"Follow Me," says the Lord

Discerning God’s Call: Today is the feast of St. Matthew, an apostle and an evangelist and also a former tax collector.  Jesus  passes by Matthew’s custom post, notices Matthew and says to him: “Follow me.”  Jesus passes by your “custom post” as well. Notices you and says “Follow Me.”

Why do you think Matthew heard Jesus? Why do you think Matthew left his custom post, stopped collecting taxes—a lucrative business for him—and followed the Lord, who had nowhere to lay His head, who was becoming the disdain of the Pharisees and leaders of the time, whose life would eventually be on the line, so to speak.  Following Jesus was going to lead to Calvary, though that was not as yet revealed by Jesus.  As He drew the twelve apostles—Matthew would become one of those men—closer and closer to Himself, Jesus would reveal this information to them.  What was it about Jesus, then, that attracted Matthew and other disciples?  Why did Matthew, once he met Jesus, never leave Him? Why, even after the crucifixion and death of Jesus, did Matthew stay with the apostles during those dark days before the resurrection of Jesus?

Will you follow Jesus and stay with Him, even n the darkest of hours? Why or why not?  Jesus notices you, as He noticed Matthew at his custom post, and says “Follow Me?” Will you leave that activity which, like collecting taxes and exploiting others, as Matthew was doing prior to his conversion,  is not what Jesus asks of you?  Will you risk following Jesus when the Pharisees of our day taunt you? Will you cling to the Lord, sit at His feet and be taught what it means to build up the Kingdom of God?

Religious Life or any Vocation: A Following of Jesus

Religious Life or any Vocation is a following of Jesus, who, as He reminds us in today’s Gospel, Mt. 8: 18-22, “has nowhere to rest his head.”  Following Jesus means hanging loose, so to speak, not seeking a place to “rest our head.”  How often do we, like the disciple in today’s reading, say to the Spirit, either in word or action:  “[L]et me go first and bury my father,” or do this or that. In other words, when the Spirit nudges us, we are likely to say: “Not now, Jesus. I got to finish what I am doing. Or, first, Lord, I got to run this errand or that errand.”   Or, “I’m too tired right now, Lord. I need to rest first my head.” And, what happens, you really do not follow the Spirit’s lead at all.  The son or daughter who wanted you to play with him or her is abandoned. Your wife or husband who wanted you to share your day and listen to what happened for him or her that day is ignored as you take time first to do whatever.

Many times, Jesus says: "'Follow me,' and let go of your plan right now!"

Choices and Jesus' Promise

Vocational Choice:  “…[N]o one [in any walk of life],” Jesus says, “who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel ….will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and brothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.”

The pain involved in leaving that which is dear to us or which is difficult to set aside as we follow the Spirit’s lead or when we choose the vocation in life to which God is inviting us—marriage, religious life, priesthood, the single lifestyle—is richly compensated for by our loving God.  Jesus says that we will receive “hundred times more now in this present age…and eternal life in the age to come.”  There is never a time when we sacrifice for God in choosing that vocation to which we feel called or when we sacrifice for another in living life fully according to the Gospel and what Christian charity requires of us  that the “pay” is  not “a hundred times more” than we ever imagined.

What, today, am I willing to do to follow the Spirit’s lead be that in choosing a vocation in life or in making less weighty decisions to live life fully?

Discernment: Letting Go, Letting God

Discernment:  In today’s first reading, Acts 15: 7-21, Peter participates in the debate about whether to demand that the Gentiles be circumcised before being baptized in Christ Jesus. Eventually, Peter gets up and says to the Apostles and the presbyters: “My brothers, you are well aware that from early days God made his choice among you that through my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the Gospel and believe.”  Peter knows his place, his calling.  Do you know yours?

Knowing does not mean that you will not find yourself in difficult situations such as a heated debate with fellow “apostles,” or presbyters (members of the clergy), or family or community members or friends.  You may need to take a stand. So, too, might the “apostle” or “presbyter,” the member of your family or religious community,  or, even, friends.  You may leave each other on opposite sides of the debate and need to move on . The door that you wanted open may not open for you or for the presbyter or others with whom you are discussing an issue.  It is then time to move in a different direction that God will reveal to you and to the other “apostles” or the “presbyter or others involved in the argument.  Letting go, letting God, trusting that God has another plan full of hope for you, not just the one you were determined to make a reality for yourself,  is part of  what discernment is about!

What we Learn from St. Joseph

Discerning the Spirit’s Voice: Hearing what God is asking of us is no easy task.  In today’s Gospel, Mt. 1: 18-25, Joseph is wrestling with what to do about his betrothal to Mary, who is pregnant and the child Is not his.  We know that he trying to figure out how not to expose Mary to share and whether he should divorce her quietly. He does not consider keeping her as his wife when, in his sleep an angel of the Lord appears to him and tells him not to be afraid and, yes, retain her as his wife.  His discernment included the agony that sometimes involved  decision-making. It involved looking at several options and “sleeping” on his decision.  Joseph was not the only one concerned about the appropriate decision. So, too, was the Lord. God has a stake in whatever decision we make and sometimes we need to be totally at rest for God to make His will known. Yes, we need to let go of making any decision and relying upon God—his going to sleep on it may indicate that kind of surrender.

