Still unexpected as a way of life

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary present a plan for living which is quite counter cultural. We may not be surprised to hear the call to shun the pursuit of wealth or to include the marginalized in our journey but the challenge is to live in this way. Vows and proclamations of intent are the start. The letter to Timothy directs the young disciple to "pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness". The pressure of the culture to amass wealth, even suggesting in the "gospel of abundance" that God rewards righteousness with wealth seems to ignore the warnings to Timothy and the questioning of the psalmist about the ransom appropriate for life. Luke details some names of women who followed Jesus through the cities and villages as He brought the good news of the Kingdom of God to people. The intimate relationship with the Divine is being shown as a gift offered to both men and women. The separation in worship of men and women in the culture of Jesus time is challenged. We need to be the counter cultural disciples in action today for the example modeled by Jesus and His followers to be seen as part of our spiritual journey.