LET US FOLLOW THE LORD

LET US FOLLOW THE LORD OUR GOD

Today's gospel invites us to follow the Lord who is our faith, hope and love.An elderly lady who was so pious and god-fearing, used to stand on her porch and shout, "Praise the Lord... thank you God".Her next door neighbour who didn't believe in God used to shout back saying, "God back inside, there is no God". It went on and on.And one day, the lady stood on her porch and shouted saying, "God, I am hungry and I don't have food. Please send me some groceries". The next day when she opened the door, she saw a big bag of groceries at the door. She thanked God with a loud voice saying, "Thank you God for sending me groceries. I love you Lord". The man then shouted back saying, "there is no god. I got the groceries for you". She again shouted saying, "thank you god. you not only sent the groceries but also made the devil pay for them".Then one day the man died and went to heaven because he bought the groceries for the old lady. But he was curious to know about hell. So he got permission and went there. For his surprise, it was wonderful. he was treated well, fed well and was entertained well. So the next weekend also he went there and had a lot of fun. And when he went the third time, he was put in a corner and he experienced hell. He screamed and in his torment said to the devil,"what is going on here. I am suffering" The devil said to him, "Before you were a visitor but now you are a resident".
Last Wednesday afternoon while I was minding my own business, I experienced a big shake. The whole house was shaking. Then I learned it was a slight earthquake. we all think that we are safe and secure and there are certain things beyond our control and we need God to help us. Without God we are nothing.And in today's gospel, Jesus asks three people to follow Him but they all had different excuses.

1. To the first person, Jesus demanded faith. He said to Jesus, "I will follow you wherever you go" when Jesus said that he should have faith in the Lord but not looking for security. He went away.

2. To the second person, Jesus demanded hope. He said to Jesus, "first let me go and bury my father" meaning let me spend time with my parents until they die, then I will come and follow you. Jesus said to him, "let them look after themselves. you come and follow me". He then went away from the Lord.

3. To the third person, Jesus demanded love. He said to Jesus, "I will say goodbye to my family" that means let me hold on to material things and people for a while and then I will come and follow you. When Jesus asked him to detach from them, he was sad and went away.
Today's gospel invites us to recommit ourselves to the love and kindness of God in Jesus Christ. when we love the Lord, we will always find a way to connect ourselves with Him.
Conclusion: Once an old man who wanted to spade his potato garden sent a letter to his only son who was in prison saying, "Dear Son, I miss you. when you were at home, you used to dig the garden. But in my old age, I couldn't do anything. when are you coming back?"Few days later, the dad got a letter from the son saying, "God, please don't dig up the garden. That is where I buried the bodies".The next day F.b.i agents and police came and dug up the whole place without finding any bodies. Then they apologized the old man and left.And the old man again got a letter from the son saying, "Dad, now you may plant the potatoes. That is all I could do under the circumstances".
Love always finds a way. Yes, when we have love, we will find a way too. Amen.