by Chase Hawkins
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There are a few perks to teaching recreational gymnastics though. I can see the smiling faces of so many young children who are always thrilled about nothing! One day last week, I was teaching a class of 1st and 2nd grade boys. One boy, Julius, always insists on following me. I would tell all the kids to line up behind Coach Matt to go get a drink, but Julius always lines up behind me, no matter where we go.
So typically it will be Matt (my coworker) followed by eight kids, followed by me, followed by Julius. I never understood Julius’ persistence in always standing behind me. So one day I tell the kids to line up behind Coach Matt and almost instinctively, Julius springs up and lines up behind me. At this point, I just said to Julius, “Okay, let’s line up behind Matt”. He responded, “I wanna follow you!”
I didn’t feel like arguing, so I just shrugged and started to walk behind the class. As we walked, Julius got distracted and stubbed his toe on my heel. My teaching instincts kicked in and I turned around quickly, “You okay, Julius??” With a smile on his face, he nodded. I continued, “That’s what happens when you follow me." His response was amazing: “I’m still gon’ be following you, I don’t care if I get hurt. I’m still gon’ be following you.”
I was blown away. This second grader just taught me one of the most valuable lessons about following Jesus Christ. We might get distracted like Julius and hurt ourselves as we follow Jesus. But no matter the pain or the confusion, we must have Julius’ attitude and continue to follow Him even if we get hurt.
Following Jesus is a daunting task. We have to be prepared for any trial or tribulation when we follow Jesus. Following Jesus is a choice. A choice that, I believe, comes in three parts:
1. Accepting the Invitation
2. Leaving Our Possessions
3. Stepping Out of the Boat
Accepting the Invitation
God does not force His way into our lives. He extends an invitation. “Come, follow me,” He says to us. In the Gospels, Jesus calls out to His disciples and offers them an invitation to come and follow Him.
“As He was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, ‘Come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ At once they left their nets and followed Him.” (Matthew 4:18-20)
Leaving Our Possessions
We have to give our all to Him. It’s that simple. Simple, not easy.
“And he [the rich official] replied [to Jesus], ‘All of these [commandments] I have observed from my youth.” When Jesus heard this he said to him, ‘There is still one thing left for you: sell all that you have and distribute it to the poor, and you will have a treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’ But when he heard this he became quite sad, for he was very rich.” (Luke 18:21-23)
But giving of our possessions does not always come in the form of monetary charity. For many of us, giving up our possessions can mean giving up our pride, our anger, our worries, or material objects. If someone embraces us while we are holding a box filled with items, we would not be able to properly embrace them back. We would have to set the box down and return the embrace. Jesus is embracing us. In order to properly embrace Him back, we have to set down the box of worries, anxiety, fear, pride, lust, etc.
Stepping Out of the Boat
After we accept Jesus’ invitation and lay down our possessions, we must take steps toward Jesus.
“During the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. ‘It is a ghost,’ they said, and they cried out in fear. At once [Jesus] spoke to them, ‘Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid.’ Peter said to him in reply, ‘Lord if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ He said, ‘Come.’ Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how [strong] the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’” (Matthew 14:25-31)
Let’s Connect It All…
Sometimes we like to stay in the comfort of the boat. “A ship in harbor is safe—but that is not what ships are built for…” (John A. Shedd). This quote teaches us that Jesus calls us for so much more than to stay in our comfort zone. Recall that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said, "The world offers you comfort. But you were not made for comfort; you were made for greatness."
In order to truly follow Jesus, we must step out of the boat like Peter did. When we step out of the boat and accept Jesus’ invitation to follow Him, we might encounter danger or pain like Julius did when he followed me in the gym. We might encounter thrashing waves and thundering winds like Peter did when he walked toward Jesus. Despite this, we have to respond as Julius did to me: "Jesus," we should cry out, "Jesus, I'm still gon' be following you! I don't care if I get hurt. I'm still gon' be following you!"
We as Catholics, we as Christians, must recognize that following Jesus is simple. It's not complicated. But it is difficult. Following Jesus is no walk in the park. If anything, it's a walk in the ocean! As we follow Jesus, we must fix our eyes on Him, not the storms, not the danger, not the pain. We must have faith so that we can keep our eyes above the waves.
St. James, ora pro nobis.
St. Francis of Assisi, ora pro nobis.
St. Margaret Clitherow, ora pro nobis.
Chawkins.
"Oceans" by Hillsong
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy9nwe9_xzw
"Come As You Are" by Crowder
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PE6QXWFL6jY