Discernment: Paying Attention

In the Gospel of today’s liturgy,  John 21: 1-14, Peter and his friends go fishing and catch nothing.  Jesus is on the shore watching them. He says: “Children, have you caught anything?” To which, they say “no.” “Cast your nets on the right side of the boat.” They do so and bring in 153 large fish.

An essential apart of discernment is paying attention. God is the Director of our lives. He is always standing on the shore watching us and sending us directions, giving suggestions, challenging us.  Many times we do not experience any fruit to our labors. “We have fished all night and caught nothing.” Jesus, concerned, asked: “Did you catch anything?”  Are we humble enough to acknowledge the truth? Moreover, are we humble enough to switch directions, to try something  that was not part of our plan? Religious life? “You got to be kidding, Lord!” “That marriage partner? Really, Lord, we’d we good together? He’s not a wealthy man? He’s not cute. I want someone who makes lots of money. I want someone who is dashingly handsome!”  “That career?  This other career path promises lots of money, Lord. I want to be rich.” “No, my child! I have other plans for you.”

Are we willing to follow God’s plans or will we stubbornly and proudly stick to our own?

Discernment of God's Will

Discernment:  Discernment involves knowing when we are in sync or out of sync  with God’s will.   In  Ezra 6: 7-8, 12, 14-20, we read about how the Jews, having returned to Jerusalem following their exile in Babylon, rebuilt the Temple at God’s command and through the cooperation of the pagan king Cyrus and Darius, the encouragement of the prophets and financial help of the Persian empire.   All worked together to bring about the will of God for the good of the Chosen People, the People of God.  The Jews needed to recognize that God used even their pagan neighbors and those who imposed exile upon them , those whom they perceived as their enemies, to communicate His will and bring about His plans for their salvation.   In our day, we, too, need to be open to everyone and everything as an instrument in God’s hand to reveal what He is asking of us. This was drove home to me this morning. Five minutes into my hour of prayer, the fire alarm blared through the building. All were escorted to one “safe” place.  Ten minutes later, thinking all was clear, I returned to chapel, only to be called back to the “safe” place for another 30 minutes.  My hour of prayer was, to say the least, disrupted and basically close to its conclusion. I am boiling inside when, all of a sudden, the Lord says to me in the quiet of my heart:  “My will for you this morning is to be respectful of procedures put in place to keep the residents of this facility safe and to let go of idolatrizing your scheduled routine.” 

Be attentive today to how God communicates His will to you, through whom and through what circumstances of your life.  We may be clinging to our will and not seeking God’s will.  A clue might be how strongly you react to something or someone. Behind that reaction, if you probe deeply enough, you might find that which you, too, need to let go of in submission to God’s holy will!

Discernment of God's Will according to St. Ignatius

Step 2 of St. Ignatius method of discernment is detachment, that is total openness to what God wants.  If I am going to be totally open,  then I need to set aside that toward which I am personally inclined. St. Ignatius is suggesting that I be totally indifferent, totally detached from the outcome of my prayer. That means that I want only God’s answer, not my own, and that I will not give God suggestions.  I will not pray: “God, please, please give me…….”  Or that I would say: “Lord, I want to be married to a person who has lots of money.” Or, “Lord, I want to be married to a person who is physically beautiful, has blond hair, is a graduate of…..”  Or, “Lord, I want to enter a religious community that lets me serve on the West coast or the East coast or the Midwest.”  Or, “God, I want to enter a religious community in which the members wear a habit, do not wear a habit, etc., etc.”  No! If I am detached from the answer, then my prayer sounds something like: “Lord, only your will be done. Reveal to me what your will is for me and give me the grace to be totally open to what you want of me and for me.” I want God’s answer and His alone. I truly want to know, of the choices that I am considering, given the circumstances I am in, what do you want of me, Lord. When it comes to a State in Life, I truly want to know whether God is calling me to be married, to remain single or to enter religious life.  St. Ignatius calls us to  desire neither one choice over another or one vocation over another but that we desire only that which God desires of us. In other words, if totally open, my  prayer might go something like this: “Lord, show me what you want of me? Reveal your will to me.”   In the words of Jesus spoken in the Garden: "Not my will but yours be done, O Lord." Or the words of Mary at the Annunciation: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done to me according to your will."

Interior Freedom in Discernment

Interior Freedom: A Fourth Attitude Necessary for Discernment of God’s Will

 In order to discernment God’s will for me, I need to be interiorly free.  St. Ignatius describes three types of persons  and their differing approaches to decision-making, each of which reveals the degree to which he/she is interiorly free.

•         The talk-and-no-action person, the well-intentioned person whose intentions never materialize.  These persons want to do God’s will but never get around to doing so.  They are too distracted, too busy accomplishing what they want to do and do not take time for the one thing necessary, bringing one’s will into harmony with the will of God.

•          The person who does all kinds of things, is busy accomplishing good but not tuning into the one thing necessary, doing what God wants of him/her.  These individuals put conditions on what God wants of them. “I will do God’s will if….” They will do what God wants as long as it is not a total commitment and as long as they do not need to adjust their priorities.   It’s “my will first,” and then “I will decide whether to follow what God is directing me to do with my life.”

·         The third type of person gives everything. Their deepest desire is to be doing what God is calling them to do no matter what the cost.  They attach no conditions to doing God’s will.      Only by being disposed in this way is a person authentically free  to find and follow God’s desires.

 

Source:  David Fleming, SJ, Draw Me into Your Friendship: The Spiritual Exercises, A Literal Translation and a Contemporary Reading