The Danger of Entitlement (21st Sunday, Year C)

To listen to this homily, click here.

I got to spend some quality time with one of my younger sisters this week. We were working on her car and talking and the conversation turned, as it often does in my family, to politics and the upcoming election. I honestly didn’t know what to expect. My sister is undergrad student at Mizzou and I am, how shall we say, a traditionally-inclined Catholic priest. We actually had a great discussion and agreed on far more than I would have imagined. A major concern for both of us was the issue of entitlement and how that drives the choices many people make for their next leader. 

This notion of entitlement is a good place to begin for our homily. There are certain things we are all entitled to. The Declaration of Independence asserts that all men are entitled to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” As Catholics, we believe every person is entitled to things like food, shelter, a fair wage, affordable health care, safety and freedom which build and maintain basic human dignity. However, there are many who consider luxuries and comfort as basic human rights, which is not correct. Many parents have had to remind a young driver that a car and the ability to drive is a privilege not a God-given right. The same would be true for cell phones, college, allowances, and money to go out with friends. Entitlement is not limited to teenagers. There are priests who feel they can make unlimited demands on others just because they are priests. Many marriages never become permanent unions of life and love because one or both of the spouses felt entitled to take and not responsible to give. I am sure you all have had to deal with people who believe the world owes them a very comfortable living, owes them respect, with little to no effort or sacrifice on their part.  

When a person’s life and mindset is driven by entitlement, it not only influences their relationship with people, it also affects their relationship with God. That entitlement mentality becomes the spiritual deficiency known as presumption. There are many people who refuse to serve God, refuse to live Godly lives, refuse to worship and forgive and yet, at death, presume that they and those like them are entitled to full union with God. Jesus speaks about the sin of presumption in today's Gospel. Some people are not willing to make any sacrifices for the Kingdom of God. They have plenty of opportunity throughout their lives, but they ignore the call to follow Christ along the narrow way, and instead choose the wide path, the pagan way, the way of the "everybody is doing it” crowd. When they knock on the Master of the House's door, it is too late. The door has been shut. Their lives on earth are over. They demand entrance into heaven. They feel entitled to enter into His Eternal Presence. But they have presumed His Mercy would be there for them without their ever lifting a finger to serve Him. Instead they hear the Master saying, "Depart from me you evildoers.” 

When we act entitled, when we presume the mercy of God, it is because we have not fully recognized what it means to be a Christian. We have not embraced the cost of discipleship. To be a Christian means we are willing to take up our crosses, deny ourselves, and follow the Lord. To be a Christian means that we are willing to endure whatever the pagan world throws at us rather than walk away from the Lord. Standing for the truth, standing for the Lord's way, is difficult. It is the narrow gate. This is the way to the Lord, at least some of the time. Sacrificing ourselves for others is also difficult. Making time for someone who is hurting, sick, or lonely, means denying ourselves the small breaks we have in our busy lives. But these acts of charity are life-giving if our lives are centered on the Lord. I have never met anyone who has regretted sacrificing themselves for others. Instead, those who choose the narrow gate, the way of giving instead of taking, always respond, "I got so much more out of that than I gave.” There are tremendous gifts showered upon us every time we embrace discipleship, no matter what its cost. We need to count the blessings Christianity brings, both to us and to a sick and suffering world.

Then we can be part of the glory of the people who are honored in the heavenly Jerusalem. No one can make a claim on God. No one is entitled to union with God. People who presume God will extend mercy to them while they refuse to extend His Love to others are committing a sin that is devastating to their spiritual lives. But people who embrace discipleship, people who accept the cost of following Christ, receive the all consuming joy of union with Him. Let us not lose sight of Jesus, who leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection.The entitled see themselves as the center of the world. They presume that God agrees, or at least will close an eye to their selfish existence. The Christian realizes that Jesus Christ is the Center of the Universe. We don't presume we will have a heavenly reward. We don't claim that we are entitled to eternal glory. We just fix our eyes on Jesus, live His Life, and follow Him wherever He leads us. He is trustworthy and if we are faithful, he will lead us through the narrow gate to a place of eternal happiness and peace.

Agents of God's Fire (Year C)

I don't have a full text of this homily to share but you can
listen to it by clicking here.

Trust in God (year C)

To listen to this homily, click here.  

