The cost of discipleship

From week to week, we gather in this place to spend time together, to pray, to seek guidance and to be strengthened in our resolve to live out our lives as disciples: followers of Jesus Christ.  Following in the footsteps of Jesus is not a task for the faint of heart.

The first reading that we heard today (cf Wis 9:13-18) is a powerful reminder of how great God is and how wondrous his plans for us are meant to be.  We may have already experienced God's gentle and abiding love for us, but if we are sincere about wishing to submit ourselves to Him ... if we really seek to model our lives on His life, we should also be prepared to be challenged because our God constantly calls us to the realization of truth.

Jesus reminds us that discipleship makes some tough demands on us: Whoever of you does not give up all their possessions cannot be my disciple (Lk 14:33).  Saint Paul demonstrates this truth in his willingness to continue speaking about Jesus even if to do so meant that he had to be imprisoned (cf Philemon 9).

Why then should we follow Jesus?  Would life not be easier if e were to follow our own desires or only commit ourselves half-heartedly to living our faith?  Yes, in the short run, perhaps this would be easier on us, but the real reason why most people choose to attempt anything that is challenging is because of the results.  An athlete sacrifices and trains for better performance; a student reads, writes and reviews consistently to obtain desirable grades.  So too, following Jesus will produce greater results than anything else we might commit to doing.

The result of following Jesus is everlasting life.  Our earthly lives are perishable.  Some day these tangible bodies of ours will all return to dust, but God has promised to restore and to perfect the life we originally received.  Christ came to show us that our earthly lifespan does not have to be all we know.  God has prepared something much better for us: eternal life in paradise, and it is ours to be enjoyed without end.

His Word Today: Fresh

Good morning everyone,

In today's gospel passage, we see a moment when Jesus' actions caused the local law makers to ask questions (cf Lk 5:33).  His way of living and acting was so different from what they expected that they had no point of reference, no way to understand his motivation.

Even in our day, when we see something new, something that we do not understand, we will ask questions - or we should ask questions.  Asking for clarification is good because it helps us to grasp the fact that something we are witnessing is meant to give us a fresh perspective, even if at times it may challenge us to look at a given situation in a new light.

Perhaps today we can pray for the grace to look at the world around us with fresh eyes.  There is always something new for us to learn, to see, to appreciate ... and if we can manage to recognize it, perhaps we will be able to appreciate the fact that something new, something fresh, something exciting is unfolding right before us.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: Purpose

Good morning everyone,

Every time that I hear the account of the calling of the first disciples (Lk 5:1-11), I am reminded of the fact that although it might appear at first glance as though the interactions Jesus had with people in the scriptures were unplanned, in reality, these moments were always part of the unfolding of a much larger plan.

The same is true for us today.  We may not always be aware of the ways in which Jesus' plan for us is unfolding, but the more we learn to look at life through the lens of faith, the more we will become aware of the plan that is unfolding, and the more we will be able to marvel at the wonders of God's presence.

Pay attention today to the moments of grace, in which Jesus' presence in your life is made known.  Sometimes we tend to miss them, but they are always there.  All we need to do is open our eyes, and ask Him to help us to see them.  Jesus is always working with purpose, a purpose that is His to know and ours to discover.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: Help

Good morning everyone,

The gospel passage for today's liturgy places us in the home of Simon, where Jesus met Simon's mother-in-law (cf Lk 4:38-39).  I have always wondered whether Simon was the one who called out to Jesus and told him about his ailing mother-in-law.  Was it he who invited Jesus to enter his home, to draw close to his elder who was in need?

Just as he was willing to visit with that weakened woman, so he was also willing to draw close to many others who were brought to him later that day: those who were sick with various diseases (Lk 4:40).  In each case, he opened his merciful heart and was present to them in their need.  In the same way, our loving God draws close to us whenever we call out to him.  He is aware of our need and is always ready to heal us, to respond to our call and to reassure us of his love for us.

Today, let our prayer be heard by our loving God.  We may not be aware of our own weakness.  We may consider ourselves not to be in need of the divine physician, but it is enough for us to call out, to ask him to visit us ... he is always ready to share with us the gifts that we need.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: Saint Gregory the Great

Good morning everyone,

Today, the Church celebrates the liturgical memorial of Pope Gregory I, commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, who was Pope from 3 September 590 to 12 March 604 AD. He is famous for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregorian Mission, to convert the then-pagan Anglo-Saxons in England to Christianity. Gregory is also well known for his writings, which were more prolific than those of any of his predecessors as Pope.

On the day when we celebrate the memory of the Vicar of Christ, the one who is sent to embody the presence of Jesus himself among his people, it seems interesting to note that the scriptures propose the scene in which Jesus' disciples were arguing among themselves about which of them should be regarded as the greatest (cf Lk 22:24-30).

The wisdom presented in this gospel passage is the truth that our God is always with us, that success according to God's plan has nothing to do with our success but with God's success in converting the hearts of all His people.  In the footsteps of Saint Gregory, the Successors of Peter continue even today to work at sowing the seeds of hope, unity and concord among the people who follow in the footsteps of Jesus.  What can I do to plant such seeds in the hearts of my brothers and sisters?

Have a great day.

His Word Today: New

Good morning everyone,

In the gospel passage proposed for today's liturgy, Jesus stands in the synagogue in Nazareth at the beginning of his public ministry.  This was a defining moment for him, his introduction to the rest of the world as it were.  He stood up to read and was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah.  He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it is written: 'The spirit of the Lord is upon me ...' (Lk 4:16-18).

As we begin this new month, as students and teachers prepare to return to school, this is also a significant moment for many of us.  As it was in the time of Jesus, God is at work within us today.  The spirit of the Lord is upon us too.  This spirit is at work in our hearts, but how often do we stop to recognize the ways that God's work is made manifest in our lives.

Be attentive to God's spirit today.  Pay attention to the many ways that God is present in your life today: the people He invites to walk with you today, the circumstances He places you in, the ways in which He invites you to assist others, helping them to also increase their awareness of God's spirit that is present in all our hearts.

Have a great day.

Be radical

The last time I set foot inside a bookstore, I was amazed to see the number of books that were scattered among the shelves, each of which bore titles dealing with self-improvement, enhancing self-esteem and assertiveness.  Thanks to the wonders of modern-day technology, many of these titles are now available at our fingertips.  Books can still be read in paper format, but increasingly, they can also be accessed in audio and electronic formats, all available on a smartphone.  In a world where so much information is instantly available, it seems that our appetites for knowledge are never quenched.

In today's gospel account, Jesus says that when you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honour ... instead, go and sit down at the lowest place (Lk 14:8, 10).  In other words, we should not presume such honours for ourselves.  In the words of one of my professors, we should not become puffed up with pride or think ourselves better than others.

Jesus was radical in his challenges as he faced the power brokers of his time.  He constantly challenged them to put others ahead of themselves and to reach out to those who could not repay their kindnesses ... and the gospel continues to challenge us even today: how we interact with others, who we invite to share our dinner table ... these choices and others like them indicate the type of people we truly are.  Every day, Jesus invites us to move away from being self-centred and to become increasingly other-centred in our choices and actions.

As our relationship with God continues to grow, we realize day after day how much we are loved.  We develop increasing abilities to understand the strengths and limitations that we possess.  As we gather for this Eucharistic celebration, we give thanks to God who dwells within us, and the more we come to recognize the depth of God's love for us, the less we feel the need to be first in line, or to have the best seats in the house.