In the broadest sense, we all have the vocation as human beings to be God’s children created in the image and likeness of God. He created us to be happy.
True happiness is the fulfillment of what it means to be genuinely human. We know this intuitively, though many times we do not reflect deeply on this truth. If you search our calendar, you will not find any special days celebrating cowards, liars, or those who betray the trust of others. We do not celebrate these behaviors because we all know instinctively that these behaviors lead to hurt and shame.
Unfortunately, our natural intuition for happiness no longer works as God intended. Sin has left us wounded and broken. Each one of us needs to restoration and healing in Christ, to return to the happiness that God intended.
Yet as St. Paul reminds us in our reading from Galatians, this ‘happiness” in not found in the pursuit of what he calls the “yoke of slavery” to our passions.
In our modern world, we often see people trying to pursue happiness in various pleasures, and entertainments, and in pursuit of the wealth and honor needed to obtain them. For many people happiness is “living the dream.” We also see the exaltation of freedom in our modern culture. “I should be free to do whatever I want.” “Happiness is doing my own thing.”
Again, St. Paul reminds the Galatians, “For you were called for freedom, brothers. But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve one another through love” (Galatians 5:13).
While God created the things of this world to be good, at a minimum, our enjoyment of these goods requires wisdom in order to lead us to genuine happiness.
As Christians we a called to a deeper wisdom and restoration. By virtue of our Baptism, we are a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) and we live by the Spirit as we heard in our reading from Galatians (Galatians 5:13-18). Building on our natural desire for happiness, God purifies our desires and leads us by the Spirit.
Our vocation to happiness is also a common vocation to holiness. Every Christian, regardless of their state in life, is called to a life of holiness. Lay Christians live this calling in the midst of the world, both in our daily family life and in our secular vocations. Each one of us is called to be a disciple. This is our primary vocation as Christians.
In our gospel, Jesus wants to remind us that he came to reveal the mercy and love of the Father to our broken world. This is the Good News. Jesus invites us to follow him and to experience God’s mercy.
In our Gospel, we learn that a certain village of Samaritans has rejected Jesus. Perhaps we should note that St. Luke describes other Samaritans positively and that Jesus deliberately enters Samaria to share God’s mercy with them.
In imitation of Elijah the prophet (2 Kings 1:10), the apostles James and John want to call down a fiery judgment upon this village, but Jesus rebukes them. The gospel message is not carried out violently or in vengeance but through mercy. God reveals his power through weakness, apparent defeat, suffering, and death. Echoing Jesus (Matthew 6: 14-15), the Letter of James reminds us, “For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy; yet mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:13).
Yet, because we often perceive mercy a something soft, many people seem to think that God desires to offer us an easy path here on earth. A merciful God will not be too demanding. He will always understand and forgive us, so we don’t need to try to hard. Perhaps the idea that we may need to suffer or struggle on this path even offends out modern notion of freedom.
In imitation of Jesus our master, our motto as his disciples should be, “Speak Lord your servant is listening.” For many people however, the idea of obeying someone else sounds repressive.
Although Jesus’ message of mercy is the genuine path to happiness, those who hear the gospel message, often reject it. Perhaps they think, obedience is something for children. The idea of being docile offends our modern sense of freedom.
We need to realize that Jesus deliberately chose the path of suffering to accomplish his mission. Jesus tells all his disciples, they also need to take up their cross and follow him (Luke 9:23).
The path of Christian discipleship often involves suffering and rejection. It requires our complete commitment. We need to place Jesus at the center of our life, above all other commitments and desires.
Jesus encounter with three potential disciples highlights this. As Jesus is passing by, one man says,
“I will follow you wherever you go.”
Jesus answered him,
“Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”
I do not know if you have ever thought about this, but Jesus is like a homeless person. As a disciple of Jesus we may be called to give up even normally comforts, for the kingdom of God. This was certainly true if you were literally following him at the time of Jesus. For many disciples, this is still true today.
Jesus then invites another man to “follow him.” The man very reasonably says in reply, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” Jesus reply seems harsh, “Let the dead bury their dead But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
Respect for our parents, and the charitable duty of caring for the deceased, are indeed high values, but there is a higher value to honor God above all things. The commitment to discipleship must have a higher priority even than family considerations. Jesus response may simply be hyperbole to make a point. The kingdom of God is the highest priority. Some interpreters, however, have questioned if perhaps there is more to the situation.
According to Jewish custom if a man had been in contact with a dead body he would be ritually defiled and unable to walk about and interact with Jesus (Numbers 19:11). Perhaps the man’s father was not yet dead. Could this be a clever excuse? “Jesus I would follow you right now, but I am too busy with life right now.”
In fact, Jesus response, “Let the dead bury their dead” may imply, not actual death but spiritual death. Those who have rejected the Gospel, often interfere with its reception by others.
Jesus’ final encounter is similar. A man volunteers, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home.” Jesus replies, “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Few modern people have had actual experience with a plow, but you need to stay focused, especially if you are plowing with animals. You cannot take time to look back.
The prophet Elijah granted Elisha’s request to go back and kiss his father goodbye (1 Kings 19:20), so the man’s request sounds very reasonable, even biblical. The decision to follow Jesus, however, has an urgency, which demands action. If Christ is passing by, and if we have felt the call to follow him, we should not delay.
In Revelation, Jesus has a word for each one of us. He says,
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20).
Each morning the daily office begins by reciting from Psalm 95 (cf. Hebrews 3:15),
Today, listen to the voice of Lord:
Do not grow stubborn, as your fathers did the wilderness…
In every Mass, Christ is literally passing by. Imagine what would happen today, if each one of us opened the door and allowed him into our hearts. What would happen in our families and in our parish if we truly followed him from our hearts and allowed him to be the center of our life?
Today I invite you to consider carefully what this means, and then to personally say to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
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