One of the questions parents and teachers often ask children is, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" For younger children the answer can change from week to week. Children may say at one time, "A basketball player," and at another, "An airplane pilot," and at another, "A zookeeper." The answer could depend on whatever story or television show caught their fancy that week. But as children mature, they start considering seriously the answer to that question. As they enter college they begin directing their lives toward what will be a particular profession in life.
This weekend's Gospel highlights the need for workers in the harvest of the kingdom of God. Jesus sends out disciples ahead of him so that they can prepare the way for the places that he intends to visit. But the text is not only about what took place in Galilee and Judea two thousand years ago. As the living word of God, the Gospel also speaks to our lives today. The need for laborers for the harvest is just as great in 2013 as it was in AD 32. As a matter of fact, the need is even greater, since the proclamation of the Gospel goes on in so many more places than in the first century of Christianity.
Parents and grandparents can influence what their children and grandchildren think about as appropriate life choices. We don't need a specific "Vocation Sunday" to ask the question of sons or daughters or grandchildren if they have ever considered the possibility of a religious vocation. The Holy Spirit might just be working through you if you ask. While a life of ministering to others may have its own trials and difficulties, it can also be filled with great joy and satisfaction. Is there someone you can ask, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" After all, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few" (Lk 10:2).
BACK TO LIST