The great journey begins.
‘Jesus resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem. Jesus has already set Jerusalem as the heart
of the Gospel story. In going to
Jerusalem, Jesus was walking the road to his death and resurrection. Jesus knew full well that in going to
Jerusalem, he was opening himself up to the plan of His heavenly Father.
Those who journey with Jesus in every generation must make
Jerusalem their goal. For Jesus journey
to Jerusalem is no simple travelogue but a vocation to discipleship and mission
that will indeed take the rest of our lives.
For you and I to set our faces toward Jerusalem is the surrender we must
make when we choose to follow God’s call in our lives – wherever that may lead
us. In other words, the Gospel invites
us to reflect on the cost of discipleship.
But well before we examine our own whole or half-hearted
response to Jesus’ invitation to discipleship, he sets us straight on how we
are to judge others’ response to God’s call.
Jesus frankly says: “It is none
of our business.” Jesus demands we not
judge how others respond. From the
Gospel account, Jesus sent his messengers ahead of him. On the way they entered a Samaritan village
to prepare for his reception there, but they would not welcome him because the
destination of his journey was Jerusalem.
When the disciples James and John saws this, they asked, “Lord, do you
want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” Jesus turned and rebuked them and they
journeyed to another village. Jesus is
saying to James and John: “It’s none of
your business how others respond.”
Jesus’ decisive command to James and John that they express
commitment to him through compassion for others. St.Paul writes that we must abandon the violence
of biting and devouring one another, choosing instead to serve one another
through love.
Our focus is how do we respond to our call to discipleship
of the Lord Jesus. I suggested in the
bulletin articles three possible ways for us to respond to God’s call:
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No
thanks.
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Maybe later.
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Be it done to me according to your Word. That of course is Mary’s response to the
angel Gabriel as she accepted the call of God in her life.
In the Gospel, Jesus responses to would-be disciples
concretize the uncompromising primacy of discipleship. A would-be disciple of Jesus said, “”Lord,
let me go first and bury my father.” The
message here is that the call to discipleship is not to be treated as a
retirement plan: “Thanks Lord. As soon as I get my inheritance and all my
affairs settled I’m catch up with you.”
The original twelve for all their imperfections and their
idiocracies were willing to leave everything in following Jesus. Their response to the Lord was immediate and
complete.
What are willing to leave behind in order to respond to
God’s call and what are unwilling to leave behind?
As we journey with Jesus to Jerusalem, what really comes first
for me: Kingdom of God or values of our culture? People the Lord calls us to serve or my pet projects? The friends who value our time or our
portfolio investments? What is our
attitude toward our Muslim neighbors during this month of Ramadan? Are they to be loved or hated?
What are we to think of a sign on our Church property that
reflects a desire to connect with and pray with our Muslim neighbors? Recall again the words of the Gospel when
James and John asked Jesus: “Lord, do
you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” Jesus rebuked them.
Jesus’ decisive command to James and John was that they are
to express commitment to him through compassion for others. We must abandon the violence of biting and
devouring one another, choosing instead to serve one another through love.
We need to ask ourselves if we bargain with Jesus over the
terms of discipleship sometimes saying:
“No thanks.” Sometimes “Maybe
later,” and at other times, “Be it done to me according to your word.”
What happens when you experience the pain of a
miscarriage? How is it for you who face
unemployment? How do you come to terms
with brokenness in your family life?
When am I too tired, too pre-occupied, to “into myself,” in these real
life situations, how do I bargain with the Lord?
What is holding you back right now from following the Lord
more fully in your life?
The Scriptures invite us to consider or reconsider our
vocation to discipleship of the Lord Jesus.
If we are on the brink of making a life decision, we are invited with a
Gospel freedom to follow Jesus beyond reasonable expectations -- the call to priesthood, the diaconate, the
religious life, the lay ecclesial ministry?
You will never regret generosity
in responding to God’s call in your life.
If we have traveled further down the road of
discipleship, we are prodded to ask if we’ve settled for moderation over the
freedom and the commitment of the Gospel. Does our discipleship consist of one hour a
week on Sunday morning or is the celebration of the Sunday Eucharist the beginning
of a fuller response to God’s call? How
much of your God-given giftedness are you willing to share with others? For
Pope Francis, our discipleship of the Lord Jesus is to seen through the lens of
mercy. We are all the recipients of the
merciful of Jesus, and we are to witness to the merciful love of Jesus in the
ways we serve one another. What one word
is the lens by which you view your call to discipleship of the Lord Jesus?
