THE CALL TO
DISCIPLESHIP
The core vocation in the Gospel
of Mark is the vocation, or call, to
discipleship. Today’s Gospel passage
provides us with one last example
of what the vocation to discipleship
means, and one example
of what it doesn’t mean. A destitute
widow shows us that discipleship
means following Jesus’ way of service, even if it requires
giving one’s livelihood (or life). The scribes show
us by their bad example that discipleship should entail a
vocation to extend God’s care to those who are most in
need.
In our reading from the book of Kings another
widow and her son are close to death. They, too, give
what little they have, but they are rewarded by Elijah with
food enough for a year. And the reading from the Letter
to the Hebrews reminds us that Jesus sacrificed his life
“to bring salvation to those who eagerly await
him”