The theme this weekend, again, as last weekend, is God’s call and our response. But in this Gospel reading there is an underlying sense of the urgency of responding — an urgency in building up the Reign of God…NOW!
The Gospel tells of the disciple’s response to Jesus’ call. They respond without hesitation, literally dropping what they were doing and following him immediately. In the scene portrayed in the Gospel, no one goes home to tell their family where they are going. They don’t explain to their father, they just drop their nets and leave their life’s work behind to follow Jesus!
As disciples we too are called to an extraordinary effort in our following of Jesus… proclaiming the Gospel not only with our words but more importantly by how we live our lives on a daily basis.
At its core discipleship is about following “the way”…God’s way. And God’s way is “the way of love”...of being for the other as Jesus is for us. And this truly is the Good News.
It can all seem overwhelming; more than we can do. And it would be without the Holy Spirit right there with us every step of the way, guiding us and gently urging us along!
There is urgency in discipleship. We are not to tarry and to be about many other things, but rather to live in such a way that our very lives proclaim God’s amazing love for all people.
It is such a monumental task, but we can — each one of us, each in our own way — live it out. Not perfectly, but with the willingness to listen for the call and respond to the best of our ability at that time, and if we fall, getting back up and trying again.
The Good News is preached by our loving of each other, especially by our loving the poor, the marginalized, the immigrants, the refugees and by loving the one who is “other” than us. And by loving those we encounter in our daily lives most in need of being loved…not just with our words but with our actions. Who among my family and friends or neighbors are struggling and in need of my love?
We are called, as Pope Francis has said, “to draw close to them,” to all who are suffering and are marginalized, whether physically or emotionally.
This same love calls us to work for racial justice and to work for an end to white supremacy and white Christian nationalism…(which is anything but Christian!)
We are called to be ambassadors of the Reign of God, where in all of those previously mentioned evil realities cannot exist, and are antithetical to the very reality of the Reign of
God.
We are called to not just preach about the Reign of God, but making it present by how we live our lives…lives of peace- making and justice-building, guided by and built upon the
principles, values, words and actions of Jesus Christ, as proclaimed in his Gospels.
Today’s Gospel calls us to reflect on our call as disciples of Jesus Christ, and to ask ourselves: what Gospel values or principles are most evident in the way I live my life? What
other Gospel values or principles might I work on manifesting in my life, so as to more fully proclaim the Good News to the world around me, to those most in need of hearing the Good News of God’s amazing love for each one of us, for all peoples?
Blessings,
Fr. Tim
The Gospel tells of the disciple’s response to Jesus’ call. They respond without hesitation, literally dropping what they were doing and following him immediately. In the scene portrayed in the Gospel, no one goes home to tell their family where they are going. They don’t explain to their father, they just drop their nets and leave their life’s work behind to follow Jesus!
As disciples we too are called to an extraordinary effort in our following of Jesus… proclaiming the Gospel not only with our words but more importantly by how we live our lives on a daily basis.
At its core discipleship is about following “the way”…God’s way. And God’s way is “the way of love”...of being for the other as Jesus is for us. And this truly is the Good News.
It can all seem overwhelming; more than we can do. And it would be without the Holy Spirit right there with us every step of the way, guiding us and gently urging us along!
There is urgency in discipleship. We are not to tarry and to be about many other things, but rather to live in such a way that our very lives proclaim God’s amazing love for all people.
It is such a monumental task, but we can — each one of us, each in our own way — live it out. Not perfectly, but with the willingness to listen for the call and respond to the best of our ability at that time, and if we fall, getting back up and trying again.
The Good News is preached by our loving of each other, especially by our loving the poor, the marginalized, the immigrants, the refugees and by loving the one who is “other” than us. And by loving those we encounter in our daily lives most in need of being loved…not just with our words but with our actions. Who among my family and friends or neighbors are struggling and in need of my love?
We are called, as Pope Francis has said, “to draw close to them,” to all who are suffering and are marginalized, whether physically or emotionally.
This same love calls us to work for racial justice and to work for an end to white supremacy and white Christian nationalism…(which is anything but Christian!)
We are called to be ambassadors of the Reign of God, where in all of those previously mentioned evil realities cannot exist, and are antithetical to the very reality of the Reign of
God.
We are called to not just preach about the Reign of God, but making it present by how we live our lives…lives of peace- making and justice-building, guided by and built upon the
principles, values, words and actions of Jesus Christ, as proclaimed in his Gospels.
Today’s Gospel calls us to reflect on our call as disciples of Jesus Christ, and to ask ourselves: what Gospel values or principles are most evident in the way I live my life? What
other Gospel values or principles might I work on manifesting in my life, so as to more fully proclaim the Good News to the world around me, to those most in need of hearing the Good News of God’s amazing love for each one of us, for all peoples?
Blessings,
Fr. Tim
RSS Feed
