FOLLOW ME …
Today is Word of God Sunday. So what does Jesus say in today’s Gospel reading? He repeats the message of His cousin, St John the Baptist. “The time has come and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the Good News.”
Jesus is the Word. He is God! He was there at the birth of creation! Today especially, I had expected Him to say something mind blowing, revolutionary, out of this world. Yet His message today is a familiar refrain from the times of the Old Testament. I’ve heard it so often that His voice is almost drowned out by the millions of other messages that bombards me daily. But the Ninevites found it shocking when Jonah preached this message in the first reading. They certainly took notice and obeyed immediately!
Why is my reaction so different? Perhaps it’s because we live in a more complex world where truth is relative. Truth is based on whether it is trending on social media, or “Forwarded Many Times” on WhatsApp. Truth is that commodity peddled by social influencers on FaceBook, YouTube, Tik Tok and Instagram. This message by Jesus has no “Likes”. Could His message be fake news? A scam even? After all, hardly anyone talks about it outside of church.
In our distracted and self-absorbed world, we have largely succumbed to Satan’s three temptations of Jesus in the desert: of pleasure, power and worldly recognition. I live a mostly passive existence. After a day in pursuit of my wants, I withdraw to the comfort of my personal space and live vicariously through and secretly covet the lives of others displayed on social media. I live in the fantasy world of Netflix series. I absorb the Newsfeed curated and sent to my phone by Google and I lament the state of our environment, condemn the wars and pity hapless victims of crime and violence.
The next day, the cycle repeats. Nothing changes.
Today, Jesus invites me to do something bold and radical! He wants me to realize that my complacency and self-absorption have no place in His Kingdom. The time has come to believe that I am not just a rat in a wheel! Saint Paul in the second reading reminds us that the world as we know it is passing away. The time has come for us to be liberated from a world engrossed with pleasure, power and world recognition; to realize that truth is not relative. Truth is not a commodity sold by the powerful and the popular. Jesus is the absolute Truth and He promises that we can live authentic lives in the world that awaits us.
I want to live in that world which He promised! I want to be His fisher of men! I want to bring about change, to spread the Good News and bring God’s hope and joy! But first, I need to shake off my apathy and follow Jesus. I need to believe in his Word, get out of my chair and take action. Will you join me?
Why did I even think that Jesus’ message today is anything less than mind blowing, revolutionary and out of this world?
Article by Patricia Teh, HFC Blog Contributor