           Earlier this summer, I allowed myself to be convinced to get on some of the rides for the parish picnic. Waiting for the ride to start, I was moved to deep, philosophical thoughts, mostly involving faith. I couldn’t help but think of the tremendous amount of faith that I was about to put in some latches, a lap bar, and two carnival workers named Bubba and Squawker, who operated the ride and would be in a different city the next day. I was literally entrusting my life to some simple devices and some strangers I didn’t know. Now, don’t get me wrong, this little reflection didn’t stop me from being flung around on a couple rides but I think it can give us good reason to stop and ponder the role of faith in our everyday lives. 

Faith is an important part of each and every one of our lives. I am not just talking about a religious sort of faith but a general trust we rely on everyday in order to be happy and productive. We constantly put our trust in all sorts of people and things. We trust the roads we travel on and the many different bridges we cross to be safe and stable. We have faith in the people around us on the road; that they will stay in their lane, stop at red lights and go in the proper direction of traffic. We trust that the money we receive at the store, from the bank, or from others is genuine and not counterfeit, just to name a few examples. In other words, we make use of faith often, in little and large ways each and every day so that we can be people who are happy, productive, and sane.

But oftentimes, when it comes to trusting God we are a little hesitant. While we may readily put our faith in other people, things, and systems, we can often draw the line when it comes to placing our trust in God or what he is asking us to do. Often the will of God seems unfamiliar or overly difficult and when we are face to face with what he asks us, -- we chose to ignore it or do something else. But we are called to be a people of faith, a people that trusts God in all things.

Our second reading today, the letter to the Hebrews, calls us to this life of faith in God. And the author of the letter to the Hebrews gives us the person of Abraham as our example and model. He highlights three different incidents in the life of Abraham that demonstrate his extraordinary faith and trust in God. If we look closely at these stories, we see three distinct areas where Abraham’s faith was tested: the humanly impossible, the journey into the unknown, and the challenge to give back to God.

The first instance of faith is when Abraham and his wife Sarah are told by God that they are going to have a child -- even though they are both well past the age of childbearing. Despite the fact that this would normally be humanly impossible, Abraham believes and they have a child named Isaac and they become the parents of the great nation of Israel.

The second example of great faith that Abraham demonstrates is when he leaves the land of his ancestry and journeys to a foreign and unknown land. Why does he do this? Because God tells him to. And what is the result? Abraham is blessed with even greater prosperity and establishes a new home in a new land where he receives the inheritance promised to him by God.

The third and final example of faith that is given to us by the Author of the Hebrews is the story of Abraham and the sacrifice of his son Isaac. Yahweh asked Abraham to take his only beloved son, Isaac, up a mountain and offer him in sacrifice to Lord. God was testing Abraham, to see how much he loved him and to see the degree of faith that Abraham had in the Lord. When Abraham was ready to sacrifice Isaac, the Lord told him to stop and sacrifice a bull instead. Abraham was considered faithful and righteous in God’s eyes because he was willing to offer back to God his very own son, that which was most precious to him.

This faith of Abraham is not just a nice story. It demonstrates the faith we are called to have as Christians and children of God. At different times in our lives, our faith will be tested in the same three ways that Abraham was.

Perhaps God is asking us to consider things that we might think humanly impossible. This could mean being open to the possibility of another child. Or maybe looking at our schedules and finding ways to commit more of our time to our family, our community, or our parish. It could even be that God wants us to dig a little deeper to support some charity, our parish, or a person in need.

Like Abraham, most of us will also have to journey into the unknown at some point in our life. This could be the foreign land caused by the death of a close friend or family member. It could be the loss of a job or a change of career. Our journey into the unknown might even be some sort of sickness or loss of health.

Because God has blessed us so abundantly, we can be sure that he will ask us to offer something back to him, as a sign of our love and faith. For some of our young people, God is asking you to give yourself to his Church as priests, religious brothers, and sisters. For parents, God may be calling you to encourage and support your children to consider such a call. In addition to our hearts, God will ask all of us to offer some of our precious time and material resources back to him and to the service of the gospel.

Abraham was a man of great faith and it was this faith that enabled him to follow God and do his will when it came to the humanly impossible, the journey into the unknown, and giving back to God. As God's children, we will encounter the same challenges and tests. The challenge for us today is to pray and listen for the guidance of God that we may be people who respond to such challenges with the faith of Abraham. God will reward our faith, just as he did with Sarah and Abraham, with blessings beyond what we could ever expect or imagine.

