"What is good for the master is good for the servant”

Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St Luke we hear the disciples once again…”Doing a lot of talking”……"I will follow you wherever you go” - Really guys!!!!…I got a few words for you - Words St Peter heard loud and clear soon enough - ”Cock-a-doodle-doo”…….Jesus replies to this statement with a “Truth Bomb”…."Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head. "And to another he said, "Follow me”…Are we prepared to “follow Christ”? - Before you answer - Think long and hard about what you are about to “sign up for”!…..I can hear all the “talking” now on Catholic social media already!……Jesus was a radical man - Are you radical as well?…Are you willing to forego your comfort? - Your fortune? - Your social status?…Because that is what Jesus did….Our “comfortable” words - Our “comfortable” lives - Trying to appeasing society!!!!!….I can hear it now - ”Don’t get the people too upset!”!…Is this what Jesus did?………As Catholics we have to stop being afraid….We have to stop trying to “go along to get along”…We are supposed to be a people set apart - Is this what we see?…..It seems in the Gospel today, some of the people following Jesus started to get the idea that Jesus was not “playing around”…And here comes the excuses….And like always - Jesus does not mince words - How about us?……."Lord, let me go first and bury my father." But he answered him, "Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God." And another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home." Jesus answered him, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God”…….Jesus is very clear - St John is also very clear in the Book of Revelation……“I know your works; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, ‘I am rich and affluent and have no need of anything,’ and yet do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich, and white garments to put on so that your shameful nakedness may not be exposed, and buy ointment to smear on your eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and chastise. Be earnest, therefore, and repent. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, [then] I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me. I will give the victor the right to sit with me on my throne, as I myself first won the victory and sit with my Father on his throne. “Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches”…..Lukewarm Catholicism does not bear fruit!…..Not only does it not bear fruit - The secular world laughs at it…..Maybe it’s time to take Jesus at his word?…..Maybe it’s time to shed our “comfortable” life?….As we say in New Jersey…”Let’s stop kidding ourself”……."Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head”…Jesus was “all in” - How about us?

“I consider all things so much rubbish that I may gain Christ and be found in him”

When we read the Gospel, its very clear that Jesus did not live the most comfortable life…He was born in a stable - He lived for thirty years in obedience with a working class family…….And during his three year ministry - We are told today at Mass….”Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head”….Keeping all this in mind - Jesus was GOD!…..And he lived simply and lived amongst the poor (for the most part)…..Now for the million dollar question - How do we live?……If we have been blessed with money - How do we use it….I can hear it now - “His guy is a communist”…..”No - I AM A CATHOLIC!”…..Before you call me a communist - Read the Social Compendium of the Catholic Church - Read Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum…After you read these documents - Still think I am a “communist”?……..Are we open to life in our marriages, that means no contraception - And if we are not - Is it because we like our “stuff” - Children cost too much money!!…..Do we share our wealth with the poor?…..Do we live in luxury as BILLIONS of people on this earth die in poverty each and every day?……Clearly we can only do what we can do - But are we doing SOMETHING!………Today in the Gospel of St Luke, Jesus makes it very clear to his first disciples - “I am not messy around here”….How about us?….Do we “like” of “comfortable little lives”? - Post our “catholic blurb” on social media - And go eat a fancy meal? - Get in our over priced car - And ignore the words today read to us at Mass…WE WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE!!!!! - Don’t think for a minute that we will not!!!!!……In 2006, I was backpacking through Vietnam and Cambodia - This was the first time I saw third world poverty staring me in the face - And it was a wake up call….I was in that region of the world right before Christmas and myself and this couple from Wales I met on the bus traveling from Vietnam to Cambodia decided to bring some cloths and gifts to an orphanage in Phnom Penh (For those who do not know - Phnom Penh is the capital and the largest city Cambodia)…Let me stop right there for a moment - Where are all the orphans in America? - Oh - Those children have been aborted…Allow me to continue….When we got the orphanage in Phnom Penh, which was run by a ex-buddhist monk - There I saw children so poor I could not believe my eyes!!!…The monk did not have enough cloths for all the children, so the smallest children literally were walking around naked!!!!!….When we arrived in this orphanage and we brought all these gifts…The shouts of joy from the children pierced me!!!….The only way I could accurately describe it was - To hear their voices cheer - Was like hearing an exploding of PURE JOY! - I did not know whether to cry or cheer myself!!!!…….Jesus while he walked this earth lived simply - He served others - He spoke radical Truth and most importantly - He LIVED radical Truth!!!!…Maybe it’s time we do the same?….Now I am not saying we have to live like a homeless person…But what I am saying is…”Going along to get along” should not be an option for Catholics….Maybe its time to shed our “comfort” - There was nothing “comfortable” about the life of Christ when he walked this earth - Why should we be any different?…."What is good for the master is good for the servant”…..JMJ