Twenty-Sixth Wednesday of Ordinary Time

And to another he said, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” But he answered him, “Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.”

There are always going to be excuses on hand for why we can't follow Jesus. We don't have the time. We don't have the financial stability. We don't feel worthy of our callings. We have friends or family to hang out with. We have jobs or other obligations. We would rather be doing something we enjoy like watch TV or play games. We have too many chores to do. There is never enough time in the day to get everything done and so we put off our relationship with God in favor of other things. However, it is important to make time for God. Every relationship in our lives needs to be cultivated if we want it to grow. Our relationship with God is no different. If we don't tend to it, it will wither and die, but if we make time for God each day and spend it in fruitful prayer and works, then our relationship with God will grow by leaps and bounds and make us into better followers of Christ and lovers of God.

What are our excuses for not following God the way we should? How can we rid ourselves of the things that most interfere with our relationship with God? Are we really willing to make the necessary sacrifices to become better lovers of God?

O Lord, help us to follow you no matter what might stand in our way.

Amen.