Vanity of Vanities (18th Sunday, Year C)

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The readings today begin with Ecclesiastes' rant against those whose lives revolve around meaningless goals. "Vanity of Vanities,” the author says, "All things are vanity.” In the Gospel, Jesus tells a parable about a farmer whose goal is to be rich, who stores up far more than he needs, and plans to save even more with bigger barns, only to die that very night. "Seek that which is above,” Paul tells the Colossians and us, and then he lists some of the things that hold us back in seeking God: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, greed and lying. The readings ask us to consider our priorities in life. What is it for which we work so hard? Certainly, we need to work hard to provide for our families. That is important. But what is the priority there? Why do we work, day after day, for our families? What is it that we are so determined to provide? We want a decent home. We want food and other necessities. We want to provide for a better future for our children. Why? Why do we want all these things? The basic goal we should have as Christians is to provide homes full of true love, the sacrificial love of the Lord. That has to be our basic goal for us as individuals: we have to grow in the love of the Lord, expressed according to our vocation in life: single, married, religious, or ordained. The problem is that we often forget our priorities and put our energy into attaining those things that don’t last. 

What is a successful life? We work hard for something we always wanted. Once we have it, we enjoy it for a while, and then we work hard for the next thing. We often work in vain. Is a person's life successful if he or she is making a certain amount of money? That is the way many people calculate success. But are they correct? The readings for this Sunday force us to take a closer look at the whole concept of success. In the Gospel reading, the man is convinced he is a success because he is a rich farmer. 

What should the farmer do now that he has succeeded in harvesting more grain than he can store? Build another silo, of course. The basis of his success is his grain. When he suddenly dies, his success remains here, and he goes on to God empty handed. There is a reason why we never find a luggage rack on the roof of a hearse. The mindset that success is predicated on possessions is based on a fallacy that was very clear to the author of the first reading. 

A doctor is successful not if he or she has a prosperous practice but if he or she becomes the healing hands of Christ for the sick. A lawyer is successful not if he or she is part of a profitable firm, but if he or she uses their learning, knowledge and talent to protect people, to do good for others, and, to be just. Many times an incorrect view of success is based on honors and titles. Is a priest a success if he becomes a Monsignor or a Bishop? Not at all. I sometimes find myself tying the success of my ministry here to things like the collection, mass attendance, the Beyond Sunday campaign, fixing buildings and getting people involved in ministries and prayer. All good things but not necessarily the right way to judge success. A priest is truly on the road to success if he can draw closer to God each day of his life while also bringing his parishioners he serves nearer to God along the journey. How can we determine if a marriage is successful? Is a marriage successful because a woman and a man have been together for twenty, thirty, forty, or fifty years and have avoided both divorce and homicide? Anniversaries are important, but do they point to the success of a marriage or only to its longevity?

A marriage is successful if the man and woman are better people, more loving people, because of the marriage. The sacrament of marriage is celebrated when the husband and wife become the means of salvation for each other. How about parenting? What are the signs that people are good parents? Success in parenting is certainly not based on what your kids have, but what they have been given in terms of values and formation. For example, many of you have begun shopping for school clothes. Perhaps, some of you are shopping at Walmart or Target. Maybe others are shopping at Macys or Nordstroms. The cost of the clothes you put on your children has nothing to do with the success of your parenting. If your example shows them the face of God and his love and mercy, then you have done something extraordinary.

The concept of success accepted by most in society is faulty. Success is not predicated on what we have, what honors we receive, what jobs we hold, or anything like that. True success is based on how each of us becomes more and more the reflection of God we were created to be. Success is our ability to assume the person of Jesus Christ. St. Paul says in the second reading that our lives are hidden with Christ in God in such a way that when Christ appears we appear. The personality of a Christian ought to be so entwined with the person of Jesus Christ that Christ and the Christian are one. That is success. Success is not a present reality, it is a goal, the goal of Christian life. The goal is reached, the life is successful, when every aspect of life reflects the person of Jesus Christ. We may not do this perfectly all the time, every day but with God’s help our life will slowly be defined by that effort and we will focus on things that are most important and everlasting. That is success. That is heaven. All else is vanity.

Prayer Types (17th Sunday, Year C)

To listen to this homily, click here.

