This month, we have been on something of an exploration of calling. What does it mean to be called? Called to be what? Called to do what? We often think of calling as being about what we do in the world. “I am called to be a farmer.” “I am called to be a teacher.” “I am called to be a doctor.” As we think about Biblical stories about calling, we see those who are called to be leaders, called to be prophets, called to be healers, called to be “fishers of men.”
When we look at it this way, calling is about what we do. Maybe it is something we are particularly gifted at doing that is recognized as a calling. Maybe it is something we are hesitant about doing but that we feel compelled to do. Maybe it is something we are inspired by others to do.
But our readings for today give us a slightly different nuance on calling (see Ephesians 2:11-22 and Mark 6:30-34, 53-56). Our readings today are not so much about what we do with this call but rather about what the call does to us.