Deacon Tom Writes,
“Decision Time”
Making important decisions is seldom easy. St. Matthew recounts the story of ordinary men who were running a successful business when they were asked to make a decision. Their encounter with Christ causes them to alter the course of their lives. Called by Jesus they set out in a new direction to face the uncertainties of life with a new vision…. that all we experience in this life is not the totality of our existence but rather a greater reality is yet to come, one that we can begin to grasp by following in the ways of Jesus.
In deciding to follow Jesus these men became witnesses to the life transforming possibilities that Christ brought to every person and every situation he encountered during his brief ministry. Because they decided to follow Jesus, it is through their eyes and through their eye-witness testimony these events have been written down and preserved by Holy Mother Church. Today these words come alive for us here and now as we are asked, “How do we respond to Christ’s invitation to ‘Come after me…’”
We all have received a calling from God. We all have a unique and specific purpose in life that belongs to each of us individually. If we do not accept this call, if we don’t set out to accomplish the specific task God has given us, then that work, that effort, remains undone. People go hungry, there is no one to visit sick and imprisoned, no one to comfort the widow or widower in the time of grief. It is like the movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” If we who profess to be disciples of Christ do not respond with our actions, those simple acts of kindness go undone and God’s work goes unfinished,
Today our Gospel prompts us to look into our lives and see how we have responded to the call that we have received, the call to love God and neighbor, the call to forgive those who hurt us, the call to live our lives in a spirit of wonder and awe knowing God is with us, always present in our lives, always seeking to bestow his abundant graces upon us just as he did to those we read about today. What he does for them he will do for everyone who makes the decision to follow him.
Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom
Please Visit www.deaconspod.com for a contemporary conversation exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer.
OTHER RESOURCES
Recommended Reading: The Sermon on the Mount by Fr. Frank Matera provides readers who wish to use the sermon as the standard by which they live their lives every day and shows how the teaching summons believers to single-minded devotion and wholehearted service to God. He unfolds the historical and theological background to the sermon.
Recommended YouTube Video: The Sermon on the Mount by Fr. David Senior, CP
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