About a month ago I bought my truck. Really wished I could have taken Abraham with me. Barters with God in our great 1st reading. Somehow gets God to agree to save Sodom if Abraham can find 10 righteous people. Gets the Lord to that number from 50, a 

savings of 80%!

First reading describes one type of prayer with God, prayer of petition, asking God for things. This is the type of prayer most people think of, probably the most common or popular and it is a fundamental and important part of developing a relationship with God. He wants us to ask him for things and we need to tell him what we want and desire. We should not be afraid to show him our heart.

Catechism defines prayer as the lifting of the mind and heart to God. John Henry Newman says prayer is “cor et cor loquitur” which is Latin for “heart speaking to heart.” St. Teresa of Avila called prayer, “nothing more than sharing between friends”. 

How do we look at prayer? Do we think of it in terms of the saints, who saw it as an exercise of friendship with God? How often do we make it complicated? Or worry about saying the right words? As a result we miss out on the beauty of prayer and see it as a chore or boring obligation!

No matter who we are, our prayer will go through cycles: highs and lows, feast and famine, consolation and desolation. This is normal. St. Theresa of Avila had about 20 years where her prayer was difficult and felt dry. Blessed. Teresa of Calcutta revealed that much of her prayer felt uninspired and unfruitful. What makes our prayer life-changing is not how it feels but how faithful we are to it. We cannot let our feelings decide whether we pray or not.

I can tell you that my prayer has been affected by the some of the troubling events of the past few months. These tragedies have made it more difficult to pray, which I am sure the devil wants. The killing of innocent people, especially the terror attacks in France, Orlando, and Turkey, have really filled me with anger and made me ask God, “where are you right now?” Is there any hope for our world which is filled with so much hatred and violence? Three of my family members are police officers and that too has been part of my prayer. Prayer for their safety and all who uphold law and order. Sadness for the officers who have been ambushed in the name of revenge. To be really honest, I have been asking God for the help not to let my own heart become contaminated by hatred for those who have so little regard for the lives of others. I need his help not to become bitter or cynical about the world. Sometimes I just  have to sit before God and share with him the nasty feelings and thoughts that I am experiencing. Even this can be prayer as long as it is turned over to God; it doesn’t have to be nice and perfect like some holy card.

Our readings today teach us about prayer. Prayer of petition for sure. But we also learn about the other three types of prayer as well. There is prayer of adoration, where we praise God for all the good he has done and for his beauty and perfection. Nature has a wonderful way of moving our hearts in this direction. This prayer reminds us that God is God and we are not…and that is a very good thing. There is also prayer of reparation, where we tell God we are sorry for our sins and offenses against him and others. This type of prayer is very healing for our souls and often leads us to repair the damage of our pride and selfishness against other people. Properly done, prayers of reparation bring peace, joy, and new life to our friendship with God and other people. Finally, there is prayer of thanksgiving, where we thank God for the blessings in our life, large and small. The more we practice this type of prayer, the more we see God’s hand taking care of us and providing for what we need. It’s almost magical, to be honest with you. If you take a few moments each day to thank God for 3 , 4, or 5 blessings in your day, you will start realizing how close he is to you, guaranteed! And you will be so content and grateful as well! 

To wrap things up on prayer today, I want to leave you with beautiful little meditation on the “Our Father,” a version of which we heard from St. Luke’s gospel. 

"I cannot say `our' if I live only for myself. I cannot say `Father' if I do not approach God like a child. I cannot say `who art in heaven' if I am not laying up some treasure there right now. I cannot say `Hallowed be thy name' if I am careless with that name. I cannot say `Thy kingdom come' if I am not working to make it a reality in the here and now. I cannot say `Thy will be done' if I am resentful of that will for me at this moment. I cannot say `on earth as it is in heaven' if I don't look on heaven as my future home. I cannot say `Give us our daily bread' if I am overanxious about tomorrow. I cannot say `Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us' if I am waiting to settle a score with someone. I cannot say `Lead us not into temptation' if I deliberately put myself in a place to be tempted. I cannot say `Deliver us from evil' if I am not prepared to pray as though everything depends on God and work as though as everything depends on me."  

May we be people of prayer. May we deepen our friendship with God for our own good and the good of the world.

Martha and Mary (16th Sunday, Year C)

To listen to this homily, click here.

