Simple and sincere

The role of decisiveness and sincerity in the Christian Life are brought to mind by the tests today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary. Nate Romano SJ is reminded of the deep desire of the elderly clients he served to leave a legacy for their children. The passage from first Kings today describes how Elijah followed the Will of God that his prophetic inheritor would be Elisha who he found, as the still small voice of Yahweh had instructed, plowing the fields of his family. The call to serve the Lord required an immediate response. Elisha suggested initially that he should take proper leave from his parents but the demeanour of Elijah communicated the need to make this choice to follow the Will of God without looking back. Friar Jude Winkler speaks the truth of those decisions in life which we need to make and move into trusting like the prayer of the psalmist that the Lord will “hold fast my lot”. The decisions we make are communicated to others in our words and actions. The Gospel gives us insight into the way in which Jesus communicated with the people. Friar Jude reminds us that the Jewish heritage of Jesus is shown in particular in the exaggeration in the descriptions in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew's Gospel. Some Christians interpret these texts literally and will not swear the oaths which are part of our legal practice. Few Christians have poked out their eyes or cut off the hand which may have led them to sin. Our simple “yes” and “no” is a sign of sincerity which Jesus exhorts us to practice as evidence of our no turning back decision to accept His invitation to not turn back as we follow the Way.