"Let him follow me where I am."
It was by the obedience of Jesus that saved us from a direction of sin and death. Though Adam had sinned, the new Adam - Christ - recovered our life of grace by His obedience.
Many verses in today's gospel lend rich imagery to this virtue of Christian obedience:
"Unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies"
"Let him follow me where I am"
"It was for this that I came to this hour"
"Once I am lifted up from earth".
All these verses can remind us of who Christ is to us by His obedience to the Father's will:
Jesus is our Bread of Life
His mission is to be an itinerant preacher calling us to be His disciples
His agony in the Garden of Gethsemani teaches us obedience that is a dying to self-will
His death on the Cross equates His obedience to the Father in their love for all of us.
Sin has entered our humanity ever since Eve obeyed the suggestion of the Evil One and Adam obeyed the suggestion of Eve. We know that this inherited sin lives in us when we are aware of the darkness of our rebelliousness to law or disrespect for authority - in whatever form they may require of our respective states of life. It can start with a small undisciplined desire, which if left unchecked, can lead us to all sorts of bad habits and vices. However, what Jesus has taught us is the solution to all these bad habits: to be vigilant over our senses and to desire to obey God's will to do what is good and upright.
Healing from sin and evil is a lifelong process. But it is possible, with God's grace. All the Saints were aware of their sinfulness. The 43-year old French missionary, St. Louis-Marie de Montfort (1673-1716 A.D.), was aware of this even in his deathbed. But God gave Him the grace to be grateful when he exclaimed: "I shall sin no more".
Sin has entered our humanity ever since Eve obeyed the suggestion of the Evil One and Adam obeyed the suggestion of Eve. We know that this inherited sin lives in us when we are aware of the darkness of our rebelliousness to law or disrespect for authority - in whatever form they may require of our respective states of life. It can start with a small undisciplined desire, which if left unchecked, can lead us to all sorts of bad habits and vices. However, what Jesus has taught us is the solution to all these bad habits: to be vigilant over our senses and to desire to obey God's will to do what is good and upright.
Healing from sin and evil is a lifelong process. But it is possible, with God's grace. All the Saints were aware of their sinfulness. The 43-year old French missionary, St. Louis-Marie de Montfort (1673-1716 A.D.), was aware of this even in his deathbed. But God gave Him the grace to be grateful when he exclaimed: "I shall sin no more".
The Lenten season can be a time to practice obedience again. To pray, fast and give alms. Like St. Louis-Marie de Montfort, our fidelity to this practice can grant us the healing we need for both body and soul. We practice good habits one day at a time. And we imitate the obedience of Christ one day at a time.
