Call to mind a time you drove your vehicle in a dense fog. You know there’s a road in front of you, and if it is a road that you travel often, you have a sense of which way it will turn. But what about those roads that you haven’t traveled; can you tell which way the road will go? Does it go to the left, to the right, or does the road continue on straight ahead? Will you be in the ditch or on the road, or even worse, will something be in the road that you won’t see in time to stop? There is nothing more frustrating than to be in a hurry to get somewhere and have to contend with the fog. That’s the way that life is all too often. I often find myself saying, “Now Lord, I know you brought me to this place, but what comes next?” I can’t see the next turn.
On your spiritual journey, have you ever felt like you did not know what you were supposed to do next? Maybe we feel like we are okay and coming to Mass and so forth because we know we are on a familiar road, but we wonder what next step should we take, or could we take, on our spiritual journey.
Our spiritual journey should be a great journey, not a journey that seems terribly long or arduous. But if we don’t know what the next step is, then maybe we are not really sure where we are on our journey. Not knowing where we are on a journey can make it seem much longer than it really is and that can be exhausting. Again, think of driving in a dense fog, on an unfamiliar road with many turns, for a good distance, it takes great concentration, can seem like it is much longer of a journey than it is, and it can be exhausting.
So, what about our spiritual journey? As Christians we are called to be followers or students of Jesus Christ. Church people call that Discipleship. But, if you grew up in church, or have been around it for any amount of time, it can begin to feel like a trip without clear direction, no visible road markers, maybe in a fog, with no end in sight.
When you come to church maybe it feels like there are all these things you are practically guilted into doing. People have commented to me over the years that it seems like our pastor is nagging us all the time. For example:
People have commented that they feel like they are being nagged by inappropriately stern reminders about going to Confession or going to hell, and Holy Days of Obligation. And the biggest constant nag of all is always for whatever fundraiser the parish happens to be currently hosting. And there seems like there is always at least one fundraiser running, always.
At yet, on another level, an intellectual level, a spiritual level, at the level of peoples’ minds and hearts we really aren’t being asked for anything of consequence, that is, not anything that seems to really matter by changing or transforming our lives. It feels like a trip without any intentional direction. We are just being asked to go all over the place. On such a trip there are no clear signs, no mile markers, no end in sight. My friends. . . That –is – not – a – path – to – discipleship.
Discipleship is about following Jesus. Discipleship is a journey. And every journey is made up of steps. For the next five weeks we are presenting a homily series on the steps to the path to discipleship.
That is what the next five weeks of homilies will be all about, the simple steps of discipleship. Because, it turns out, successful discipleship all comes down to simple steps. They are not easy but they are entirely simple. We have identified specific STEPS, each of which are, in fact, life style choices choices that are essential to growing and strengthening our faith.
You see, in order to grow in faith in Jesus, we need to grow in our relationship with Jesus. This is a relationship through which he can change us and transform us. To grow in our relationship with Jesus these STEPS are all important to take.
So over the next few weeks we are going to take a look at specific, simple steps. These steps are NOT obligations to check off a check list. When it comes to faith, there is a constant temptation to look at spiritual practices as obligations to be fulfilled, or hoops we have to jump through. The steps we are talking about are not obligations. As soon as we start to look at these steps as obligations, that is, if we see these things as things we have to do to be a good Christian or a practicing Catholic, we weaken their potential effectiveness; the steps lose their ability to change and transform us. If you take these steps out of a sense of obligation, the steps lose their ability to change and transform you.
Jesus talked about taking steps to discipleship all the time. His favorite invitation to potential disciples was simply: “Follow me.” The point is not to get you to do more stuff. None of us need more stuff to do. The steps we're talking about are aimed toward simplifying not complicating your life.
The point of this homily series is not to take all the steps at once. They are called STEPS because they are meant to be taken one at a time as God calls you to take them. We simply want to make you aware of these steps. Let’s quickly go over the steps. Steps, S-T-E-P-S is an acronym.
S --The first S is about sharing our faith. God wants to include us in the life of his kingdom. And we don't buy life in his kingdom. We can't earn our way to it. We'll never deserve it. There is only one thing we can do with it, share the news of it. In fact, our faith actually grows as we share this message with others.
T is about tithing or giving. Perhaps nothing grows our faith and trust in God as much as giving. God is a giver, and we can use our money to become more like him. God is a giver, and we can use our money to become more like God in that way.
E is engaging, which is about small groups. We all need friends in faith who strengthen and support us in our relationship with Jesus. We need people around us who encourage us.
P is for Practicing prayer and the sacraments. To grow as a follower of Christ we need to talk to him. We need to learn to hear, and recognize the Lord’s voice in prayer.
S –The last S stands for serving, serving in a ministry. One of the descriptions used most often in the Scriptures for the men and woman who were closest to God, is servant of the Lord.
So those are the S-T-E-P-S, the steps. What does Jesus tell us about steps?
Today we heard Jesus issue a remarkable challenge about steps. He says: Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake, and that of the gospel, will save it. So the primary steps are to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus. That sounds like a lot, so we will break those steps down over the next five weeks into manageable steps.
