theROCK

Follow Me

I find Matthew 9:9-13 particularly compelling. It chronicles the calling of St. Matthew. Jesus sees him at his customs post (counting table) and simply says “Follow Me.”  With no words spoken (at least none that are recorded in the Bible) Matthew just DOES it ~ “he got up and followed Him.”    

Now St. Matthew is the well-renowned patron saint of accountants – so you can see why he holds a place in my heart – but the majority of accountants and tax collectors are not the spontaneous sort. There’s too much OCD control and discipline built in to the profession and ditching an incomplete task just doesn’t happen.   

Obviously, something overwhelmingly powerful touched Matthew’s heart in that moment, to compel him to professional negligence. So he followed. Without question. Matthew just Followed Jesus.

And then Jesus’ sitting at table with all manner of tax collectors and sinners just compounded the incredible nature of what was going on that day. Causing Pharisees to question Jesus’ judgment and cast dispersions on those Jesus chose to speak to and include.

Isn’t it revealing? The Pharisees who thought of themselves as righteous, yet had no mercy or kindness towards those who needed conversion the most. Don’t we see that scene play out every day throughout our lives?   Their hearts were hard and their ears were deaf to the clear message of Jesus.

But Matthew who was called, despite being scorned by many in society, didn’t hesitate at all. He knew deep down that he was a sinner. He knew that he needed to change. He knew that Jesus was the Way.

Each of us must likewise be the voice, calling the lost and broken to Follow Jesus.  And if we are the one lost and broken, don’t we appreciate when someone else in our lives cares enough to speak up.

Soldiers or Lovers

In today’s gospel, Jesus’ disciples return from their experience of sharing the Good News. What should our approach to the outside world be?  Are we meant to go out as Christian soldiers or Catholic lovers?

These last three weeks we have heard in our gospels of the call we all have to be prophets in our non-Christian world. Just as in the time of Jesus, we leave church to face an indifferent or even hostile world. How are we to engage it, as soldiers or lovers? It has been suggested that we must arm ourselves with truth and steady ourselves to the assaults we will endure when we profess our faith in the world. Those supporting this approach use St Paul’s words to the Ephesians, “Therefore put on the full armor of God, that you may resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground.” We even call our school students the St. Dominic Knights.

But we are still haunted by, “What would Jesus do?” The power of Christ is love, not the sword. Although our Church history is laden with examples of harming unbelievers, if you accept our first reading, it is the Lord who holds the scales of justice. Our fight against evil is one in which it is Jesus who wars for us. When we go out, we must be secure in our own relationship with God, but the world will not be saved by the sword. The world will be saved by love. “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” 
(John 13:35)

Comfort Zones

Do you ever get a bit of inspiration from God and then suddenly it seems like He’s beating you over the head with it, bringing it up everywhere you look? That happened to me recently while pondering the idea of comfort zones. First, in a Chris Stefanik talk, then in a secular book I got for Christmas, then in Season 4 of the Chosen, “comfort zone” has been everywhere. Clearly God wants me thinking about comfort zones.

We all have them. Safe places we live in, can usually control, or return to when things are out of control. Boundaries of what we will and will not do to maintain our sense of safety. There is a need for comfort zones. They keep us alive, safe.

But our comfort zones can also hinder us. If we hold onto their boundaries too tightly, they become prisons. The thing that is meant to free us to live becomes the very thing that prevents us living freely. And as a result, they can prevent us from growth, from progress. Because growth is always uncomfortable. Progress always requires that we step forward from what we already know into what we don’t yet know or have mastery of.

Next to time, discomfort is the second most cited reason people say no to God. Instead of following His will and trusting Him to keep us safe, we decide to keep ourselves “safe.” Our comfort zones, in this way, have become false idols that prevent us from authentically worshipping God. The walk of discipleship is uncomfortable. We only have to look at Christ on the cross to know this. We have to love God more than we love our comfort zones, or we have let our comfort zone become our god.

It's the same with our neighbor. We struggle so much with the discomfort of talking to others about Jesus. It’s too awkward. We don’t want to offend. Isn’t God worth some awkwardness? Isn’t their salvation worth the risk? We must love other people more than we love our comfort zone, or we risk them never getting to know Jesus. We might even risk their salvation.

Our love of God and our love of our neighbor MUST be greater than our love of our comfort zone. Or we aren’t really following the God of the Bible. The God of the Catholic Church. The God who came to die on a cross that we might have life…not that we might be comfortable.

So this Lent, I challenge you to make your Lenten resolution stepping outside your comfort zone. Do one thing each day (for God) that is uncomfortable. Say that prayer. Mention Jesus by name. Start that Bible study. Or simply open the Bible and pray. Because if we learn to get comfortable being uncomfortable, there is no end to what God can do through us.