Powerful callings

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For more commentary on this week's readings, see the Reflections on the Lectionary page, which includes Fick's current Living by the Word column as well as past magazine and online-only content. For full-text access to all articles, subscribe to the Century.

At first read, this Sunday's Colossians text landed for me with a bit of a thud between the rich narrative images of Genesis and Luke. But the text engages the themes of calling and vocation in important ways. The voice here is less the frank and practical Paul; it's a mystical voice which, placed alongside Mary and Martha in the lectionary, sits in conversation with those blessed sisters.