The Gospel today spoke of leaving father and mother to follow Jesus. No excuses. Need to bury your father? Let the dead bury their dead. The priest spoke of an African priest that he had met. This African priest was from Rwanda, but went to seminary in Uganda. This was around 1994 when there was a lot of unrest in Rwanda. The day he was ordained, he was given the news that his village had been attacked and his father was thought to be among the dead. He immediately traveled the several hours that it took. To make a long story short, the first Mass that he said was the Mass of Christian burial for his father.
This man, this priest, did not let this slow him down in terms of following Christ and proclaiming the Gospel. It is not to say that he didn't grieve. I'm sure he did. But he had one priority and one focus: to follow Christ, and to lead others to follow Christ as well.
I have a lot of excuses.
They have no weight.
I'd like to say that this is something that I will remember and carry with me for a long time.
I'll be lucky if I remember it this entire week.
If you think of it, pray for this priest as he continues to minister and serve, and to follow Christ.
Wow. And sometimes we think we have it bad.
ReplyDeleteMy friend and I talked yesterday about the challenge of this verse in contrast to the importance of protecting the centrality and sacredness of your marriage and family.
ReplyDeleteSo often the most effective christian leaders tend to neglect their marriages and family. We don't like that, and for good reason. But at the same time, as women who both plan to live overseas with husbands working in our community, how can we enable him to serve the gospel at all costs? Sometimes that means sacrificing what would be easiest on our marriage and family. Being willing to be without him more often.
That is a hard reality.