We’ve all heard about Bud Light, Crystal Light, light salad dressing, light yogurt, Cooking Light, but have you ever heard of “Christianity Light?” Basically, it is removing what we, the people, do not like about Christianity, about being a follower of Christ.
Examples of “Christianity Light” might be not living the Faith we say we believe…
- Yes, my faith calls me to love everyone, but this person, this person, I just cannot love.
- Yes, my faith calls me to forgive others, but this person, I will never forgive.
- Yes, I should attend Mass Weekly, but the weekend is my only time to party.
- Yes, I should… but…
“My sheep hear my voice and they follow me,” says Jesus in today’s Gospel.
As I have shared before, Jesus speaks us… We hear Jesus in the Scriptures and every week, as we gather as God’s people to pray, He speaks to us in the Scripture Readings of the day.
God has something to share with us today and every day. Something we may have forgotten; something we may have not heard before; something that we were not ready to hear in the past, but God wishes to share with us today.
But then follows the difficult task: We must follow Jesus. What does following Jesus mean? As one person, Fr. Jose Pagola, has shared, it is:
- to believe what Jesus believed
- to love what Jesus loved
- to defend the dignity of the human person as Jesus did
- to be with the powerless and vulnerable as Jesus was
- to be free to do good as Jesus did
- to trust the Father as Jesus did
- to face life and death with the great message of Easter – Hope and Victory.
As Americans or maybe just because it is our personalities, often we make quick decisions about many things… Just maybe we need to be reminded that when we listen deeply (meditating, thinking) on God’s Word, then we are motivated and strengthened to follow.
To follow not as sheep, but to follow as Disciples of the Savior, Jesus. Disciples who, “hear the Word, reflect upon the Word of God and strive daily to faithfully live the Word of God always and everywhere.
As I was preparing my homily, I thought of the cell phone commercial, “Do you hear me now?” God knows we hear him when our lives live the message of Jesus, live the word of God more faithfully each day.