SABBATH NO WALK IN THE PARK Let’s pick up immediately the opening words of today’s Gospel passage for a few insights. “Great crowds were traveling with Jesus, and he turned and addressed them....” We should be able to picture easily the scene in our minds. Jesus was like any of today’s celebrities who have a huge fan base. These “groupies” followed Him literally wherever He went, with Him leading the way in front. And then now, as though suddenly (in this instance of the narrative), Jesus turned to His followers. Such a quick change of movement and position indicates the kind of confrontation Jesus made with His followers — something which we also need from time to time as we follow Him. Meaning to say, Jesus will not hesitate to face us squarely just so we can examine (and purify) our motives and intentions. And then He drops the bombshell, “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother....” An occasional “shock treatment” from Jesus can do us good. Ours shouldn’t be a blind following, the result of a bandwagon effect, based on the popularity of the one being followed. Jesus does have His demands, which we read clearly in the Gospel. He minces no words and sugarcoats no directives. For our part, we’d better think twice and be sure of our commitment to follow Him. There is definitely a price we must pay in following Jesus. We must calculate the cost and face the risk. As we said, it’s a matter of really following Jesus — which is not at all a walk in the park. Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB REFLECTION QUESTION: Are you willing to follow Jesus no matter what the cost? Lord, during the times when it’s hard for me to follow You, strengthen me.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Nov 2013 07:25:19 +0000
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