God’s Favoured Ones

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God’s Favoured Ones

Greetings favored one! The Lord is with you. Luke 1: 28

Wouldn’t it be easy if we were all visited by an angel sent by God that would share with us the plan God had for our lives?

God may not have sent an angel to most of us; however, he does have a plan and he does share it with us. And, we are more like Mary than we think, in that we too must listen and then decide if we will answer God’s call. One of the first things that the angel says to Mary is “Do not be afraid.” This is interesting to me; as there are really two things to be afraid of. The first is the obvious fear of being visited by an Angel; and the second thing to be afraid of was God’s request.

This is where we can find our similarities with Mary, we are probably all afraid of what God is asking of us. So much so, we will even go out of our way to not listen to what God is leading us to. In today’s culture, we are very used to believing that we are in control of our lives. We make plans about everything we do, which in itself isn’t a problem. However, are we taking time to discern what we are being called to? I think often we are not, but the bigger question may be, do we actually go out of our way to ignore what God is trying to tell us. Is it a passive not hearing, or an active act of ignoring?

I’m not sure I believe that if we really want to hear what God is saying to us it would be that difficult. I don’t think God wants it to be that hard to discern his plans. I think what likely makes it difficult is that it doesn’t always go along with our own plans. And remember that Mary made her decision for the whole world, for her community. Is this what makes us hesitate? It is definitely harder to decide something when it is for the greater good, rather than what is best for our selves. Yet, this is exactly what we are called to do as Christians, as followers of Jesus.

I believe we often don’t understand that by doing what is best for our community, we will make the best decision for ourselves. This is how we will be most fulfilled; by using our gifts and talents to serve our brother and sisters. I truly believe we are all God’s favoured ones, maybe not in the way that Mary was, in that she could carry the Son of God, but favored in how he loves us unconditionally. And so, my hope is that we can quit ignoring what we are called to, and that we take the time to hear what is being asking of us so that we can find our vocation and say yes to God.

By Serena Shaw
Oblate Associate
780-231-3066
seshaw@shaw.ca