Discipleship is simply following the Lord, step by step. You don’t have to be perfect to get started. It’s following the Lord step by step, a little bit more today, than yesterday, a little bit more tomorrow than today. And in the process, our journey on the road to discipleship is simply more successful. These steps which we are going to be talking about, are steps to life change, life transformation. So I encourage you to be sure you come for the next few weeks and bring a friend with you. Let’s take this intentional journey together, let’s take these S-T-E-P-S together, let’s take steps, one step at a time.
Listen to the audio version of this homily here:
Our spiritual journey should be a great journey, not a journey that seems terribly long or arduous. But if we don’t know what the next step is, then maybe we are not really sure where we are on our journey. Not knowing where we are on a journey can make it seem much longer than it really is and that can be exhausting. Again, think of driving in a dense fog, on an unfamiliar road with many turns, for a good distance, it takes great concentration, can seem like it is much longer of a journey than it is, and it can be exhausting.
So, what about our spiritual journey? As Christians we are called to be followers or students of Jesus Christ. Church people call that Discipleship. But, if you grew up in church, or have been around it for any amount of time, it can begin to feel like a trip without clear direction, no visible road markers, maybe in a fog, with no end in sight.
When you come to church maybe it feels like there are all these things you are practically guilted into doing. People have commented to me over the years that it seems like our pastor is nagging us all the time. For example:
- We need volunteers to serve the spaghetti dinner
- We need people to set up for the Christmas pageant
- We want can goods for the food drive
- We have to pay the mortgage on our building.
- We have all sorts of envelops every week to put into all sorts of 2nd and sometimes 3rd collections to go with all the different envelopes. --People say, “I’m confused.”
People have commented that they feel like they are being nagged by inappropriately stern reminders about going to Confession or going to hell, and Holy Days of Obligation. And the biggest constant nag of all is always for whatever fundraiser the parish happens to be currently hosting. And there seems like there is always at least one fundraiser running, always.
At yet, on another level, an intellectual level, a spiritual level, at the level of peoples’ minds and hearts we really aren’t being asked for anything of consequence, that is, not anything that seems to really matter by changing or transforming our lives. It feels like a trip without any intentional direction. We are just being asked to go all over the place. On such a trip there are no clear signs, no mile markers, no end in sight. My friends. . . That –is – not – a – path – to – discipleship.
Discipleship is about following Jesus. Discipleship is a journey. And every journey is made up of steps. For the next five weeks we are presenting a homily series on the steps to the path to discipleship.
That is what the next five weeks of homilies will be all about, the simple steps of discipleship. Because, it turns out, successful discipleship all comes down to simple steps. They are not easy but they are entirely simple. We have identified specific STEPS, each of which are, in fact, life style choices choices that are essential to growing and strengthening our faith.
You see, in order to grow in faith in Jesus, we need to grow in our relationship with Jesus. This is a relationship through which he can change us and transform us. To grow in our relationship with Jesus these STEPS are all important to take.
So over the next few weeks we are going to take a look at specific, simple steps. These steps are NOT obligations to check off a check list. When it comes to faith, there is a constant temptation to look at spiritual practices as obligations to be fulfilled, or hoops we have to jump through. The steps we are talking about are not obligations. As soon as we start to look at these steps as obligations, that is, if we see these things as things we have to do to be a good Christian or a practicing Catholic, we weaken their potential effectiveness; the steps lose their ability to change and transform us. If you take these steps out of a sense of obligation, the steps lose their ability to change and transform you.
Jesus talked about taking steps to discipleship all the time. His favorite invitation to potential disciples was simply: “Follow me.” The point is not to get you to do more stuff. None of us need more stuff to do. The steps we're talking about are aimed toward simplifying not complicating your life.
The point of this homily series is not to take all the steps at once. They are called STEPS because they are meant to be taken one at a time as God calls you to take them. We simply want to make you aware of these steps. Let’s quickly go over the steps. Steps, S-T-E-P-S is an acronym.
S --The first S is about sharing our faith. God wants to include us in the life of his kingdom. And we don't buy life in his kingdom. We can't earn our way to it. We'll never deserve it. There is only one thing we can do with it, share the news of it. In fact, our faith actually grows as we share this message with others.
T is about tithing or giving. Perhaps nothing grows our faith and trust in God as much as giving. God is a giver, and we can use our money to become more like him. God is a giver, and we can use our money to become more like God in that way.
E is engaging, which is about small groups. We all need friends in faith who strengthen and support us in our relationship with Jesus. We need people around us who encourage us.
P is for Practicing prayer and the sacraments. To grow as a follower of Christ we need to talk to him. We need to learn to hear, and recognize the Lord’s voice in prayer.
S –The last S stands for serving, serving in a ministry. One of the descriptions used most often in the Scriptures for the men and woman who were closest to God, is servant of the Lord.
Today we heard Jesus issue a remarkable challenge about steps. He says: Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake, and that of the gospel, will save it. So the primary steps are to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus. That sounds like a lot, so we will break those steps down over the next five weeks into manageable steps.
Discipleship is simply following the Lord, step by step. You don’t have to be perfect to get started. It’s following the Lord step by step, a little bit more today, than yesterday, a little bit more tomorrow than today. And in the process, our journey on the road to discipleship is simply more successful. These steps which we are going to be talking about, are steps to life change, life transformation. So I encourage you to be sure you come for the next few weeks and bring a friend with you. Let’s take this intentional journey together, let’s take these S-T-E-P-S together, let’s take steps, one step at a time.
Listen to the audio version of this homily here:
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