麻豆约拍

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Canon Rachel Mann.

Good morning.

Over the past couple of weeks, in Cathedrals up and down the UK, hundreds of people have made life-changing commitments. This weekend dozens more will join them. For this is the time of year when most ordination services take place in the Anglican Church. I never fail to be moved by the willingness of people to step forward into new roles and identities as they are ordained deacon or priest.

Many of them give up well-paid jobs; increasingly many are young and brilliant, people who might have made careers in more lucrative arenas. Witnessing each new generation of clergy reminds me of my own ordination nearly twenty years ago. I鈥檓 moved by the very thought of the step of faith these new clergy have taken. They have dared to offer themselves for a vocation, and vocation, it seems to me, is an idea in peril.

We live in a time when a job for life, even if it were available, has become, for many, undesirable. Many feel ever increasing pressure to find high-paying careers. The idea of pursuing a life shaped around calling can seem quaint and perhaps even na茂ve. I suspect that few outside clergy or nuns and monks see their life鈥檚 work as a vocation anymore. I wonder if it鈥檚 time for a recovery of the language of vocation in every part of our lives. I believe God makes on everyone鈥檚 life: to love our neighbour as ourselves.

Living God, be with us in the challenges of today. When we are tempted to respond selfishly or angrily to the pressures we face, help us to hear your voice calling us towards love and grace.

Amen.