Jesus Says Follow Me

Follow me!

As it turns out, following Jesus is not as easy as many people make it out to be. We discover that it sounds easy, but in real life we have so much going on in our lives that sort of prevent/ inhibit us from truly following Christ properly. That’s why our parish has been exploring the Benedictine spirituality: An ancient way of following Jesus. Today’s scriptures are giving us a preview on what it takes to follow God’s ways. I thought about Ruth. She staunchly followed her mother-in-law Naomi and promised to be her family till the end. It was a formidable sacrifice leaving her family behind. I also thought of Lot’s wife. She turned into a pillar of salt when she disobeyed God’s order not to look back. There are applicable lessons here: God’s instructions ought to be listened to/obeyed. In Hebrew, the word to listen is the same as to obey. True listening! Unfortunately, all our responses carry a price tag. For Lot’s wife, looking back was a choice with heavier consequences. Elisha didn’t look back. He was determined to follow Elijah and received God’s Spirit. All these are aspects of following. So, let’s talk real: what does it take to follow Jesus? Literally, Jesus’ disciples were with him when he got refused a transit visa to go through Samaria. The disciples’ answer was: “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” That’s what our solutions often sounds like! Let’s use God’s power and get Samaritans out. Jesus responded with a silence that says: Let go! Often enough, we don’t want to let it go, don’t we? Letting go of the injustices incurred, the flesh in us want to speak up loudly about our victimhood. But Jesus’ silence teaches us a lot about God’s ways. He showed us the Spirit’s response as He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane/ relinquishment,[Find a quiet place in your house to become the garden of relinquishment. Ask the Lord to show you what you should let go. In this garden, Jesus was seeking God’s will not his own, he was praying that He would glorify the Father. Maybe you have recently faced incredible obstacles or great frustration. Keep the silence and dwell in Jesus! Let God fight for you! Many times, our frustrations will act like a bully, demanding us to react strongly. No, we don’t have to. That’s why Paul emphasized that what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit. Jesus demonstrated it when he went to his death willingly like a lamb taken to be slaughtered and uttered no word. Follow the way, follow Christ! Jesus was determined to follow his Father’s will. He knew that our challenge to respond more in the flesh than in the Spirit would be great indeed. We are more likely to offer war as a solution than peace. We are like James and John, the sons of Thunder! Their nickname says it all. That’s why Christ confronts us with his message: “Follow me!” Then yes, we want to, but begin to see a myriad of things to take care of in our lives, which make us busy. So, which one will take priority? For one disciple, the priority became burying his father, which was a sacred duty in Israel as in many other countries. But Jesus’ response was unexpected because he said, I will paraphrase: [Let the spiritually dead bury the literally dead. You, just follow me!] In other words, follow Christ and make it your number one duty. Luke wants us to see clearly, that the piety of burying one’s father can easily become an excuse to avoid aspects of following Christ. It’s not a competition! What if I said to the Lord, I am sorry I just have to pause following you for a bit, my circumstances are just so beyond capacity for anyone to bear! No God will walk with us through anything! Why would we be the ones to refuse? Our modern world has plenty excuses on shelves for us to pick: how to avoid the duty of God’s ways. The question is: Is God’s Kingdom the very center of our lives? You see, Wednesdays used to be Family Wed. Well, life happened and of course there can be conflicting duties! Yet the lesson here is that, IF we are not fully focused on the work ahead, things won’t turn out well, just as the ploughman pay attention in farm work so that his work may not be crooked. Likewise, pay attention when following Christ, even when you drive, in all your duties. It is true that we are all preoccupied with our personal interests but we should not lose Kingdom focus. The OT stories are teaching us about faith, tenacity and determination. Jesus faced the way to Jerusalem with courage which became the way of the cross and still says: There will be obstacles and pain but will you still follow me? Will you begin a new family tradition to honor and walk with the Lord? May we be divinely guided in Jesus’ name! Amen.