our neighbor. And love that is not tested is not love at all. What true love is there that is only spoken and not lived? I know of none. Surely we love the dear children who are in danger of being murdered, and surely we love the mothers and families who are in such a desperate and frightened situation that they are about to bring their children to death. And so what are we going to do to help them? How are we going to live out our call to love that is ours as Christians? We need look no furthur for a sign that we should rescue those innocent children being led to the slaughter, and we need wait no more for a call to reach out in love to their mothers who are in such danger. We are Christians; we are already called! We are commanded to love as Jesus loves us; it’s time to live that commandment that is the heart of who we are as a people of faith. God bless.