Alleluia! Christ is risen!
Alleluia! Christ is risen! Is soon on our horizon.
Recently, I have been reading the Gospel of Matthew alongside members of our community. Matthew is the appointed Gospel for this lectionary year, and questions arose that led us to Matthew 3:1–6 and into a deeper conversation about baptism and what it means to be called by God.
In this familiar passage, we hear the voice crying out in the wilderness as John the Baptizer stands at the banks of the Jordan River. This scene, echoed across the Gospels, draws our attention to the energy and urgency of God’s call. In Jesus’ baptism, we are reminded that being named and claimed by God stirs something within us—something that moves us toward new life.
Over time, the Gospel accounts of John the Baptizer have taken shape in different ways, each speaking to the communities that received them. Yet one theme consistently emerges: responding to God’s call. That is where I invite us to dwell today
In the life of the Church, a call is the way our many vocations—our work, relationships, transitions, and seasons of change—become places where we serve God. Whether we experience continuity or change, we are always invited to understand our lives through the lens of God’s ongoing call. Calling and being called are fluid realities in our spiritual lives, fitting for us as people shaped by the Incarnation and the Resurrection.
Calls, in whatever form they take—individually or corporately—often carry energy. At times they spark immediacy, bringing freshness and newness to life. Calls are powerful, and with that power comes the need for discernment: listening carefully, praying deeply, and remaining open to where God is leading.
In this season of Easter, resurrection is not only something we proclaim—it is something that moves us. The repeated Alleluia is itself a call, inviting us to be stirred into new life in Christ and renewed attentiveness to God’s voice.
What is stirring within you right now?
Where might God be calling you in this season of resurrection life?
And what may need to be stirred within you so that you can hear God’s call more clearly?
Peace
Fr. Doug
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