Daily Gospel Reflection for January 11, 2020

Join us as we reflect, ponder, and pray together inspired by today's Gospel.

Today's Gospel: Mark 1:14-20

Four-year-old Freddy burst into the kitchen, “Mimi, come and see!” Though up to my elbows in dishes, I grabbed the towel and followed him into the living room. Strewn across the floor lay the largest assembly of sheets, blankets, and pillows—the biggest mess—I had ever seen. With every clean sheet and blanket used, I feigned enthusiasm: “Wow, Freddy. What a great fort.”

I secretly groaned at the amount of work needed to get things back to normal.

After another, “Good job, Freddy,” I attempted to return to the kitchen. Freddy insisted, “No Mimi. Come after me.” With reluctance, I consented. On hands and knees, I followed Freddy’s lead. Amazingly, with engineering help from his uncles, Freddy had constructed an entire world with intricate paths, angled rooms, and irregular terrain.

Freddy’s insistence to come after him was an invitation to see life through his eyes and to join in his adventure.

Jesus bids us to come after Him. He invites us into His world, His life, and His ministry. The problem with Jesus’ invitation is that life gets messy. He rearranges our values, leads us through narrow paths, and challenges us to venture into uncharted territory.

Jesus disrupts everything, with no promise of getting things “back to normal.”

We can live the Christian faith from afar—standing safely outside of Jesus’ world. Or we can follow Jesus by rocking a sick baby, listening to a weary spouse, inviting a lonely child into our home, caring for an elderly parent, visiting a sick neighbor, befriending a refugee family, preparing meals for the hungry, and getting involved in issues of life, peace, and justice.

Jesus’ invitation to “Come after me” is daring, but crawling on bended knee through the Lord’s maze always leads to grace.

Ponder:

How is Christ calling you to come after Him?

Pray:

Lord, you call us to follow You—no matter how difficult the path. Please give us Your grace to go into uncharted territory for the sake of the Gospel. Amen.