Gospel Reflection 2021/2022
Travelling can be a nightmare.
For many of us, travelling can be a nightmare. To travel means we are uprooted from our familiar grounds and removed from our comfort zones – changes are somewhat odious. As all airlines have a strict cabin baggage policy, packing the luggage is another herculean task. Since we cannot squeeze our entire world into the tiny little luggage bag, we are compelled to discern what is really and truly necessary for us for the journey.
God calls Abram to ‘GO’. (cf. Gn 12)
When God called Abram (Abraham), he was already seventy-five (75) years old. For many of us, seventy-five (75) years old is already the age of retirement, the age of winding down, and the age of enjoying life. But no, God has other plans for Abram. He called Abram to ‘GO’!
“Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Gn 12: 1-3)
Did God tell Abram where exactly to go? No, He did not.
Did God tell Abram how far was the land? No, He did not.
Did God tell Abram what to expect? No, He did not.
Yet, ‘Abram (Abraham) went, as the Lord told him. In total trust and complete faith in God and His promises, Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the possessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they set forth…’ (Gn 12: 5)
Age is just a number: God does not prefer the young to the old; neither does He prefer the old to the young. The vocation (call) might change – God might call us to serve Him in other means or ways – but there is no such a thing as the ‘age of retirement’.
Moses and the Israelites ‘GO FORTH’ and flee the house of slavery in Egypt.
On the first Passover, Moses and the Israelites were commanded by the Lord to eat the Passover meal of unblemished lamb, unleavened bread and bitter herbs. God’s instruction was that the Passover meal was to be eaten in a haste: ‘This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly’ There is the great sense urgency, of not procrastinating, and not to linger on! Moses and the Israelites were to be ready for a journey to flee from slavery to freedom.
When God is ready to deliver us, we must not procrastinate or linger on, we must be ready to move! The consequences for a slow or delayed response could be tragic. Decisions must be prompt and wholehearted, or we could risk being left behind, and in some cases, eternally.
Following Jesus means to FOLLOW Him in His footsteps, even to the Cross.
The Gospel reading of the 13th Sunday in the Ordinary Time is a reality check for all of us. “Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” [Lk 9: 58]
No, Jesus is not a joy-killer. Neither is He a wet blanket. He wants us to be real: to keep our feet firmly grounded on earth (be realistic), and yet at the same time, to keep our heads and hearts in heaven (trust in God). Disciples are never made for comfort; we are made for holiness.
✝️ True discipleship is challenging and demanding because Jesus has told us [Mt 5: 20], “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
✝️ True discipleship is uncompromising to the worldly standards because Jesus has also warned us that [Jn 15: 19], “If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world – therefore the world hates you.” Since we do not seek to please men and the world, we will be hated, victimised, attacked, persecuted, prosecuted, imprisoned and killed.
✝️ True discipleship requires painful sacrifices; and it may even cost us our very lives. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in his book ‘The Cost of Discipleship’, puts it this way, “When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die.” To follow Jesus means to put the priorities right and to let ‘let the dead bury their dead’ [Lk 9: 60]. Jesus has already told us [Mt 10: 37-41], “Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for My sake will find it.” As faithful disciples of Jesus, the priority of Christ must take precedence over everything else!
✝️ True discipleship demands us to leave ‘something’ behind to follow Jesus. Abram and his tribe left their familiar ground and comfort zone to follow God’s call. Moses and the Israelites journeyed from slavery of sin to freedom of grace.
Anyone who loves gardening would know the importance of pruning plants. Pruning removes dead, dying or decaying branches to deter fungal and disease infection and to promote plant health. Likewise, true discipleship requires ‘leaving behind’, ‘detachment’ and pruning.
Jesus is the Son of the Living God; He is living not dead. To follow Him, we must ‘let the dead bury their dead’: whatever that distracts or obstructs us on our journey towards Jesus this True and Eternal Life must be duly removed and left behind.
What is the ‘something’ that I must leave behind to follow Jesus? Could it be my gold and glory, power and possessions, fame and fortune? Could it be my past sins and injuries, hurtful memories, emotional and psychological baggage? Could it be my pride and ego, vanities, self-pity, self-righteousness and self-indulgences? Or could it be my misconceptions about God?
FOLLOW ME and GO.
Jesus said, “FOLLOW ME,” and “Your duty is to GO and spread the news of the kingdom of God.” [Lk 9: 59-60]
As the faithful disciples of Jesus, to FOLLOW HIM is to GO and SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS. We are never called by Jesus to be passive followers but practising BELIEVERS, proactive WITNESSES and passionate EVANGELISERS. The lay Catholics around the world have always been called a ‘sleeping giant’. Perhaps it is time for us lay Catholics to awaken the ‘sleeping giant’ within us – to heed the call of our Master – to really FOLLOW Him, GO and SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS!
Let our fervent prayer be:
“Awaken us, O Sacred Heart of Jesus, set our hearts on fire that we may set the world on fire.”
Let us also pray with and pray for Ukraine that:
“The weapons of war be silenced, the evil of the aggressors be stopped, and those who hold the fate of the world in their hands may spare us from the horror and madness of war.”