We’re three weeks into the new year; I thought I’d check to see how everyone is doing on their New Year’s Resolutions.
How many of you made New Year’s Resolutions? How many of you are still holding up to those resolutions? Don’t worry, I’m not going to ask you what your resolutions are/or were. If you do a “Google” search on the internet, all sorts of lists of resolutions come up, but predominantly the top five resolutions are:
#5 To spend more time with family or improve relationships with family.
#4 To quit drinking
#3 To get out of debt/or manage debt better
#2 Quit smoking
(Anybody guess?) #1 Lose weight/live healthier
Those are all admirable goals, but you can see why most people fail. It often takes many, many tries before people succeed at some of these. And it often takes the help of other, outside sources. Bad habits are hard to break.
If you’re like most people, those New Year’s Resolutions have already been broken…but that’s OK. If there’s one thing we’ve learned, as Christians, it is that we’re not perfect; and secondly, and thankfully, God doesn’t expect us to be perfect. What is important though, is that we don’t give up. When we do fail, we need to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and try again.
I myself made two New Year’s Resolutions
#1 To pray well everyday
#2 To follow the path Christ puts in front of me.
You might say that is kind of cheating, because as an ordained deacon, that should be given. I’ve already taken a vow to that effect, but none the less, I too am imperfect and occasionally fail. Following Christ is not always the easy path. I may have told this story once before…about the first time I thought about becoming a deacon. It had come to me in a dream. I tried to forget it, I didn’t think I wanted to follow that path, but after having the same dream several times over the period of about a year; I finally gave in and said, OK, OK and entered the deacon formation. I had no idea where the path would lead me. God’s path often takes us out of our comfort zones. There are often obstacles in our path that we learn from. As many of you may remember, my wife’s and my house burnt down 2 years ago. As devastating as that may have been. In retrospect, there are several good things that have come from that. I believe you’ve all heard by now that I now have another obstacle in my path, a kidney disease, that doctors have put me on chemotherapy for I still don’t know the prognosis, but I’ve learned by now, not to worry about these things. Just put them back in God’s hands and stay focused on the path He has put in front of me. God calls all of us and has a path for each one of us and I’m sure everyone here has had their share of obstacle, but what we can be sure of is that when we follow Christ, no matter how hard the path may be, or where it takes us, it eventually leads us to our Father in Heaven.
Today’s reading were a reminder again, to me of my resolutions.
In today’s 1st reading, we hear from the Prophet Jonah. Jonah was a reluctant prophet. We don’t hear the full story in today’s reading, but it’s one we’ve all heard before. When God first asked Jonah to go to Ninevah, Jonah didn’t want to go. Ninevah was a great pagan city known for its ruthlessness and immorality; and also sworn enemies of the Hebrews. Jonah assumed it would be suicide to try to preach repentance in such a place, so he hopped on a ship going in the opposite direction that God wanted him to go. Then part of the story we’re familiar with is when the ship encounters a violent storm, Jonah was thrown overboard, he was swallowed by a big fish, spent 3 days in its belly, and the fish eventually spat Jonah out on a beach right where God wanted him in the 1st place. That’s where today’s readings pick up and God asks Jonah a 2nd time to go to Ninevah; at which time he decides maybe he better follow God’s path; and much to his surprise, the city of Ninevah repents after only one day of his preaching there. God’s path for us often surprises us.
In today’s Gospel, we hear of Jesus’ call to his 1st four Apostles. That call and the call to the other 8 Apostles wasn’t just a call to 12 Jewish men some 2000 years ago. It’s an insistent and urgent call that comes down to all of us through 2000 years in the Church, here and now. Our 1st call comes at our baptism, but our response usually isn’t as quick as those first Apostles, who just dropped everything to follow Jesus. Sometimes, our response is like that of Jonah, we try, at first, to run the opposite direction. That’s the one I can certainly relate to. It took me a year.
Our challenge is to hear and to respond to that call. God puts a path in front of each of us, with Christ as our guide. It’s up to us to follow Him. As He tells Peter and Andrew, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” We’re called to go forth with the particular gifts that God has given each of us. Often, not knowing where that path will lead us. Sometimes, like Jonah, taking us where we don’t want to go.
That’s why I make the New Year’s Resolutions that I do, which often comes together in one statement, when I first get up in the morning: “Lord, today, I am yours, show me the way.” Where will God’s path lead each of us today?