“Sadly there are Pharasaical tendencies in all of us….We can be “moral”, go to church, read our Bibles, pray everyday and give alms to the poor thinking that is simply enough…………. Jesus knocked down the walls of that kind of thinking………….. Being a true disciple of Christ will stretch, bend, and break us at times. Following Jesus isn't the path to a tame or easy life. It is about taking up a cross--which means laying down our lives as Jesus did for the sake of others………… When God doesn't conform to our expectations, we're tempted to betray what we believe in. Like Judas, may times we're in it for what we can get out of it. So when God doesn't grant our wishes like a divine genie in a bottle, we are tempted to turn our back on Him….. This is what separates the boys from the men. Or maybe I should say the sheep from the goats! How do you react when God doesn't meet your expectations? If you truly accepted the invitation to follow Jesus, you'll keep going on through hurricanes, hail, and hazardous conditions……… If you have simply invited Him to follow you, you'll bail out at the first sign of bad weather.”

Gospel Text: (Mt 4:18-22)

As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers,
Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew,
casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen.
He said to them,
“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
At once they left their nets and followed him.
He walked along from there and saw two other brothers,
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.
They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets.
He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father 
and followed him.

 

Our response, at the beginning of Advent, must be the same as St. Andrew.  We must, without hesitation follow Jesus.  What exactly does that mean?  It means that we must let go of anything and everything that keeps us from responding to Christ.  It means we must be ready and willing to do whatever Jesus asks of us.  And we must be ready to do it the moment He asks.

 

Reflect, today, upon the fact that Advent is a time to start anew.  It’s a time to let yourself be called to Christ.  Listen to Him calling you and respond to Him with your whole heart.