If you want to follow Jesus. Wednesday 26th Week Ordinary Time

Breakfast with the Word Wednesday 26th Week Ordinary Time of the Year

 

 

 Luke 9:57-62

 

If you want to follow Jesus

 

 

 

To be a Christian is already a decision to be a disciple of Jesus. To be a follower of somebody goes with some demands and expectations. So, to follow Jesus, is not merely to be a

churchgoer or bible reader. It is not merely answering a Christian by mouth.

 

If you want to follow Jesus, it calls for total commitment.

If you want to follow Jesus, it means you have to follow his footsteps. There should be that true hunger to be in Jesus.

 

In today’s gospel, Jesus uses his encounter with three persons to teach and explain what true discipleship entails. Let us analyse them briefly.

 

 

 

 

The First Character

 

 

 

As Jesus is walking, He encounters the first person who immediately asks to follow Him. Jesus’ response is that foxes have holes and the birds have their nests but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head and rest. In essence, this is telling us that following Jesus is not all about the glory part of it. It means that if you want to follow Jesus, get ready for the ups and downs. Life is not only about the testimony and glory. We have to be prepared to face the challenges.

If you want to follow Jesus, do not give up when things do not go the way you want. They are part of the spiritual journey.

 

 

We have to know that the journey of Christianity is not only about seeking the advantages that come with it. There is also a cross. Therefore, if you want to follow Jesus, get ready for the glory and the cross.

 

 

 

 

 The Second Character

 

 

 

The second person was called by Jesus. This second person did not say no, but he asked for

permission to bury his father first. But Jesus is using this encounter to let us know that God is

the first and should be the first in our lives and in everything we do.

Therefore, if God is first in our lives, the things of God must always come first.

 

It also means that salvation of souls must be our first priority more than our family or relationship affairs. If we truly and sincerely want to be a true disciple, we must make a radical commitment to do so.

 

 

 

The Third Character

 

 

 

The third person accepts to follow Jesus but asks for permission to say farewell to his people.

 

 

Jesus responds to him that once the hand is on the plough, no one who looks back is fitting for

God’s Kingdom. Here, Jesus is teaching us that our personal concerns should not be an excuse

to neglect our duties to God.

 

Therefore, to follow Jesus let us never allow the cares and worries of this world, the problems that accompany it, and worldly concerns come in between, these will limit our concentration.

Therefore, if you want to follow Jesus, it must be a decision that comes from the heart.

 

We should not allow challenges, worldly possessions, earthly cares and needs, problems, pleasures of this world and the quest for material things determine how we should be a true disciple.

 

 

 

May God bless you dearest and give us the grace to remain close to Him. May He continue to be with you. Amen