Call to Greatness

     I remember when I was really young playing catch with a football in the front yard of my house with my friends or with my dad. I used to love playing because I believed back then that I was going to be the next great lefty quarterback, the next Steve Young, when I grew up. I believed the NFL was my call to greatness. Obviously, those dreams never quite came to fruition. Nevertheless, I still know each and every one of us is called by God to greatness.

     Think about what the word greatness means for a moment. Webster's defines "great" as, among other things, being remarkable in magnitude. How great is it then that we are called to be remarkable beacons of magnitude- beacons of light- to what is often times a dull and dark world. The Earth offers us more than we need to sustain ourselves, and this can lead us away from God. It offers us nourishment, but it also offers us the opportunity for gluttony. It offers us periods of respite and relaxation, yet these can lead us to become sluggish sloths. It offers us love, but also lust and licentiousness.

     Pope Benedict XVI summed up humanity's condition on Earth when he said, the world offers you comfort, but you were not made for comfort, you were made for greatness. We were not made for comfort because we were not made for this Earth. Benedict's predecessor Saint Peter wrote in his first letter: beloved, I beg you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh that wage war against your soul. (1Pet 2:11) Our time on Earth is that of a pilgrim or a visitor; our home is with our Lord in heaven. If we take comfort in earthly things to such an extent that they detract from our focus on heaven, we are liable to lose our return ticket home.

     How truly agonizing it must be to Jesus to see us revel in worldly possessions after he suffered death on the cross to redeem our salvation! When we drown ourselves in the possessions of this world, possessions that will wither and die in short time, we in effect are rejecting God's gift of greatness to us and renouncing our vocation to lead others to their own greatness through Christ. Let us think of our greatness as the light that shines forth from a lighthouse out at sea. Our task is to pierce through the fog of a sinful world to guide our brothers and sisters in Christ home. Yet, if we deny our greatness and turn our light off, we not only cease to save others but we jeopardize our own ability to find the path back to our heavenly Father.

     How then do we accept and respond to the call to greatness which we have received? I think our first act should be to look to Jesus. In Jesus we find that our call to greatness, our call to salvation, is actually a call to selfless service. The Lord said, the Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mt 20:28) I think this captures the essence of what it means to be a follower of Christ in today's world rather than a follower of an increasingly confused and secular culture. While our culture will tell you that to be great one must reign supreme over his neighbors, Christ tells you that if anyone would be first, he must be last and servant of all. (Mk 9:35) 


     The task before us is a large one. Undoubtedly, there are times when I feel I am not up to the challenge that our Lord has given me. There are days when serving others, especially those whom are unappreciative or even antagonistic, is burdensome and non-rewarding.  Then again, how could we expect greatness to be achieved without tremendous dedication and perseverance?

     God did not leave us in the dark as to how to return to Him. He has given us the roadmap, through Jesus, and the directions, through the Holy Spirit, to save ourselves and others through our labors on Earth. This is our calling, given through baptism in Christ and lasting until God calls us back home.

     How great!