Today’s short gospel is the famous story of Martha and Mary, a story that most of us are quite familiar with. This account of two sisters, one active, one contemplative is somewhat controversial. Most of us can’t help but take sides, more than likely, being Americans, we sympathize more with Martha than with Mary.  Our country was founded by and large by Puritans with a solid protestant work ethic. In other words, being a productive member of society, providing for yourself and your family was a sign of your personal salvation and a fulfillment of your personal calling. Unconsciously, this work ethic has influenced every aspect of American life and commerce. The upside is that in a relatively short time we have become the most prosperous nation on earth. The downside is that Americans tend to be workaholics and focused on results, dividends, and the bottom line at the expense of enjoying life and quality time with family. 

Believe it or not, this little sociological fact influences the way that we pray, interpret the gospel, and relate to God!  

Let’s take another look at the gospel. Jesus and his disciples are traveling and preaching and they are welcomed into the house of Martha and Mary to find some rest and food. These sisters are practicing the impeccable hospitality that is expected in Middle-Eastern cultures, an openness to visitors that was exemplified by Abraham and Sarah’s example some 2000 years earlier. Now there were no phones in those days, so Jesus was unable to call ahead and say, “hey, I should be there around 5 or 6 in the evening.” And there were certainly no Schnucks or Dierbergs or Jimmie Johns to run to and get a quick meal! When a guest like Jesus arrived, it was often a frantic race to get everything prepared. There were a variety of tasks to be accomplished from drawing water for washing and cooking to preparing the meal from scratch. 

With this chaotic picture in mind, we can now proceed to the scene of the gospel.  Poor Martha is running around making sure everyone is being adequately cared for. Food had to be prepared, an animal had to be slaughtered and processed, everything had to be cooked and the guests had to be checked on. I suspect that most of the moms here in Church know exactly how Martha was feeling that day! Overwhelmed, Martha sees her sister Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus instead of helping her get dinner ready. This is too much and Martha snaps. She goes up to Jesus and says like any frustrated, hard-working sister would, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me." 

This seems reasonable enough. Certainly Jesus was aware of the tremendous burden experienced by Martha and would want her sister to lend her a hand. It seems to most of us, myself included, that Mary needs to get with the program and do her fair share. She can sit and listen during dinner or after everything is ready. However, Jesus does not answer as we might expect. He tells Martha that Mary has chosen the better part and it shall not be taken from her!

But what does this mean? Why is Mary’s choice the better one? What does it say about Martha’s diligent efforts to preserve customs of hospitality? Does Jesus take the side of loafers and listeners over the efforts of hard-working souls?

It is important for us to understand the nature of Jesus’ response to Martha’s request. It is not so much a rebuke or scolding as it is an invitation for her to enjoy what her sister Mary has already discovered. Martha focused so much on feeding Christ she failed to realize that Christ first desired to feed her with his saving message. Nor does Christ condemn the good things that Martha is trying to accomplish. He does not say that hospitality or hard work are bad things. Rather, he makes it clear that spending time in contemplation of the saving truths of the gospel is even more important. Finally, Jesus is not advocating some sort of escapism from reality or responsibility. I imagine our story today would have ended much differently if Mary was sitting at the Lord’s feet simply to get out of work.

The story of Martha and Mary is not a story about right or wrong, good or evil. It is more accurately a story about two good things, one better than the other and the importance of priorities. I can’t think of a more relevant lesson for you and me, living as Americans in the 21st century. Most of us spend our time doing a great deal of work and making most of our choices between two or more good things. So many of us have no trouble filling up a day with all of the different responsibilities we are expected to fulfill, from cultural customs, caring for family, to meeting our goals, and the expectations of others. It’s easy to become like modern Martha’s, decent people, busy doing lots of good things, and we ignore the example of Mary. How many of us take time each and every day to sit in silence before God for an hour, for 30 minutes, for even 15 minutes? How often do we pray in a spirit of silence and openness, not asking for favors but simply listening for what God has to say?  How willing are we to turn off the TV, silence the cell phone, shut down the computer, and give God some quality time to speak to our minds, hearts, and souls?

The beautiful story of Mary and Martha and the reaction it provokes, shows us something about ourselves. As Americans, we are pre-disposed to give our work and our responsibilities the highest priority. And there is good in that. But this is not what is most important. The better part is to take time daily to sit at the feet of Jesus in quiet prayer, to waste time with the Lord as many of the great saints have described it. No one is too busy for this, it is not the exclusive privilege of priests or religious, and there is no excuse for any of us to neglect this quiet time which gives life and grace to all that we do. We will always have work that is unfinished, things to check off our lists, and more practical things to do but we will only have so much time on this earth to come to know Christ and love him as Lord.  

