Tough to obey

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary alert us to the events in our lives we are part of the journey or mission to which we are called in response to the Will of the Father. The prophet Amos is described by Friar Jude Winkler as a simple and poor herdsman who is called to a prophetic mission just prior to the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel to the Assyrians. F. Gogot describes the social and economic conditions in the northern kingdom as a time of prosperity for the wealthy and neglect of the poor and disadvantaged. The illusion of good times and security of which he writes resonates with our social situation today. The psalmist captures the theme as he declares that the people have forgotten to obey God as evidenced in a lack of discipline and working with thieves and adulterers. Our needs for self satisfaction often seem to be immediate and in complete disregard for others. Catie O'Malley reflects on our tendency to try to control God as we seek to follow His Will on our terms. The Gospel from Matthew today describes a dialogue with Jesus wherein He emphasizes that the journey does not have a destination. We are so comfortable with reaching our destination or our goal. It is about the journey. That journey continues to call us to trust and surrender to God. Friar Jude explains that the man requesting to bury his dad before becoming a disciple is really suggesting to Jesus that he complete a year long Jewish ritual to honour the dead before joining Jesus. Our lives are the record of how we have responded to the call from Jesus to follow Him. The curves and changes we have experienced are the travel log in which we can see the action of God in our lives which we did not have in our plans.