I pray that you are well and that this season of Easter continues to speak to your heart and your soul. The promise that Jesus is alive and out here in our world is one of the great gifts of the Christian life. Christ is with us. Christ is supporting us. Christ is calling us.

I know for me, like many of you, the promise that Christ is with us and Christ is supporting us shows up in a lot of different aspects of my life. Sometimes I have a sense in my prayers that someone is listening and present with me. Sometimes I receive answers to my prayers through God's gentle whisper or through the words of a trusted friend. Sometimes I feel empowered in ways that are beyond my natural abilities or thoughts. The presence and support of the risen Christ are not always noticeable, but, like many of you, it happens enough that I have a faith and a confidence that Christ is with us and supporting us.

Christ's calling is a little more difficult to discern. We don't always hear a clear voice about what God wants us to do or how God wants us to live. We ask, but we don't always hear a distinct voice. We make a choice, but it doesn't always feel confirmed right away. We live our lives in the hope that we are answering Christ's call, but we have our questions.

And questioning our call and who is calling is a good thing. Persons and communities questioning God's call come up on a very regular basis. The interesting thing, the hopeful reality of the questioning, is that God seems fine with it. Whether it is Abraham wondering about God's promise that He's going to have lots of descendants or it's Jesus' first followers wondering whether Jesus is right in calling them, it's okay to question who is calling. The little piece of scripture at the top of the page is St. Paul's question to the risen Christ just before he is blinded on the road to Antioch. Asking or questioning a call from God is not only allowed, it is one of the surest ways for us to know that it is Christ who is calling.

So as you and I are wondering about Christ's call on our lives and how He wants us to live and follow Him, let's ask. Let's ask God and let's ask our closest friends whether we are being called to this or that. Let's question God's call and then be quiet. Listen. The deepening of the call will come and you and I will know that it is Christ who is calling.