Sermon for Vocations Sunday
Today is Vocations Sunday, a day on which the church invites us to think about God’s calling to us. Often the word ‘vocation’, particularly when said from the pulpit, means nothing more than a recruitment drive by the church – wanting more clergy or religious or lay ministers or whatever. But it is important to remember that we are all called by God. We were called into being by God, our very existence is a response to God’s call. In fact the church is called ekklesia in the New Testament which means the community that is called together. So individually and corporately we are called. Together and as individuals we have a vocation. And our primary calling is to be ourselves. ‘Be yourself’ is a refrain that we hear a great deal in our society, and it can be give great freedom to be yourself, not to worry about other people’s expectations. But there are also times when ‘be yourself’ tends to mean ‘put yourself first’, ‘do what you want to do’, or ‘don’t think about a