I have been contemplating a career change over the past several months. I've read books, talked with peers and mentors, and prayed and reflected to try and discern the right direction for my vocational life.

Much of the input I've received has been to "follow your heart," "do what you love," and "do something you are passionate about." So I have been thinking a lot about what I am passionate about. The word "passion," in this context, means "strong emotion of desire or love."

It's always been interesting to me that the last hours of Christ's life are called the "Passion." Passion, in this context of course, means suffering. As I've thought about it, though, I've realized that there is a strong connection between love and suffering.

Jesus loved humanity so much that it brought him great suffering. Ultimately, he was rejected by the ones he loved, but loved them still in the face of great emotional and physical pain. If we allow ourselves to truly love someone or something, we open ourselves to the same risk of rejection, suffering and pain.

Alfred Lord Tennyson said it is "better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all." C.S. Lewis said that if we choose to love anyone, our hearts will at some time be broken. If we choose not to love, our hearts will turn to stone. Passion Sunday tells the story of love and loss that teaches us this lesson as well. Love brings joy. Love brings suffering. Love involves risk.

Suffering and death are, of course, the things we fear most. This fear controls many of our decisions. In his Passion, Jesus lets go of these fears, and places his life completely in the hands of God. While most of us would probably choose to protect ourselves from pain and death, Jesus shows us a different way, and shows us that God's love is far more powerful than the things we fear the most.

In the end, we find that God replaces what is lost through Christ's Passion. Jesus shows us how suffering and death are not the end, but the beginning of a new life free from the fears that might otherwise control us.

Following our hearts, doing what we love, following our passions - these are indeed good pieces of advice. We may find more rewarding jobs and relationships. We may also find more pain and suffering as we open ourselves to the possibility of losing what we love. It is far easier to settle for a life and lifestyle of safety and moderation, where we protect ourselves from intense joy and from intense sorrow.

Moderation is a popular term when it comes to eating and drinking, but you don't see that word or ones like it in the Gospels. You do see the word "passion" that we celebrate today. It is beautiful and it is dangerous. If we are to be followers of Jesus, it is our calling as well as his.

Bill Peatman writes from Napa.