THE COST OF FOLLOWING JESUS


MONDAY, TWENTIETH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Judges 2:11-19; Ps 106:34-37,39-40,43-44; Mt 19:16-22

Come Follow Me

The invitation: Come follow me, is the expression of the original and tacit invitation man received from God from creation. The intention of God to make man in his image and likeness implies this invitation. God does not require anything from us to make us in his image; only his will is sufficient to accomplish that. To make us in his likeness requires that we follow his holy will every day; for this end, he gave man his word in the Garden of Eden. God gave the original invitation for higher communion with him to man in the Garden of Eden.  The prescription of what to eat and what not to eat encompasses both material and spiritual aspects, enabling us to enter into a higher or deeper communion with God. The invitation is to a higher communion because our creation is already a communion with God. The word of God is the path leading to divine communion, and the communion itself. Thus, the incarnation of the Eternal Word is the renewal and the heightening of the invitation to communion with God. The scriptures teach us that God made us for this purpose. The Church also explains that we are made to know, love, and serve God here on earth, so that we may be happy with Him in heaven.

The schooling or training of the fallen human nature to dwell with God started historically with Abraham’s call. It took a communal shape with the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt and their entrance into the Promised Land of Canaan. The struggles of the people of Israel, living with God in the Promised Land, prefigure our own spiritual struggles to maintain communion with God as Christians. After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel gradually departed from the Commandments God gave them to be the rule of their lives. Their disobedience implied a departure from God’s protection and communion, which brought problems and evil to them. “The sons of Israel did what displeases the Lord, and served the Baals. They deserted the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from the gods of the peoples around them.” The rejection of God’s word is the rejection of God himself; it was a deliberate exit from their covenant and communion with God. What the scripture expresses as the anger of God is a result of their exit from God's communion and protection. “Then the Lord’s anger flamed out against Israel. He handed them over to pillagers who plundered them; he delivered them to the enemies surrounding them, and they were not able to resist them.” God has no duty to protect those who abandoned him to worship other gods.

But he let these evils come upon his people to make them return to his merciful presence and communion of love. God appointed judges to teach and lead them on the path of his word and Commandments whenever they call out to him in repentance. “Then the Lord appointed judges for them, and rescued the men of Israel from the hands of their plunderers. But they would not listen to their judges. They prostituted themselves to other gods, and bowed down before these.” The same difficulty the Israelites experienced in listening to the word of God by the judges, we experience today following the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our attraction to sensible things and pleasures, due to the weakness of our nature, hinders us from living our Christian faith. The man who came to our Lord in the Gospel expressing a desire to enter the communion of God, went away at the demand or cost of following Jesus Christ. “If you wish to be perfect, go sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” We cannot pretend that the demand is not a difficult one. Hence, the Lord encourages and trains us gradually to become familiar with our spiritual end. Even the apostles gradually grew in their understanding of the value of their communion with Jesus Christ. What the Lord is asking may seem very difficult now; let us not go away, but pray for the grace to grow in our love for his presence, asking for his help with the psalmist: “O Lord, remember me out of the love you have for your people.”

Let us pray: O God, who have prepared for those who love you good things which no eye can see, fill our hearts, we pray, with the warmth of your love, so that, loving you in all things and above all things, we may attain your promises, which surpass every human desire. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. 

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