As Jesus Passed On July 7

Let us pray: Amos, prophet of Good Friday, you foresaw the death of the Son of God. You told us the “son” would set at midday and cover the earth with darkness in broad daylight.

Help us to see differently through the light that Jesus shined. Help us to hear completely. Help us to see clearly. Help us to love completely. Help us to heed wholeheartedly your teachings in thought, word and deed.

Help us respond to the invitation we get each day from Jesus of Nazareth. Help us to simply “Follow” and “follow” simply. Amen.

Study

As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him. Matthew 9:9

http://www.usccb.org/nab/070706.shtml

Sitting at my desk forty hours or more each week I can look out onto 17th Street in Northwest Washington. Just half a block away is the ornate Old Executive Office Building sitting next door to The White House. Thousands of people walk and drive past that window every day.

Follow me.

Poor men and women ask for a little loose change to buy a hamburger at McDonalds.

Flower sellers peddle a few buds to brighten our lately too rainy days.

Push carts quench our urban thirst for Mountain Dew.

Starched uniformed and plainly clothed Secret Service agents check people and vehicles, sorting out the threats surrounding the numerous Federal buildings in the neighborhood.

Young interns and government workers scurry to their desks and phones and assignments.

Wizened veterans count down the days until retirement.

Baby boomers worry about their growing children in school and their aging parents in the early stages of…some…condition…unknown or forgotten.

Vacationers climb the steps to the Renwick, the Corcoran, or the other sights of the Capital City.
Yes…we even have our share of tax collectors not too far away in the Department of the Treasury.

Follow me.

I would expect that among this throng, the majority of us would identify ourselves with one of the branches of Christian faith as our “religion.”

Follow me.

Those three syllables ring in my ears. Jesus lived his life as a model for us. Jesus gave us his example to imitate. His prayers teach us to pray. His poverty teaches us to accept our poverty. His suffering helps us to endure our trials.

Follow me.

Maybe we don’t think we need the doctor. Are we not the healthy patient?

Are we like Matthew – ready to walk away from what preoccupies us? Or do we want to stay right here in our comfortable zone?

Or are we like the scribes – who only saw Jesus as a teacher, not as God, Messiah and Savior – too self-righteous and incapable of responding to Jesus' call to repentance and faith in the Good News? Are we just more well-disposed people who can not see more deeply and recognize exactly who Jesus is?

Action

Am I ready to follow? I read these challenging questions recently and turned them inward…

• Jesus counseled nonviolence and refused to counter-attack with violence when nailed to the cross. In light of the words and example of Jesus, what role do I see for defense and the military in the United States?
  
• Jesus said that a person should abandon his mother and his father, son and daughter in order to follow him: How would I apply this to my family values?
  
• Jesus said “Give all that you own to the poor.” How does this inform my understanding of tax policy, charitable giving and the redistribution of wealth?
  
• Jesus included foreigners, strangers, and aliens in his compassion. How does this practice inform my understanding of our immigration policy and its responsibilities to people in other nations?
  
• Jesus said to his disciples that the best way for them to serve him was by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and housing the homeless. How would this teaching inform my understanding of domestic policy and the revenues necessary to put it into effect?

See differently. The cross is the only step to heaven. Take it up and follow me.