God Calls… I Respond

Gospel
03 May 2009
Fourth Sunday of Easter
Jn 10:11-18

Jesus said:
“I am the good shepherd.
A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
A hired man, who is not a shepherd
and whose sheep are not his own,
sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away,
and the wolf catches and scatters them.
This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd,
and I know mine and mine know me,
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father;
and I will lay down my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.
These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice,
and there will be one flock, one shepherd.
This is why the Father loves me,
because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own.
I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again.
This command I have received from my Father.”

***

By Jerry Rimando

Discernment is the intersection between the world’s deepest hungers and the world’s deepest gladness. Personally, discernment is my response to achieving what I want in relation to how I can contribute to the world’s needs.

We all experience this, though not necessarily in the same manner. Before my graduation, I wondered what career would I like to take up and what I would be when I’m already in my twilight years. I was looking for patterns and signs as I continued my prayers.

Research. Developing communities. People. Inmates. Food. Those were the recurring themes in my life, and I thought they’re all possible related to God’s calling.

A part of me hesitated. Is this really something I want? Can I achieve this? Can I still achieve my own dreams with God’s calling? This isn’t the kind of life my parents would expect me to have. They didn’t invest a lot on me to be someone who goes out to a rural community and develop projects that would potentially improve lives. They want me to be rich in by going into the corporate world and climbing up the corporate ladder. Deep inside me, I have my own dreams: owning lots of cars, having a beautiful house, a lovely wife and children who will join me in all my travels worldwide.

That’s where the challenge of discernment begins. Obviously, God doesn’t want me to follow the exact footsteps of Mother Theresa or of Jose Rizal. However, He wants me be able to address the concerns of people in need, and He wants me to continue my commitment to the inmates. At some point, it means God doesn’t want me just to be a wealthy individual, as it is quite rare for a person who chooses a developmental career to get absolutely rich. Perhaps, the calling allows me to have just enough to live a comfortable life.

It’s not the most favourable path in life, honestly. God calls me to live this kind of life. I choose to respond, and I’m more than willing to respond positively.

Jerry Rimando has just graduated form the Ateneo de Manila University with a degree in AB Economics minor in Global Politics. He now works as a housing economist. He used to be Executive Vice President, Junior Philippine Economics Society and Social Concerns & Involvement Vice President, Ateneo Lex. He used to head the Baliklaya Program where Ateneans get to interact prisoners from Bilibid.