Yesterdays Gospel has to be one of my favorites. It is the perfect bookend of the first call of the disciples. Again Peter is found to be that sinful man. In one moment Jesus offers Peter reconciliation and calls him to lead the Church. "Follow Me." For any of us these are hard words to here. The gospels make the call from God seem so easy and effortless. Even as the gospel figures 'ponder' or 'wonder' what the call means for them, things seem to work out.
I think that we might forget that the stories are in the context of retrospect. We too can look back and see where God's grace and love have intervened. But we continue to be in the midst of a journey even today. There are a great deal of hurts, sins, and evil, personal and otherwise, that we deal with on a daily basis. It is a challenge at times to pronounce, "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord."
It would seem that we like Peter, have to articulate a response to Jesus, who continues to ask, "Do you love me?" And like Peter we have the challenge of faithful discipleship which asks us to tend to the flock, and to feed the lambs. Once in a while I threaten to run away and raise cattle for the rest of my life. But the needs and concerns of people still remains, that doesn't change anything.
Later in the week I will talk about stewardship. We are entrusted with a great responsibility. Around every spiritual hurdle is Jesus inviting us to, "Follow Me."
No comments:
Post a Comment