Posted by The WORD in Other Words by Fr Joseph Miras SVD (Canada) for the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time / A
God is the goal of following Christ. To be claimed by God as God’s possession is the objective of faith. It might appear as if only those who are “full-time” in the life of faith, like the religious or church people have this calling. This “vocation,” however, is for every baptized. Their hearts seek the face of God (Your face, O Lord, I will seek, Ps 27:8). A more contemporaneous rendering like this part of the lyrics of the song Mary Did You Know, “When you kiss(ed) the little Baby you kiss(ed) the face of God” captures closely the thought of seeking God’s face. Even Muslims use the same expression, “Seek the face of Al’lah”.
Two weeks ago, the week of Nov 5, 2018, “Follow JC GO,” a Pokémon GO-style app capturing saints, biblical figures and Marian devotions was just released. A fun game for the techno savvy generation. This might help those unchurched who are in search of the sacred and have never been exposed to the culture of religiosity. Hopefully they will be led to aspire to have a life-changing encounter with the Sacred that radically changes one’s outlook in life. It is this positive encounter which everyone is looking for. It is this encounter, like the experience of Moses with the burning bush, that really matters (Ex 3:1-17). This encounter is the core of religious experience.
The reward in following Christ is just a secondary motivation. The blessings and the challenges are just anticipated projections. They might happen, or they might not. They might help one’s resolve. But in the end discipleship is no other than a face-to-face conversation and relationship with the divine.
Source – Bible Diary 2020
