Posted by The WORD in other words (2018) by Fr Elmer Ibarra SVD – Australia
Feast of Saint Matthew, Evangelist and Apostle – September 21
“Follow me” – the battle cry of a Vocation Director. When I held that office in SVD Australia, the experience was nice but a bit frustrating. Australia is a very secular country and the chances of a young man wanting to follow Jesus as a religious missionary is almost zero. However, my emphasis is not just about following Jesus as a religious missionary priest or brother but simply responding to the call of Jesus to follow him in whatever fully discerned way.
Following Jesus is one of the greatest challenges in our world. Because it means that we have to give up our own personal dreams and aspirations and surrender these all to Jesus. Unfortunately, while many may want to follow Jesus, they do so only on their own terms.
As human beings, we have a natural desire to control everything. Giving up this control is one of the most difficult things to do. Yet in my experience, allowing Jesus to control my life especially in times of difficulties has given me time to relax and not feel too much stressed as Jesus takes control. The only thing that I have to do is to continue to pray and let Jesus control my life.
I was walking in the streets of Sydney a while back and I saw a T-shirt which says “Jesus is my co-pilot.” And while I felt good and somewhat agree with what it means, I think the song “Jesus, take the wheel” by Carrie Underwood is more appropriate. In a world where we try to take control only to be defeated over and over again, we should let Jesus take control. We might be awed at what Jesus can do and how much happy we will be.
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