In every family, there are rules to live by! I can remember when I was a young child, outside playing, and our Mom would call to us to come in for supper. When she called, we were sometimes inclined take our “good ‘ole time” or even worse, we would ignore her. So Mom made a rule: when she called we were to immediately let her know that we heard her. We were to call out, “I’m coming in!” or “I hear you!” Even a simple “OK” was better than ignoring her!
We ignored our Mom’s voice, I think, because we had other things to do. We weren’t ready to stop doing what we were doing. We weren’t interested in an interruption. Worse than that, though Mom was calling us for our own good (it was time for dinner, and rest, and family time!), we had other priorities. We thought we knew better. We didn’t. Mom taught us that her call was important and was to take priority.
Jesus is calling us. He’s calling us to follow, to be a disciple, a learner, a student of his teachings. Jesus was on a mission, and he invited people to follow him and walk with him on that mission.
People in his day thought they knew better than Jesus did. They didn’t really like his mission. Wasn’t he supposed to overthrow the oppressive Roman government? Wasn’t he supposed to be a warrior to fight the enemies of the people?
But Jesus insisted that his mission was to forgive and heal, to be compassionate and welcoming, to feed the spiritually and physically hungry. His mission was to worship and pray, to be one with his heavenly Father. His mission was to turn the other cheek and go the extra mile. His mission was to suffer and die for us. The Father’s mission was to raise Jesus from death.
Jesus still has a mission, and he invites people TODAY to follow him and walk with him on that mission. He calls to us into lives of forgiveness, healing, and compassion. His call is to worship and pray, serve the poor, take up our cross and follow him. Jesus is calling us to sacrificial love. Jesus is calling us to teach this mission, especially to the little ones.
Yes, Jesus is calling to us. We’re sometimes inclined to ignore his call, or decide to put a response off until we’re good and ready. Jesus will never give up calling to us.
When Jesus calls, we’re at our best when we respond with “OK!”
“OK” is a word like “AMEN.”
And “AMEN” mean “YES!”
Yes, Lord, I hear you.
I’m on the way!
Lead me in the way I should go!
