WAIT, LORD, THERE’S SOMETHING ELSE I NEED TO DO
“Jesus said, ‘Follow me.’
But the man replied, ‘I will follow you, Lord,
but first let me say farewell to my family at home.’
To him Jesus said, ‘No one who sets a hand to the plow
and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.’” Luke 9:59,61-62
“You were called for freedom, brothers and sisters.
But do not use this freedom
as an opportunity for the flesh;
rather, serve one another through love.” Galatians 5:13-15
“You are my inheritance, O Lord.” Psalm 16:5
These are the Psalm Response and portions of the Second Reading and the Gospel for the Thirteen Sunday of Ordinary Time. They indicate three things about what the God who made us and the Jesus who saved us have known and seen since the time of Adam and Eve.
- We, humans, are made for God ALONE.
- God made us, humans, FREE to CHOOSE either God or something else.
- We, like Adam and Eve, time and time again, choose the “apple” over God.
Yes, many of us, most of the time, like the men in today’s Gospel, fail to make God our first priority. We forget about God and, like Adam and Eve, we choose the “apple.” We think first about the “apple”, and that makes as much sense as finally getting our dream job and then not doing much of what the boss demands, while wanting and expecting to keep the dream job.
WHO OR WHAT IS MY INHERITANCE?
“You are my inheritance, O Lord.” We recite it. We sing it. But do we mean it? Does God know what is truly in my heart as I sing this?
And, if I would prefer something else for my inheritance, what is it that I prefer? Can I admit it to myself? Can I look into the eyes of God and admit it? Who or what is the “apple of my eye” – that which I choose to gaze upon and allow to sink into the deepest recesses of my being? Like Adam I get to choose. Look back on last week: did I choose God most of the time or did I choose what I (not God) set as my priorities?
The Bible says of God, “But the LORD’s portion was his people. He found them in a wilderness. He shielded them, cared for them, guarded them as the apple of his eye.” Dueteronomy 32:9-10
. . . and of the right-choosing man or woman, “Keep me. O Lord, as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.” Psalm 17:8
GOD’S PLAN FOR US
“Keep my commands and live; keep my teaching as the apple of your eye.” Proverbs 7: 2
“Concerning the nations that have plundered you: Whoever strikes you strikes me directly in the eye.” Zachariah 2:12
CLUES GOD PLACED IN THE NATURE THAT SURROUNDS US
Since the time it is a tiny twig, the tree, like every other tree that ever did or ever will have life, continuously responds to the invisible breeze.
The ocean waves1 always have and always will respond to the invisible wind or the invisible gravitational pull of the sun and moon upon the earth.
If God made the multitude of leaves and the drops of ocean water to respond to the God-made invisible wind and gravity, what makes me think that I am going to get away with ignoring God’s invisible grace and God’s Son to clue us in?
Oh, the goodness of our God whose creation reveals to me our Creator! If only I would let God be “the apple of my eye”, seeking God, finding God all around me, even within me!
Look. Taste. See the Goodness of the Lord – our inheritance – even here – now, a foretaste of heaven when we shall see this “apple of our eye” face to face.
Sister Loretta
- “Waves are created by energy passing through water, causing it to move in a circular motion. However, water does not actually travel in waves. Waves transmit energy, not water, across the ocean and if not obstructed by anything, they have the potential to travel across an entire ocean basin.” Why does the ocean have waves?” NOAA (Waves can be caused by the wind or by the gravitational pull of the sun and moon on the earth.)