So embrace the example of Martha, who so graciously sought to serve and feed the body of Christ, when he came. But first, and always first, imitate her sister Mary in placing yourself quietly at the feet of the Lord, so that you may be fed with the words of everlasting Life and experience the peace and grace that comes from choosing the better part. 

Don't Delay! (13th Sunday, Year C)

To listen to this homily, click here.

Anyone who has raised children or spent time with them knows how creative they are when it comes to stalling for time. When there is a difficult task to be done or it is time for the fun to end, children get to work on trying how to figure out how to gain some more time for fun and games. For example, when it is bedtime, children will often plead for just one more story or another drink of water. Or, when they are enjoying themselves and it comes time to go home, kids will suddenly forget where they put their shoes or even pretend to be unable to hear their parents telling them to come home. Other kids will give a list of reasons of why they should be allowed to continue doing what they are doing.

         We see this process of “stalling” in the word of God today. In our readings, God is inviting others to service and discipleship. God moves Elijah to anoint Elisha to become the next prophet who will spend his life in the service of God. In our Gospel, Jesus invites others to follow him. In both readings, people stall for time; they say ‘yes’ but not quite yet. And they give some pretty good reasons. Elisha tells Elijah to let him first go home and tell his parents good-bye. An unnamed man in the gospel responds to the invitation of the Lord by saying “Let me first bury my father.” These seem like pretty good reasons to delay following the invitation of the Lord. But the Lord is persistent and even unimpressed with these good reasons that are given. Jesus says in our gospel: “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.” 

         Now, as adults, we can see right through the efforts of children stalling for more time. But in our readings, we might tend to feel the invitation of the Lord to service and discipleship is a little extreme or even unreasonable. I think most of us would like to say these readings are difficult to understand because in both them, the good reasons given are treated as almost ridiculous by Jesus and Elijah. He makes it clear when he calls he expects us to follow.

         As much as we might like to think otherwise, we have the same tendency at times to stall when we hear the call of God in our lives. I am not just speaking of the big decisions of whether we are called to marriage, religious life, or priesthood. I'm mainly speaking about the ways that God calls us to follow him in our day-to-day living. Perhaps some of us are being called to be more responsible in our driving, to slow down, to obey traffic signals and to be more courteous to others on the road. Others may be hearing the call to be more open to life in their families and in their marriages. Still others are being called by the Lord to follow him by being more generous with their time and material resources.

         And yet, how often, when we hear this call of the Lord, do we respond with reasons why we cannot follow what the Lord is asking of us? How we try to stall for time with the Lord by trying to show him how unreasonable his invitations are? Don’t get me wrong, we always have good reasons, at least humanly speaking. But Christ invites us to consider turning over everything to him as his followers. He knows and wants what is best for us and when he calls he does so in our best interests. Much like the child, who is unable to see the bigger picture when his parents tell him it's time to go home or go to bed, we too often fail to see how God’s plan is best for us.

         Following the Lord is not always easy. Often when God calls, we have very practical and legitimate concerns that tempt us to stall for time in following him. We might justify speeding because we are late, we might feel like we are unable to volunteer our time to others because of a busy schedule, or we cannot possibly help another in need because we recently bought a new car or home. All of these concerns are understandable, but how often do we use these reasons to stall for time when God challenges us follow him more closely?

         In order to follow the Lord wherever he calls us, we have to give him times of silence and stillness. In these times of prayer with the Lord, we come to understand his invitation to follow him and we give him time to explain his plan for us. Obviously each one of us here has responded to the call of Jesus to follow him, otherwise we wouldn’t be in Church today to give him thanks and praise. However, the call to follow the Lord is lifelong and Christ will continually invite us to follow him closer and closer.  

God calls us in ways large and small. Each day he invites us to come and follow him without looking back at what we left behind for his sake. Often it seems crazy and we can give hundreds of very well-thought out reasons why God should give us a break or at least more time. However, this tendency to stall with God ultimately robs us of the peace and grace that comes with following his wonderful plan. Marvelous things happen when we turn ourselves over to God and his plan for us without conditions or delay. Don’t make God wait for your ‘yes’ to follow him every day, in ways large and small.